Massage therapists have a fairly high burn out rate. Why? Massage is very different from most other kinds of work. You are physically exchanging energy with another person. If you only know technique, but you don’t know how to manage, protect, conserve and rebuild  your energy, you are a burnout candidate waiting to happen.

Energy is always being exchanged, if we know it or not

There is an invisible energy exchange happening whenever people get close to each other. You feel uncomfortable when “the air is thick” in a room, and you feel at ease in the presence of happy and inspired people. When you touch people this energy exchange becomes magnified. That is why a heartfelt hug feels so good, and a heavy hand on your shoulder can feel very intimidating or threatening.

What energy issues does the therapist have to deal with ?

Managing energy can be as big a job as the actual massage technique. What do you do when clients have bad energy? What do you do if a client is not happy for some reason? What do you do if the client unloads his life’s story on you? What do you do if you don’t feel comfortable with a client? What do you do if the client has ulterior motives? What do you do if the client has a problem and you feel you cannot really help? What do you do if you see the client is not relaxing at all? What do you do if the client is talking incessantly? What do you do if you don’t feel inspired yourself?

Thai massage is more than a collection of techniques

All those issues cannot be resolved by massage technique, but they need interpersonal skills, psychological skills, energy management skills. Massage is not just a collection of physical skills, it is a way of connecting your energy field to someone else’s.

Thai massage deals with energy since it is based on the concept of invisible energy lines that are affected by touch and physical manipulation. The body stores memories in many places, and emotions can surface when certain areas are touched. I remember one student of mine who broke down into uncontrollable crying when I worked on one energetic point. It connected to memories of a miscarriage she had had many years ago. 

In another case I worked on someone’s head and it brought up memories of sexual assault. Some clients experience strong emotions and they have no idea why. The therapist has to know how to handle such occurrences. My point is that a good massage therapist has to know a lot more than physical techniques.

How can therapists manage their own energy?

Thai massage therapists use their body a lot since there are many stretches and physical manipulations involved. A good therapist also uses his or her mind a lot by focusing one hundred percent on the technique, their own energy flow, their state of mind, their intentions, their breathing, and their thoughts. This is a major energy investment and the therapist has to have a way to rebuild energy. This could be through walking in nature, doing Chigong exercises, meditating, listening to inspirational material, visualization exercises, reading a good book or whatever works – but there has to be a regular practice that rebuilds expended energy.

Therapists need to receive massage, not just give it

Massage therapists also need to receive massage themselves to experience what their clients feel, to get new ideas and inspirations, to build up a memory of how wonderful massage can feel, and pass this energy on to their clients. Last but not least they need to get their own accumulated stiffness and stress worked out regularly.

Since Thai massage involves many different positions, stretches and techniques, it is of great value to exchange with other practitioners in order to inspire each other, learn new techniques or just play for the fun of it.

You cannot give what you don’t have

Who wants to get a massage from a therapist who is clearly not happy, not balanced, not really into it, and not full of good energy? Right, no one! Therefore an outstanding  massage therapist has to have not only physical skills but also energetic skills - good energy, good interpersonal skills, a positive and inspiring attitude and a warm, healing, magical touch.  Thai massage on a mostly mechanical level can feel like a slab of meat being pushed around, and Thai massage with all the energetic components in place can feel like the highway to heaven!

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Filed under: Massage in Thailand

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