MASSAGE DOESN’T HAVE TO BE COMPLICATED……calling Holistic Massage therapists to go back to their roots!
Have you always wanted to be a holistic massage therapist but are confused by all the different courses available? Are you a qualified massage therapist wanting to improve your knowledge but blinded by all the courses teaching differing techniques? Are you lacking in confidence because you feel that the skills and qualifications you have are not enough? Do you feel overwhelmed by the choices of CPD courses and opinions on which direction you ‘should’ be heading next?
When you feel constantly bombarded by the latest trends and offerings out there, we are here to tell you that you are not alone. Pop the kettle on, curl up in your favourite spot and read on….
Our mission, as educators in the massage sector, is to grow confident holistic massage therapists who listen, care and fully understand their clients’ needs: therapists who have rock solid foundations of skills, knowledge and techniques, in addition to adopting a holistic approach to their own self-care, all of which enables a longevity of their career as a practitioner.
With almost 40 years combined experience working within the sector, we have learned, observed, researched, applied, and experienced a wide range of massage styles, techniques, and approaches. Over those years we have both felt confused and baffled, inadequate and lonely, confident and qualified, and humbled and inspired. What many massage therapist don’t admit is that we have often asked ‘am I enough?’ ‘Do I know enough?’ This pushes us to learn more, read more, explore more; signing up to more courses in our attempt to find the holy grail of methods we believe will give us ultimate enlightenment and knowledge. We know, we’ve been there!
Absolutely, we should always be informed on the latest research, and all massage therapists should attend CPD courses or lectures every year because not only is there always something to learn, but we also commit to CPD through membership of our professional bodies. Just pause for a moment though, and recall when you undertook your level 3 massage qualification; the incredible skills and techniques you learnt, your belief in the therapeutic power of touch and your ability to listen with your hands. That training has taken you on a journey of learning and discovery in your capability to help your clients. Never underestimate the ability you have, and know that you do not have to keep up with the latest ‘buzz’ at the expense of the knowledge and skills that you already have. You should never do this because you believe that you are not enough: YOU ARE ENOUGH! Whatever style of massage you have learned, whichever approach you use, we can guarantee that your clients feel that you are enough. Let your further education be led by your own curiosity, by your clients’ needs and by your own desire to deepen your knowledge.
We passionately believe that we should NEVER lose touch with our basic training, the art of holistic massage with its techniques and benefits that have been proven to help people time and time again. Massage doesn’t have to be complicated! It’s been around for thousands of years, travelling from the far East to Western civilisation, each culture bringing its own unique approach, but fundamentally the underlying factor is to support people to feel better both mentally and physically, to have better mobility, and to be as free from pain as possible, through the application of simple, proven techniques.
So, we say, if you are feeling like you are not good enough with the skills you have, keep things simple by deepening your existing knowledge. Enhance what you already know, take that knowledge to a level of deeper understanding, use your confidence of touch (which really is an incredibly special talent) to help your clients experience pain relief. We believe therapists should have a foundation of practical skills to work confidently with an extensive range of clients and conditions.
Listen; observe; and hold a caring space for your clients; therapeutic techniques with a gentle touch and healing intention. Ask questions, glean information, build a holistic picture of your client both physically and emotionally, then piece it all together in a beautifully safe space with a bespoke treatment. We encourage you to create an empathetic connection with your client so that they feel really heard and understood, and a massage treatment which addresses the areas of tension and pain through caring and listening – focused techniques to target the root cause of their symptoms. Trust in your own instincts and be guided by the feedback from your client’s muscles.
Remember …. you know more than you think, keep it simple, enhance your skills through uncomplicated, jargon free learning. Go back to your roots, because what you know already is so immensely powerful and healing for your clients.
So, who are we? What do we know? Why should you be interested in anything we say!? We, Sarah and Julie, trained over a two-year period with the Oxford School of Massage (OSM), which was established over 40 years ago by its founder Judith Earnshaw, qualifying in 2008 and 2006 respectively (ironically just missing meeting each other by 1 year!). After they graduated, Sarah went on to teach at OSM and then take over the school at the end of 2018 as Principle, as well as running her own practice with a focus on stress management and how massage can support mental health. Sarah has enhanced her skills and qualifications over the years in both areas and has been privileged to utilise her knowledge within the corporate sector and the NHS. She was also interviewed on BBC Radio Oxford during the Covid Pandemic on the importance of touch for health and wellbeing.
Julie went on to attend a variety of courses at different schools, very much led by the needs of her clients, which expanded her knowledge and deepened her understanding of the root cause of pain. She wrote her dissertation on the benefits of specific massage techniques for fibrosis in patients who had undergone surgery and radiotherapy for breast cancer. This made her realise just how powerful simple therapeutic touch can be for people with emotional and physical trauma. She has run a busy clinic since 2007 treating clients with a diversity of conditions and ranging in age from 6 to 92. Over this time, she has pooled together all she has learned to create her own style of massage to get her clients out of pain.
In 2022 they met up and realised a shared vision of how OSM holistic massage training should evolve: how holistic massage therapists develop in the next stage of their training without losing their signature expertise. So there and then they united in their vision to create a bespoke offering to the holistic massage sector, for those who wish to develop an integrated approach that may be lacking in their existing practice, and they have not looked back since!
Both Sarah and Julie are proud to hold qualifications as Certified Teachers within the Adult Learning Sector and over the years have continued their own learning journeys not only in massage but in other areas like education, mental health wellbeing, sport welfare, and HR. These life skills help to enhance the learning experience for all their students attending their foundation course or CPD courses by sharing a vast pool of knowledge with their learning community. They are both enthusiastic about the quality of holistic massage being enhanced by therapeutic, clinical skills.
They believe in a style of teaching and a learning environment where each individual learner feels understood and heard so that they can learn in their own preferred way and at their own pace; that courses should not be rushed by being fast tracked or squeezed into a few hands-on days. Students deserve and should receive the focus, attention, and quality of teaching they deserve, within small cohorts that nurture and grow them into accomplished massage therapists with on-going support from the OSM learning community. Equally, qualified therapists looking to build on their skills through CPD courses should be offered the same considerations – they should be supported in their existing skills and how to enhance them. Continued support is so important to keep them informed about the latest developments in the world of massage without getting hung up on them; how they can apply and implement in their own practice without feeling as if they must forget everything they already know.
So, next time you are looking at new techniques and courses, and questions cross your mind about which way to turn – should you change focus, do you need that new “buzz” for your practice? – just remember to pause…… Enhance the wonderful skills you have already, hold onto those strong foundations and let them continue to support you. Don’t doubt that you are a wonderful holistic therapist, simply deepen your existing knowledge, don’t reinvent it.
Sarah and Julie ask you to stand up with them, loud and proud, flying the flag for all holistic massage therapists to own their skills, value their abilities, know their worth and advocate “I am enough.” Go back to your roots, grounded in your strength of skills and knowledge, and remember: Massage doesn’t need to be complicated!
