It’s the end of the day. It has been absolutely crazy and every muscle in your body screams for relief from the stress of the day’s events. You need a hot bath and a massage therapist.
After securing the services of the best in town, you realize that you have the ability to take the effects of daily stress away for others, as well.
You begin to contemplate how to achieve your new goal. Below are three steps you can take toward becoming a licensed massage therapist and helping the masses find rest and relaxation at the touch of your hands.
Education
Anyone can be a masseuse, right? All you have to do is rub the knots out of people’s muscles. Well, that’s what most people think anyway. They would be incorrect. Proper massage therapy requires an extensive knowledge of the human body, an empathetic heart, the ability to communicate well, physical strength, stamina, and dexterity.
The majority of these are only obtained through a good education. There are several colleges now that offer courses in massage therapy. Most programs require 500 hours or more of courses like physiology and professional ethics. If you plan on opening your own business, it’s probably a prudent idea to throw in some business and finance courses, as well.
Training
Making sure you have the proper education to become a massage therapist is crucial to the job, but your education is incomplete without hands-on training. After all, practice makes perfect, right? Most certificates require you to perform 500-1000 hours of hands-on training under the supervision of a professional before applying for your license.
This is the time you will get the chance to take everything you learned in college and apply it to real life scenarios. You will learn about and get to make use of the equipment needed for the business.
You will get to meet and learn about all types of people, their personalities and life situations. It is here where you will want to and should feel no guilt about making mistakes. Experience is the best teacher and the only way you will learn the real life ins and outs of the craft.
Licensing
After graduating from college and passing an approved national exam, you can then apply for your license. Make sure to check on the requirements for your state as they can differ slightly from others.
Also check to make sure there are not other policies that you need to adhere to such as having to display your license at your place of work or continuing education requirements you need to meet in order to maintain your license.
Being a massage therapist is a great way to contribute to the peace and quiet of society. Giving rest and relaxation to a stressed out world could be your call in life. If so, follow these tips to success.
