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I am not sure what is going on out there in the massage world but I am getting more and more questions from people through my website about what it takes to become a massage therapist and if you have to take math classes!  These are people in high school or just graduating and they are looking into massage school so they don't have to take math??! (and still thinking about the article I read today in Massage and Bodywork on the Franchises!)

Anyway - I became a massage therapist after reading about going to massage school on the back of a local newspaper called "The Weekly".  It said something like - Go to massage school.  Learn all these cool things about health and help people feel better. 

Within two weeks I was in massage school - with only having one professional massage before in my life and me hating it even!  I was so bruised after it and in so much pain!

So I became a massage therapist mainly because I wanted the lifestyle of being my own boss and working with people in a more meaningful way.  I think now it was more about not having to work for someone ever again.  I had been working in a very stressful environment in professional photography where everyone needed everything yesterday and the owner of the company was sailing around the world on his custom hand built sailboat! 

So What brought you to the massage profession?  What keeps you in it? 

Just wondering about how others got here -were you wanting to get out of taking math?

Julie
www.massage-career-guides.com
www.thebodyworker.com

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Learning compassion for all people has been the most powerful lesson and now I feel like that is the main reason I got into this work; although I didn't consciously become a massage therapist for that specific reason
Hi Julie I got into massage because I had a friend that was well known in the area doing it. Being a single mom she was able to make a living. So after being told I was getting laid off went to massage school. I didn't do it for the reason of helping people I wanted money. The six weeks leading up to my enrollment I lost my son and father. If it was not for massage therapy I don't think I would of survived. So since then I have devoted myself to helping others in pain and like to think of massage as corrective therapy. 

I have tried to get out of massage therapy and into something else but nothing has worked out so I contribute to the fact this is what I must do for a living. Having said that now I am trying to refocus and write my goals for 2012 and figure out where to go. Working with cancer patients and those who have suffered a loss are the areas I can relate to being a cancer survivor so now it is my goal to focus on that. 

I was in a car accident.  I went through physical therapy several times, saw a chiropractor for months and was taking medication to help me manage pain.  I started seeing a chiropractor that also did massage.  I finally got some relief!  And during treatments I was asking all kinds of questions.  Why are you massaging there?  What muscle is that?  I didnt know i hurt here!  Why do I hurt there?!?

That got me interested in massage.  And after several years I decided to look into it.  One thing led to another and here I am!!  

I was always interested in the body and was always active. After college I competed in triathlons and would jump at the chance to get a post race massage. It really made a difference in my recovery. After getting a stress fracture in my foot, I enrolled in massage school, 25 years ago. Time flies.

What keeps me in it is having a job that allows me to have control over my work schedule, environment, and the ability to work hard if I want. I don't think I would make it behind a desk.

Math is fine, just trying to avoid calculus.

jh

I was badly injured on the job at 16.  I severely strained or sprained my low back and Chiropractic was the only thing we could find to get me walking again, but it never really got rid of all of the pain and discomfort.  It really only helped me to be able to get through daily life.  When I got to college, I won a massage at a student event.  After only 15 minutes of work in the chair, I felt great for 2 months.  I got into massage to offer that same feeling to others.

the reason for me getting into massage therapy was my daughter. When she was 4 she was diagnosed with abdominal migraine headaches. The neurologist did not want to put her on pain meds because of age, and I cld not stand to see her suffer.. so, I researched the natural approach to healing headaches and found massage therapy and discovered that it was very natural for me, I have been doing massage therapy for 14 yrs now. My daughters headaches have pretty much disappeared, with the exception of maybe once a yr and she is old enough now to tell me when she feels them coming on and I can work on her to prevent them. :) 

I was at a crossroads in my life and needed to feel like I belonged in this world. As I was asking for guidance..begging for guidance I found myself at the intersection of our local massage school that I did not know existed. I saw the sign and became hopeful. I decided to investigate. At the time I had no idea that I could make a living being a massage therapist. I was just exploring. By the end of the first week I knew I would be a massage therapist for a very very long time....I felt in sync with every topic we studied. Massage came naturally to me from the start and I could not get enough information..I still can't...

I genuinely love massage. I love the human body, I love relaxation and I love that no matter how long I practice I can always keep learning and it never gets old.

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