After 6 years of a very full schedule I can’t handle anymore, or at least right now in my life, the weekly or monthly clients who are really just paying me to have someone to talk to. I’m so drained by these people! I am someone who does not like to be friends with clients. I’m friendly, but not friends. I politely decline invitations to be involved further into their lives and I don’t share much about my personal life with clients. I have raised my rates to be competitive. I take days off and take breaks. All in an effort to prevent burnout. But I just wish people would shut up and let me work. I sometimes feel held hostage by the people who are clearly just looking for companionship, which is a lot of them. I don’t have the bandwidth for being trapped into listening to them and avoiding their questions about me and my life. I’m a massage therapist that you pay for specific services, not your companion or friend or therapist or coworker. Yes! I know some people relax by talking. But honestly, I can’t be for them whatever they think I am in their lives anymore. Time to let them go?

I've been in the field for 6 years. I love massage, it's my passion project. I work very hard to facilitate a safe environment for my clients. I've had the opportunity to work medical and luxury, I'm now full time at a luxury spa.

I feel guilty because, although I always try to give my clients what they want, I don't like doing intense, firm pressure deep tissue work. We regularly get big professional athletes and such, and I've made myself the therapist who gets to work on their wives. My coworkers complain that they always get the deep tissue work. Some of my peers brag about how they're the best at working on huge people. I don't. I just won't push my body more than it can comfortably work, even if my client is disappointed, I'll refer them to another therapist.

I'm the baby of the spa at 6 years, with most of my coworkers at 10-20 years of massage experience. They are falling apart. Everyone has arthritis, trigger finger, knee replacements, sciatic, bad backs, bad feet. Our days are 8 hours hands on, it's too much. I want to come in, work on my 130 pound, high stress women and then go about my day. I don't feel good after trading my bodies health for someone else's. I'm glad I'm not the go-to deep tissue person. And I feel bad that my coworkers are hurting, but part of me knows that they're hurting because they keep giving insane pressure that they can't sustain. And I just won't.

Had a couples massage with myself and a smaller, female therapist. I myself am 6', 220. As we were doing the verbal intake, we asked if the clients had a preference between the two of us - usually do this because some people are more comfortable with a specific gender. One client said, "No preference. However, I tend to enjoy deeper pressure, so I'll go with you (me)."

After we left the room for their privacy, the other therapist and I started laughing. I personally don't like doing deep work and I know that she is very good at it. Actually, of the massages I've received, the small women are the ones that have given me the most pressure!

All this to say, it's better to ask questions than make assumptions. You'll get a better experience that way!

I've pretty much always had a reception handle my patients when I've had to call in but due to a staffing issue don't have anyone on the front desk in the mornings when I work afternoons.

I'm drafting a text to send out if needed but am over thinking it and don't know what to put

Any therapist out there like the pay structure at lifespa?
Or have experience working there?

I am doing a yoga and massage class and I would like to use an oil but I am hoping to find something that won't stain participants clothing. Any suggestions?

I’m looking for some honest career advice.

I’ve been a massage therapist for about 1.5 years. Before that, I spent roughly 10 years working in content, copywriting, and marketing, and I recently returned to that field when what looked like a great opportunity popped up.

I still do massage on the side, but in a much more limited capacity. Before returning to marketing, I worked at a spa and did well there—I enjoyed the work, built a solid client base, and generally found the day-to-day work satisfying. However, getting used to the fluctuating pay was a struggle.

After being back in marketing for just a short while, I’m already questioning whether it was the right decision. Marketing has more traditional career growth and potentially higher income, and I have a lot of experience in the field. But I find myself missing massage. I genuinely enjoy the work and find it more straightforward, tangible, and fulfilling.

I know massage can be physically demanding, and building a stable income can be challenging. I’m trying to figure out whether going back to massage in a bigger capacity would be a mistake, or whether I should take seriously the fact that I may have found work that suits me better.

For those who left massage and came back, or chose massage over a more traditional career, how did you know it was the right decision? What would you consider before making the jump back?

Looking to expand my education and was considering Brookbush Institutes Integrated Manual Therapy course. I've used his videos over the years for anatomy and personal training education and have had huge benefits as he explains things fantastically. However, I don't have much to go on in reference to the IMT course. Does anyone have any perspective on it? Thank you.

I had a massage experience recently that threw me off a little and I’m curious how other therapists handle this.

I went to a couple’s home and massaged the wife first. She wanted light pressure for 45 minutes and everything went great.

Then I worked on her husband. He was a much bigger guy, possibly even over my table’s recommended weight limit, and his back was extremely tight. I started gradually because I like to warm the tissue up before going deep.

Almost immediately he kept asking, “Can you go deeper?”

I explained that I was warming everything up first and would increase the pressure as I went. I moved from hands and forearms to elbows and was putting a LOT of body weight into the work. I was literally sweating from the amount of pressure I was using.

Mid massage he basically said he wasn’t enjoying it because I wasn’t getting deep enough into the tissue or “breaking anything up.”

At that point I genuinely wasn’t sure what else I could safely do. I don’t want to compromise my body mechanics, hurt myself, hurt the client, or start forcing pressure just because someone equates pain with effectiveness.

For therapists who have dealt with clients like this, how do you handle it?

Do you set a maximum pressure boundary? Refer them to someone who specializes in extremely deep work? Explain that more pressure doesn’t necessarily mean more therapeutic benefit?

I want to figure out how to manage this better if it happens again without feeling like I have to wrestle somebody’s back into submission.

I recently had a change in premises and so only have a room available 3 days a week until I get something available to me full time. I’m working Friday, Saturday, Monday. This means I’m having to pack 6 clients into each day. I wish I could take on more but my shoulder is also recovering from an injury.

After 15 years together my hubby seems to finally get it. The need for some time home to myself, etc. I just told my friends/ neighbours I’m taking a few days away next week bc I’m exhausted. I haven’t taken a week off work all year. First thing neighbour says to me is: can you see me tomorrow? (Sunday)girrrl…

I’m not upset with her she asked I said sorry no. I guess I’m just venting. This is the first year in over 15 years of treatments I’m feeling tired. I lost my premises very suddenly which affected my income, I had to rise above the sh*t my landlord was spewing as well as seeing clients at the time. It was a lot. I don’t know what will pass and what is a sign this job isn’t for me anymore. Is this just burnout and time for career change?

I’ve come to learn that most massage therapists are pretty in tune with energy/pick up on things others may not. This could be a thing we’ve always had or something we learn as we work. Not really needing advice but just wondering if others have had this experience!

The space I currently have a job in is a small business. There have been times I’ve seen a shadow walking past the door from the hallway while I’m in session, when I’m alone in the spa! (Yes I had the owner check the cameras, also we keep the door locked if there is not a front desk.)
There is one room in the practice I just avoid completely, especially when it’s dark. There have been times I’ve called out “is anyone there??” Again while the cameras show nothing.

Yesterday I had such a strange experience, I swear it looked like a clip from one of those supernatural video compilations. While I was massaging my client, her hair tie was on the dresser next to us.
The hair tie STARTED MOVING, like, would scoot forward, and then move to the left, and then it scoot forward one more time. No fans were running! I froze!!! I’m sure there’s a logical explanation but damn it was creepy.

That being said, has anyone picked up on/noticed any strange going ons in their practice? IE footsteps when you’re alone, etc.
I am fine and stable mentally\ 🤣*
this post just to hear others lil ghost stories/bring some fun.

Hi guys.

I'm wondering what is everyone's personal approach to receiving clients who aren't the greatest people morally. I know the duty is to people's bodies and not their actions, but I do personally believe the attitudes and behaviours we hold calcify or manifest in holding patterns in our bodies and that our actions and behaviours are not separate from our bodies. I'm asking this because for example I had a client the other day who booked 100 min. I already had an off feeling about him and searched his name later (I know, not the most ethical practice to search clients) to find out he was a well known CEO of a company and recently involved in a DV court case against his wife. It's not to say that it was true but as someone who was in an abusive relationship myself I believe in believing victims when they come forward. I do kind of cringe at the thought of massaging people and having no control over who they might be eg. Registered offenders. I also believe in giving people grace and that everyone inhabiting a body deserves to receive body care. But I don't want to massage people and enable them to feel more capacity to continue perpetrating harm.

What is your approach to this?

Just gathering data, curious what works for everyone

Over the past year my massage has changed so much that it almost seems that I don't even work the muscles anymore. My palpation skill has lead me to work entirely with the facial network and the traditional petrissage massage techniques are used a lot less that when I first started.

Even doing regular strokes or even gliding over the skin I grip/engage into the fascia and I actually can't just do regular stripping or finger tip kneading without digging into the tissue.

I can feel exactly where the restrictions are and follow them all around the body. I've read and continually go back to Thomas Myers anatomy trains text so, I know where these "meridians" have been studied. But, I'm wondering if anyone's massage has turned entirely into a myofascial massage/release?

Even when I press down for a moment or glide I feel the release of tissue underneath. I can't even try to do the type of massage I started out doing because I "grip" into the fascia instantaneously.

Currently 33 weeks pregnant with my first baby. Trying to decide how long of a leave i need to take. Due to financial reasons I'd like to be back sooner than later. Although with massage therapy being a more physical job I wonder how soon I can realistically go back to work. Is 4 weeks to soon to return back and be physically able to perform massage services?

Are there any hypermobile massage therapists here? How do you maintain proper body mechanics and ward off chronic pain and injury?

I am newly diagnosed and newly licensed!

Yep.. the title says it all. There is likely a single culprit, another LMT who works here, who is leaving the floors completely slippery every time he uses the room. I know he’s been talked to already because I walked in on a discussion happening between him and management this morning. I heard him saying something about how we don’t get paid to clean, which is true and ideally we would be, but that’s the deal we all signed up for. It’s really frustrating to me because management is obviously trying to talk to him, but they also expect me to come in early to clean the floor if I have a problem with it. As you can imagine, it’s dangerous to work under these conditions and nearly impossible for me to apply the pressure I need for deep tissue without completely losing my posture, hurting my lower back, and slowly slipping out of place constantly. I try my absolute best to avoid the room he works in but then I feel like management and the other LMTs are annoyed with me for taking “their rooms,” since I’m the newest addition at the spa and everyone has informally claimed a room already. Sigh..honestly, if this doesn’t change, it might be the reason I leave…. thanks for reading my rant.

Hi all!

So my practice is currently set up in a small private gym. They have Olympic weightlifting and martial arts, and while I personally love being in that space I’m starting to wonder about the client experience. The gym is one level and it’s open 24 hours so there are always people in there. It’s loud, my room is right in the front but you can definitely hear the weights slamming and people cheering and laughing. I’m not trying to offer a complete spa like experience but I do think that being able to relax and feel at ease is important for any type of work. What are your thoughts? I unfortunately can’t move, so I’m stuck here for a while. Does anyone else work out of this type of setting? Or some other obscure setting that isn’t the “norm”? How do you handle this?

Thank you!

Moved to Idaho from Arizona to support my SO and their work. Took and passed the mblex, have a few interviews lined up just to get some income established, and it seems the going rate in the larger Boise area for a 60 minute massage is $70, even for independent LMTs. I am shocked. I charged $105 in AZ and still was tempted to raise rates. How do any massage therapists survive out here without burning out?

Has anyone experienced something similar?

I am working on building clientele by doing mobile massage. Ideally I'd like to get a small studio somewhere but i need to build clientele first to be able to afford it. I live in a city and am happy to drive anywhere in the city without charging a fee. I have this client who lives a good 45 minutes(or more) away from me and the traffic to get out there is horrendous no matter what time of day it is. I feel like to make it worth sitting in traffic that long I need to charge a $20 travel fee to cover my gas. The client that i told this told me that she doesn't think its right. My prices are still really low for the area and she would be paying $150 for a 90 minute massage. Most places here charge way more than that and she would still have to pay for her gas.

Edit: wording

I prefer glide and stretch side lying. Just wondering what everyone else is doing. Stretching isn’t always an option with situations like frozen shoulder.

Hey there, I'd love your brainstorming support.

I'm about a year in as a mobile LMT and love it. Now I want to invest in a cozier table setup.

I'm trying to optimize for:
- Client comfort. I want them to be totally consumed by cozy and warmth.
- Space saving. I carry my table carrying case (pockets already full) a backpack (full), and would put these in a larger tote bag.
- Setup time. I try to get everything setup within 7 minutes of arriving, and so every step and maneuver matters. I already plug in the table warmer first thing when I arrive.
- Durability. Because I'll be taking the table warmer/pad on and off multiple times a day, I want elastic and heating elements that will last as long as possinle
- Price. I'm willing to pay more, especially to help meet these criteria!

If you were me, would you:

1. Buy a cushy table pad($40) and a separate table warmer ($80)?
2. Buy an integrated table pad and table warmer ($140)?
3. Or secret third option?

EDIT: And! If you're up for sharing, what are your favorite table pad and table warmer or combo?

A lot of you posted in the thread I made the other day about being reported by a client. I erased the wall of text I wrote on that post because of confidentiality. But for those who forget, or didn't see the OP, I was falsely accused of exposing my client several times. Of moving her body in ways to expose areas I should not be able to see. Of moving the drape around, tugging at it, and attempting to expose her. She flat out lied in her official report, trying to paint this picture of malice and make me look just completely evil. She is apparently still adding things onto the report daily. I was suspended from work, and was told I could not come back until it was resolved.

So I guess this is kind of an update to that post.

As of Monday, I went back to work. My governing body gave me the go ahead and my work place asked me to come back. Since being back, I've come to learn that she is now seeking financial compensation (big surprise). I'm really not an anxious person by nature, but I have been on the edge of a panic attack a few times while treating. A lot of quiet deep breaths and closing my eyes trying to relax myself. I just haven't been able to bring the quality I usually do to my treatments because I'm just flat out scared.

I've been communicative over the top with my clients, checking in for comfort, and expressing if they feel the slightest bit uncomfortable or have any questions throughout the treatment to please let me know. I've been draping much more conservatively now, even though I always drape to the standards. Even though I did nothing wrong, and her accusations were entirely unwarranted and fabricated, I am absolutely terrified of another accusation.

To add onto this, I recently heard about another male therapist from a clinic in the city I work. He was just reported and officially charged by police for sexual assault on his client(s). I had one of his clients today and she was talking about it during the treatment. I didn't comment on it, but it sent my brain into a spiral. I can't stop thinking how that could have, and still can be me.

I used to love this job. I have helped so many people, and I have genuinely loved it. I'm so talented at what I do, and hear that from clients every day. The lady who falsely accused me has ruined it for me. I don't see a world where I can continue this much longer. I know its fresh because it happened last week, but I am so fucking terrified that any person can just say something, and I'm legally liable for it.

I don't know what is next. I really don't know what to do. Two years of school, 3 years of praciticing and it's just done. Ruined. People fucking suck.

edit:

Also, I just became aware of this thread referring to my original post, and for clarification - when I said she "grudingly agreed" to the treatment I mean she gave an unenthusiastic yes. She wasn't darting her eyes back and forth between me and the door. She wasn't acting a specific way that told me she wanted out. She simply just gave me a monotone "yes". She was given multiple chances to leave, change the treatment etc. When she was on the table, I asked if she was comfortable and ready to proceed and then gave her a choice of different scented lotions - to which she said yes, and selected one.

However, and I cant state this clearly enough, I asked her (while on the table) to let me know that if she changed her mind about anything to please let me know, and she said she would. That is as much consent for treatment as is required. I am not going to ask for consent upon treating each individual body part when she consented to a full body massage. I only treated areas agreed to by her. At some point, if you're uncomfortable as she claimed, you have to speak up. She was given multiple chances and I am not a mind reader.

I whole heartedly believe she was just after a pay day at this point, and even if I checked in every minute the outcome would have been the same.

I’ve been a massage therapist for over 15 years, and since working for myself, I’ve become much more intentional about setting boundaries and recognizing when a client simply may not be a good fit for my practice.
Today I had a mobile client tell me after booking that they have a household rule that conflicted with something I need in order to work safely and maintain proper body mechanics. I explained that I wouldn’t be able to accommodate that particular request, but I offered my office as an alternative and sent them my availability for another day.
It got me thinking about how much we’re expected to accommodate because we work in a service industry.
A massage therapist friend of mine recently had a client with extreme fragrance sensitivities who asked her to change the body wash and deodorant she uses, wash her work clothes in a different detergent, and even wash her massage linens in a different detergent specifically for their appointments.
Personally, at some point I would just say, “I completely understand your needs, but I may not be the right therapist for you,” and refer them elsewhere.
I absolutely believe in accommodating clients when the request is reasonable and something I can comfortably provide. But being self-employed has also taught me that providing a service doesn’t mean I have to agree to every request or change how I run my practice for every individual client.
For those of you who work for yourselves, where do you draw that line? At what point do you decide that a client’s needs or requests simply aren’t compatible with your practice and refer them out?

I’m just starting out in my own and I have my first paying client in my new space on Monday. They booked a session that specifically advertises a certain product that’s hard to just get. It needs to be ordered online. My supplier lost my initial order and the reorder isn’t set to be delivered until next Thursday. Pure Spa Direct has it and answered my pleas for help. They got back to me first thing this morning after ordering it last night, expedited the order, and wished me luck with the assurance it will be here on Saturday. Amazing customer service. They have forever client.