Creativity
A great massage therapist must feed their creativity. They need to participate in extracurricular activities that encourages them to think outside of the box, to build something, and see their life with new eyes. The craft of massage alone is not enough to feed the soul of an amazing massage therapist. We must have avenues to recharge our spirit and remind us why we give. We must explore the pathways outside our trade to master the skills within.
The schools have stripped artistic expression out of our culture. We learn in a cold, empty, and often hostile environment, void of compassion, imagination, and charm. The virtue of creativity requires cultivation. We must engage the childlike parts of our mind to cast a spell on the world.
An amazing massage is an experience, it follows a path and tells a story. Every story must have an outline to keep the narrative on track. In massage it serves as a guide to help design your client’s journey and meet their expectations. We should have a loose idea of what we plan to do after each consultation.
Think about how you felt when you first entered the industry. Were you nervous, anxious, and uncertain? Many new therapists start their career knowing they do not possess the skills necessary to embark on a beautiful journey. As experienced massage therapists we need to reach our hand out to those who are new. They need our guiding light. One day they will represent our industry, so we must help them become the golden standard of excellence. The stronger our industry becomes the greater chance the public will continue valuing our genuine offer of hope.
Creative people need other creative people, the more positive energy we have in our life the more we will succeed. Many misunderstand the meaning of positive energy, they believe it is solely compliments, sunshine, and smiles. Positivity is about growth, transformation and overcoming hardship. Truly positive people empower and challenge one another. With positivity comes strength, to become strong we must have someone in our corner helping us see where we are failing. We need someone to help us build bridges and overcome barriers. When we surround ourselves with strong, positive leaders, we become the best version of ourselves and open the doorway to achieve our dreams.
In the massage world this community does not exist. We have to cultivate it ourselves by planting the seeds, watering them, and making sure they bear fruit.
Developing our massage skills requires practice and exploration. We must take new avenues to reach old destinations. We achieve this by reexamining how we achieve our prior results and search for alternative methods of reaching them. Sometimes we have to take approaches that are outside of the traditional path of massage therapy by exploring our imagination and learning about other artistic expressions. For example, a great massage is like a work of art. Like art there are elements and principals of massage.
The elements of art are the visual tools used by an artist to create a composition.
These may include line, shape, color, value, form, texture, and space. How could these terms be reinterpreted to provide new insight into massage? Consider thinking about the direction of each stroke, the shape of our hands, the lighting of the room, the intensity of our pressure, the contours of our client’s body, and the texture of the lotions.
The principles of art represent how an artist uses the elements to create an effect to convey the element’s intent.
The principles of art may include balance, contrast, emphasis, movement, pattern, rhythm, and variety. In massage therapy the principles of massage could represent how the elements are applied to create an effect to meet a client’s expectations.
A wonderful massage is a beautiful painting. It is the collective experience, passion, and investment a therapist has for their trade. A great massage therapist sees, feels, and intuitively knows there is more to massage than a series of pokes, prods, and squeezes.
