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July 25, 2007

Preparing For My Day

In one of my professional journals I read where they asked "what do your do to prepare for a session?" I start the day before by dressing my table before I leave work. Right before I go to bed I check my appointment book so I know what time my first session starts and who will be my first client. I require eight hours of sleep a night.

Almost every morning I awake with low back pain. With a pillow between my knees and ankles, I lay first on my left side, then my right. Then I move into the yoga position known as "child's pose" to stretch out my back while I rub between the spinous processes of the lumbar vertebrae.

I eat breakfast every morning. Usually I choose something high in protein such as half a peanut butter sandwich on multigrain bread. With this I take a multivitamin just for insurance.

I mentally prepare for my morning clients on my drive to the office. When I get to work I have my music and two lights to turn on and then I'm ready to go. I pick up my phone messages and find it a bit disorienting if a client has canceled their appointment over night (without 24 hours notice which is my policy). It occurs to me at this point that much of my pre-session prep work is mental. Besides for safety, this is one of the reasons I don't take walk-in clients.

I generally build in a half hour between sessions. This prevents my clients from feeling rushed. If possible, my attention is focused solely on that client until they leave my office. As soon as my next client arrives, all of my attention is focused on that person. I believe this is why a day with eight half hour massages is harder on me than a day with five sessions. All that mental gear-shifting takes more out of me than several longer sessions.

For that mid-afternoon slump I keep snacks in my desk. In my top drawer is dried apricots, peanuts, and dark chocolate (I am human after all, and we all have our vices, don't we?). I also keep a squeeze bottle full of water on my desk. Hydration is important to keeping the body going, especially with such physical work. Water, water, water--it cleanses the mind and the body.

tags: massage massagetherapy wellness massage therapy bodywork health

Posted by linda at July 25, 2007 6:54 AM