aaamassagempls's Massage Interview
Do you remember your first client ? Tell us something about that first day when you decided to be a Masseur!
Yes, my first paying client was while I was still in training for my first massage therapy program, when I was 16 y.o. My client was one of my massage therapy instructors who had been actively teaching for close to 30 years. It was an hour long session.
Being new to giving massages for compensation, I was a little bit nervous (especially since I was giving a massage to one of the highest regarded instructors in the state of Pennsylvania).
During the session, I felt the need to vary somewhat from the exact methods and techniques I had been taught in class and felt compelled to just "go with the flow" (so to speak). I found myself utilizing techniques with which I was totally unfamiliar. At the end of his session, my instructor told me, "honestly Jim, that had to be one of the very best massages I have ever had in my entire life. I could feel the healing energy moving from your fingertips and hands right through my body."
I chose to study massage at the advice of Laura Silva (now Pres. of The Silva Method). I had attended a workshop she and her father (Jose) were presenting. Laura advised me to seek out massage as she intuitively saw healing energy emanating from my hands.
Some people say that being a Masseur is addictive. Would you miss your Masseur days ?
Absolutely. I gain so much from the energy I share with my clients and students and it gives me great pleasure to see the wonderful results that my clients enjoy from me working with them.
Do you consider yourself a successful Masseur?
EXTREMELY!
Tell us a little about yourself, if you were to pick something what would you like your clients to absolutely know about you?
I have dedicated my life to bettering myself and to help share my teachings and experiences with others so that they too might improve their lives.
I am a very positive person and always strive to find the good in others and the lessons that can be learned from any situation and experience.
How would you like someone that contacts you for a massage to feel when they leave?
Like they have benefited from the experience.
Each client is different and will respond according to their own experience in a unique and special way.
But I want them to take from the experience positive benefits that will remain with them for a very long time to come.
What are your hobbies, what do you like to do in your spare time?
I spend much of my spare time divided between my 4 adorable kitties, creating personalized meditation and hypnotherapy recordings for my Clinical Hypnotherapy clients, furthering my own studies in Clinical & Ericksonian Hypnotherapy and energy healing and creating whiteboard (and related) animation videos for many of my retail clients.
Why did you become a Masseur?
So that I could share the natural healing talents that I began to uncover in myself with others.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to be a Masseur?
Get into it for the mission, not the money. Only follow through with it if you have a sincere desire to help others. That is the only way you will truly become successful. If you focus solely on the financial benefits most likely you will soon become sorely disappointed and give up.
Never stop learning. I am presently professionally trained and certified in 24 different styles of massage and bodywork and yet still continue to study, explore and learn. Never stop learning.
Never be afraid of having a dissatisfied client. It will happen. As the saying goes, "you can please some of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time." Do not take it personally. LEARN FROM THE EXPERIENCE. Then move on.
Find others with whom you can trade massages, regardless of their level of training or expertise. You WILL learn from them as well.
Be willing to offer FREE or reduced sessions to those in need who cannot afford your rates. Everything is energy. Your generosity will come back to favor you 10 -(or more) fold.
What distinguishes you from all the other Masseurs?
From "all other Masseurs?"
Now that's a tough one since I do not know every other masseur on the planet.
I do incorporate a LOT of healing energy work into my sessions so they are more than just physical ministrations. I have many, many documented testimonials from clients who tell me that my sessions benefited them on more than just a physical level.
I do have a very extensive "Preliminary Questionnaire" that I recommend my prospective clients complete before seeing me for a session. Although occasionally I get responses such as "I feel like I am filling out a job application" or "a college entrance exam", I do this primarily so that I better tailor your session to your own individual needs and experiences and help to help make it a much more personalized and enjoyable experience for you.
Don't have time? We can go over the bulk of the info at the start of your session.
PLUS, I no longer use Enya's "Memory of Trees" or "Pachelbel's Canon" in my sessions (unless requested). Gave them up many years ago.
While I normally book approx. 7 - 8 wks in advance, I do occasionally have openings available within a day or so (sometimes even same day)due to "last minute" cancellations.
How long have you been a Masseur and how long do think you'd like to continue?
I have been practicing professionally for more than 3 decades and do not plan on retiring for at least another 75 or 80 years (then I will only migrate to a status of "semi-retired")
How often do you travel? Do you prefer to travel or are you more of a homebody?
I used to have an extensive 46 city tour throughout the US and Canada during which I conducted both private sessions and workshops in massage therapy, energy healing, hypnotherapy and intuition development.
I have recently abbreviated my traveling to just about 16 to 20 weeks of the year, spending the remainder of my time at home in Minneapolis and San Diego. The reason for this is that I am currently in the process of opening a new studio in San Diego, so the bulk of my time will be spent in those two cities.
I will still continue to travel on a limited basis to offer private sessions and workshops in some of my key cities throughout the US and Canada, but unfortunately since we are still awaiting the development of transporter technology, I just have to make the best use of the 30 hours in a day and the 390 days in a year.
*Sometimes having only 9 days in a week does get in the way a little...(ah...temporal technicalities)
Is extensive training necessary for a Masseur in order to be successful?
Experience? YES!
Without experience, (assuming you have professional training) all you have are ideas and proposed techniques. Experience allows you the opportunity to find and develop your own unique talents. Utilizing THOSE are what will guarantee your success.
How do you like clients to feel about the experience when they leave?
Thought we did this one already