Massage Culture
We once had a culture, but long ago it was lost. It’s time for its return. Unfortunately it is incredibly difficult to change within an already established group. Instead of attempting to sway the minds of the majority, a new movement must be born.
Creating a new movement will be easier and more effective than changing the old. We must find the trail blazing leaders of today, teach them to be mentors and help them train the next generation. It is a waste of resources to attempt to reformat the entirety of our industry, most of them will wash out within the next five to ten years. Building a new workforce is a better return of our time and resources.
The biggest problem we will face when creating a new culture is the disharmony and polarization within the practice.
The Thick Brush Strokes of Massage
The exceptions are not the rule. Just because a few exist outside of the majority it does not discredit the relevance or significance of the whole. We must live by the thick brush strokes of life, if we fail to do so, we can never properly assess our situation or live with any semblance of peace.
Like a painting, each colorful stroke creates a line that helps an image take shape. If we zoom in on the brush stroke we will witness its imperfections and outliers. In life there will always be deviations from the norm, but this doesn’t eliminate the existence or relevance of the collective pattern. Our industry tends to create specific brush strokes of ideology. If we ignore these patterns the painting becomes an abstract image of random lines and unlimited meaningless interpretations.
If we want our industry to become easily identifiable and beautiful we must analyze who we are as a collective and find ways to bring each technique together to create a masterpiece.
I believe the future of massage is with a hybrid culture, a melting pot of sorts. One that explores the mystical arts and science-based model of pain management. I believe the glue that binds the magic to the science is the biopsychosocial approach to pain management.
