For anyone who might be curious about where I came from in the massage field.

In Tucson Arizona I had a massage practice for a long time. I've never done massage as my primary job.  It was always part-time and therefore I had the luxury of allowing it to be a labor of love. I was a counselor for my 'day job'. Since I never fully depended on massage for income I was able to take a break if I needed it. I attended one of the early massage schools, the Desert Institute of the Healing Arts, started by Margaret Avery, which was opened when the schools were started by individual pioneers in the field.  My program consisted of 1250 hours of training that included a variety of techniques.  There were very few states that had licensing in those days, ergo there was little regulation of massage,  The small schools were bold in their teaching of a variety of techniques, when the wholistic bodywork field was just coming up.  Massage was still laughed at in many conversations, connoting a 'massage parlor' sexual image, But the leaders in the field kept working to legitimize massage, even to the extent of convincing the phone book company to get rid of the term "massage parlor". To this day there are people who use the profession to front prostitution and trafficking. So, while the field has come a long way towards recognition as a health benefit, it still must be vigilant. 

Oh, and the going rate was $25 when I first started receiving massage ! There were no franchises. Massage was given by solo practitioners, many of whom had apprenticed with someone in order to learn, and usually they provided massage in a home office. Fees inched up over the years and then blasted off when corporations got involved.

LICENSING

As states came on board with licensing, corporations bought out many of the schools. They lowered the training hours to line up with state requirements, generally around 600 hours total. I feel lucky that I got in at a time before mass licensing and I went to a school that provided more than twice the required hours, and in-depth learning for its own sake.  I had a City of Tucson Massage License and then was 'grandfathered' in to Arizona State License when it initiated in 2004.

At that time the national test that's now required, didn't exist. Now it's required in a majority of states so when I moved to Oregon I had to pass the Massage and Bodywork Licensing Exam.  I bought a few study programs online and passed the MBLEX.  I have to admit I was miffed that I had to take a test after being a successful massage therapist but I'm glad I did, because it refreshed my knowledge and taught me how the field has grown.

MASSAGE HAS GAINED TRACTION AS A WELLNESS TREATMENT

It's not only considered a luxury now, but is recognized as a health benefit,. National  health organizations have designated massage as a valid alternative treatment for opiod addiction, and a preferred alternative treatment for back pain,. Continuing research illustrates its benefits in everything from helping premature infants to calming anxiety in those dealing with serous illness.  Lymphatic massage helps people going through oncology treatment. 

Of course, those of us who are passionate about massage have always understood its benefit.  No explanation required.

I remember the Hospice Veterinarian who came to my house in Tucson, over several years, to minister to my dogs.  The dignity and grace and kindness she provided was impressive.  I asked her how she did that work day in and out.  She replied:  "I get a massage every Friday, after my work week. It's the way I survive".

MY PATHWAY IN MASSAGE THERAPY

I can honestly say that I've loved every minute of doing massage. I was a counselor before I became a massage therapist. The stress of working in psychiatry, and then with child abuse, put me in a physically dangerous place. I found a wonderful massage therapist in Tucson who saved my sanity. 

That's how I became enamored with the field.  Then I started listening to my hands.  They were restless. They said "learn to do massage , you have a knack for it".  My mother gave me the money for the tuition and I went to massage school thinking that I would mostly do it as barter with other massage therapists, because counseling was my primary job.

I was working in an agency that treated child sexual abuse while I was going through massage school.  Now that was a disconnect.. I would leave my job where I was helping kids work out horror, and go to the massage school to be immersed in therapeutic touch.

For years I was an independent contractor at two of Tucson's top resorts. There I was, doing something I loved, with folks from all over the world, in the most beautiful spas, surrounded by majestic cacti and purple mountain vistas.  Pinch me !  I was at The Arizona Inn and the Tanque Verde Guest Ranch.

During the financial drop in 2008 the resort work shriveled up and I decided to focus on my home office. Soon I had a thriving practice, though 'word of mouth'. And, as a small business, I supported Tucson Values Teachers with discounts, so I had a lot of stressed out teachers coming in. 

Giving massage is a peaceful, meditative practice.  As Mary Burmeister, the founder of Jin Shin Juytsu in the USA  always said, the healing energy comes through us.  We just open to it, we are the jumper cables for it.  Jin Shin is a gentle healing art originally from Japan, where Mary learned it and then brought it to the US. 

MY MASSAGE TECHNIQUES

in addition to regular Swedish Massage I use other techniques such as:

Jin Shin Jyutsu, Reiki, Acupressure, Traeger, Aromatherapy, Shiatsu, Bonnie Prudden Trigger Point,

 I have massaged people in every stage of life from pre-natal, children, teens, adults, to those in final days of illness.

My practice is now devoted to the health and well being of Women. 

Contact me at  520 203-4968   text or call       phyllisnasta@yahoo.com