Massage Learning Environment
When you went to school, was it a massage learning environment? In what ways could your experience have been improved, and what can we do moving forward to improve it? With the recent closure of the Healing Arts Center in Saint Louis, one of the largest and most influential massage schools in Missouri, and perhaps the United States, I think it’s time to have a serious conversation about the education system in our industry.
I don’t think the Healing Arts Center will be the only school to close. I think others will follow, especially when the massage franchises begin to open their own zero-cost or low cost massage schools. Massage therapists have a tendency to isolate and compete against one another, rather than allying to achieve mutual success. This phenomena exists between massage clinics, and even within each facility amongst massage therapists. When the massage franchise schools begin to pop up, I think these organizations will continue to dominate our industry if we do not find a way to create a community and a culture of our own.
Education costs are already too high across the board, and the value of that education is sub par. This is not isolated to the massage industry, it can be found in every major institution across America. Massage schools are required to provide the minimum level of education to students to successfully practice in an entry level position. While it looks appropriate on paper, in application it places hopeful souls on the path for failure. I have met far too many massage therapists who graduated from massage school and have washed out in three to six months. Others graduated with no intention of every entering the industry due to their experiences at school.
The History of Massage is Important
It may be a cliche at this point, but when we fail to know the mistakes of our past we are damned to repeat them. I believe this to be true in life, and our profession. At the core of our industry is the student and their massage learning experience. They need relevant and thought provoking knowledge so they can think for themselves, offer kindness and succeed. They need to know the events that came before them so they can rise high like a phoenix soaring through the sky. We need them to become the best they can be, so they can usher in the golden age of massage. An age, that has yet to happen.
We can’t reach this beautiful age unless we have an educated, critically thinking workforce that loves massage, knowledge, and lives their life to be in the service of others. They must have empathy, be creative and have humility. Much of this can be acquired by learning and reflecting on the past. To walk we must acknowledge where are foot was, is, and look to the future to decide where we want to step. Our students need to possess that same awareness, so they can reach heights that are beyond what we could have ever achieved.
This begins by discussing our history. Our instructors must have the drive and passion to search for the most likely truth and pass it along to our students. We need to inspire these students to question, think, and speak about what they have learned. They need to research, develop their own thoughts, write them down in essays and debate with other students and massage therapists.
The Problems Are Sewn Into The Fabric of Our Profession
The massage industry is relatively young, even though we are taught in school that it has existed since antiquity. The actual history of massage is disjointed and fragmented. Our professional predecessors have claimed accolades of prior fields and integrated them into our history. An example of this is instructors who teach that Per Henrik Ling was a massage therapist and the creator of Swedish massage. Another false claim is that Johan Mezger was a massage therapist, or that the movement-cure was massage therapy. These are false. Per Henrik Ling was a gymnast, and the creator of medical gymnastics who rarely integrated massage movements into his treatment sessions. Johan Mezger was a physician who codified some of the manual therapy movements from medical gymnastics into his own profession. The movement-cure was medical gymnastics that was brought to the United States. The first published mention of Swedish massage was by Johan Arvedson in 1913, with the intent to create a distinction between medical gymnastics and massage therapy.
In the early 1900s Swedish massage was a term Swedish massage was marketing label, and a professional banner to help improve the public’s perception of massage. It also served as a branding and legitimizing label to increase professional visibility. Ultimately, it served as a cultural reference point to help the public identify a standard massage. In the school system, like at the College of Swedish Massage in Chicago, it was taught as scientific massage.
At the very infancy of our industry we lacked codification and uniformity. Sewn into the very fabric of our profession is a term (Swedish massage) used for the purpose of marketing. This creates a problem, because when the core of our profession is a term that means nothing, it can be made to mean anything.
What Can Be Done?
The future of massage is apprenticeship programs. Massage requires a tremendous degree of one-on-one training that rarely occurs in a classroom environment. When I went to massage school all of my instructors wanted the students to figure it out for themselves to learn how to perform massage from a book. While this is not happening in all schools, it is occurring in enough classrooms for this to be a problem.
In many instances the sub par education is due to the blind leading the blind. Many teachers are burnt-out massage therapists who believe being an instructor is the next logical step of their career. Others think that since they can perform massage well it must translate into them being a good teacher. Being a good massage therapist may be helpful as an instructor, but if you lack the leadership skills to create a massage learning environment you are wasting your students, time, money and energy.
If you want to create a classroom environment that cultivates successful massage careers you must be invested in your student’s success. How can I do that? The first step is by encouraging a massage learning environment.
How To Cultivate a Massage Learning Environment
Its starts by understanding your students needs.
- They need to know why they are learning something. The massage student needs to understand the reason they are being asked to learn something. If the student is expected to memorize the chambers of the heart, explain to them why this lesson will be necessary to them as a practicing massage therapist. Telling them it is because it might be on the MBLEX is insufficient. We need to create a massage learning environment that focuses on developing a student’s skills for their career, not for a test they will take only once in their entire career. If the student believes the information is irrelevant, their brain will discard it. If they are not retaining the information provided to them in school, what is the purpose of attending school? Being an instructor isn’t just reciting words from a book; it’s about helping students integrate their education into their lives. Be an inspiration, search deeper, and inspire your students.
- They need to build on their experience. Who are your students, and what did they do before enrolling in massage school? Creating a massage learning environment requires customization. Just like a massage, every client is unique, and we must tailor our approach to their individual needs. Consider your students’ backgrounds and develop strategies to build upon what they already know. When I was going to massage school, a fellow student didn’t know what a cell was, but the instructor expected her to understand the concept of a neuron. I knew she was a baker, so I used terms relevant to her knowledge to help her understand what a cell and a neuron were. You can achieve the same result by getting to know your students and leveraging their existing knowledge to integrate new information.
- They need to feel responsible for their learning. Massage students need to feel like they are working for something. They want to make decisions, set goals, and assume ownership of their education. As an instructor, you have an opportunity to inspire and guide them. You can illuminate the pits and traps on the road to help them achieve their goals. Many instructors default to making passing the MBLEX a major goal. I think this is unwise, because this is an exam the therapist will take once in their entire career. Instead, they need to be inspired to look past the horizon, to think about meaningful dreams. Give your students opportunities to shape their direction, explore areas of interest, and earn their education.
- The information they learn must be immediately relevant and applicable. As adults, our brains don’t like to waste space on insignificant information. In a massage learning environment, the lessons learned should be relevant to the practice of massage and immediately applicable. This may mean integrating the knowledge into a massage, engaging in a role-playing exercise, and gamifying the information. The student’s brain must perceive that the information is helpful and utilize it so that it can be stored for long-term memory retention.
- The learning process needs to feel natural. When learning, they need to feel safe and comfortable. Learning can occur in a stressful, hostile environment, but it is not ideal, especially for the practice of massage. Far too many massage programs have uncomfortable classrooms lit with artificial light in a cold, lifeless room. Massage school should reflect the environments in which we practice. We should be encouraging students to cultivate warm, kind, and caring environments. A school should set an example for students’ future careers, so when they create their own studios, spas, and clinics, they have a reference point. The learning experience should flow naturally, focusing on areas of interest and challenge. We should be seeking ways to uplift and inspire students to gravitate toward knowledge, so they are hungry for personal development and growth.
