Client G

image by jester arts

client G is super fit!  


she is always at the gym or training & is in pursuit of the perfect body...


she's very healthy but pretty much every muscle in her body is in tension  


she is like a coiled spring - just ready to pop!

Diploma - day four

sunday is always an early start to get to Livingston for 10am...  I'm not a morning person generally & hate having to get up with my alarm but it's nice & quiet on sunday mornings so I made it on time.


the morning was started with a bit of theory - we learned a few more muscles, some of the facial muscles & what they do...  the muscles which control movement of the lips, those around the eyes, the muscles across the skull which control movement of the eyebrows, and those which control the chewing action of the jaw...  now I just have to learn all the proper names! 


we talked a little about the reflective aspect of our homework...  as part of the course we have to write up massages we have given and also massages we have received, and then reflect upon our experiences - what we did, or had done, how that made us feel, and what we can learn from this...  I have to admit I have found this the hardest aspect of the write ups so far.  but we chatted over a few examples with our tutor Ros and I think now all us girlies have a better idea of what to write next time. :)


we did a wee exercise in communication - where we had to split into 2 groups, read over some of the history of massage and then had to decide on the best approach about how to communicate what we had learnt to a specific audience.  my group had to present to an audience of 9 year olds (I'm not sure how easily the other girls found it pretending to be 9 again!)...  I think we did quite well in our approach, keeping it simple and to the point, with a practical demonstration which got the audience involved.  the other group had to pretend they were presenting to a group of over 50's, which they did very well.


the afternoon was taken up with a practical session covering the legs and face/neck.  getting & giving massage is a lovely, relaxing way to spend an afternoon :)  it's also been quite nice to practice the techniques which some of us had already covered in the 2 day foundation course...  the first 2 weekends are a review of the 2 day introduction and a good taster of what massage is all about for anyone who hasn't already had any experience.  from the next weekend onwards everything we will cover will be new which is very exciting! :)


more homework has been set for our next weekend session...  I have some busy weekends between now and then so I better get on with it!

Diploma - day three

our second weekend of the diploma course started on saturday afternoon with a hot drink and a quick catch up.


we had a review of the homework we had been set the previous weekend - anatomical terminology & movements, bone names & functions and the four muscles we had identified in the first weekend - the trapezius, erector spinae, latissimus dorsi and rhomboids.


the practical demonstration on saturday afternoon was a quick review of starting a massage and the back.  we also learned a few stretches for the torso & back and how to massage the gluts.


I had volunteered to be the willing body for the practical demo, which was great as I got a bit of work done on my right side gluts where I often get some sciatic pain.  in the end I was on the table for an hour & a half!  it was fab to be worked on for so long but I did feel a bit spaced out when I finally got around to getting up... :)

homework... ARRGGGHHH!!!!

Image by Jester Arts

its been a long time since I've had any homework to do...  the next weekend of my course is fast approaching and I still haven't finished all the different assignments we're supposed to have done by saturday afternoon...


the last time I did any serious studying was 6 years ago and life was pretty much put on hold until it was over.  this time thats not so easy, life is getting in the way!  I think I may have to work a bit harder to achieve the right work/life/study balance throughout the rest of the course...


thinking positively there are still 2 evenings and 1 morning to get everything done...  so long as I get it all finished at least I'll have an excuse for not doing the housework! ;)

Client F

image by jester arts

client F is my dad.  he is a painter & decorator - one of my few guinea pigs who doesn't sit at a desk all day...

Client E

image by jester arts

client E is my mum.  she does alot of walking & spends most of her day on her feet.

Client D

Image by Jester Arts

client D is a student, of the mature variety.

Client C

Image by Jester Arts

client C is my boyfriend.  he has never said no to a massage by my fair hands...


he is a geek, he sits at a desk all day, he has no real need of massage - he just likes it


after the first full body massage I practiced on him (way back in october) 'everything was a bit blurry'...


it is handy to have a body on hand 24/7 to find muscles & practice techniques on :)

Client B

Image by Jester Arts

client B got lost & couldn't find our flat...  he has rescheduled his first consultation :)

Clients - 1, 2, 3 or A, B, C

as part of the course examination we have to submit a portfolio, which includes write-ups of 40 hours of massage we have given & 10 hours of massage we have received.  for the 40 hours of given massage I have had to recruit volunteers who want to be practiced on over the next 6-8 months.


in exchange for free massages they in return must give me feedback on how I'm doing...  do I listen to their cries of pain & lighten the pressure, do they come out of the session feeling better, do I do what they ask of me or get distracted & do something completely different...  that kind of thing...



I need a variety of folk to practice on...  male, female, short, tall, old, young, slim, not so slim...  I need folk of different age ranges, different body shapes & who have different occupations & hobbies...  so I have been trying to find a range of folk to cover as many different areas as possible.



I have to keep a record of all massages, which must to some extent be anonymous as far as the identity of the client is concerned.  so I must decide on a reference system which allows this but still lets me know who is who, so I don't get mixed up & end up with no one coming back...


as part of the record we must also reflect on the sessions - figure out if, from our own point of view, we would/could have done anything differently, what positives & negatives we feel we have learned from any particular session...


I thought including some client sessions in my blog would be a good way of developing a way writing about my clients while still keeping their anonymity, reflecting on whats been happening & figuring out how to index them.

Image by Jester Arts

so...  here we go with Client A


client A is very tall.  in fact I said those exact words to him & my immediate thought was 'oooh, thats not very professional'!  just as well I wasn't meeting him for the first time... ;)


client A was concerned he wouldn't fit on the massage table...  all was fine - it's a long table!

Diploma - day two

sunday morning was cold & frosty, but there was no sign of the snow that was forecast to hit us over the weekend.  I got to Livingston in record time as there are so few folk on the roads early on a sunday morning - it was bliss!

I have been a bit delayed in writing about my second day on the course, work has been hectic this week & a reminder of the stress that I am hoping to reduce if not escape when I've made it through to the end of our 10 months of massage training...

day 2 was a full day, 10 till 6 on sundays, but the hours didn't drag...  we started the day with anatomy, physiology & pathology, which does seem rather daunting when you look at a title like that!  but we started off with the basics of terminology, bones & muscles.  2 of the girls then volunteered to be poked & prodded while we tried to identify some different muscle groups in the back & felt what happened to them when the are relaxed or flexed.

in the afternoon we went over some of the other aspects of a consultation with a client - what information we should cover in an initial consultation so you can have an accurate picture of the client, their health & lifestyle.  who not to treat - knowing when to refer someone to their gp before commencing in a course of treatment.  we shared some of our hopes & fears - what we all want from the course & what we might be scared of...  I was reassured to find that we all shared some of the same hopes & fears.

the practical element of sunday afternoon involved going over the basics of massaging legs & arms with a quick run through of what we had already covered with back, neck & shoulders.  I was the willing demonstration model for this & loved taking my turn on the table :)  Ros also did a quick run through of massage to the abdomen, which I thought would be really weird but found surprisingly comforting...

we have a bit of homework to get through before we head back for our next weekend at the end of february so I best get on with it!

Diploma - day one

this morning was spent as most saturday mornings are...  a longish lie in bed, a quick game of plants vs. zombies on the iPhone (which always lasts longer than I intend), shower, toast & nutella with a glass of fruit juice, get dressed, catch up with the housework I have been too lazy to do during the week...  same old, same old...


but this afternoon was the first session of my MTI diploma course in Holistic Massage with Rosslyn Alternatives.  after leaving really early to try & avoid the saturday lunchtime traffic, made much worse today by the arrival of several thousand folk making their way to Edinburgh for the Calcutta Cup match at Murrayfield, I made it to Livingston (a town in the central 'commuter' belt with more roundabouts than any town should have!).


I was welcomed by Ros, our tutor, who I had previously met on the 2 day workshop in Holistic Massage I completed with Rosslyn Alternatives in October last year.  I don't generally get nervous or apprehensive about meeting new people, but I do get a bit tongue tied every now & then, so it was slightly daunting meeting the other girls on the course...  but they all seem really lovely & I am thoroughly looking forward to our journey through the course over the next 10 months! :)


our first afternoon of the diploma course involved getting an overview of the course itself; what will be expected of us; going over the basics of what you need to think about when preparing to give a massage, both in terms of us as massage therapists & the environment in which we massage; & a practical 'hands on' section in how to start a massage session.


I really enjoyed my first day of the course & am really looking forward to day 2 tomorrow.  No doubt I will be completed shattered by the end of the weekend & wish I had arranged a day off work on Monday...