I Wrote a Book about Massage!

Massage Business Stuff, Massage Communication, Massage Tips and Tricks, ,

It’s called “Massage Is Weird,” and it’s about massage, communication, treating pain (and dealing with it yourself), and beating burnout. If that seems kind of broad… it is! This book is everything I know about being a massage therapist, with a special focus on living a life of quiet satisfaction. Click here to order (eBook and softcover versions available), or continue below to read some samples.

Text: "Beat burnout. Communicate effectively. Prevent pain and make more money."

Who is this book for? It’s for new massage therapists who are still trying to find their place in the massage world. Do you need to work for someone and give up 75% of your income for the first 5 years, or can you skip to the part where you’re paid what you’re worth? Is wrist pain and thumb pain a necessary part of the process, or can you skip that too? Why is pain so mysterious, and why aren’t you producing all those massage miracles that you see the gurus talk about? ... continue reading.

Video: How to Sit More During Massage

New massage video! This one is on how to sit more during your sessions (yes, I’m serious about the whole “massage lazy” thing):

The benefits of sitting more: Less time on your feet, which is also kinder to your low back than a full 6 hours of bending and lunging. More variety for you AND for your client — you’ll find that the same techniques feel much different when performed from this new angle. And most importantly, easier access to the lateral portions of the body!

I love seated massage for prolonged, deep dives into the lateral hip, the fibularis group (aka the peroneals), and the shoulder, both in supine and prone. In the video I demonstrate a brief routine for working with the entire rotator cuff group while the client is prone, but just realize that this can be extended considerably. You can sink doubled up thumbs toward the lateral scapula and target the teres, you can strip supraspinatus and infraspinatus and look for points of exquisite tenderness, and you can sink into that subscap for as much as a minute, inviting your client to breathe as you do so. ... continue reading.

How to (safely!) use your thumbs for massage

I know there’s been a movement to reduce thumb use in the massage world, but I think that there are a lot of effective ways to use them without risking injury.
The secret? Follow your natural ergonomics rather than trying to force your thumbs to do movements they don’t want to do:

Find positions of power and stability and let those guide your tool use and body mechanics. In the video, I demonstrate ways to strip, compress, and petrissage that should feel fairly easy and intuitive. Reduce or eliminate the effortful circular movements that seem to find their way into a lot of Swedish routines, and instead rely on stacked joints and body weight.

Something that I neglected to say in the video: Switch tools early and often. Don’t wait until you’re feeling fatigue in your thumbs or wrists before you switch. Instead, anticipate your limits and change things up frequently enough that your muscles never tire. By doing this, the only part of your body that should be tired at the end of the day are your feet 🙂 And that reminds me, I need to make a video on how to sit more during a session… ... continue reading.

Ian and students pose for a picture

New Massage Sloth CE Workshops!

Continuing Education,

I’m back to teaching! I’m offering my 16 credit hour course for massage therapists called “Myofascial Swedish” twice in the coming months: In Pensacola, FL on August 5-6, and in Huntsville, AL on September 9-10. You can find out more (and sign up right online) by going here: https://massagesloth.com/ce/ This course is NCBTMB, Florida, and New York approved.

What is Myofascial Swedish? It’s a way for Swedish practitioners to slow down and add some fascial drag to their techniques. It’s a way for myofascial practitioners to get their flow back and bring some feel-good Swedish spirit to their routine. No matter your approach, we’ll practice using gravity to drive our techniques, and we’ll focus on bringing the body together instead of dividing it apart. When you leave you’ll have useful new routines for working with pain conditions in the back, shoulder, jaw, and hips (and everything you need to make your own routines). I’d love to answer questions about it below, so hit me up in the comments! ... continue reading.

Guided Meditation for Sleep (with soothing massage voice)

Let me know what you think! More like this? Stick to massage, for Heaven’s sake? These are the questions that keep me up at night.