Practice of massage therapy in clinical and community settings

¶ … history of massage therapy is literally the history of human touch. If one looks at other primates one can see that, like human beings, they use touch as a means of comfort and healing to one another. Of course, in human beings, this practice has been elevated far beyond mere touch, with different types of massage capable of producing different effects in clients. Massage therapy has been used as a therapeutic art in India since at least 3,000 B.C. (History of Massage 2012). Massage can be used for relaxation and rehabilitation, so that massage therapists make positive contributions to quality-of-life in a wide variety of individuals.

I wish to study massage therapy for a wide variety of reasons. First, I want to help people. To me, massage therapy is a helping profession; whether the reason a person seeks out a massage is to help deal with daily stressors or to seek help with recovering from an injury, massage provides physical and mental benefits to the client. Furthermore, I am curious about the human body. As a massage client, I have found certain techniques to be beneficial to me, and I am interested in learning about the underlying physiology supporting massage therapies. I am also interested in the freedom and flexibility that comes with being a licensed professional; I will be able to be self-employed, and therefore my success or failure will depend upon my own abilities and limitations, rather than the abilities or limitations of others.

I am particularly interested in Abhyanga massage. First, it is a form of massage that is frequently associated with luxurious treatments, as the use of oils can be combined with aromatherapy techniques (Nargundkar 2012). However, its healing benefits are also well-noted. Therefore, I believe that by learning this technique, I will expand my repertoire and open up my practice to hospitals, spas, and clinics.

My personal experiences with massage therapy have been as both a client and a practitioner. As a client, I have found massage therapy to be very effective for me. Generally, I find massage to be a way for me to relax and to unwind from stressful scenarios. However, I am also aware of the physically therapeutic benefits of massage; massage while I was pregnant helped me deal with significant muscle cramping and soreness that came with the pregnancy. Therefore, I feel as if my personal experience with massage therapy has led me to think in a client-centered manner and focus on ways that the massage can improve the client's well-being.

Furthermore, my experience with the Abhyanga technique has made me think of massage as an integral part of the human experience. I feel as if the human touch is healing. I understand that the daily massage can help prepare people for the physical and mental challenges that they will face on a daily basis. I also understand the stressors a body physically faces during the average day. I understand that massage is a wonderful way to help the body deal with these stressors. Moreover, I am interested in learning more about the biomechanics of the body, not only to help alleviate stress and avoid potential injury for clients, but also so that I can incorporate those principles into my own daily movements to avoid injuring myself.

I believe that I bring a wide variety of positive qualities to the massage therapy profession. I believe that massage therapists have to be able to walk a relatively thin line between being warm and compassionate and being professional. An over-friendly demeanor can actually be off-putting to clients because of the intimacy involved in massage therapy. On the other hand, being too remote can cause people to hold onto tension, defeating the purpose of the massage. I feel as if I am able to balance my emotional approach to clients in such a way that they feel relaxed and open around me, but are also very aware of my respect for their personal boundaries.