We are really excited to share with you the next instalment of our "Ask The Muscle Whisperer" series. This month we have asked the industry's top leaders what was the biggest lesson you learnt as a business owner during Covid-19 and what their words of encouragement for the future would be?
You can watch the full video with all the specialist's answers compiled together HERE.... or watch each specialist's answer individually in shorter snippets below underneath their name!
For the lovely team at JING they found the key lesson from the Covid-19 has been to keep showing up, both for yourself and your community! Personally they hosted webinars throughout the week and found just being a presence and keep on keeping on has kept them feeling motivated and looking to the future.
For Meghan and Rachel Covid-19 has reinforced how important it is to keep on following your heart. So many people have realised during this time the jobs and activities they do are not really what makes them happy. We are so lucky as therapists to love what we do and that passion is infectious! If you keep saying it and putting that energy out there it is engaging and attractive to clients. Now more than ever.
JING's words of encouragement are to do your best and keep on keeping on!! This is Rachel's personal mantra and is a powerful reminder to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Recognising that you are important part of the medical community is crucial as we all want you to stay in the game because people need you! People you haven't met yet need you and we as an industry and community will miss you! Do your best to never lose sight of the skills you are bringing into the world.
A final piece of advice from Rachel is that if you feel like giving up, put on Queen's 'Don't stop me now', crank it up and get dancing!
Watch Rachel and Megan answer your "Ask the Muscle Whisperer" Question below!
To see JING's upcoming training courses please click on the image below or follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
JingI started off my first draft of this article listing all the things that the school has changed, what we did to meet the needs of our students, what policies we put in place to keep everyone safe but realized this was not relevant… I am itching to tell you all the cool things we have done but I wanted this article to be more about self-development. What have I learnt, personally?
Watch Susan answer your "Ask the Muscle Whisperer" Question below!
To find out more about Susan's courses and sign up for her great Massage Monday series click on the image below or follow her on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.
JingFor Emma and the School of Bodywork Covid-19 brought some surprising positive changes. Whilst Emma believes wholeheartedly that there are elements of learning when it comes to massage therapy that need to be hands on and in person, the situation called for some teaching remotely to be installed, so that those elements that can be taught online could continue.
Emma found that coming together to find new strategies and test ourselves can bring really surprising outcomes. For the School of Bodywork they found that they were no longer restricted geographically and found that actually they were attracting and interacting with people on a global scale. They also found this was true for their students who also were able to continue supporting their existing clients online but were also attracting new clients a lot further afield with their online offerings.
The lesson for Emma and so many students at the School of Bodywork was that thinking outside the box, past your previous notions of what you should be doing, can bring unexpected and fantastic results! Emma found this wonderful to witness and is so pleased for her students that have seized the opportunity to step into this new world bravely. The incredible level of support within the industry has also been heartwarming for Emma as well as the reaction of clients. Emma has found after a forced separation from us clients realise our skills as massage therapists more than ever! The importance of nurturing touch is clear, people have missed it so much during lockdown that we can see it as a potentially exciting time for our industry!
Watch Emma answer your "Ask the Muscle Whisperer" Question below!
You can see the latest courses on offer at School of Bodywork by clicking the image below! You can also follow on Facebook and Instagram.
Jing
Watch Earle answer your "Ask the Muscle Whisperer" Question below!
You can find more details on Earle's latest book 'Muscle Testing – A Concise Manual' by clicking the images below or find out more details on the next Hands On Training courses by clicking here.
Publications:
As part of the professional association Think Tree Hub, Kush began analysing the needs of the industry and from there was able to make a much clearer plan. Initially Think Tree initiated a campaign to lobby the industry's interests to the government before switching to longer term strategies to support their students and members.
During Covid-19 Think Tree Hub developed 2 FREE Courses to help massage therapy professionals at this unprecedented time which you can find at the links below;
For Kush the top 3 takeaways from this time were;
Watch Kush answer your "Ask the Muscle Whisperer" Question below!
To take advantage of the special offer and join ThinkTree Hub click on the image below and be sure to give them a follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
JingThe Secret to Boosting Your Massage Therapy Business That Nobody Talks About! Don't miss these great tips that will help increase satisfaction and success in your business!
Massage tables comes in many different shapes and size. It can be confusing for you, the customer, to choose the right one but we are here to help!
A lot of customers call us up after they have bought the wrong size massage table elsewhere and we would like to help you avoid this mistake. It normally goes something like this; they like the look of a picture of a massage table on a website, they like the low price and then they check the carrying weight is ok. If the carrying weight fits their needs they click add to cart and the new massage table turns up at their doorstep in a few days. They unfortunately assume all massage tables are pretty much the same width and size.
The standard size of a massage table is 28 inches wide (71cms) and 73 inches (185cms) long. One of the reasons many "lightweight" budget massage tables are so cheap is because
Make sure the massage table is the right size for you and your clients as the narrow massage tables at 61cms can be very uncomfortable for anyone who isn't petite and many clients cannot relax with their shoulders and arms unsupported.
Almost all therapists choose the standard 28 inch wide massage table. All our massage tables are the same length so it is only the width and shape our customers need to decide on.
Your massage table should be wide enough to cater for the wide variety of shapes and sizes of your clients. It needs to be wide enough to comfortably accommodate your treatment style, while being narrow enough to ensure you don’t have to strain your own back during treatments.
Each therapist's postural training and ability is different, so only you will know what massage table width you can handle. We have spoken to therapists who are five feet tall and get the wider 30 inch massage tables, and we speak to six foot therapists who have back problems and go for a 25 inch wide massage table. Everyone is different.
Generally speaking, if you are of smaller stature, you may do better with one of the narrower 25-inch massage tables. If you're quite tall, or are particularly keen to offer your clients a very spacious experience, a 30-inch massage table might be more suitable.
If you are in doubt, see if you can go into your local training college and see whether the massage tables there suit you. However, there is another way to get a feel for what will work of you don’t have access to a couch when you are deciding:
Cut out a piece of cardboard to the dimensions of both sizes you are deciding between. Put it on top of the kitchen table and lean over it. Visualise a client lying there, and see which width will suit you and your client best.
Make sure you can get close enough to the table that you can pivot at the waist and have your shoulders squared to the clients hips, with your hands parallel to the clients' spine. Working in this position will ensure an injury-free career, so it's an important factor in your decision.
The most popular massage table widths are 28 and 30 inches. We sell 25-inch massage tables but you should really only choose this width if you are shorter in height and having a wider massage table might put your own back at risk over the course of your career.
You can also choose the 25-inch if you want to have the lightest massage table possible. By reducing the width of the massage table, the weight is also reduced. Now, this can mean a trade-off of some client comfort, but this trade is often worthwhile if you are a fully mobile therapist and use public transport frequently, where saving a kilogram or two will make a difference to you over time.
Nowadays, almost all portable massage tables come with height adjustable legs. Whichever massage table you choose should come with a large height range to accommodate you, and to cater for a broad range of therapies.
A common height range of massage tables is between 60 to 80cm, and this height range should cater for everyone. To check which height you need your massage table to be at follow this rule of thumb:
1. Stand up straight with your hands by your sides. Clench your fists.
2. Measure the distance between the floor and your knuckles
3. This distance should equal the height of your massage table.
4. Add a few inches in height to allow for the body of the patient on the massage table.
The height of a massage table is usually only adjusted when different therapists are using the same massage table, or if you have a client that is outside the average size you normally treat. So for example, if someone with a lot of body depth comes for a treatment after an average size person, you may need to adjust the height a notch or two.
You should be able to adjust the height of a massage table in just 2-3 minutes. Even though you mightn't adjust the height very often, the faster the better when you do have to!
There are 2 types of height adjustment mechanisms found on modern massage tables.
1) Twisting knobs (found only on wooden massage tables):
If you are working with a wooden massage table, it is better to have two knobs on each of the four legs for greater strength and reliability. When buying online, make sure to check how many knobs are on the legs. Cheap massage tables often only have one knob, and when you raise the legs to the highest heights they are less stable and have been known to snap.
2) Telescopic push-buttons (found only on aluminium massage tables):
The mechanism to adjust the height of an aluminium massage table is much the same as the push-button method on aluminium crutches. It only takes a few seconds to adjust each leg, and the mechanism is very reliable. Check out the video to see how it’s done.
The following are the different shapes of massage tables on the market.
1. Rectangle shaped with square corners
This is the traditional shape of a massage table and the one you are probably familiar with seeing. Our Combi-lite 3 in 1 and Affinity Portaflex are shaped like this.
2. Rectangle shaped with rounded corners
Same as no 1 above in every way except the corners are rounded. Does not affect function in any way, just a different design/look.
3. Hour glass shaped with gradual gradient
A fabulous massage table innovation in recent years, which solves a lot of the problems around choosing the correct width is the hourglass shaped massage table.
This style of massage table is wider at the ends, and tapers somewhat at the middle. This provide a spacious and comfortable experience for your client (as the shoulder and feet area are 30 inches wide) without compromising your own posture and health, as the middle of the couch where you lean over is a much narrower 26 inches wide.Having recently upgraded to one of these hourglass massage tables myself, I can vouch that my working days are much more comfortable, and many of my clients have commented on the extra comfort from the wider shoulder area.
The name says it all! There are no corners on the massage table. Therapists normally choose this for one of two reasons. They simply like the look of this massage table and it is aesthetically more pleasing in their treatment room and/or they find it easier to move around the massage table during the treatment without having to side step the corners. This is particularly handy when space is limited in your treatment room.
Samantha Jenkins
Author