What to look for in a massage therapist.
By Eric Linder
What makes a good massage therapist? That is a great question! Or better yet, what makes any massage therapist a good vs a great therapist? Is it the school they went to? Is it the location they work at? The product they use? In reality, it is a combination of everything that makes time spent with that professional a good, bad or a great experience. But, there are a few key factors that really make the best professionals stand out, personality, passion and professionalism. Now, you may ask why I choose these 3 factors, let me explain. In our everyday encounters with people, we are always sizing up the other person and visa versa. We are constanly figuring out who has a personality that works with ours, that makes us feel comfortable, safe and secure. We feel more relaxed, less stressed and less on gaurd when we are around people that mesh well with our own personalities. Now, about passion. What is life without passion? Passion for something creates an intense authenticity for whatever we are doing, whether it be a simple hobby, running a business, expressing your artistic self or being a massage therapist. You can always tell when someone is passionate about what they do, there is a certain drive and intensity about what they do and how they do it. For a massage therapist, it all comes through thier touch. How many times have you had massage therapy and didn’t tell the massage therapist everything that needed to be worked on, yet they found it anyway. How many times your massage therapist knew just where to go and just what to do and you walked out of those sessions feeling amazing. Passion helps fuel the things that we do and tunes our focus to pitch perfection. Now, about professionalism. In my many years of being a manager and now a business owner, this is the one thing that anyone can learn, practice and succeed at. Why then, is it one of the most ignored? You can’t change your personality, you might be able to ignite some passion for what you are doing, but, anyone can be professional and if you don’t know how, you can definately learn. Day spa’s should be a professional environment, just the same for salon’s and any other establishment. But, why are there so many that aren’t? Massage therapy isn’t a hippy movement, it is a profession. So, the only conclusion that I can come to is that people choose not to be professional. Unfortunately, this leaves the client in a spot with having to sometimes experience a less than great massage. The choices that individuals and businesses make directly affect thier clients and in the end, thier own business. We chose to build our day spa with a professional environment and staff it with massage therapist’s who have great personalities, that work well with each other and with the clients and who are all passionate about what they do and where the practice massage therapy. We invite anyone and everyone to enjoy our day spa experience and see for yourself. Our goal is to become the best day spa in Bloomington, Indiana and the surrounding county through those 3 key factors, personality, passion and professionalism.