Finding Your Rhythm

Rhythms are a natural part of life that help soothe and comfort us. People are drawn to the rhythms in music. Babies are drawn to the rhythm of their mother's heartbeat. Our bodies are built for rhythm. Rhythmic movements, rhythmic breath.

When these rhythms are off, the result is noticeable. Any of my family can tell you my musical sense of rhythm is very poor. Fortunately for me, I chose to work with bodies, not music! 

Back to the body, yoga and tai chi help the body learn to move more smoothly and build strength in places prone to weakness to keep our bodies balanced against stressors in their daily use. You notice when this rhythm is off when you find a "catch" in your back/neck/shoulder/hip. 

Most people don't think much about their breathing or the impact it can make on their body. It is helpful to practice breathing exercises to avoid putting strain on weaker muscles in the neck and upper back, and to develop the diaphragm muscle. Begin with visualizing an oval. As you reach the end of your inhale, you are at the top of the oval, and as you complete your exhale, pause at the bottom of the oval before returning to the inhale. Done correctly, this exercise should not cause you to become dizzy or hyperventilate.

Your breathing can also impact the results of your massage sessions. When you breathe in a rhythm, I can adjust my techniques to work in sync with your body. Particularly when working with a trouble spot, it is helpful to focus on your breathing. I will lighten my pressure or pause while you inhale, and as you exhale slowly, I will work into the trouble spot. When you and I work in rhythm in this way, your guard is released so your muscles aren't resisting the work, your body becomes more receptive to the work I'm doing, and faster progress can be made.

Working in rhythm with my clients' breathing is one of my favorite things, unfortunately, not a lot of my clients utilize this tool they possess. It is my hope that by addressing it here, clients will become more aware of how to get even better results from their sessions with me.

Name Your Price

I'm curious. I know there are some businesses out there that function solely on letting their customers/clients decide for themselves how much they will pay for services received. 


So if money wasn't the object that prevented you from getting massages, and you could comfortably afford them, how much value would it hold for you?


Or, if money is an object for you, but you still go for massages, what would you feel comfortable paying? 


I'm hoping for some feedback here. Very curious to know how my clients truly value their massages. And don't worry, I'm pretty tough. You won't hurt my feelings one way or another. :)

My First Acupuncture Experience

You should know by now that my glass is pretty much never half empty. All my clouds have a silver lining. There's always two sides to every story. You get it.


Today, my 3:30 massage appointment was cancelled at 1:50pm. Fan-tastic, right? Right!


It did become fantastic when I called up Carol Greismeyer at Oregon City Acupuncture. I met Carol through the Women Empowering Women networking group a good year and a half ago, but it wasn't until she moved her business from Milwaukie to just the other side of 7th Street on Madison here in Oregon City in September that we really connected. 


Since she moved across the street from Heidi's, we've toured each other's offices and agreed that trading services would be a marvelous thing. Carol is usually in the office Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays, and my mother in law was already planning to come spend the afternoon with her grandsons, so I thought it'd be the perfect time to give acupuncture a shot (pun intended). 


Carol was able to get me in exactly the time I was hoping for, and gave me a very good nutshell of the eastern views of how the body works, and then the de-stress treatment. The needles are not bad at all, just a little poke when it goes in, and then it's fine. 


Carol discovered an energy blockage under my right knee (thanks to all my muscle imbalances, no doubt), and my right hand felt "funny" for a few minutes of the treatment. It was a nice, relaxing treatment, but didn't leave me a sloppy mess either. My hands feel much better, a lot of the muscular tension in my gripping muscles has been relieved, and the same for my upper shoulders/neck that hold tension too. 


My massage therapist tomorrow will no doubt be happy to have a little less work to do on me tomorrow when I get to have my massage in our trade too. By the way, when you come in for your massage and spa treatments, the new face occupying the room next to me is Jessie. And I'll be happy to tell you what her massage style is like after I experience it tomorrow for myself. Be on the lookout for new signs to be popping up that will have both our names on them. Jessie's clients need to find her too. :)


Back on topic now. Give Carol at Oregon City Acupuncture a call: 503-653-1468. The de-stress session is $30. See what you think! You can also buy gift certificates on her website--just in time for the holidays! What a great gift idea. We could all use a little more Eastern influences in our very Western lives...

Following Up

Working on my online prerequisite course for becoming a Certified Injury Prevention Instructor threw me off my usual activities last week, so this blog is coming a few days late.


Over the weekend, I saw and subsequently participated in a discussion on LinkedIn. The topic was on following up with our clients. Many of the therapists that had replied before me said they really don't do much for follow up, and I was somewhat surprised, somewhat not. 


I believe my follow-up with clients has helped me in my business, so I shared what I do, and here it is, taken directly from my post on LinkedIn:


"I send a thank you letter, addressing that I hope I've helped their X, Y, Z pains, encourage them to pass along my brochure/card to anyone they know that might also benefit from my services, and let them know of the discount I offer if they post a testimonial/review of their experience with me online--benefits us both, since a lot of my new clients comment on the reviews they read about me, and helps clients where the cost of massage is an issue to getting the care they need.

I still don't get massive referrals or testimonials, so I don't feel bad like I'm swaying my clients to post reviews online too much, but I can see that it certainly helps some clients stick around longer when they see that I genuinely appreciate their business.

In addition to the thank you letter to new clients, I then make some point of contact with them at 30 & 90 days, 6 & 9 months, annually from their first session, and send a birthday card (paper or e-). The annual and birthday points of contact will have some kind of special or discount in them also, but not the other times.

I find it's very helpful in establishing my reputation in the field, and in keeping my name and offering fresh in my clients' minds.

Also, when I don't see clients return within 3 months, I'll give them a call to check in and see how they're doing, in case they intended to get back in sooner and time got away from them, or if I oops-ed and didn't follow-up with them to make that appointment already. And again, that helps keep me fresh in their minds."


I was surprised and flattered by the response from another massage therapist in the group. Here's what Roy Alderman had to say:


"Rachel - WOW! You really go the extra mile & take professionalism to the next level. I wish you were MY massage therapist!"


And my reply:


"Thank you. I've had the idea of this plan in place for...a year, or maybe 2, but with my own time management issues, the actual follow-through of the plan didn't happen as consistently as I would've liked. I've now really cracked down on myself and am making this happen.

You mentioned a key word in your reply: professionalism. I love that. I don't want any of my clients having any doubt of what I do/don't do as a massage therapist, and by presenting myself with greater professionalism, I believe I make that clear. I also feel it is part of my duty to help educate my clients on how effective massage is--it's not just something to treat yourself to on your birthday, but if that's where they're at at this point in their lives, I start with them there, and hope with my continual contact, they will begin to hold a greater value and higher priority for getting massages more regularly also."




I hope this doesn't come off as an obnoxious toot of my own horn, but I admit, it feels really good to be acknowledged by the hard work I've put in outside of my massage room in building my business. My husband also gave me a fee-good compliment over the weekend when I told him about a friend of mine deciding to go to school to become a massage therapist, and my suggestion that she and I get together soon to chat. I would have loved to have a few more insights and resources made available to me before I started school. I do fully enjoy my career, but as I learned while in school, not everyone has a clear idea of the massage profession before starting school, and a few people in my class wound up wasting some time and money after learning the picture in their mind didn't really match up with real world possibilities.