Working as a Licensed Massage Therapist is an extremely rewarding profession. However if you’re not careful, it can also be the source of burnout and/or injury – which could prematurely end an LMT’s career. Today I’m sharing the five powerful practices that’s helped me stay happy and healthy throughout my career as an LMT so far.
Tip #1 – Be Impeccable with Your Time
Let’s dive right into it with the most important tip: Be Impeccable with Your Time. In my humble opinion, this tip is imperative because it sets the stage for the remaining four tips. You absolutely MUST make time for yourself every single day as a Licensed Massage Therapist.
For several years I worked as the Lead Massage Therapist at a very busy spa in Nashville, TN. I had more than 10 therapists on my team at times and I can tell you firsthand how common it is for therapists to burnout or for their bodies to breakdown – making them unable to work. It was awful to see this scenario play out time after time, therapist after therapist. When I’d ask therapists what their self-care routine was or when was the last time they’d made time for themselves – I’d always get the same answer … ‘I don’t have a self-care routine’ or ‘I rarely or never make time for myself.’
Being Impeccable with Your Time to me means carving out time either at the beginning or ending of the day just for you. At least 10 to 15 minutes is all you need. I promise you – doing this goes a very long way. Personally, I like to set my morning wake-up alarm 30-45 minutes earlier than my ‘normal’ wake up time just to ensure I have time for myself. That leads me to tip #2.
Tip #2 – Movement Heals
Now that you’ve made some extra time for yourself – tip #2 is to Get Your Body Moving.
Yoga is my personal favorite way to move and relieve tension and tightness in my body. Nine times out of 10, I roll out my yoga mat right at home and practice anywhere from 20-30 minutes before starting my day. If the week allows for it, I do like to practice at a local yoga studio too. As a former Yoga Teacher I do realize practicing yoga or starting your yoga journey can be intimidating. If you find yourself feeling this way don’t worry it’s totally normal. Check out Yoga with Adriene, Dope Yogi and/or Alo Moves for super beginner-friendly classes.
If yoga isn’t your thing, that’s okay. I’ve found any and all types of movement heals. You could go for a short walk or jog, spend time at the gym, take a pilates class – the options are endless.
Tip #3 – Your Mindset is Key
Maintaining your mental health is just as important as your physical health while working as a Licensed Massage Therapist. Developing and staying consistent with a meditation practice is tip #3. Personally speaking, my daily meditation practice has helped me stay calmer during stressful work situations and even more-so, helped me grow as a person.
Not sure where to start with meditation? I got you – YouTube is an incredible resource. There’s an abundance of free videos for meditation. If you’d like to take it up a notch I absolutely love Headspace and Calm. Both of these apps are paid subscriptions, however there are options to try either for free for a limited amount of time.
Tip #4 – Receive Bodywork & Massage
This next tip may seem obvious and I want to include it anyway. Licensed Massage Therapists must receive bodywork and massage, point blank period. I’d say a good rule of thumb is at least once a month. This tip kind of ties into the very first one about being impeccable with your time. Life gets hectic and time evaporates, especially when you’re in a service industry such as massage therapy. Before you know it, 6 months or even a year can pass without receiving some kind of healing touch. Personally I like to set aside one day a week, once a month to either trade with another therapist or book an appointment at a local spa in order to receive bodywork.
If you absolutely don’t have time and need a quick healing fix – a great option is to invest in self-massaging tools. At the top of my list are massage guns. These tools sound/seem aggressive, however they’re quite the opposite. Massage guns are hand-held devices that use vibration to reduce muscle tightness and soreness. Hypervolt and Theragun are two of the most popular names in the massage gun game. This New York Times article also compares the top massage guns on the market.
Other options for self massage are trigger point releasing balls like RAD Balls or lacrosse balls. The video below shows you how to use these tools safely. Last but not least I also think massage canes (for stubborn knots in the shoulders and back) and foam rollers (for tight arms and legs) work wonders for quick relief.
Tip #5 – Set Workload Boundaries
The demand for massage therapy has been through the roof post pandemic. Many people are working from home, stressed and seeking relief in the form of massage. For massage therapists this could lead to biting off more than you can chew – when it comes to booking appointments/clients. Set firm boundaries about the amount of clients you want to book daily/weekly and stick to those boundaries. It’s tempting to extend your work hours, or even open your books on off days when there’s a demand; however I invite you to keep in mind you truly only get one body. If you start to make exceptions once, you’re likely going to repeat that behavior. This could lead to a spiral of you being overworked and achy. Be honest about the amount of clients you can safely work on daily and stick to that.
In Conclusion
My best advice for massage therapists looking to start their self-care journey and obtain career longevity is: ‘everything starts with you’. You have to be happy and healthy first before you can help others achieve the same things. It matters how you take care of and show up for yourself on a daily basis. I hope these five tips help you create a self-care routine that ultimately leads to you have a long-lasting and pain free massage therapy career.
