Soma Massage Blog

LABELS MATTER: WHAT KIND OF WORKER ARE YOU, REALLY?

from Massage Magazine:

Last year I was offering workshops at a day spa, and I had a meeting with the spa manager. We got to talking about her massage therapists, and I learned that she required them all to wear the same color, but she called them subcontractors. I felt I should say something ….

Before I became a massage therapist in 1994, I was a construction worker for 15 years. On a construction site, subcontractors operated under their own rules. Plumbers, for example, couldn’t be told how to do their work by the general contractor.

I have always felt the way massage therapists work is usually more of an employee situation than subcontracting. Over the years I searched the internet to validate my hunch, but never found anything authoritative.

Massage Can Help Treat Lower Back Pain

from Time

Lower back pain is the leading cause of job disability in the world. About one in ten people have it, and for many who develop back pain, the condition becomes chronic.

Now, a new study finds that massage may provide lasting relief for chronic lower back pain, according to research published in the journalPain Medicine.

To see how people in the real world respond to massage, researchers looked at 104 people with persistent back pain who were referred by their doctors to licensed massage therapists. They went to 10 sessions over 12 weeks, and the practitioners were free to design massage programs that were individual to the patients, rather than all using the same technique.

At the end of the study, most people completed a questionnaire, and more than 50% reported clinically meaningful improvement in their back pain. Several people improved so much that their scores on a standard screening test dropped below the threshold for disability, says lead author Niki Munk, an assistant professor of heath sciences at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. (Munk, who is also a licensed massage therapist, conducted the research while at the University of Kentucky.)

Read the rest here.

Zeel Brings Massage To Coachella Crowds

from PR Newswire

Zeel, the creator of Massage On Demand® and the only in home massage membership provider, is on the scene this month at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Zeel is delivering its famous on-demand massage service to Coachella attendees seeking to relax and recharge before, during, and after the annual festival.

Zeel has been bringing spa-quality massages to doorsteps across the US in as little as an hour since 2012, and specifically to residents, visitors, and music lovers in Palm Springs since 2014. Nearly 200,000 attendees are expected to arrive in Coachella Valley this week to see musical performances from Radiohead, Lady Gaga, and Kendrick  Lamar, and Zeel is standing by to deliver a rejuvenating massage to festival attendees who need a break from the music, heat, crowds, and excitement.

Read the rest here.

11 THINGS YOU DON’T KNOW ABOUT RETAIL SALES

from Massage Magazine

As a massage therapist, you sell every day. What do you sell? You sell your time, expertise and ability to identify and respond to clients’ needs. If you don’t expand your sales into retail products, you will miss a valuable opportunity to better support clients while making more money.

“During the California Gold Rush, it wasn’t the people panning for gold who made the fortunes,” says massage-business expert Irene Diamond, R.T. “It was the smart retailers selling shovels, pans and blue jeans.

“When you choose to add retailing to your business model, you add a higher level of customer service as well as increase your bank account,” she said.

1. Retail Sales Help Meet Clients’ Expectations

Product sales are a natural extension of the standard of care associated with massage therapy. Clients expect you to have more knowledge than they do about products and assume you will carry the best ones. They will trust your recommendations, especially for products used in the session.

Read the rest here.

Personal Training and Massage Therapy

Over the years we've had several personal trainers come through our doors hoping to expand their practices with a new set of skills.  It seems like a winning combination to us, too.  Help your clients grow new muscle tissue and then help your clients relax said muscle tissue.

We asked Cody Pooler, a recent Soma graduate as well as personal trainer, to speak about linking to two professions together.

What brought you to personal training?

I started training when I was 13 and truly enjoyed lifting and the self competition it brought. I trained in a makeshift gym at my coach’s house and I wanted to recreate what he had given me when I was so young.

What's your hometown?

I’m from Downers Grove, Illinois.

What other schooling did you receive?

I received an associate’s degree in Liberal Art and Sciences from Triton College. As a trainer I learned from my mentor and did a lot of the learning on my own.

What brought you to massage?

I practiced Activation, a technique by Douglas Heel, and implemented my own type o
f muscle manipulation into training and recovery sessions and thought it would be a good idea to learn more and start to charge people for my services!

Have you been able to blend the two into your practice, or do you plan on doing so?

I try to blend some type of activation/muscle manipulation into every training session

And what are your career goals?

An end goal for me is to be a strength and conditioning coach and massage therapist for a professional sports team.

Do you think your goals are more achievable after attending Soma?

After attending Soma I feel much more confident in knowing the ins and outs of the body. With this confidence, obtaining that goal has become much easier. Soma prepared me for a life long career in the massage business and I would recommend it to anyone who is in the health industry.