Learning How to Become a Massage Therapist
Dallas Golden
Ms. Gillespie
English 101 – H2
September 12, 2013
Learning How to Become a Massage Therapist
All in all, my massage career was not only financially rewarding but emotionally satisfying as well, knowing that I was helping people overcome their stresses in life and helping them live a healthier life with less pain. It all started with rubbing my grandfather’s feet as a kid. Who knew that I was developing my sense of touch for the relief of stress when competing with my brothers to see who could get my grandfather to fall asleep the fastest by rubbing his feet? I had no idea that in those early days, I would take that knowledge and turn it into a worthwhile career. And yet as satisfying as it was, it was much more taxing on my body than I had anticipated. But becoming a massage therapist wasn’t as easy as just going to school to learn a few strokes. It first took learning Anatomy, Physiology, Kinesiology, and Pathology, then learning various techniques and putting them to practice.
The whole process was a bit daunting at first, because at the time, I really didn’t have any knowledge of muscles, bones, ligaments, or tendons much less about the many systems in our bodies, like the cardio vascular system, respiratory system or the endocrine system. The book studying alone took a lot of time, because there was a lot to memorize. I honestly didn’t know that there was going to be that much book learning. But much like Frederick Douglass in Learning to Read and Write, where he said “When I was sent on errands, I always took my book with me, and by doing one part of my errand quickly, I found time to get a lesson in,” I carried my book with me much everywhere I went so that if I had just a few extra minutes, I could study.
Despite all the memorization, the main part to massage therapy was learning the actual soft tissue manipulation techniques and putting them to good use. The most common type of massage that is practiced in the United States is called
Ms. Gillespie
English 101 – H2
September 12, 2013
Learning How to Become a Massage Therapist
All in all, my massage career was not only financially rewarding but emotionally satisfying as well, knowing that I was helping people overcome their stresses in life and helping them live a healthier life with less pain. It all started with rubbing my grandfather’s feet as a kid. Who knew that I was developing my sense of touch for the relief of stress when competing with my brothers to see who could get my grandfather to fall asleep the fastest by rubbing his feet? I had no idea that in those early days, I would take that knowledge and turn it into a worthwhile career. And yet as satisfying as it was, it was much more taxing on my body than I had anticipated. But becoming a massage therapist wasn’t as easy as just going to school to learn a few strokes. It first took learning Anatomy, Physiology, Kinesiology, and Pathology, then learning various techniques and putting them to practice.
The whole process was a bit daunting at first, because at the time, I really didn’t have any knowledge of muscles, bones, ligaments, or tendons much less about the many systems in our bodies, like the cardio vascular system, respiratory system or the endocrine system. The book studying alone took a lot of time, because there was a lot to memorize. I honestly didn’t know that there was going to be that much book learning. But much like Frederick Douglass in Learning to Read and Write, where he said “When I was sent on errands, I always took my book with me, and by doing one part of my errand quickly, I found time to get a lesson in,” I carried my book with me much everywhere I went so that if I had just a few extra minutes, I could study.
Despite all the memorization, the main part to massage therapy was learning the actual soft tissue manipulation techniques and putting them to good use. The most common type of massage that is practiced in the United States is called