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Teaching And Massage Therapy

Before I began my career in massage therapy, I taught middle school language arts. I was fortunate to work with a lot of gifted students, and was even able to help several of them publish their writing. It was quite satisfying in some ways, but when the drawbacks of teaching 11-14-year-olds began to outweigh the benefits, I knew it was time to move on.

After helping clients resolve headaches and reduce back pain with acupressure and deep tissue massage for a number of years, I was invited to teach at East•West Massage Therapy School. Perhaps teaching adults who were on a self-chosen career path would be exciting and rewarding in a way similar to the high points of working with young people. And I wouldn’t have to endure parent-teacher conferences and lippy kids who believed they knew more than I did.

I’ve been teaching my Anatomy Lab module and Ethics class at the school for a number of years now, and continue to enjoy the students and the classes. I just completed my sessions with the current group and was impressed by their potential and enthusiasm for the work. It’s encouraging to experience the energy of people who are positive and excited for what lies ahead. It reminds me of when I was doing my own training and loving this new body of knowledge and skill I was acquiring.

One of the wonderful outcomes of working with the next generation of licensed massage therapists is that it keeps me in the books, studying and reviewing anatomy and technique, reading about innovations and future directions in the profession, and reflecting on the successes of my own professional career.