Make the Most of Massage

Author: Mark Liskey

  • Experiment 113: How to Gain More Time

    Experiment 113: How to Gain More Time

    I like self experiments. But I have my failures—like the time in the 90’s when I didn’t wear my glasses for a year in an attempt to improve my distance vision. My eyesight didn’t improve and I spent a lot of time in my car lost. (Reading road signs was sort of important pre-GPS.)

    However, recently I started a goal management experiment that’s changed my life in ways I hadn’t expected. Since I’ve started the experiment, I’ve stopped dwelling on the past. I don’t worry about the future (as much) and I’m focused on the now. And the great thing about this experiment is that it’s not hard to do.

    Here it is: think of your life in terms of days of a year rather than days of a month.

    February 16, 2016

    Okay, you’re not going to abandon your Days of the Month calendar. That’s how life runs. Instead, you’re going to add in a Days of the Year calendar. When you do, really cool things are going to start to happen.

    For example, I laid down some hefty goals for 2016—like launching this website. On February 16, 2016 I was overwhelmed. It was taking more time than I thought it would to build a WordPress website.

    I regretted not starting this website five years ago–and some serious mission creep set in. I saw myself looking for another project to start. Because if I got involved in another project, I could pretend that I hadn’t failed with my website, and that it was just on hold.

    Day 47

    But as much as it was February 16, 2016, it was also Day 47 of 2016. And when I put my situation in a Days of the Year context, I was only on day 47 of a 365 day year. Huh, that didn’t seem so bad.

    So I picked Day 61 (March 1) as the official launch day of the website. I had 13 days to get it done and if I got it done, I had 304 days to get my other goals accomplished. Suddenly I felt myself laser-focused on the now.

    The “should have done this five years ago” still popped up occasionally, but I could quickly kick that thought to the curb because I now saw it as an obstacle to accomplishing my goal.

    Allows You Time to Make Adjustments

    In years past, I sometimes missed accomplishing goals because I didn’t adjust fast enough. For example, one of my yearly goals is a work/money goal. Since my income comes from more than one source (massage, teaching, massage business, writing), I can adjust the amount of time I give to a source of income to affect how much money I make during the year.

    Using a Day of the Month Calendar I would sometimes get close to the end of the year before I realized that I was going to miss a work/money goal. At that point, any adjustment I made, like spending more time on my private practice to quickly bring in money, would be too late for me to reach my goal.

    But now, by thinking in terms of 365 days, I’m constantly reminded about how many days are left in the year for me to reach my goals. My guess is that the shot of adrenaline that moves me to make an adjustment now is ultimately less stressful than the anxiety at the end of the year if I miss my work/money goal.

    Puts Everything in Perspective

    Lastly, the Days of the Year Calendar can reduce generalized anxiety caused by daily life. For example, birthdays are reminders of our age—and, at the risk of being a downer—our mortality. The Days of the Month Calendar can amplify birthday anxiety, as in: “Wow, I’m (fill in the blank) years old!?”

    But the Days of the Year Calendar “extends” time. Say your birthday is on August 10. That’s Day 192 in 2016. There are 364 days from this day to your next birthday. That’s a lot of days to enjoy and to get things done.

    Easy As 1,2,3

    If the Days of the Year Calendar sounds like something you’d like to try, here’s what to do:

    1. Download the 365 app. It’s a simple app that will let you know the day of the year.
    2. Set your goals according to the days of the year. Go through your digital and/or paper calendar and mark the day of the year that a goal is due. (E.g., 10 new repeat clients by Day 182 (middle of the year).
    3. Know what day of the year it is every day and see what happens.

    I’m Not (Probably Not) Nuts

    I wonder if my great nephew, Jake, thinks I’m nuts when I send him a text that reads: “1 hour and 46 minutes left in Day 131.” But I can’t help myself. That’s an hour and 46 minutes of his life that he can consciously choose how he wants to spend his time.

    Ultimately, the Days of the Year Calendar is not only a business experiment, it’s a life experiment that can put you on track to accomplish yearly and LIFE goals.

    Need  More Help?

    Sign up for my email group and get my latest info. It’s free and you can unsubscribe whenever you want:-)

  • Why I “Fired” My Business Mentor

    Why I “Fired” My Business Mentor

    Robert was a retired business executive from corporate America who came to see me when his back acted up.At some point, he offered to be my business mentor and I took him up on it. Looking back, he helped me avoid some major business mistakes, like when I was neglecting my private practice as I worked to build an on-site massage service. But one piece of advice that he had given me was ultimately not right for me. It was: Stick with what you do best.

    Too Many Balls In the Air

    When I first suggested to Robert that I was thinking about developing and teaching massage CE classes I could see the concerned look on his face. He had good reason to be concerned—I’m a person who often has too many balls in the air. Robert wanted me to “stick with what I did best” and advised against going into teaching because my main income was coming from private practice massage. And this new business venture would be pulling time and resources away from my private practice.

    “Stick to What You Do Best” Problem

    “Stick to what you do best” makes complete sense when looking at a single business that you’re trying to grow. Here’s how Robert saw it play out in my business: I spend my time doing massage (what he thought I did well). I invest in advertising which brings in more clients. When clients are beating down my door to get in, I bring in another MT to work for me.

    The problem with “sticking to what I do best” was that even though I loved massage, I knew that just doing massage wouldn’t be enough to make me happy. In addition, private practice massage has its ups and downs. Clients go on vacation and cash flow drops. And I wanted the security of having another business that wasn’t entirely dependent on the health of my body.

    Eventually, I went against Robert’s advice and developed and taught CE classes. Looking back I now realize that I wasted A LOT of time trying to motivate myself to follow a “stick to what you do best” business plan that didn’t excite me instead of pressing the accelerator with CE classes.

    Two Questions

    In retrospect, I would have served myself better if I had asked myself these questions when thinking about teaching:

    1. Am I (or could I be) good at this?
    2. Does it fit my vision for the future?

    Could I Be Good at This?

    My short answer to could I be good at teaching was “yes”. The longer answer was: I thought I would eventually be comfortable teaching, but I didn’t know for sure. I had trained MTs to work for my wife and me over the course of ten years. But there’s a big difference between working with 1 or 2 MTs in my massage room and standing confidently in front of a class. Fortunately, I had received enough positive feedback from the MTs I had trained that I thought I had a shot at being a decent teacher.

    Does it Fit My Vision?

    The word vision used to bother me. It sounded like a fancy way to say that I’m an aimless dreamer. But as I started to do my business research, I realized that a vision can be a primary driver to keeping me motivated and on track to meet goals.

    For a long time, I thought about a vision, but nothing stuck. I was discouraged. But then one day, a vision suddenly crystallized, probably as a result of putting in the needed work to think through different vision scenarios.

    My vision was to have multiple sources of income through doing things I liked to do. Teaching fit perfectly into that vision.

    Lastly, I was old enough to know that if my vision wasn’t a vision that my wife, Lisa, supported, it wasn’t going to work. Lisa was 100% on board and she provided extra motivation (aka, a kick in the pants) when I wanted to quit.

    Let Me Know How I Can Help You

    From a pure business standpoint, Robert may have been right when he said “stick with what you do best”. But solely sticking to what I was good at wasn’t fulfilling to me, and it ultimately didn’t move me in the direction of my vision—to have multiple streams of income.

    Are you thinking about or are in the process of getting good at something else? It’s not an easy decision to make. As you do your research, let me know if there is any way that I can help you. You can always reach me by leaving a comment here.

    Need  More Help?

    Sign up for my email group and get my latest info. It’s free and you can unsubscribe whenever you want:-)

     

  • Eliminate Neck & Shoulder Pain When Working Deep

    Eliminate Neck & Shoulder Pain When Working Deep

    Joanne had been a client of mine for many years and loved deep pressure. One day she asked: “Does your body ever hurt after doing massage?” To this day I wonder if my head actually cocked to the side like a confused puppy. Wasn’t the obvious answer: Hell, yes?!

    I responded with something like: “I have ways to manage.” But, at the time, the truth was that I didn’t. In fact, my left arm felt like it was going to fall off. Eventually, I got to the point where I needed to take action: fix what hurt or find a new job. And after a year or so of experimentation, I discovered if I keep my work below, close to, and in front of me, I could essentially eliminate my shoulder and neck pain.

    Keep Your Work Below You

    My neck issue (cervical radiculopathy) was causing pain in my upper back and down my arm. I could see a connection between using my left elbow and an increase in pain down my arm. If I were going to use my left elbow less, I needed a replacement. I chose my knuckles. But I couldn’t generate enough pressure with my knuckles at my normal table height. That’s when I began experimenting with lowering my table.

    When I lowered my table, my neck/shoulder/arm started to feel better, but now I was raising my shoulders to generate more pressure. What would happen if I lowered my table even more? My neck condition got even better!

    Oops, Too Low

    The next question was how low should I go? My lower back provided the answer. After a period of “ups and downs” with my table, I discovered the other two ingredients that allowed me to keep my table low enough to save my neck/shoulders/arms without bothering my lower-back.

    Close To You

    It’s the best feeling in the world when a youngin’ asks YOU to pick him up. Unfortunately, as he grows, it gets harder to do so and tougher on your back. But you may have noticed that if you can keep the child close to your body as you squat and lift him, you can reduce back strain by maintaining a neutral (not flexed) back.

    I found the same to be true when doing deep pressure. The closer I can get to the table (without touching the client with my body), the easier it was for me to keep my back neutral. I also had better leverage.

    In Front of You

    The “below” and “close to” was working well for eliminating the pain down my arm—but I’d still get the sharp pain in my levator scapulae area. I noticed that it seemed to occur more frequently when I was reaching to a side while pressing—and I didn’t have to reach too far off center to trigger the pain. To keep my work in front of me I needed to move my feet so that I would always be in a position to lean straight ahead.

    Move Your Feet

    Moving your feet may seem like a lot a work—but it probably takes more energy to press with your upper body when you’re not in a position to simply use your body weight to generate pressure than it does to move your feet and lean.

    And I promise you, in the long run, the pay-off is worth the practice it takes to make “moving your feet” a habit. I demonstrate “moving your feet” here.

    Change Your Pain Today

    For me, there’s nothing worse to my psyche then when my philosophy, who I think I am and/or who I want to be, doesn’t match my reality. I used to think that being in pain from working deep was the price I had to pay for helping someone get out of pain. But as my pain compounded, my martyrdom philosophy stopped working for me. If I couldn’t lessen the pain for myself, I’d have to find a new career.

    I was able to reduce/eliminate shoulder and neck pain when doing deep pressure—and I know you can, too. Start experimenting with keeping your work below, close to and in front of you. Don’t worry if you find that what works best for your body is different then what worked best for me. It can vary.

    My Best Body-Mechanics, Online, CEU Course

    A while back I almost quit massage because of pain and injuries.

    Then I spent a year revamping my massage to see if I could massage pain-free. That’s where incorporating the lower half of my body into the massage came in along with a bunch of other strategies that ultimately saved my massage career.

    I pulled all that first-hand experience together and made a live CEU class which I taught for about 5 years. During those 5 years I listened to the massage therapists taking the course and worked out the learning kinks.

    Now I have an online version of the live body mechanics class that is kink-free and will help you massage pain-free.

    Check it out here.

  • Don’t “Wear a Fancy, Red Tie” When Treating Sciatica

    Don’t “Wear a Fancy, Red Tie” When Treating Sciatica

    When I was a kid, Dr. Grant made me feel better as soon as he walked into the examining room. He always had a smile on his face and I liked his fancy, red tie. Later in life I was shocked when I learned that his fancy, red tie could actually have been harmful to patients. A study showed that neckties worn by surgical technicians carried a lot more disease-causing pathogens on them than neckties of other hospital workers.

    In massage, we have our own “fancy, red tie” oversight. The way you position a sciatica client on a massage table may seem unimportant. However, if positioned incorrectly, it may actually make the condition a whole lot worse.

    Lower-Back Nastiness

    Sciatica is irritation of a lower-back spinal nerve, and a sufferer may experience pain, numbness and/or muscular weakness in the buttock and legs. Pain can be intermittent or constant and depending on where the nerve compression or irritation is occurring (L4, L5, S1, S2 and S3), the symptoms can manifest in different places.  For example, John, a sciatica client of mine, had pain that bent him over and traveled all the way down into his foot.

    Body Position is Key

    Since sciatica symptoms vary depending on where the spinal nerve is being compressed, no single body position will relieve symptoms for everyone. Some sciatica sufferers can’t find a comfortable sleeping position and constantly wake up at night. Others have less trouble sleeping but more pain when they’re sitting or standing.  John had no problem standing, but ask him to sit and, during the acute phase, the pain was unbearable. On the table, the importance of body position is no different.

    Beware of Prone

    I’ve found that having a sciatica client in the prone position, especially for a long period of time, can aggravate the condition. In addition, a prone client leaves the door open for the MT to ratchet up the pressure. More pressure in the lower back/sacrum area could further tick off already angry nerves. Lastly, if you kick up the pressure, a sciatica client may not notice anything while on the table, but she’ll probably feel more pain once she’s up. Though John never said that lying facedown bothered his back, I limited the time he was facedown just to be safe.

    Think Sleeping Position

    If we limit facedown time during a massage, then we have to add in supine and/or side time. To determine which position is the best for the client, ask her: “Which position do you sleep in now?” Most will tell you either on their right or left side. The best sleeping position is your go-to position when working on the sciatica client. John’s sleeping position was his left side, and that’s the position I had him in when I did the majority of my work. Regarding supine, I can’t remember a sciatica client preferring face-up sleeping. But if so, it’s not impossible to work with your hands under the back while your client lies face-up.

    Double-Check

    Sometimes a client is not in tune with his sciatica pain and could be inadvertently giving you bad information. If you suspect this, do more digging. First, make sure he’s providing you with his best “after my sciatica acted up” sleeping position. Also, is he loading up on pain medication at night which is “allowing” him to be in a bad sleeping position? John knew exactly which sleeping position worked best for him—and so do most clients. But, if in doubt, opt for side-lying, and then pick a side. Check to see if the pain is increasing. If so, switch to the other side.

    Change Positions

    Working on a sciatica client in one position for the entire massage can irritate a back nerve. If facedown hurts the person from the get-go, choose best side-lying position for 60% to 70% of the time and then throw in the opposite side-lying position the rest of the time. If prone is okay, you can mix that in also. Here’s what body positioning on the table looked like with John:  50% left side (his  “after my sciatica acted up” sleeping position), 25% right side, 25% face down.

    Body Position Checklist

    Body positioning is a simple and overlooked strategy to lessen the likelihood that you’re going to make a sciatica condition worse. Here’s a quick checklist that will help you to effectively manage body positions when working with sciatica clients.  (1) Ask: Does lying facedown bother your back? (2) Ask: What is your most comfortable “after my sciatica acted up” sleeping position? (3) Double-check to make sure that the sleeping position information is accurate. If pain killers were used before bed and/or if you were given “when my sciatica is not acting up” sleeping positions, you have unreliable information. (4) Throughout the course of the massage have the client change body positions on the table. Give it a shot and please let me know if your sciatica treatment outcomes improve!

    Need  More Help?

    Sign up for my email group and get my latest info. It’s free and you can unsubscribe whenever you want:-)