The Importance of Self-Care for Massage Practitioners and Tips for Setting up a Self-Care programme

Life is a constant cycle of ‘returning to self’.

We have all these good intentions of how we want to live our lives. We have lovely calm periods where life is tickety-boo. We drink lots of water, get to our weekly yoga class, make sure we ground ourselves before the next client walks into the room and in general, take care of our body’s and minds.

And then the general roller-coaster-of-LIFE comes along to give us a good old shake around.



In the midst of that shakeup (or when the roller-coaster has stopped) we have a little epiphany, “wait a minute, where am I in all this…what has happened to my self-connection.”

It’s ok, we are only human and we have these cycles of being good to ourselves, then realising that we’ve fallen off the wagon. What’s important is that we find a way to jump back on it again.

Enter stage left…July 24th, International Self-Care Day. We are actually on the tail end of self-care month as designated worldwide by WHO. This is your current opportunity to re-address your (possibly empty) self-care wagon and top it up again. And if you miss this boat on this day, you can catch its sails on any day of the year!

Self-care is important for everyone, and it’s especially important for massage practitioners or anyone in the wellness industry

The bottom line is, how can we be touting wellness to others, if we don’t even look after ourselves, right?!

But why is self-care important?

Self-care is essential for massage practitioners because we have a physically and emotionally demanding job.

We are dedicated to enhancing the well being of others which means it’s imperative that we prioritise our own health and wellness so we stay well (for ourselves) and ensure we can continue to provide high-quality care to our clients.

On a physical level…

The repetitive motions and sustained physical exertion involved in delivering massage can lead to strain, fatigue and injury. Working ‘Hands Free’ helps you to learn how to work wisely to prevent all those possible occupational hazards.

As Hands Free Massage Trainers, we coach those learning with us to reduce strain and protect our bodies as much as possible. However, even if practitioners work wisely, they are still moving their bodies for many hours of the day, so there is bound to be some sort of fatigue involved due to the physicality of the job.

Regular self-care practices such as stretching, strength training and receiving massages can help us prevent musculoskeletal issues and maintain our physical stamina.

And if we prioritise our own physical health, we can reduce the risk of injury, extend our careers and ensure we deliver effective treatments.

On an emotional level…

The emotional and psychological demands of the job can also take a toll on massage practitioners.

We might work with clients who have complex physical and emotional needs and this requires a high level of empathy and emotional resilience.

Without proper emotional self-care, we run the risk of experiencing burnout, compassion fatigue, and emotional exhaustion.

Instilling good practice to set an example

As massage therapists, we often impress the importance of self-care to our clients, encouraging them to adopt healthy habit.

If we model these behaviours ourselves, it will reinforce the message of self-care and show them the benefits.

Clients are more likely to follow our self-care advice when they see us practising what we preach, creating a ripple effect of wellness. How fabulous does that sound!

Self-care ideas and goal setting

On November 13th to 19th it’s Self-Care Week in the UK. So why not make a commitment to yourself NOW, that between now and then, you’ll evaluate your regime and set some things in place to help you maintain a constant self-care programme. (As an aside, it’s a good time to run some promotions in your practice!)

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  Start by reading Phillipa Spivey post 9 Ways to Look After Yourself as a Massage Therapist, to get some ideas of self-care practices.
  
  
• Off the back of that, tune in to your own needs and make some notes about what self-care practices could be best for you.
  
  
• Choose a few small things to implement daily and every other day (see the next section too so you incorporate no only physical activities).
  
  
• Set up some weekly, monthly and yearly attainable goals (e.g. weekly yoga class, monthly massage, yearly CPD training to help you reduce strain in your practice or a yearly meditation retreat).
  
  
• Check in with yourself on November 13th - 19th (National self-care week) to see if you are achieving any of your goals. Set a reminder to check in every year on that week.
  
  
• Use that week’ to dedicate yourself to do further reflections around what you need and find a way to make some things ‘stick’ if they have not already.
  
  
• Also set another yearly reminder about National Healthcare month 2025 (end of June to end of July) to do another self-care check in then to do some yearly reflections and make the required changes.

With that plan in place you’ll be addressing your self-care programme every November (self care week) and every June/July (self-care month).

Remember, self-care is not only about physical actions

True self-care is about balance and taking into consideration all aspects of your well being, including physical, emotional, social, and spiritual health. It also involves setting boundaries, seeking help when needed, and engaging in activities that foster resilience and growth.

Practices could be just a few seconds long (taking a few deep breaths before you open your door to each client) to weekend or week long down time, like a retreat once a year. Even something like getting good and enough sleep might need to be one of your goals.

ALL self-care practices are relevant and none are too small!

Every second is cumulative and counts toward helping you remain at your best for yourself, your clients and the longevity of your career.

So get out your pen and paper or your digital notepad and get cracking on that list above and remember to find CPD training to help you reduce strain in your practice!

About the Authors

Darien Pritchard from Dynamic Massage and Hands Free Massage Training, has been a massage trainer since 1982, and has served on the General Council for Massage Therapy (UK). He wrote the career-maintenance book Dynamic Bodyuse for Effective Strain-Free Massage (2008), and the student text Anatomy, Physiology and Pathology for Massage (2nd ed, 2023). For three decades, Darien has pioneered a focus on how massage practitioners can protect their hands and body whilst using them most effectively, including developing Hands Free Massage - the skilful, sensitive use of the forearm and elbow to save the hands.

Leora Sharp from Hands Free Massage Training, has been a massage practitioner since 2008 and very early on in her career, realised the importance of needing to work as Hands Free as possible. To that end, in 2009 she trained with Darien and was so blown away with Hands Free Massage, that she offered to assist him on his 8 Day Advanced training. Her role slowly transformed into co-teacher and she then started teaching solo in 2016. She is continually bowled over how amazing HFM is and the benefits it brings to practitioners to sustain their careers. Alongside teaching HFM, Leora has a private practice at Neal’s Yard in Bath and designs websites for complementary health professionals.

Progress journal: Daria Nepriakhina 🇺🇦
Photo by Melissa Askew