FREE REPORT, By Lex Filipowski, copyright 2014
Before I tell you more, let’s talk about you!
People have told you that you’re good with your hands! You love making people feel good and you would love making money while you do!
So now you say to yourself, “I need to find the right school for me.”
You start calling schools and every single school tells you they are the best school and each school claims that when you graduate you’ll have all the skills you need to start your exciting new career. Wow! An exciting new career awaits you!
But whoa! Stop! Hold your horses! Which school do you pick? They all say they’re the best! Can they all be? Can they all be the best for you?
How do you choose the school that will give you the highest level of training so you’ll be one of the most sought after massage therapists in the field?
How will you know the difference between a school that offers you an exceptional education and a school that offers you a slick marketing campaign but gives you a mediocre education?
Well, I’ve got a secret. I’ve worked on the inside as an “Admissions Director” in some of the big corporate schools and I know what they do to try to “convince you” to go to their school regardless of the quality of education you’ll receive and regardless of what would be best for you!
They don’t want you to know the inside secrets which I’m about to share with you.
Now, don’t get me wrong, there a number of exceptional massage therapy schools throughout the country and the 3 powerful questions you’ll receive momentarily will help you find those diamonds amongst the glass!
Here’s more of the secret! All massage therapy schools are a business. Well, nothing is wrong with that, but the problem comes when a school cares more about the bottom
line than the success of their students.
So what do some schools do? Sometimes they invest more money in their marketing than they do in the quality of your education. Why would any school do that? It’s a whole lot easier to create slick marketing ads than it is to create an exceptional curriculum and education!
A number of schools pay big bucks to giant marketing companies to spin their school so you will enroll! What are most people impressed by? Pretty, shiny brochures, with pretty shiny people in it and polished sales presentations.
Now there’s nothing wrong with all that, but will any of those marketing devices really let you know the true quality of education you’ll actually receive?
No, but a number of people may actually choose a school based on the marketing materials they receive. Another important aspect to consider is that the term “Admissions Rep” is simply a fancy name for a trained sales person who has big quotas to meet and in some school’s you are simply a number to help them meet their quota! I should know — I used to train them!
Something very important to understand is that there are 2 very different types of Admissions Professionals that a potential student will meet as they explore a school: Admissions Reps and Admissions Advisors.
The first type I call an Admissions Rep. They are basically highly trained sales people who are more interested in putting a warm body in a cold seat with cold cash then actually helping you to determine if their school and the field you are interested in is a good match for you. The Admissions Reps’ focus is all about them and their school’s success.
The second type of Admissions Professional is what I would call an Admissions Advisor. What they will do is simply help you explore where you are and where you want to go and help you to determine if their school and the massage therapy field are a good match for you. The Admissions Advisor’s focus is all about helping you to explore your possibilities in depth and to support your future success.
This brings us to the 3 powerful, secret questions you *must* ask to find the truly exceptional school:
#1. How many modalities will you be able to *practice* upon graduation?
(By the way, a modality is a style of massage)
Why is it so important to learn multiple modalities? If you only learn one style of massage, you will be working in the same way every day. If you do anything repetitively, you risk injury or burnout and with only one style of massage, believe me, you will get burned out! If you learn multiple styles you will enjoy massaging your clients for years!
Also, imagine if you were a hair stylist but were only taught how to cut one style of hair. Let’s say a bowl-cut. Two things would happen. One, you would get very bored and two, not all of your clients would want that particular style. One style does not fit all.
The same goes for your massage therapy clients. Each of them will need different styles depending on who they are and what they need from their massage therapy session. Some will need the revitalizing effects of a mud wrap or sugar glow. Some will need the therapeutic work of neuromuscular therapy. Some clients may need the stress reduction from a Swedish massage. Make sure the school you select offers multiple modalities!
Now here’s another secret! A slick marketing trick that a number of schools use. Most schools offer only one type of massage training and little teaser intros on some other
types during your education. They usually include these teasers in their brochures and presentations. You will probably think you learn all of those styles during your training but in reality, they do *not* teach you the other styles. You will only be qualified to practice *one* type of massage upon your graduation.
Remember, ask the school how many modalities you will be qualified to practice when you graduate!
#2. How does the school teach body mechanics, that is how will they teach you the techniques of massaging clients so you won’t burn-out?
Did you know that a number of massage therapists have left the field over the last number of years? Why? Simple answer. Because of burnout. They were not taught the proper way of using their bodies to massage their clients. Make sure the school you select can clearly explain to you how they’ll teach you good body mechanics.
#3. Does the school offer a holistic approach to your training and have them explain it to you. (This is the MOST important question because most schools teach a one-dimensional technical approach.)
You need to decide if you want a technical training, which teaches you how to do a technical massage which is very one-dimensional or a holistic training which teaches multiple modalities and has a multi-dimensional approach.
Graduates of technical based massage therapy schools receive a competent knowledge of the body and learn a thorough technical approach to giving massages to their clients, but they tend to give their clients impersonal, technical massages. They simply learn how to move muscles around.
Graduates of a holistic training not only learn the science of massage, you will actually transform as a person, which will make you a better therapist. From that foundation you can then transform your client during their massage session.
How will you transform as a person you may ask? A holistic massage therapy school teaches you from a Mind/Body/Spirit approach that is heart-centered and takes into account the entire person not simply their muscles. It’s not just what techniques you use in a massage that matter, but how you apply those techniques. The “how” involves the kind of environment you create during your session so your client feels safe and open to receive your massage. That massage would then be called a “Mindful Massage”. Being mindful means you learn how to become calm, centered, open-hearted and fully focused on your client throughout their massage. Mindfulness also involves being “embodied.” Embodiment means you are not just in your “head” but alive and aware in your body and connected with the entire Wisdom of your Being. All of this allows you to trust your intuition to create a unique massage every time for your client instead of the same “routine.”
Your clients will receive a much deeper experience from someone who is trained in the holistic approach. If you have a client that has only known the technical massage, they will be absolutely blown away by the multi-dimensional, heart centered holistic massage that you give them!
In a technical massage the massage therapist works “on” you. In a heart-centered holistic massage, the therapist works “with” you. I have a test you can try on your self right now that illustrates the difference perfectly!
Test # 1. Take your left thumb and find a spot on your right forearm that’s sore. Press down hard on it with your thumb. How does that feel?
Test # 2. Now, take your right thumb and find a spot on your left forearm that is sore. Lightly place your thumb over that spot. Lightly. Take a deep breath in and as you exhale, increase your pressure only as fast as the muscle releases under your thumb. This is called sinking in. You sink into the muscle instead of pushing on it.
Which experience did you prefer? If you picked # 1, then by all means go to a technical massage school. However, if you picked # 2, a holistic massage school would be perfect for you. I think your clients would probably pick # 2 as well.
You now have the 3 *powerful* questions that will help you choose the perfect massage school for you. Make sure that you ask these 3 questions to any school that you are considering and you will find the school of your dreams!
In my opinion, here are three schools I HIGHLY recommend that graduate exceptional massage therapists, not simply competent ones.
MID-WEST
Blue Sky School of Professional Massage and Therapeutic Bodywork
2 Campuses
Main campus:
Grafton, WI
Ph: 262−376−1011
www.BlueSkyMassage.com
Grafton@BlueSkyedu.org
Blue Sky Auxiliary location:
Green Bay, WI
Ph: 262−376−1011
& 920−489−2861
www.BlueSkyMassage.com
Greenbay@BlueSkyedu.org
NORTH-EAST
Onondaga School of Therapeutic Massage
Syracuse, New York
315−424−1159
www.ostm.edu
syradmissions@massage-school.com
SOUTH
Florida School of Massage
Gainesville, FL
877−589−2713
www.floridaschoolofmassage.com
info@floridaschoolofmassage.com
