Massage School: The Journey Begins

My first day of massage school was last night and I am even more excited to get started now that I've met my teachers and classmates. We were first introduced to the different teachers and staff at the school who will be guiding us along the way. Each of them expressed how coming to the school changed their lives for the better and that, even though there will be rough times throughout the program, we won't regret it in the end if we stick it through. I especially enjoyed hearing from one teacher about how her life has gotten increasingly "cushy" since she started on this path and that she makes a ton of money doing something that she doesn't consider work. That's exactly what I am hoping to get out of this; a career that I love. I have never had that, and I've had some pretty amazing jobs.

My new home away from home!

I did, however, hear a few things that concerned me. One is that the shelf life of most massage therapists is five years due to the stress on the body. They are going to teach us ways to prevent this and many of the therapists at the school (and that I've met personally) have been in the business for much longer than this. Still, that's a pretty scary statistic. Though I think I may be interested in teaching massage someday so that's good considering I may need a back up plan eventually.

The other concerning bit of information is that this whole ordeal is going to be a very emotionally and physically taxing process for us. I suspected as much but began to worry a bit when I heard some of the experiences of the teachers. Most people get, at most, a massage a week. We'll be getting several a week while we're in school and this can bring about all sorts of emotions and illnesses. They described how we may witness breakdowns in class and that each of us will  have some sort of breakdown, whether we repress it or let it happen during this process. Also, massage can dwell up issues/sicknesses we have in our bodies, which could result in fevers, fatigue, etc. We were told that if we get a fever, in particular, not to take anything to suppress it. It's our bodies way of getting rid of toxins and we need to let the fever break. Fun stuff to look forward to, haha. Luckily, I enjoy a good sobbing session every now and then.

After the teachers imparted their wisdom on us, it was our turn to introduce ourselves. There are eight people in the class. Only one guy and seven girls of all ages, sizes and backgrounds. There is a business person, an EMT, an early childhood teacher, someone who works at a library, a holistic health professional, another who works at a non-profit, and one unemployed person. They each had very interesting stories about how they got here and every one seems really motivated and excited to get started. Hearing the reasons people wanted to practice massage therapy made me feel like I am making the right choice here.

It all feels right, and it's happening at the perfect time in my life. I truly believe everything happens for a reason. If it weren't for my break up five years ago, I never would have taken a weekend course on massage therapy. If I hadn't gotten into a crazy bad car accident two years ago, I wouldn't have had the means to pay for school, not to mention a new appreciation for the human body and it's ability to heal at a record pace if we treat it right. If I hadn't started a new job in marketing a little over a year ago, I wouldn't have been sure that it's not the right job for me. And, if I hadn't met Dominic and all the business professionals I've met through my current job, I wouldn't know what true passion for a career looked like. This is the path that brought me here, and I am looking forward to seeing where it brings me next.