Original post: Beauty Shop Blog
August 30, 2010

Claire Marie Miller has created an evolutionary approach to the ancient art of reflexology. This unique application is easy, and fun to do, without injury from over use of the thumbs. Claire’s background in Radiology (1972-1979) set the stage for her vision of the foot reflexology in a clearer anatomically based foot chart.

Claire attended the premier Boulder School of Massage Therapy in 1979 where she was introduced to this simple yet profound modality. She began the certifying of therapists in the Integrative Reflexology® method in 1993, to date Claire has instructed 10000 plus students, around the country and internationally. She continues to be an innovator in the field of reflexology. Muscle Reflexology and the Meridian system, Lymphatic detoxification with reflexology, and the fun, and therapeutic Hot Rockin’ Reflexology and Sweet Feet Aromatherapy are 3 of the new innovative classes recently created. AMTA Registered Massage Therapist * Nationally Certified Massage Therapist * NC-LMBT #0580. Claire Marie Miller Seminars, Inc. is an NCBTMB approved continuing education provider. Provider #049535-00 Website www.integrativereflexology.com

“Break down, break through”.

I was recently reminded how therapeutic a good, solid breakdown can be and I am thankful.  Just about 4 weeks ago, my husband BJ and I decided to move from Colorado to Rhode Island – effective sooner than later.

It’s an exciting change, one that brings us home to family, friends and my Pisces soul to the ocean, a great place for breakdowns by the way. It is also a change that moves fast; warp speed.  There is a tremendous amount to accomplish and many times I just feel behind. But at 38, I understand that with all life change comes a new load we must carry and sometimes during the transition that load gets a little too heavy.  I believe that’s when you have to let the emotions flow and have a good breakdown to reset the scale.

A few days ago, my load felt a little too heavy and I needed to let the good times roll.  I had a breakdown.  For me, this was nothing less than a therapeutic exercise, followed by a long nap.  The greatest thing about a good solid breakdown is that you not only get to feel the emotions, you can also get to hear them coming out.  To me, this is a cleansing experience, a rebirth of sorts.  Certainly not to be overdone though, for a good breakdown is exhausting and is never recommended on a regular basis.

Since my fervent outpouring earlier this week I’ve been back to my optimistic self, ‘hi old friend‘ and feel ready to handle the challenges ahead.  This experience has reminded me of when I was in massage school at BCMT. It was 2004 – 2006, I went in the evening and worked at least one job throughout that time, sometimes two.  My schedule leaned towards the hectic side of the things and I found myself on a quarterly break through schedule.  These episodes were dramatic, honest and never accusatory, they were simply healthy releases of emotion.  Releases that allowed me to connect with the awesome undertaking of learning to become a massage therapist and going into a career where I would be helping people live better lives.   It was a huge deal, it was a life change.

My friend Carol, (a.k.a. BCMT blogger ‘admin’) recently told me that you can’t make the big things happen, they happen all on their own.  I wholeheartedly agree with that statement and just like this move east, massage school was part of my journey in life.  I feel that we must trust our paths and know that if we are meant to be somewhere or do something it will happen, all on its own.  In the meantime, enjoy the ride, trust in the process and treat yourself to a break through once in a while.

Original post: August 2009

Get on the phone, fire up the computer – call, email your massage therapist to book a massage today.  Everyone needs massage, here are 10 quick reasons to get on the table soon:

1) Be successful
2) Dare to live your life to the fullest
3) Improve your mental alertness
4) Give yourself what you need and deserve
5) Be all that you can be
6) Prevent injury and illness
7) Relieve pain and stress
8 ) Slow down and recharge
9) Improve your sleep
10) Because face it, you are never going to have an extra hour just hanging around to do nothing so book today for all the reasons I’ve given you and get it on your schedule.

The “Massage School Makeover” sponsored by Massage Warehouse, Massage Today and the World Massage Conference brings together the professional products community of manufacturers, publishers, educators, and business professionals. Beginning May 1, 2010, alumni, students, and schools may nominate and vote for their school of choice to win a valued makeover. The event will amass nominations, votes and essays until Oct. 30, 2010. And, just for voting or nominating you will be registered and eligible to win $100 Massage Warehouse gift certificates, products from Professional Product Partners and free access to the World Massage Conference online.

BCMT can’t win without your help and YOU can’t win if you don’t vote. So show your school some love and get a chance to win some goodies for yourself, too!

Vote today on the Massage Today website: www.massagetoday.com/msm.

When it comes to private practice, it seems all I ever hear about is the fear of not having enough clients?   So much so that it almost lends to a negative perception of starting your own massage business.

My question is, has anyone ever thought about what happens when you have too much business?   Well I have, I do.  You see, many a day over the last 4 years I have found myself with too much business; full schedule, too many appointment requests from existing clients and inquiries from new clients.  I understand that this is a great problem to have but it can be stressful and needs to be handled professionally.

To think more positive about your practice or future practice here are a few rules to live by when you find yourself on the Most Wanted list.

Say No
Let’s just start with the hardest one, saying no.  As care givers, it is extremely difficult to say no when someone is in pain but the fact is sometimes you will be maxed out and there is just no space in your schedule.  In this case, you will have no choice but to say no.   Provide the client with your next available appointment and several options from that date, in most cases they will book and wait for you.

Keep a Cancellation List
If you are booked out several weeks, let your clients know that you will contact them if something opens up sooner.  You will never have a happier client than the one that gets in to see you 3 weeks before their scheduled appointment.

Have Referrals Ready
Don’t be afraid to give your existing clients and new inquiries a few options other than yourself.  I always tell my clients that it’s important to have a back up massage therapist.   They will appreciate your honesty, admire your confidence and almost always schedule out a future appointment at that time.

Give Self Care Recommendations
You will have the folks that simply do not want to see anyone else, in this case they have to wait for your next opening.  In the meantime, find out what is ailing them and give them self care recommendations to help alleviate their discomfort.  Even though you can’t get them on your table immediately, you can still care for them in other ways.

Stop Taking New Clients
This is the leap of faith that many small business owners are too frightened to take. But if you have a full schedule and regular clientele it will serve you better to take care of them first.  If you are constantly taking new clients, your regular clients will get bumped out of appointments and be forced to find someone else to work with.  Whereas, if you make space to cultivate your existing clientele you will end up with more regular appointments and meaningful experiences as you get to know your clients better.  If things slow down, open your practice to new clients again until business gets back up to speed.

Be Good to your Good Clients
As much as I am an advocate to saying no there are times where you have to go the extra mile for your clients and find a space for them.  In this case, you squeeze them in for a treatment, look like a hero and take extra care of yourself so that you come out stronger in the end.

When you run a professional practice and you are good at what you do, your clients will respect and understand that you are busy.  Remember to always be a resource for your clients, don’t just say ‘no’ and hang up the phone.  Actions like that will ensure a less then financially satisfying schedule.  In private practice, there will be slower times and busier times but staying positive through all experiences while caring for your clients in the best way possible will help your practice thrive.

I realize I’m taking the risk that every person reading this will think I’m talking specifically about them. Well, I’m not. I’m simply taking this opportunity to dispel the myth of what to wear under those sheets.

All of my clients get the same schpeel on their first visit. “Undress to your comfort level whatever that may be….”. I’ve had everything from pants to nothing. In all seriousness, it truly does not matter to me. The comfort and security of my clients overrules anything and everything. If I have a client on the table that is not able to relax completely because they are a nervous wreck about being naked then our session will be interfered with and full effectiveness will not be reached. So the rule will always be to make sure that you, the client, are comfortable with every piece of your experience whether that means you wear nothing or something.

In the end, it’s the client’s decision but I’ve had so many questions about this I thought I would address it from my point of view. And that is, I’m a massage therapist, I work with the soft tissue of the body and my work is best when applied directly to the skin. I have am trained to be meticulous with draping so that the client who does decide for the full monty will still feel safe and respected throughout their session.

I make it very clear from the get-go, I do not accept gratuities in my practice.

You see, before becoming a massage therapist I always hated the tipping game.  ‘He’s the owner, do you tip the owner?’ ‘How much did I tip last time?’  ‘What if I tip less by mistake, will she think I didn’t like my service?’

For me, there was always an air of confusion around tipping.  Many times I found myself thinking about it during the session which undoubtedly diminished my experience.

When I decided to become a massage therapist, I knew two things: 1) I would go into private practice 2) I would not accept gratuities.

As my education ensued, I learned more about the ancient skill of massage and felt, many times over,  it’s profound benefits.  I learned that massage is not a luxury, it is a necessity.  Everyone in my class recognized that massage therapy is health care.  We talked casually in class a few times about tipping and I think it was summed up best by one of my classmates who compared it to tipping a doctor.  Of course, it made so much sense, decision not to accept tips confirmed.

Now, I understand that this policy would be difficult to uphold in a spa, clinic type setting when the therapist is receiving a percentage of the actual cost. But for me, it made sense.  I was going into private practice.  I would have complete control over my business, my rates and my policies.  I would be collecting 100% of the fees (me and Uncle Sam that is) and I figured if I ever needed my clients to pay me more, I would simply raise my rates.

It’s been 4 years since I started my practice and I have only received positive feedback from clients about my non-tipping rule.  They respect it and they appreciate it.  I know this because they tell me all the time.

By Carol Brunelli

Have you always wanted to go to massage-therapy school, but didn’t think you could afford it? Is your dream of becoming a massage therapist clouded by the thoughts, “How will I pay for school? Will I qualify for financial aid? Is my credit good enough?” These are great questions, but don’t worry! Almost everyone is eligible for financial aid regardless of one’s credit history, income, marital status or filing of a tax return.

Here are the facts about funding your massage-therapy education—and the three most important steps for how to get started with your financial aid research.

Step 1-–Verify that the massage school you are looking at is accredited. View and search the Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions.

Step 2-–Use the Federal Student Aid forecaster online tool (called the FAFSA4caster) to learn about the financial aid process and get an early estimate of your eligibility for federal student aid. With this tool, you can answer the questions, “What is federal student aid? Who qualifies? How do you apply?”

With the FAFSA4caster you can:
• Calculate your eligibility for federal financial aid, including grants
• Reduce the time it will take to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the qualifying form for all federal student financial aid

Step 3-–Find out if you qualify for financial aid. Submit a FAFSA. To start the FAFSA process, visit http://www.fafsa.ed.gov and apply as early as possible beginning Jan. 1 of each year. Schools and states also have their own deadlines, so be sure to contact the school you are interested in for exact deadline dates. (NOTE: The first “F” in FAFSA stands for “Free” and it has a “.gov” Web address. If you go to www.FAFSA.com, you can access the information, but will be charged a fee.

Most financial aid packages offered by massage-therapy schools include various types of aid, including:
• Scholarships or grants (money that does not need to be paid back)
• Loans (money that is paid back, usually at lower interest rates than other types of loans)
• Work-study (a job on campus)

Federal Student Aid, an office of the U.S. Department of Education, provides financial assistance for individuals wanting to pursue education beyond high school. Federal Student Aid administers the federal student financial assistance programs, authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965. In 2006 alone, Federal Student Aid provided approximately $80 billion in new aid to nearly 10 million postsecondary students and their families.

Accredited massage therapy schools may offer the following financial aid:
• Need-based grants for students who have not earned a degree (associate’s, bachelor’s, etc.)
• Federal Student Aid
• Academic Competitiveness Grant
• Pell Grants
• Stafford Subsidized Loans
• Stafford Unsubsidized Loans
• PLUS Loans (Loans for parents of dependent students)
• In-house Financing
• Access to Scholarships

In addition, students may also qualify for:
• Veterans Administration benefits: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
• Vocational Rehabilitation funds: Vocational Rehabilitation State Offices
• Workforce Investment Act (formerly Job Training Partnership Act) programs: U.S. Department of Labor—Employment & Training Administration

Other sources of financial aid include state loans and grants, depending on the student’s state of residence. Your employer may also be a source of financial aid. Individual employers frequently offer education funds for employees or for retraining of employees.

Taking the time to research your financial aid options could open the doors to massage school. Believe in yourself, and make your dream of going to massage-therapy school happen.

Article from active.com – click here for original article.

Dr. Michael Adolph
HealthNewsDigest.com

COLUMBUS, Ohio — When it comes to relieving the nausea, pain and fatigue often associated with cancer treatments, some patients look beyond conventional remedies to alternative therapies such as acupuncture, massage and yoga.”And that’s just fine, as long as the patients let their oncologists know what they’re doing, before proceeding,” said Dr. Michael Adolph, a palliative medicine physician at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute.

“It’s always in the patient’s best interest to let their physicians know what they’re doing, so as to have the best treatment possible,” Adolph said. Complementary and alternative therapies are tools that patients may choose to promote wellness, help control symptoms and take control of what’s happening to them during their cancer experience. But not all complementary therapies can be endorsed for all patients.

Complementary medicine is used together with conventional medicine, while alternative medicine is used in place of conventional medicine. Integrative medicine combines mainstream medical therapies with complementary and alternative therapies that have been scientifically proven to be safe and effective.

“The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies, such as vitamin and herbal supplements, along with mind-body therapies, and others, has been gaining mainstream popularity in recent years,” Adolph said.

For example, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, established by Congress in 1999 as part of the National Institutes of Health, supports clinical and basic science research projects in CAM, with more than $120 million in funding in 2006. Congress began funding the study and validation of CAM therapies in 1991.

“Studies have shown that up to 70 percent of cancer patients acknowledge practicing some form of CAM at their homes, including meditation, guided imagery, prayer, dietary changes and exercise in an effort to improve their quality of life,” Adolph said.

“Patients report substantial relief, and we support patients in their endeavors to cope and conquer in cancer survivorship,” said Adolph, who specializes in alleviating cancer patients’ pain and other symptoms during and after the entire course of cancer treatment. “We’re here to assist oncologists with any suffering the patients have incurred with the cancer process and treatment.”

“Many patients often are hesitant to discuss alternative methods they’re trying on their own,” Adolph said. Yet good communication between doctor and patient is key to incorporating CAM safely and successfully as part of treatment, he said.

Some herbal supplements can cause unwanted drug interactions, provoke bleeding during procedures or alter the efficacy of certain cancer-fighting drugs such as chemotherapy, Adolph said.