From helping people heal from both minor and major issues to working with one’s hands in a noninvasive capacity, there are so many benefits to being a professional massage therapist or bodyworker. One of the big benefits to working in this field, of which practitioners may not be fully aware, is the fact that there is so much room to grow and change.
Unlike other professions, where the work done is quite defined and fairly narrow, the massage and bodywork profession entails a huge range of techniques and modalities from all around the world. This means that those who work in this hands-on field have the opportunity to branch out and learn any one or more of these techniques and modalities at nearly any given time.
The key to making this happen can be summed up in two words: continuing education. The massive continuing education world that caters to professional massage therapists and bodyworkers has much to offer. Among the reasons ractitioners have so many options when it comes to continuing education is the fact that this field is so broad and roomy. The continuing education industry is simply keeping up with the growth in massage therapy and bodywork.
Of course, it is up to the individual practitioner to decide how he or she wishes to take advantage of the wide world of continuing education for massage therapists and bodyworkers. There are those who may decide to take continuing education classes on skills they already possess, with each continuing education course offering more advanced instruction on those skills.
Still others may decide to use continuing education mainly as an avenue to explore the diverse techniques and modalities that fall beneath the big umbrella of massage therapy and bodywork. Over the course of a long career, many practitioners may find themselves doing a bit of both—taking continuing education classes to advance their existing skills and also to explore what new skills they may wish to bring on board in daily practice.
It can be helpful for massage therapists and bodyworkers to fully grasp the benefits of the current continuing education industry. Until you truly understand how much is at your fingertips, you may keep choosing continuing education classes that simply feel familiar or predictable. While it is important to sign up for high-quality continuing education classes, it may also be important to tune into your intuition in terms of trying out new techniques through different continuing education courses.
Another facet of continuing education that works in favor of professional massage therapists and bodyworkers is the fact that taking one continuing education class in a new and different technique is not a commitment to become an advanced practitioner of that technique or even to practice it at all. Instead, this kind of approach to continuing education is more of an opportunity to get a feel for all kinds of modalities and figure out if any of them feel right for you and your practice.
—Brandi Schlossberg