Make the Most of Massage

Author: Mark Liskey

  • How to Make Your Rainmaker

    How to Make Your Rainmaker

    You need massage clients. And what’s killing you is that you’re a good massage therapist. Clients should be beating down your door, right? The problem is you’re not a rainmaker (someone who brings in the business).

    I get it.

    Back in the day, I had my NMT certification and felt really good about my massage.

    So I opened my massage room door so that fitness center members could peer in and see me sitting on my massage stool at my desk, my head ensconced in a massage halo as angels sang: Come forth clients!

    But there was no coming forth. I mean there were trickles and spurts, but no flooding.

    So guess what I did?

    I got more massage skills and training!

    And I sat on my stool in my massage room and waited some more…and I got the same results.

    But now I have clients.

    What’s changed?

    One thing.

    I became the rainmaker.

    Yay, for me.

    Sad for me is that it took me a way long time to bring in the business.

    By the way, you don’t get that time back. So, don’t procrastinate and flounder like I did.

    If you really want a massage business become the rainmaker NOW.

    How?

    Rainmaker Step #1: Accept the Rainmaker Role

    First, you have to accept that YOU are responsible for bringing in clients.

    That’s a big deal, especially if you are used to being an employee or a subcontractor.

    But if you want a massage practice, it’s all on you, sista.

    And getting the work is as vital to your business as doing the work.

    In other words, you have two equally important jobs: 1. Massager. 2. Rainmaker.

    When the work isn’t coming in, you’re sucking as rainmaker.

    Get better at it.

    But wait, Mark, I’m not good at marketing and advertising and outreach.

    You’ll improve.

    Okay, honestly, Mark, I don’t like that crap.

    I know you don’t. It’s not my dream job either. But here’s the thing, being a rainmaker doesn’t mean you have to sell your soul or even do something you hate.

    Being a rainmaker means that you fill your schedule.

    How you get clients to come in is entirely up to you.

    Step #2: Make Your Rainmaker

    What I do as a rainmaker is exactly what I do as a massage therapist.

    I care.

    Through caring I connect.

    And the connecting makes the rain happen.

    For example, when a client is working with a PT, I contact the PT so that we can coordinate care.

    Total win/win.

    The client gets the best care I can provide, and now the PT knows my name.

    Caring doesn’t need to be face-to-face.

    If a potential client lands on our website, she knows that we care about her because she’ll see self-massage videos, an introductory offer and a blurb  about a scheduling practice that let’s her know that she won’t be rushed.

    She calls and connects.

    Can I just say that I’m getting a lot of warm fuzzies here because I can care and connect in both capacities as rainmaker and massage therapist.

    The two roles are perfectly aligned.

    My core values guide me in both.

    Bam!

    I’m getting warm fuzzies thinking about the warm fuzzies I get because my rainmaker and massage therapist are joined at the hip.

    Okay, back to the business of rainmaker making.

    First, if you want a massage business you have to accept the job of rainmaker.

    Then from your brain you have to make your rainmaker.

    And here’s the trick: Don’t make your rainmaker from something you’re not, but rather make your rainmaker from something that is fundamentally you.

    If you think your rainmaker is like my rainmaker then this article should help you out.

    Need some more help in general? Email me at mark@makethemostofmassage.com or check out the Accelerator online course.

     

     

     

  • Minimal Effort Massage: More Massages, Less Pain

    Minimal Effort Massage: More Massages, Less Pain

    Remember when you first started massage and thought your earning potential was 40 hours x $60, $70 or $80? But then one day you hit your massage max and experienced pain (the built-in disincentive to making extra money through massage). Sad day, huh? Well, there’s a way to bump up your massage max without being in pain. It’s called minimal effort massage.

    Minimal effort massage? What am I supposed to fall asleep on my client now?

    Well, not actually asleep, more like pre-dozing.

    I’m sorta not kidding.

    When you’re working efficiently and using minimal effort to get the best results, you’re going to feel very relaxed, like you’re ready to fall asleep on your client.

    To get to the point of “almost falling asleep on your client” you need to do two things: (1) lean and (2) position yourself to lean.

    Minimal Effort Massage Step #1: Lean

    Why lean? When done right, leaning is less taxing on your body to generate force than pressing with your upper-body.

    Personally, I discovered the mechanical advantage of leaning as I worked through neck and shoulder injuries. Later I came across research which supported my experience. In this post, I’m going to cover leaning on a low table using fists.

    How to Lean

    To be able to lean effectively (transfer all of your body weight onto the client if you have to) if you’re massaging with your fists,  you’ll may need to lower your table.

    For more about setting your table height, check out Table Height Is Everything.

    Here’s a quick look at leaning in pics.

    This is a lean gone bad.

    My back is rounded and I’m using my upper-body to generate pressure because my table is not low enough.

    This is a good lean.

    My shoulder, elbow and wrist joints are stacked. And my table is low enough so that I can effortlessly transfer my body weight.

    Here’s what it looks like in action:

    Pretty easy so far, huh? Here comes the challenging part.

    Minimal Effort Massage Step #2: Positioning Yourself to Lean

    To maintain your leaning advantage throughout the massage you’ll need to put yourself in positions where leaning is easy to do.

    In other words, you’ll have to move.

    If you’re normally taking 250 steps (out of my butt #) around the table during the course of a massage, you might need to take 500 steps to be in the best positions to lean.

    If you don’t move to get into position, you’ll be over-extending and recruiting your upper-body to get the job done.

    The way to know it’s time to move your feet is when you feel that your leaning pressure is becoming less effective and/or you start to feel bodily discomfort.

    Lateral and Medial Positioning

    Positioning applies to working the lateral and medial aspects of muscles and muscle groups, too.

    For example, in the picture below I’m working hammies. In this position it’s easy for me to lean and work the biceps femoris.

    But to reach the semimembranosus, semitendinosis and adductors I have to extend my arms and my pressure is going more “out” and less “down”.

    Now, look what happens when I walk to the other side of the table and lean.

    I can easily lean all of my body weight into those muscles.

    Time for a siesta.

    Source: Schuger

    About Shortcuts

    One more thing, you’re going to want to take shortcuts. That’s human nature.

    When you get tired your feet will stop moving. Don’t let ‘em.

    It will take some energy to walk around the table, but once you do you’ll be in a position to deliver pressure effortlessly.

    You’re also going to want to keep the table height the same all the time because it’s a pain to change a manual table.

    My advice: For a month, adjust your table height whenever you need to without question.

    The Quick Version of Minimal Effort Massage

    Okay, let’s go over the basics one more time. To master minimal effort massage with fist (1) adjust your table so that you are able to transfer all of your body weight onto your client if you need to, (2) lean and (3) get in the best positions to lean.

    Online Class and Book

    By the way, I have an online class, that will help you to massage efficiently, effectively and with minimal strain to your body: Delivering Pressure Without Hurting Yourself.

    And here’s the book: The Pain-Free Massage Therapist.

     

     

  • Emotional Self-Care: Asking for Help with Dr. Robyn Gobin

    Emotional Self-Care: Asking for Help with Dr. Robyn Gobin

    Krista and I did an interview/workshop with Dr. Robyn Gobin about emotional self-care. You will be able to see the interview/workshop with Dr. Gobin at the virtual Take Care of You School Event happening April 9, 2022.

    Emotional self-care might just be the key to the castle of self-care for me. If I’m committed to being my own best friend, I’m more likely to allow self-care to enter other parts of my life. And I’m starting to see it play out it my life. I feel less guilty for taking time out of a busy day to workout or meditate.

    Dr. Gobin has a very clear way of communicating the importance of and strategies for self-care. Recently I watched this video where Dr. Gobin talks about asking for help and not going it alone. It really spoke to me. I often think that I’m the only one on the playing field. I have to bat, pitch and catch and then I have to clean the stadium after the game is over because there’s no one around to help me. Okay, maybe there are some people around, but they don’t want to help me…and I might owe them something if they do help…and they probably won’t help the way I want them to help…

    In the video Dr. Gobin address our challenges with asking for help and she takes it a step further. She explains that if we actually did ask for some help, we could delegate some of our tasks, and then have more time for self-care. You can check out the video here:

    This promo code PainFree25 will get you 25% off the ticket price at the virtual Take Care of You School Event.

  • Self-Care is Not for Sissies

    What do you think when you hear the term “self-care”?

    Bubble baths and facials, right? That’s what I used to think. Other descriptors that came to my mind were pampered, selfish and indulgent. I even thought that self-care was a sign of weakness or, at the very least, could make me weak. But I was disabused of these notions as I prepared for the virtual self-care event that Krista Dicks (RadicalRMT) and I are hosting on April 9th, 2022. What I learned in my preparation for the event was that self-care is more than feeling good. When self-care is done with a plan in mind, it’s recharging, rebalancing and sometimes life-changing.

    Not a Self-Care Hater

    Okay, so why is someone who is not so big on self-care co-hosting a self-care event? First, I’m not anti-self-care. I’ve always seen the value of self care in certain situations. In fact, I have spent a significant portion of my massage career helping massage therapists take care of themselves inside the massage room so that they can massage pain-free.

    The challenge with self-care for me was when I stepped outside the massage room. Outside the massage room, self-care was less important because I didn’t see the benefits. But then over the course of a year as I prepared for this self-care event, two things happened that have forever changed my view of self-care. First, Dr. Ken Martz showed me how to meditate.

    Meditation Changed Me

    Meditation was always something that I wanted to try, but there was a big intimidation factor here. One, I thought I had to be the Dali Lama to meditate, and, two, I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to quiet my mind at all. But Dr. Ken, who not only knows everything there is to know about meditation, also, knows how to teach it. He made it so simple for me and framed it in such a way that I couldn’t fail. And I didn’t.

    When I consistently practice meditation I feel less frazzled, more focused and happier. The happier part to me is intriguing, and I think it has to do with the fact that when I meditate, I’m less reactionary in life. Here’s an example of how that looks: Rocky, our rescue Siamese, chases Sofie, our rescue white and grey. My reaction is red—kill Rocky. When I don’t meditate, I yell at Rocky. When I meditate, there’s a split second where I see how I’m about to react, which provides me the opportunity to decide how I want to react. This element of control allows me to be the person I want to be instead of the person who is just reacting all the time. That makes me happy—and Rocky, too. By the way, Dr. Ken is going to be teaching this “easy way to meditate” at the event.

    The Self-Care Prescription

    The second thing that changed my mind about self-care happened when I was reading Dr. Robyn Gobin’s book, The Self-Care Prescription. There was a line in that book that stopped me dead in my tracks. She said that self-care doesn’t always feel fun or relaxing. Wow. I thought about all the times I saw clients over and above my normal workload because I felt bad that they were waiting to get in. And I thought about all the times I said yes to something that I didn’t want to do because I didn’t want to disappoint people. What if I had said no? What if I had stuck up for myself and had my own back, or as Dr. Robyn says “be my own best friend”? I started to imagine how my daily life could be different and right then I realized that self care is not fluff. It can be hard, challenging and confrontational, but at the end of the day, it has the potential to make me a kinder, more productive and happier human being. By the way, Dr. Robyn will be presenting “How to Be Your Own Best Friend” at the event.

    So that’s my self-care journey to date. Admittedly, it’s not so pretty, but it’s moving in the right direction, and I’m committed to growing and learning and sharing. To that end, I invite you to be with Krista and me at the 1st International Take Care of You Event for Massage Therapists.

    This is our website: MTRevolution

    The Event page is here.

    You get an additional 25% off the regular ticket price if you use this promo code PainFree25.

    Regular price is $97.

    Early-bird ticket is $72.75 (through March 31).

    Early-bird and PainFree25 promo code is $48.02.

    Hope to see you there!