I have a son with Down syndrome. Respiratory and sinus issues create a huge challenge in the day to day health of someone with DS. My pediatrician told me that because of his head shape, my son would have to live with the infections and the subsequent cracked and bleeding nose and lips. After my son suffered with constant infections for 4 years, I decided to start researching natural ways to support his health. I was on a mission to not only remove the symptoms but actually evoke a permanent healing. I took a class on the healing benefits of essential oils. I started applying oils directly to his sinus cavity, chest and feet. I diffused oils into the air with a cold air diffuser that allowed him to breath in the droplets while he was sleeping. He started getting better.

 The first month I used tons of oils on him – going through 6-8 15ml bottles. The next month I used less and by the end of 3 months the infections were gone! For the next year at the start of each season he would begin to get some mucus but once again I applied essential oils to his sinus cavity, in his nose and on his feet. I also diffused them into the air. Within days the symptoms were gone and never got to the infection stage.

Now seven years later, he is rarely sick. Last year he got an award at school for not missing one day. Imagine a child who is supposed to have a genetically low immune system not missing one day of school! This year he would have gotten the same award but we took him out of school for a week to visit his grandparents in Europe.

 Passionate about essential oils? You bet I am. Passionate about using oils with my massage clients? Absolutely. Essential oils deliver much more than relaxation. That is the ?aroma? part of essential oils. What can also be offered is the ?therapy? part?..this is where the grade of oil you use becomes more important than what you use it for.

More on that next time…..

Aromatically yours,

Maria

Network Marketing is the way that many excellent health food and drink products not sold in stores are distributed in the modern marketplace.  Unfortunately, people often confuse network marketing with ?pyramid schemes? or scams, without fully understanding the concept.  If a network marketing company does not produce a product, or products of value, then it probably is a scam, or worthless scheme.  However, when anyone buys from a store, be it health food, drinks or diapers then they have participated in a network marketing pyramid ?scheme? of some type.

For typical corporations, including some big health food companies, the manufacturer is at the top of the pyramid, the CEO is next, followed by shareholders, employees, advertising agencies and the actors or celebrities promoting the products.  Shipping companies, store owners, managers and employees are also part of this ?network marketing scheme? while the customer is down at the bottom of the pyramid.

In a good network marketing company, the health food consumer is the distributor, the marketing agent, the advertising agency, and the store.  In fact, it?s much more of a cooperative relationship between the manufacturer, the sales rep and the consumer.  Often, the top distributors are real business partners with the health food manufacturer and understand all the processes and ingredients used.

Granted, only the idea of getting rich is what a few network companies offer, without any solid products to back up the sales force.  If the company doesn?t manufacture anything or they produce only one health food or drink product, and they don?t manufacture it themselves, then be suspicious. Unfortunately, many network marketing companies do not make their own health food products.  Instead, they use a third party manufacturer, and who really knows what?s going into those products or how they are processed?

Some health food and drink companies that use network marketing for distribution do offer real value and real business opportunities.  However, if the sales pitch is all about making millions of dollars without hard work or solid product focus, then run the other way.  Really, though, in a tough economy, network marketing can be a great way to create income without having to find a job.  Also, helping others find the best health food and drinks available today is a rewarding way to make a living.

One of my most favorite quotes about massage therapists beliefs about money comes from one of my favorite books written by Steve Capellini called “Making the Switch to Being Rich”.   I don’t think that many have heard of or read this book but it is very interesting in many ways.  First it is a story of how Steve was a member of the “Moonies” in the early 70’s I think it was.  They were a cult basically.  Steve’s father had him taken away and deprogrammed by a specialist.   He equates the process of deprogramming of brainwashing from his experience with what massage therapists need to do to snap out of it – it being the moneyless bubble where massage therapists gather and live in.

In it he says this about massage therapists:

If there is an entire group of people who are almost all inside the moneyless bubble, it’s massage therapists.  We want to help people and heal them.  We want to ease their aching muscles and soothe their unquiet souls.  We want meaningful interactions with our clients.  We do not, for the most part want to focus on the monetary aspects of our jobs.

Why do massage therapists equate making money with doing something evil?  Why do massage therapists so easily give of their time and sacrifice making money in order to help people?  Why do they think that it is more “noble” to live in poverty or without and help others?  Why do they think that making money for doing something so loving and caring is not right?

Money is just money.  It really isn’t worth anything anymore.  There is no gold in the banks backing up the money.  Our money is just currency – something to trade for products and services.  How we get so many hangups about money comes from the beliefs we adopt at an early age without having the opportunity to question those beliefs.

Some common beliefs about money are:

• Money is the root of all evil
• People with money must have  sold their soul to get it
• People with money must be doing something illegal to get it
• I get enough in the form of being appreciated by clients
• Living simply is a better way of life because you don’t need much
• If you are rich you are focused on materialist things and not caring and helping people.
• You can’t care and make money too.
• You are not in this for the money
• You can’t make money doing something that you love

The thing is that most of these beliefs about money just are not true.  As Steve also says in his book people become massage therapists to further prove their beliefs about money.  It is sort of a self serving prophesy.

There are a few ways to start looking at what your beliefs about money are.  You can just start thinking about what you think or say when you see people with money or driving a fancy car.  Are you jealous?  Angry even?  ( I had a client who once owned a Bently and he sold it back to the dealer because so many people were keying it because they were one of those things – jealous and/or angry) .  What do you think about the idea of being able to charge $100 a session for a massage?  Do you think it is impossible?  That no one would pay it?  That it would be impossible to stay in business or even get clients at that rate?

Beliefs are just the perspective or filter that you see things through.  Everyone has them and lives their lives through them.  Some see the glass half empty and others the glass half full.  We think something is true because we think it is true.

Understanding and becoming aware of the belief systems that you have about money and success is a process that takes time and learning more about how beliefs are formed and how they impact your every decision.  It is a process of learning to take responsibility for the outcomes of your actions that are based on these old beliefs.  It isn’t about blaming yourself for where you are.  It is just being willing to accept what happens when you make decisions and then change that response to get a different outcome.

Once you are more aware of these unconscious beliefs that drive your actions you can then begin to change your actions to get better results.  Instead of blaming your lack of success in your business or in the massage job market  you can start seeing that it is a result of your actions or lack of actions.  There was a particular online forum recently just wanting to blame everything on the economy.  Is it the economy or lack of financial preparation and planning?  Lack of marketing or not figuring out the right marketing method that works?

The reason I keep writing about this is yes I was once in the moneyless bubble mindset.  Until I started my websites and started making money online, I always just made just enough to live on.  I didn’t care for the most part either.  Now I know better.  A career in massage is not a license to live in poverty or even simply.  You can have whatever you want if you are willing to start thinking and challenging your beliefs about money.   While Meagan Holub’s book the Magic Touch: How to make $100,000 as a massage therapist is being released – what is the next level even that this could go to? Could a massage therapist make $250,000 ??  $500,000?   or become multi-millionaires like Bonnie Brown former massage therapist at Google.

Colorado has just passed a regulatory bill (SB-219) for massage therapists that is awaiting the Governor’s signature. Although it started out as a bill for state licensing, it ended up being state registration, with all of the components of licensing, just by a different name. Such is the nature of legislative compromise. Passage of the bill is the result of several years of work by a coalition of AMTA and ABMP. As always when state regulation is on the table, there is a wide variety of opinion about the need or desirability for regulation.

I personally believe that regulation will be good for Colorado. We have many resort towns that have had no regulation at all, and anyone could show up for the ski season and proclaim themselves a “massage therapist”, whether or not they had any training or experience. In my mind, this put vacationing skiers at more risk for receiving substandard, possibly injurious, massage.

I welcome your thoughts on Colorado regulation, or on how things work where you live.

Denticulate Ligaments.

Denticulate Ligaments (DLs) are strands of connective tissue that suspend the spinal cord within its membrane sac, which is called the dual tube.

The dural tube is comprised of three layers of membrane surrounding the spinal cord. The membrane layer attached to the surface of the spinal cord is called the pia mater. The layer surrounding the pia mater is called the arachnoid membrane, and the layer surrounding the arachnoid membrane is called the dura mater.

DLs extend from the inner surface of the pia mater, travel through the pia mater, through the arachnoid membrane and then attach to the inner surface of the dura mater.

There are 21 pairs of DLs on the lateral aspects of the spinal cord. The first is attached to the foramen magnum. The last is attached to the conus medullaris, which is the end of the spinal cord at L1, and a small portion of the Filum Terminale (FT) beginning at the conus medullaris. The FT is a band of tissue extending from the conus medullaris to the coccyx that is made of spinal cord glial cells surrounded by pia mater.

DLs and FT shortening, twisting, bending or immobility can place adverse stress upon the spinal cord leading to neurological strain and dysfunction. Conversely, balancing the DLs and FT can decrease spinal cord stress which in turn can enhance neurological function.

DLs are fascinating components of the dural tube that seem, to me, to create a ligamentous suspension system cradling the spinal cord. Very little DL research is available.

These questions arise when I ponder and work the DLs and FT:

1) Since the spinal cord needs to move in its bony container more than the brain tissue does in its container, do the DLs provide protection and flexibility while allowing motion?

2) The dura mater of the dural tube is only one layer thick rather than the two layers within the cranium, so do the DLs create additional tube strength without compromising movement?

3) As the spinal cord moves within the spinal canal do the DLs, like thousands of tiny interlinked bungee cords, help dissipate stress and allow the spinal cord to find its most favorable position?

4) Structures that can affect the spinal cord, such as the occiput, spinal column, sacrum and coccyx, dural tube, adipose tissue within the spinal canal and nerve roots can each have restrictive patterns that in turn can distress the spinal cord. Do the DLs help to protect the spinal cord by balancing, dissipating and fine-tuning tension that is transmitted to the spinal cord?

5) Some theories suggest that there is a down and up flow of cerebrospinal fluid within the dural tube. Since the DLs separate the dural tube into anterior and posterior compartments, could that then organize the flow of cerebrospinal fluid?

I hope you?ll join me next month to explore this suspension system further. I’ll share some ideas on how to feel and work with DLs and the FT.

References:
Cramer, Gregory D., D.C., Ph.D., and Darby, Susan A., Ph.D., Basic and Clinical Anatomy of the Spine, Spinal Cord, and ANS, Second Edition, Elsevier Mosby, St. Louis, Missouri, 2005.

Sills, Franklyn, Craniosacral Biodynamics, Volume Two, North Atlantic Books, Berkeley, California, 2004.

Tubbs, Shane R., M.S., PA-C; Salter, George, Ph.D.; Grabb, M.D.; and Oakes, Jerry W., M.D. ; ?The denticulate ligament: anatomy and functional significance?, J. Neurosurg: Spine / Volume 94 / April 2001.

               Academic institutions that are already running massage therapy programs should be thinking about new ways to grow and evolve them in order to create real quality programs, remain competitive and regain the edge in this rapidly evolving field. Based on my experience, there are many ways in which academic institutions can strengthen their massage therapy programs. I?m only discussing one of them in this blog but some of the others can be accessed in a recent article I wrote at my website: www.Schenkmanconsulting.com at the bottom of the home page. It’s entitled: Massage Therapy Training – The Next Step.  

               Implementing any one of them can make a big difference in the success of the program or school. Institution decision makers should take some time to consider which ways apply to their particular school. Since each institution is in a different place in the evolution of their massage programs, differences in overall mission, philosophy, curriculum, staff and faculty from one school to another will dictate which changes are more relevant to any individual school. However, whether or not any of them apply, it can be extremely beneficial to reflect on these ways and take an objective look at what, if anything, to do next!?

The ?Smorgasbord Syndrome?

                All too often institutions, particularly those with less hours to spare, stuff their programs with a multitude of short courses in different modalities of massage therapy and bodywork in the hopes and mistaken belief that this will somehow have a positive outcome for the graduate and for the school. I call this the ?smorgasbord syndrome.? Although it?s a marketing dream and it may look attractive, appetizing and exciting to an uneducated, prospective enrollee, (as in ?look at all I?m going to learn if I enroll in this program?), it unfortunately frequently produces a program that turns out graduates very weak in the fundamentals and ineffective in the basic foundations and technical competencies of treatment. As a result, it can backfire in a lower pass rate for the school on the licensing/certification exam which can ultimately have serious repercussions for accreditation, Title IV funding, etc….

               Employees who hire these graduates complain about lower competence levels and unprofessional demeanors and don?t keep them on staff. The inability for a school?s graduates to hold on to a job will seriously damage the Institution?s placement stats creating further accreditation and financial aid complications. And it?s not long after that when these graduates begin to wake up to the fact that the program they graduated from was, ?a mile wide and an inch deep.? That said longer programs, wisely developed, do have the room to offer and competently teach a broader array of forms of massage and bodywork which can be of great benefit to the graduate and to the clients they treat.

It is recommended that as a bottom line all basic, entry level professional programs should be at least 600 hours and should be focused on no more than two treatment modalities, i.e., Swedish massage and Shiatsu, or Swedish massage and Deep Tissue,?….. Given that all the other hours need to be spent on adequately teaching the biosciences including: A&P, muscle anatomy, kinesiology, pathology, clinic internship, professional development, ethics and business, etc.. spending precious hours on trying to teach four or five more modalities basically robs the student of a balanced education. Those hours have to come from somewhere!

               An additional modality can be introduced in a 600 hour program, but it should be made clear to students that it is only an introduction and that real competence will come after many more hours of continuing education classes and practice. Upgrading, revising and staying a cut above by offering a longer, more comprehensive program that is marketed properly can reinvigorate a massage therapy school or program and is something that should be carefully considered.  

?What if we think of gravity as a spiritual force of belonging? Gravity offers each of us a place called here, where we can let go of effort and rest in the ?lap of belonging? of the larger earth?s body. By turning our attention to an inner awareness of the attractive force of gravity, and to felt sensations of this ongoing connection to the earth, we can tap into an innate sense of belonging.?

Thus, Susan Harper began our time together this past weekend in the Meeting the World with Heart workshop. I was reminded over and over as the days progressed, of the enlivening effect of simply directing my attention to what is happening in each present moment in my body as it is an integral part of all of nature. It was wonderful, restful and rejuvenating.

Then we dived deeper into the consciousness of open inquiry ? exploring how our hearts have such a capacity for seeing the beauty in everything around us ? the beauty that is deep within, not the surface Hollywood definition of beauty. The inner intelligence of the heart is stimulated each time we perceive our world with fresh eyes ? not pre-judging something. We all played with turning off the auto-pilot and navigating with no set preconceptions. The weekend deepened and got richer with a wonderful balance of movement and stillness, reaching out and resting back to receive deeply.

I am reminded, yet again, of the importance of taking periods of time away from my normal life to deepen my own relationship with myself at a deep core level – my Spirit, my Soul ? this is the primary place of belonging for each of us. When it is not fed and valued all else starts to suffer. Often I feel as though I get off course (slightly or dramatically) when I forget to tune in regularly, drinking in what my inner wisdom is telling me in each moment.

What are you doing this Spring to start this new cycle of nature inspired and renewed? 

After buying products at the health food store people are often frustrated when they don?t get healthy.  Many times the problem stems from consumers trying to tweak one aspect of their health while another element is tilted out of balance.  The body?s systems are meant to function in harmony with each other and when one nutrient overpowers another this balance is affected.

Really, the balance of healthy nutrients is the most important reason for buying health food and should always be a consideration.  But, to take it a step further, the body needs to be nourished and cleansed on a daily basis in order to achieve this ultimate healthy balance.

What products at the health food store nourish, cleanse and balance the body?

• Healthy drinks ? These should be loaded with natural antioxidants, not isolated vitamins.  They should be all natural, not artificially flavored, sweetened or infused with various forms of sugar, like high fructose corn syrup.  Beware of candy-colored sport drinks and vitamin waters at the health food store as these only fill the body up with more useless junk that needs to be cleansed.  With the right combination of natural ingredients, some healthy drinks cleanse fats and waste from the body much more efficiently than even plain water.

• Health food for proper nourishment ? This should include a wide variety of whole foods from nature, not pasteurized, artificially flavored or overly processed foods.  For starters, forget about getting healthy with fake meat products at the health food store.  These are typically loaded with isolated soy, preservatives, and other chemicals that create the need for more cleansing.  Don?t be afraid of prepackaged health food if it is properly processed under low heat to maintain the whole food complex of natural ingredients.

In general, when considering health food options, it is best to consume fewer calories, and no artificial ingredients or isolated nutrients.  Also, it?s a good idea to watch out for excess protein in those powder meal replacement formulas at the health food store.  Most of those products contain enough protein for serious athletes, but not for the average person.  Excess protein causes liver damage and creates more waste that needs to be cleansed in order for the body to reach its own natural balance.

Learning how to nourish, cleanse and balance with the right health food choices is an efficient way to achieve a naturally healthy body.

Social Networking is the latest craze as many of you are well aware of.  Figuring out what is the best use of your time is important when considering participating in these networks.  How will you find the best opportunities to get new and repeat clients?

Twitter is one of the easiest to use and get results with.   If you don’t know what twitter is yet, it is an online network that you sign up with for free.  Create a twitter account to just be used with your business.  Twitter is unique in that it only allows you a few sentences of space to use to communicate with people.   But who are you communicating with?   People can sign up to ‘follow’ your postings.  But where do you get people?   The best place is to put a twitter feed on your website.  You can get the code to put a twitter badge on your website by going to the Settings page.  In about the middle of that section there is a place for you to put your website address but right under that is a link that says:

(You can also add Twitter to your site here)

Click on that and click on the other tab (or one of the others if you are using one of those systems for your website.)  Click to create a badge.  You can add what you want it to say on the top or whether or not you want to create a flash badge or a html badge.  The flash badge will be interactive and show people’s reply ( I think!) So just copy and paste the code into your webpage where you want it.  I have mine on my homepage above the fold (near the top) where it is the highest profile and also on my services pages.  I also just created a twitter page that people can go to directly.  You can see how I am using it at www.massageseattle.net  I actually just started using it last week and have already gotten 3 new clients.  I also have quite a few visitors to my website and it already gets me a lot of calls but I think it will help even more by making this info of my schedule availability more public.  I am also sending a series of posts based using “you know you need a massage when you ….” and then will do a top ten reasons for getting a massage or something like that and see how that goes.

Facebook – Facebook is fairly time consuming.  It is really important to set up a business only listing.  What facebook is better for is finding your old high school buddies and long lost loves.  You are supposedly not allowed to set up more than one facebook profile.  They do have a way to make a business page and have it connected to your personal page but to me it is not private enough.  I personally don’t mix clients and friends.  You can use facebook to create more messages and even use it like a mini website if you don’t already have your own.  You can search facebook members to find businesses and doctors or other people who you want in your referral network and ask them to be your friend.  You can write a small newsletter like posts.  People can post on your wall or you can opt to not allow people to do that.  The thing I don’t like about Facebook is that people who become your friends will also have access to see each others profiles which may not be a good thing for your clients who want their privacy.  I did find a facebook group for my office building when they were having an open house that I could become a fan of and post my message about being the massage therapist in the building.

Linkedin in works sort of the same way as facebook but it doesn’t connect you with all of your old friends.  Linkedin is more of a professional networking site.  They also have a section where people ask questions like yahooanswers but it is much more professional than answers is.  You may possibly find someone looking for a massage but it is more like looking for a needle in the haystack.

I am not a big fan of social networking because of the time it takes to put into it all.  I would rather be writing a new article for my website to educate people who are already interested in getting a massage.  My website is found for the keywords that I have chosen – downtown seattle massage and it comes up first on Google and most of the other major search engines so writing there is more targeted advertising.  Also writing more content and educating people about massage and muscles and how the body and massage work together is a way of building trust with people.  When they read a website full of information and research they will get the feeling that you know what you are doing and trust you enough to make the call.

So if you are using one of these or other social networking sites successfully I would love to know what you are doing!

Starting a business is really challenging for many reasons,. Somethings can be avoidedn but one thing you will always need for any business is customers. Not just any customers, you want to attract the right customers. Some people might confuse massage therapist for (lack of a better word) “prostitutes”". Please keep in mind that you are educated, you spent your hard earned money to get that education, along with your time to become a proffesional, don’t let anyone insult you and your proffesion. One thing that is really important to me in my practice is proper draping. I tell all potential clients that I use proper draping, and some people become clients and others don’t. If they decide not to get a massage from me because I drape, I don’t take it personally, its their loss, and I don’t want them as clinets anyways. For those people that do become clients, I find that they really appreciate the draping. It makes them feel safe that they are in the hands of a proffesional.

Bee Healthy. Bee Happy. Bee Well…