Massage marketplace and schools

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Tyrone Chuang and I are great friends who met through our love of Thai massage. I recorded a conversation we had about Thai massage, massage in the marketplace and the role that acroyoga and massage schools have in influencing bodywork culture.

If you’re a massage therapist I recommend listening to this one. Tyrone recently got his massage license after attending massage school locally in Austin, Texas. He’s way ahead of the curve when it comes to bodywork and the anatomy he learned in school has heightened his skill set.

What is Thai massage again?

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I hear this question often and nothing prevents Thai massage from blowing up in our area other than the fact that no one knows what it is. As I teach the work, hear more perspectives and refine my own I’ve come to think of Thai massage as a mixture of yoga and the martial arts, without the martial. It gives you the ability to do great healing work but if used inappropriately much like karate or kung fu you can hurt someone.

Thai massage easy twist

In short it’s amazing, simple and easy to use bodywork for the masses. In 20 years or so Thai massage will be as common as swedish and deep tissue is now. Trust me. There’s a class coming up in May. Sign up.

Thai massage leg pull Robert Gardner Wellness

Social Media

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I’ve been working with social media for several years now to get my message about Thai massage and yoga out to the public. With this website, blog, facebook, twitter and youtube I’ve slowly become an army with people starting to pay attention. My last Intro. to Thai massage class I had a student ask me to teach a marketing class for massage therapists. Internally, I just palmed my face.

Marketing? I don’t know anything about marketing. My class was full though. I thought about it. Wait, I didn’t pay for any advertising and I have a full class. How did I do it? I had great marketing. 😛 Marketing isn’t what most think it is. Want to see? This is where I started. I had a $400 laptop and a $100 flipcam and was still wondering what twitter was.

Students, peers and friends if you want to excel in business go with your heart. Choose something that excites and inspires you. Interact with your clients and everyone you meet with everyone’s best interest. Share you love…ceaselessly.

In the 21st century your business is only as strong as your social network.

Workbook

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We’re a week or so away from unveiling my Introduction to Thai massage workbook. I’ve spent countless hours and energy pouring myself into the sequence, text and design components of the material.

The absolute hardest part of teaching or releasing anything definitive in Thai massage is the fact that every session is different. A workbook, text or a book are not improvisational. Thai massage is improvisational by its very nature. No two bodies are the same and even though the dance is similar I’ve never had two of the same sessions.

The photos and text are being compiled and I go back and forth with my associates to make sure we release something that’s easy to read, easy to understand and shows the basics of Thai massage in a way that anyone can use. Stay tuned, the workbook will be here soon.

Just Sit

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A regular yoga practice has been the most personally healing practice I’ve done in my life. Nothing so consistently gives me mental clarity, an able body and the ability to learn to just sit.

Consumer culture teaches us to chase the newest best thing and eternal youth. Neither has anything to do with reality. Yoga as a practice teaches you to focus your body to harness your mind and learn to let go. The breath is no longer held and you surrender. Learning to let go and not cling or grasp has been one of the greatest benefits of my practice.

In a tough situation, when I’m floundering on what to do I can just breathe and admit that I’ve no clue. Life can sort itself out. I go back to basics and remind myself that I’m not in control of anything other than my own actions. Sitting, breathing and observing first, I make better choices when I go into action.

Just sit. Be.