The Many Views of Massage

As a massage therapist, I work with all sorts of clients who are struggling with various muscular issues that affect them daily and they require massages to help with their rehabilitation process. Some clients that I work with, have no real issues, but they just enjoy getting them. So far, in my very young career as an MT, it seems that there are many views that people have toward massage.

There are those that view massage as something that they’d like, but it’s out of their reach financially. This is mostly because of high end salons that offer pedicures, manicures, scrubs, waxing, tanning, and all kinds of package deals with their massages. In most cases, clients are looking to generally spend between $50-$80 for a 1 hour to a 90 minute basic relaxation massage. Those package offers with a massage are not bad but only if you can afford such a luxurious ‘spa day’!

Now, because of competition among massage salons, the prices have dropped significantly. You can also pay under $30 at some places for a 1 hour massage. The problem with some of those places is that they view massage work almost as a “fast food chain”, where the more clients they get, the better. Get ‘em in, on the table and out the door, FAST! Not really catering to your therapeutic needs and possibly at the expense of an already exhausted MT. That doesn’t mean that your massage session will not be good it’s just means that your massage may be different each time based on the level of your MT’s energy.

In my view of massage, it is much much more than a luxury. It has so many wonderful health benefits. I have helped clients with lower back and gluteal pain find relief. Working with clients doing my therapeutic massage has helped them walk better. Clients are saying they’re getting a quality sleep at night. They are experiencing an increase of blood circulation in the joints, greater mobility and a better range of motion as well.

I often tell people at PT Specialists about how massage does indeed go hand in hand with their total rehab and recovery. We have great prices and special offers here as well. Come in for a free 5 minute chair massage sample or call us for your next comprehensive and therapeutic massage today!

-Frank Royster C.M.T.

Certified Myomassage Therapist

Hell To Pay: A Myomassologist's Nightmare

Greetings everyone, I have not been blogging for a while because I have been trying to make career moves that seems to be going absolutely nowhere. The truth, is today (6/24/11) makes exactly one year since I last blogged about anything massage related. I just wanted to let life as a newly touted certified M.T., take shape for me and boy, I don't know what to make of this "shape" as it stands.

Over the past year, I have worked for individuals who employed my services at their events, only to not be compensated. I worked for a terrible salon that shall remain nameless. The proprietors of said business, treated their employees terrible. To them you were as good as the amount of clients you could handle in one shift. They had little to no respect for the customer clientele and the place was possibly being targeted by OSHA for its complaints of mold within. I did not stay there long and ever since, it has been a struggle to rebound.

With the help of some friends who attended IMI with me, I began to interview at many Spas, Salons, and Chiropractor's offices throughout Oakland County and Metro Detroit. All to no avail, as I am STILL trying to find decent work. It got to the point where I was very stressed (still am), and prepared to move out of this state (that thought is still pending as of this writing). It has been very difficult trying to get my foot in the door. I did an interview with a M.T. who's manager was the Chiropractor at a local office. The M.T. thought that I was indeed the perfect candidate for the job. She told her manager and I received a call for a second interview. Apparently, the Chiropractor did not see what her M.T. saw in me and so I didn't get the job. Funny thing is, this very same Chiropractor called me a few days later asking me to show up at an event to do chair massage for her business! I was NOT good enough to work at her office, but good enough to stand in for her company at a public event.

I am noticing that there is an increasing amount of people calling themselves entrepreneurs. That's fine, but if I can't open a business under a title that I had no prior training for, how are they allowed to hire for positions that they aren't familiar with either? I will briefly speak on another interview I had which was really ridiculous. This place was located in the Hamtramck area and it was still in it's developmental phase. This person who apparently knows absolutely nothing about massage therapy, was in charge of hiring. The plans for this particular place included a spa, tanning salon, and an internet cafe. I don't know how that internet cafe would work, but that is apparently what the owner of this place wanted. The man in charge, stated that the owner wanted all of the female M.T.s to dress sexy! That was it for me, as I promptly got up and left.

I am aware that as an entrepreneur, you can hire for whatever positions you are looking for to make your business work. But what I don't understand is, how do you know what you want in this particular position that you are looking to fill, if you know absolutely nothing about what said position encompasses? I know some people have entered my field with relatively no problems at all. However, I am not one of them. I have not given up because I am truly passionate about what I have learned (eager to learn a whole lot more too), but it has been an absolute nightmare for me thus far. Namaste

Post Graduate's Dilemma...

It's been a month since I've graduated and if you're interested, over the next few months or so, I may share some of my experiences that I have had trying to find gainful employment in my field of study. Now before you say anything, I am aware that this is not an easy field to be successful in although some people may have you think that it is, that your success will not come overnight, also that it's even tougher to have your own business, and that some of these business that you'll apply to will indeed try to take advantage of you and it's not a pleasant thing. I still have high hopes for what I learned (and continue to learn), and that it will lead me somewhere desirable.

That said, I have sent my resume to over twenty massage centers, spas, salons, and chiropractors. I have only heard back from about five locations. The very first massage spa I thought that I had a really great chance of being employed there. This place was very serene the moment that you walked in. It has five nice sized rooms to do your massages in. Each room had a very unique setup, the place was wonderful and I felt right at home. I was scheduled to meet with the owner of the salon on a Tuesday at 11am. The manager was very nice and she informed me that the owner would be arriving late for the interview and so while we waited she took me on a tour of the facilities. The owner arrived about a half-hour later and we went into a room for the interview/practical which lasted an hour and five minutes (which she had to get up and leave quickly because she had another interview). She told me that she enjoyed my massage, that I did a great job with the therapeutic work, and that a member of the staff would be contacting me for the next part of the interview process.

I hadn't heard from the spa so I contacted them about 5 days later to see if they had selected a MT to join their spa. In the nutshell, what I was told was that I didn't have enough experience since I just graduated and that I should contact them in three months when I have gained some more experience. What I don't understand here is that how can you turn away someone who is eager, ready to share their gift and learn new skills to enhance their massage abilities? How else will they gain more experience? I honestly felt used.

This is not an attempt to find vindication against salons, spas, and chiropractors, who do not hire me (or you), rather this is simply my experiences that I have had trying to follow my passion and how I am making sense of all of this. Please leave your comments below. Namaste

Happy Father's Day

To all of the hard working men (and women!) out there, everyday is your day... know this! You are appreciated for all that you do with raising up your youth the best way that you can! The greatest strength never known is within you! That breaking point that you reach where you feel like you can't go on... but you continue on anyways, this IS the Creator hard at work within you, this is YOU!

I never really got to know my dad. After my mother made her transition in 1980, I never seen him much afterwards. But I had great men (and women!) who raised me the best way that they humanly could along with their very own youth! To take on the responsibility of raising another child is a daunting task and it takes the strength of the Creator which is within each of us. I know that I gave my family hell at times. Yet they never gave up on me and I really love and appreciate them for that.

So, to all of you out there who are the moms and dads raising the youth the best way that you can, may the Creator continue to bless and guide you on your journey with your youth. Listen to them because the Creator abides in the youth and it's through them that we find out more about ourselves. Hotep (Peace)

-Frank

Greetings all,

My name is Frank Royster and I am a Myomassologist. A myomassologist is a therapist that works with manipulating muscle tissue. -Myo "muscle", -mass "massage", -ology "the study of". I am a proud graduate of Irene's Myomassology Institute in Southfield, Michigan.

This is my attempt at a blog that deals with myomassology and any associated related health topics. If you have some content that you'd like to share and contribute to expanding our knowledge of massage and health, please feel free to let me know.

Also, if you are interested in sharing massage tips, ideas, techniques, and events with our soon to be readers, please contact me.

Thank You, Be Well and Namaste.

-Frank