Featured Blog Posts (81)

All the talk in recent weeks of the “fiscal cliff” and the refusal of the Republicans and the Democrats to play nice together in the interest of the highest common good reminds me of the current situation between the NCBTMB and the FSMTB.

The NCB is operating from hubris (not to mention cluelessness), as they continue to put forth wrong-headed initiatives for the field. The latest plan to do away with organizational approval for CE providers is just the latest in a…

In the past couple of weeks since the NCBTMB unveiled their new plan for CE providers, which includes doing away with organizational approval, the reaction of providers has for the most part been very negative–and frankly I’m not surprised. The long-standing organizations who are providing quality continuing education approved feel, for the most part, that the organization they have supported for many years is throwing them under the bus.

Some of the main concerns that I  have heard…

Note: For the past few years I have done a series of reports on the financial status of the non-profit organizations that represent the massage therapy profession. I obtain this information from Guidestar, a financial information clearinghouse for non-profits. The organizations can provide their Form 990 (Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax) to Guidestar, and if they don’t, the IRS does it for them. I will state for…

Note: For the past few years I have done a series of reports on the financial status of the non-profit organizations that represent the massage therapy profession. I obtain this information from Guidestar, a financial information clearinghouse for non-profits. The organizations can provide their Form 990 (Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax) to Guidestar, and if they don’t, the IRS does it for them. I will state for…

Disclosure: I have agreed to pass along comments, questions and concerns to the NCBTMB on this matter, and the management there reads my blog. They are fully aware that I use this blog to express my own opinion whether it is in line with theirs or not. Your comments here will be seen by the CEO, Mike Williams, and the Board of Directors.

The NCBTMB has announced major changes in the works to their Approved Provider program for continuing education.…

“I don’t see how knowing the science behind my work will improve what I do…”

“I don’t care about the science behind it, as long as it works…”

“The evidence does not matter, it is results that matter…”

“Stop talking about things I don’t care about…”

“Shut up…”

Do any of these statements sound familiar? Have you said any of them yourself? It may be the places I frequent on the internet,…

I’m taking a break from talking about massage this week.

I’ve always hated election time. All the constant television ads, telemarketing phone calls from political action committees, and all the rest of it. And now that we have social media to vent our opinions on, it just seems to be magnified a thousandfold.

I have always mostly stayed out of the fray. I don’t discuss politics (or religion) with clients at my office. If any of them bring up those subjects, if it’s in a…

Ever since my last post about Massage Envy being sold to a giant conglomerate, I’ve been sent dozens of links to message boards and discussions about ME, and many of them contain references to other work places and situations as well. The horror stories outweigh the good by about twenty to one.

There are a lot of places where massage therapists are expected to do…

What do chicken wings, magnetic signs, garbage collection, pet food and massage all have in common? They are all products or services offered by franchises that are owned by Roark Capital Group of Atlanta, Georgia. This company has invested $3 Billion Dollars in collections of franchises across the US and around the world. Their latest acquisiiton is the chain of more than 800 Massage Envylocations, which has brought massage to…

I was recently listening to a radio show from a local NPR affiliate. The interview was with the director of a dance company that pioneer an innovative form of dance done while dangling from ropes on the sides of buildings. She described their work as a “cross pollination of various dance forms”. That term resonated with me and where I am attempting to evolve my Foundations in Myofascial Release Seminars.

These of you who have been following my posts for the past few months may see a…

This week’s blog is about the elections at the upcoming Federation of State Massage Therapy Boardsannual meeting in New Orleans on September 27-29. Who gets chosen to serve on the Board of Directors of this organization is important, because FSMTB controls the administration of the MBLEx– the primary licensing exam in our profession, and is in the process of trying to adopt new national standards for…

What if today was the first day of your education in bodywork, where you were sitting down in your first class as a budding MT/PT/OT/Whatever T? Your instructor started the lecture with “You know all of those hard/ropy/toughened areas that we feel under the skin? Well the best thing to get rid of those is light, sustained pressure. Make it light enough so that the nervous system does not view it as a threat. If you dig in too deeply, you are only exacerbating things.”…what would you think?…

I remember reading once that you have not mastered a new language until you begin to dream in that language (or maybe I dreamt that, I’m not sure). Either way, I have long realized that the “structuralist” mentality that I possess is a hard one to shake. What is a structuralist? One who sees pain/dysfunction as a result of a structural problem in the body; a problem with alignment. I evaluated posture to check for asymmetries, checked for pelvic issues, recorded scoliosis, etc, etc. All of…

I have never before devoted my blog to a book review, but I’m doing that this time, because (other than my own books, of course) I think this is one of the most important books that has been published for our profession. I’m speaking of…

I just returned from attending the World Massage Festival in Las Vegas, and what a blast! I’ve been attending this annual event for several years, and this was the best one yet. My husband, Champ, accompanied me, and we really had a fabulous time. This event is like a family reunion every year, so I really enjoyed seeing so many people I know and don’t get to see often. The Festival was held at the…

OK, I did a lot more this summer than this, but there is one thing I want to tell you about. Why should you care what I did? Apparently you read my blog because I have something important to say. This one is real important, at least I think so.

Many of you longtime readers know of my dissatisfaction with many existing theories of explanation for myofascial release. If it had stayed grounded in the simple model of 20-30 years ago, a model of ground substance, elastin, and collagen,…

Is summertime the best? Well, this year...

Yes, I’m in pain. Believe it or not, it pains me to write negatively about the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork. I am personally acquainted with many of the people who work there, from the CEO, Mike Williams, on down, to Board members, staff members and volunteers. I count some of them among my friends. I know for a fact that they are dedicated and hard-working people.

I’ve been NCTMB since 2000 and…

It’s all about me, so here’s my wishlist for the profession. It’s difficult to place these in order of importance, because some of them depend on each other, and in my little corner of massage, they’re all important. It’s election time–aren’t we all just about sick of hearing about it–candidates mudslinging and making campaign promises? If I was the President of Massage Land, here’s what I’d do:

The Federation of State Massage Therapy…

I am new here with blogging and came to read others experiences with their passion.  It is mine, anyways.  However, for five years, I've been unemployed, since the whole country went into lay offs in resorts, or change in management because of it.  

I've been a therapist since 1997. 

I have been out of touch with much because of health and financial reasons and living now so far into the 'woods', literally, haven't been able to be back into working, yet.  However, feeling…