by David Lauterstein
1. Slow down when you need to. Speed up when you don’t need to slow down. Massage that’s always slow is ultimately boring massage.
2. Palpate – how can you love if you don’t know what’s there?
3. Know anatomy – not just in general. Have memorized the origins, insertions and actions for at least the 90 most important muscles.
4. Care; really care; let your care be palpable.
5. First do no harm – to yourself! Pay attention to your body mechanics and your psycho-mechanics.
6. Don’t substitute force for intelligence.
7. Take a history; your client’s complaint arises from and takes place within their whole life. You’re working on time as much as space.
8. Try to do not more than 4 sessions a day.
9. Become a boundary genius; when you hold to impeccable boundaries it becomes a powerful part of the healing process. When you create an atmosphere of total safety and trust, the healing process is initiated.
10. Don’t hedge on the business side – you are in the massage business as much as you are assisting in the healing process.
11. Get massage. Not getting massage is like a writer never reading.
12. Take a workshop at least once a year; a vacation twice a year, and a contemplative break once a day.
13. Don’t give up. Work, exacting work, moves mountains.