Featured Blog Posts (81)

Getting massage covered by health insurance is always a hot topic.  Many MT want to stay out of the healthcare business and not get into working with insurance and the medical profession claiming that it takes the 'art' out of doing massage.  The medical profession and insurance companies are seen as places that will eat massage therapists for breakfast!

On the other hand, getting massage covered by health insurance in every state can help the profession become more of a profession. …

About 5 years after graduating from high school, I found myself bouncing around doing odd jobs while trying to figure out my purpose in life. I had been attempting to eek out a living as a martial arts and boxing coach, personal trainer, and professional dancer. Things weren’t going too well though, as my wife and I found ourselves having more month at the end of our money, if you know what I mean?

I hadn’t really discovered what my true calling was,…

Easiest blog you'll ever read. And some good information to boot. Read on!

If at first you don’t succeed…

Try, try again. That’s what the regulatory board in my home state of North Carolina is recommending when it comes to getting the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards to do something about the confusing status of continuing education approvals.

Two years ago, the NC Board of Massage & Bodywork Therapy introduced a resolution…

Why I Believe in ELAP - A vote for progress.

Champ and I spent the weekend at the Florida State Massage Therapy Association meeting in ChampionsGate, FL. It was our first time attending this event, and we went there to work in the Soothing Touch booth with Gurukirn Khalsa and his family. The event was held at the beautiful Omni Resort…a lush tropical setting and superior accommodations. It was hot as the devil–but it got up to 108 ° back here at home in NC while we were there, so I really can’t complain about it. The FSMTA meeting is…

I just got home from doing a site review from COMTA. It was my third trip as a peer reviewer, and once again, an enlightening experience. COMTA is the Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation. Gaining accreditation is a strictly voluntary process. It’s estimated that there are about 1500 massage schools/programs in the US, and less than 100 of them possess the accreditation. Obtaining COMTA accreditation for a massage school is not cheap, and it’s a lot of hard work, so you might wonder…

I am a carnivore. I have come to terms with this. I was a vegetarian for a number of years, but drifted back to what was more comfortable. I know what I’m eating, even though the named cut of meat little resembles it’s anatomical name. A strip steak or ribeye give one little clue as to it’s origin. Even though I know that the tenderloin is the cow’s psoas, I feel there is a degree of separation that allows me not to think too much about its origin.

This all changed this morning, with…

I spent last weekend in toasty Tucson, AZ at the Alliance for Massage Therapy Education annual meeting, and for the third year in a row since this organization started, it was one of the best things I have ever attended. There were quite a few new people attending this year, and attendance was up slightly from last year. The meeting was held at the El Conquistador resort, a beautiful venue with gorgeous mountain and desert views. I was late getting there and unfortunately missed the opening…

Earlier this week I received the ELAP (Entry-Level Analysis Project) Description from ABMP. I’ve been blogging about this for several weeks, first because I was upset that it was shrouded in secrecy; then last week because I finally got word of who is serving on this work group. While that information didn’t exactly smooth my ruffled feathers, I was gratified to see that I know some of the people working on it and know that they do the best job they can at whatever tasks they take on. And…

Are You a Good Client? - Professional, serve thyself.

Anne Williams of ABMP has confirmed to me today the members of the group that are working on the Entry-Level Analysis Project that I have been blogging about for the past few weeks. Since the secrecy surrounding this project has been my main complaint, about it, I will share that information here. The members are:

Cynthia Ribeiro, President of AMTA (National), educator, and school owner.

Tom Lochhaas, University-level educator, author, editor with 24 years experience in…

I believe curiosity is one of the strongest assets that make a therapist successful. But, curiosity on the part of my patients can reap even bigger outcomes.

I have an acquaintance who is a mental health therapist. In her office she keeps a toy magic wand. Among others things, she will often give it to a client, often a child, and ask them if they could do anything, what would they do to fix things. Not an uncommon approach in mental health, and it often gives the client freedom to…

These days it's not difficult to find sources for massage therapy (MT) research information. Pop in on FaceBook and many practices have their own page. Several of them post research articles as a way to promote MT and don't mind sharing (like mine).  Maybe we should define what a research article is. A research article has been…

Many times in the past I’ve marveled at a blind person’s ability to read Braille. I’ve passed my fingers over the raised characters many times while waiting for an elevator, etc., and wondered how a person can develop the sensitivity to distinguish those small dots to create meaning.

Then, this morning, I was working with a therapist who was in town for my Myofascial Mentoring Program. We…

Florida SB 1860, introduced on January 17 by Senator Negron, will remove the right of massage therapists and acupuncturists to bill PIP (Personal Injury Protection) insurance for those who have been injured in auto accidents. I don’t have any statistics regarding how many FL therapists currently file these types of claims, but based on my interactions on social networks, I would estimate that it’s quite a few. I suggest a mass protest is in order. You can find your legislators here. Contact…

As usual, the opinions on my blog are my opinions and not to be construed as the opinions of anyone else.

I haven’t had much to say on the legislative front for a few months…when the legislators go home for the summer, not much is happening; then there tend to be shorter sessions in the fall before they take a break for the holidays and not much happens then, either. Well, the break is over, and how.

I received a press release from the NCBTMB yesterday announcing what amounts…

I’ve had a few meltdowns over e-mail in the past couple of weeks. In spite of my attendance at one of Michael Reynolds‘ brilliant presentations on how to be an e-mail ninja and have a “zero inbox,” I confess I just haven’t gotten there. And I’m wading through a field of spam.

I have a good spam filter on all my email accounts, so basically most of those trashy emails advising you on how to enlarge your anatomy, how to collect the $40 million that the dead person in Nigeria has left…

This year I wrapped up five years of service on the North Carolina Board of Massage & Bodywork Therapy. Anyone who has ever sat on a board will probably agree with me that disciplinary hearings involving massage therapists are one of the most stressful parts of that job. It was for me. I estimate that during my time on the Board, I had to sit through approximately fifty of them. It was very distressing to see my fellow massage therapists trying to defend themselves–and in a few cases,…

I started to take the day off from doing my usual Sunday blogging…it is, after all, Christmas, and no one expects me to work on Christmas, do they? I don’t really consider it work–maybe because I don’t get paid for it :) and anyway, it’s therapeutic. I need a little therapy today. This blog isn’t about massage, so consider yourself warned.

Each year when Christmas draws near, I find myself remembering a lot of Christmases past. Some of those memories are sweet, and some are upsetting.…