Massage Therapy Tips: Self-Care for the Therapist

Massage therapists tend to focus on taking care of their clients, but sometimes forget to take care of themselves. Taking care of your self as a massage therapist goes much further than proper body mechanics and safe hygiene practices during a regular session.

First, massage therapists have to remember to eat! I have seen too many potential massage therapists go through massage school while sticking to an irregular eating schedule. This may work while you are going to school and massaging one or two people in a day or weekend, but massage therapy takes energy. The only way to keep your energy levels up if you plan on having a full-time career is to keep your fuel intake up! Eat regularly and drink plenty of water! You do not have to increase your calorie intake in order to change to a regular eating patter. You can find healthier snacks and foods that will sustain you throughout the day while not causing you to feel as though you are overeating.

Massage therapists need to remember that they are only limited by the ability of their own body. As mentioned above, massage therapy can be physically demanding. It is unhealthy to plan or schedule 8 full-hour massages in a given day. First, you hurt yourself. You'll also end up too tired to give an adequate massage to the unfortunate 8^th person who lands on your table that day. Spread out your sessions, giving yourself adequate time to take a break between each. The average therapist can do 3-5 sessions in a given day. If you feel you need to do more, consider adding an adjunct therapy that is less physically demanding, such as Indian Head Massage or a type of energy work such as Reiki.