How did you become a Massage Therapist? That’s the question I get asked the most and I love to answer it. My Dad was a back rub fiend. He started me and my sisters out early by asking us to walk on his back, or he would give us a comb and let us “do” his hair. He might not have loved the barrettes and bows we put in, but he did love the scalp massage that came with it. If there was a time when my sisters and I were lagging behind in getting to bed, he would say, “First one in bed gets a back rub.” We would scramble to get into bed first. Now that I think about it, we must have always tied because we would ALL get a back rub. Pretty ingenious idea and it was a beautiful way to get used to being touched and learn the power of a good back rub.
My Dad and my daughter. Soothing hands knocked her right out.
When I was in high school, I had a friend who attended the New Mexico School of Natural Therapeutics in Albuquerque, NM and so I got the idea of being a massage therapist as a way to get myself through college. Seemed like a good way to make money while working part-time and going to school full-time. I registered at NMSNT right out of high school and absolutely loved it. This school was in-depth and six months long, way more hours than necessary for licensing, almost triple the hours that are required, but it gave me (and still does) a huge leg up on my skills. As a side note, everywhere I have worked over my 37-year career, anytime there has been a fellow NMSNT graduate, we have been the most requested therapists. I am so thankful for a Dad who loved back rubs and a great school right in my hometown that gave me such a rewarding career. I did end up getting a bachelor's degree in Business and I worked for Alaska Air as a Customer Service Manager for years, but I always kept a massage practice going on the side and for the last 12 years I have been doing nothing but massage full time. I know without a doubt, that this is what I am supposed to be doing.
Proud to say I am a graduate of NMSNT, way way way back in 1987. The school has changed hands in the last few years and is only offering online classes at this point in time. Would love to see it back up and running a full in-person curriculum as it is/was -one of the best massage schools in the country.
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