There IS an “I” in “Team”

I get asked a lot about why I became a massage therapist, and really, that’s a story for another day. I feel the more important question is, why am I inspired to remain as a massage therapist?

Ever since I was a child, I loved stories. Hearing them, writing them, sharing them. Massage therapists can often be like holistic bartenders, of sorts. We hear all kinds of things. Each massage therapist is bound by a sense of confidentiality and offers a safe haven to clients to either rest and have the sanctity of silence, or be a safe container for clients to share the stories and experiences that have brought them to the space. 

The thing is, there is a scope of practice for massage therapists, which means we have a unique place in a person’s wellness routine. We study anatomy and physiology, but we are not doctors. We study pathology in order to identify things that are contraindicated to practice massage, but we cannot prescribe or diagnose a condition. We cannot cure, or “fix” or perform some magical process for our clients. This may seem that our place in health and wellness is rather limited. 

However, there is a vast power in the sense of touch, the sense of connection, and the sense of presence. For where touch is limited as a scope of practice for diagnosis and cure, it has unlimited potential to allow people to practice feeling connected and safe.

My career was shaped pretty early on by the clients that came in with chronic pain. Many of them suffered from frequent migraines, cluster headaches or autoimmune disorders. Then came those suffering from PTSD, trauma, depression and anxiety. Because I’m not a doctor, I would research a bit about what was known about the conditions I was presented with to have a better understanding of potential contraindications or client needs and there often was not a ton of information about how to relate all of that to massage therapy. I found that my best “research” came from listening to my clients, hearing their stories. 

So I did that. I listened to their stories.

I listened to the things that brought them joy, the things that frustrated them, the things they wished they could do that their health issues impeded. As I progressed in my practice, things came not about finding a “zero” on the “pain scale” for clients, but how to reduce or manage the pain they were experiencing so they could add to the list of things they could do. If it was to lessen the frequency or duration of headaches, we worked together to do that. If it was to increase the feeling of rest and promote better sleep, that was our goal. If it was to decrease anxiety at feeling over-sensitive to touch, we worked together (and sometimes with a mental health practitioner) to engender the feeling of safety. If it was to decrease the reactivity of an old injury, we added some gentle movement to reduce the fear of re-injury.

During that time, I also spent time enhancing my education with continuing education classes that addressed not only techniques, but also understanding of conditions. Instead of studying only anatomy and structures, I delved into the biopsychosocial model for pain. Because there are so many sensory receptors in the skin, I started looking at the framework of DermoNeuroModulation, which approaches manual therapy with consideration to the nervous system, instead of breaking the body down into muscular parts. 

I completed studies in migraine management, fibromyalgia, and autoimmune disorders. I acquired courses in further understanding of PTSD, with focus on veterans and those experiencing sexual trauma. I took CEUs on sleep studies, studied research on the effects of massage on conditions such as anxiety and depression, learned about the mechanisms of pain, and how to approach an effective massage therapy routine with clients. I learned how to expand my practice to engage adolescents, who are under a variety of their own unique pressures in school, athletics and peer groups. Also, as someone who has lost people I have cared about to suicide, I studied social connection as well, gained resources in who to call and how to help as a complement to the mental health industry. 

One of my favorite quotes is that of Heraclitus, where he writes, “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.” It reminds me each time I read it how much we grow and change our shape, every single day. Some days are great, and we feel alive and inspired. Other days, we are barely scraping through the day mentally. But every day that we are fortunate to be above ground, we are shaped by the experiences of that new day. These are the things that I started to really pay attention to with my clients. The way they felt this week versus the last time they came in. 

I kept hearing over and over again that such-and-such chiropractor said how “messed up” their back was, or this doctor told them “I’ll never be able to do XYZ ever again.” Or I would hear the sentiment “Well, now that I’ve turned 35, it’s all downhill.” 

Now these things may be true in a variety of cases, but there is nothing in me that believes that our age determines how much we can do, or that an old injury should keep us in fear of being able to move at all. I’ve seen 89 year old clients still boxing and able to bench press ME, and basically run circles around most people half their age. New studies on the neuroplasticity of the brain indicate that we absolutely can continue to learn and grow throughout our lifetimes, even though there are notable milestones of brain development at particular life stages. I may not be able to have the cure for many of the ailments out there, but I do firmly believe that even the temporary benefits of finding relief in massage can absolutely increase the quality of life for each of my clients. 

Humans are social creatures; we thrive where there is community and connection. We have a variety of places we gather, such as local hangouts, meetups, hiking & biking clubs, coffee shops, church socials, and the neighborhood taproom. Our society was deeply impacted with the pandemic, with many of our work-life activities were analyzed in a new way, giving us an idea of what is important as a culture. Resoundingly, what many people missed was connection with each other. Having many clients, and also a partner, working in the oilfields, reminded me how many jobs can feel isolating and chaotic in their schedules, creating a disconnect both socially but also in mind/body.

During the pandemic, I had to step away from massage in order to focus on my family, but during that time I still kept learning. I studied a lot about massage therapy techniques, teaching English as a second language, networking, even accounting and project management. I was not quite certain if there would be room for massage therapy post-pandemic, and I am incredibly delighted to come back to it in a new community of people here in North Dakota. 

I remain inspired to be a massage therapist because of my clients, because I truly believe in being a helper in my community, a facilitator to something good in times of stress, and a feeler of something good when people share with me their joys.

We are each an individual “I” but it takes each one of us to be a community “team.”