How water treatments increase the effectiveness of bodywork.
Water treatments, especially when combined with healing touch, may be the very oldest and most rever[...]
July 26, 2011 Note from Jason Minnix
Hi Ray (OSM Director),
Good to hear from you. Yes, I’m in Austin,Texas. Been practicing massage for 1 year now. I love it! I have felt so prepared by OSM. The most helpful stuff were the experienced therapists sharing intangible things about how to negotiate expectations with clients and willing to show variations on technique whenever we asked. I would have liked to learn a bit more deep tissue work, basically how to use our elbows. What I learned from Alan Wells (OSM Communications/Ethics instructor) has been a life saver. Most of the other students I encounter in this area are not nearly as prepared as I have felt.
I worked at a locally owned place kind of like Massage Envy and it was great for getting to know who I am as a therapist and how to build return clientel. That’s one other thing I’ve learned since school. How to ask clients what their goals are, explain that one massage will release some layers of tension/knots but not everything, and that we can develop a treatment plan if they want to work on chronic areas of pain and tension. That may be covered more in the Assessment class, which as an eastern tracker I did not take.
Now I’m working at a chiro/spa combo. Making $35/hr for medical massage, $25/hr for internet coupon responders and charging my own rates for people I bring in. It’s a great environment with 30 min between appointments.
Oh, one more thing. I took (OSM Shiatsu instructor) Wendy Ward’s advice in school of just focusing on one or two things instead of getting too dispersed with so many modalities at the beginning that I wasn’t doing any of them well. Then spent 8 months just learning how to give solid swedish and shiatsu. After I got to know myself in those modailities I knew it was time to use my lower body as well. Enter Ashiatsu*. I’m doing Ashiatsu now and love it! It’s really quite wonderful to give. Very therapeutic and relaxing. I blend it with my chiro patients as well as other modalities.
Anyway, thx again for a wonderful start in the body healing arts. I hope to continue to be a beginner at this beautiful work all my days.
With much care, Jason Minnix, Austin, Texas (completed training in Portland in 2010)
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* What is Ashiatsu?
Ashiatsu is a bodywork form that applies therapeutic pressure (through clothing) to promote health and well being. Although “Ashiatsu” literally means foot (ashi) pressure (atsu) in Japanese, ashiatsu techniques also make use of knees, elbows, palms, and fingers where necessary and appropriate.
(from: www.ashiatsu.us/index.html)
What a unique combination! Doing Ashiatsu at a spa/chiro office sounds ideal to me. I have been receiving Ashiatsu and working at a chiropractic office for over a year now. As a massage therapist, I love the broad deep pressure that “Ashi” provides.
I also appreciate hearing about your work for Massage Envy as you were, “getting to know who I am as a therapist”.
Learning and concentrating on a couple of modalities at a time is GREAT advice! Congratulations on your success and very glad to hear you are enjoying Ashiatsu!