Massage school

Changing it up.

Changing it up

‘Blogging about all things massage, and all things Jackson Hole’

 

For our millions of readers here at the Massage Professionals of Jackson Hole blog – you may have noticed several changes in direction with this blog. At first there was the stumbling, fatalistic – nobody-reads-this-anyway-and-I’d-rather-be-skiing  – sort of attitude where, as long as I interjected relevant keyword phrases on a regular basis – it would do…right?

 

But then I started to get a passion for the blog writing – and I thought a decent ‘angle’ would be to write about Rochelle and me and our nascent massage professions and business – and take readers along with us on that bumpy ride that started while we lived in a motel room at the Virginian Lodge. Not a bad theory. In my days of writing for ‘Sail’ magazine, I wrote as a sailor new to boat ownership and voyaging in general – and wrote articles for those in that same stage of boating – learn with me as I discover. (See my published articles.)

 

But then Rochelle and I went back to McKinnon massage school in Oakland, CA for two months last fall. This in itself got me much more fired-up about massage in general and I decided to report on my learning curve and start to give my ten cents worth about giving massage – and about receiving massage. I’ve had suggestions like “Write about healthy lifestyle tips, great healthy recipes, smoothies, Yoga articles” – none of which would contain keywords relevant to massage in Jackson Hole. But most of all – while I do participate in a very active, healthy, good-eating lifestyle – to write about it, on top of the gazillions of others out there doing so – would bore the kilt off of me (yes folks, I’m Scottish born and raised – hence the Gaelic name, Hamish.)

 

And now, most recently, I’ve been advised to become a travel resource for in-coming visitors and tourists to Jackson Hole and the Teton area – perhaps even the state of Wyoming…wow – a tall order – but it seems like a great idea – thus the last three blog posts about things to do in Jackson Hole. All for the sake of improving our web site’s  position on Google and other search engines.

 

So – what am I supposed to do? What is best to write about that keeps me sane; will contain the essential keywords; will interest the (millions of) readers; and yet stick to some logical, reasonable theme? Well – Rochelle and I were out for a walk yesterday and we decided to blanket the whole thing in a tag-line for the blog: “Blogging about all things Massage, and all things Jackson Hole.” What do you think of that? And you know what – I even think I’ll just write about what I darn-well please.

Be well,

Rochelle and Hamish

 

How My Massage Clients Help Me.

How My Massage Clients Help Me

My regular readers (millions of ’em)  will know that this blog is about the trials and tribulations of a new, mostly out-call  massage therapy company in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  I write about the journey which my GF Rochelle and I have decided to embark – with massage being our central theme.

 

In fact, we’re about to come upon an important and exciting first anniversary – (no, not our personal one – we celebrated our second anniversary of coupledom back in August) – but it’s our anniversary off driving off to Oakland, California from Jackson, Wyoming, for further education at the McKinnon School of Body Therapy. It has been a year since Rochelle and I first took off on a wild ride – two weeks of car camping  and hiking in Death Valley National Park and onto Oakland until late December.  We both very much enjoy this journey as it’s a discovery wrapped around a learning experience. We shared many precious, sometimes trying moments during that trip as it was all new territory to me and exciting for us both to be living as students in a completely different environment for us Jackson Hole-ites. I should explain that Rochelle had first studied the basic Swedish Massage course there the year before that!  Indeed – it was because of her positive experiences in massage work that I am now also on the band-wagon.

 

But going back to school during the fall months is just one of the paths on which this journey takes us. We’re both new massage therapists and are determined to make a real go of having a relationship, a business, a future together and who knows – in time it might pay the bills. I’ll be keeping you up to date while we’re at school in Oakland and on our adventure – but for now I want to get to the topic of this post – ‘How My Massage Clients Help Me’.

Image showing Wily Coyote

Massage therapists are in a position of help to their clients. The purpose of this post is not to go into the benefits of massage – but to consider, or at least be open to, how your clients help you. Or at least – this is how they help me: My being in the ‘new-massage-therapist-and-business’ situation that I am in – is a result of financial ruin back in 2008 -10, including the loss of my income and home back in 2008. I am 57 years old and having to start again from scratch. Massage, and Rochelle, are bringing me back in a most agreeable way – I love the whole subject and wish I had my younger years back in order to have more ‘future’ in which to learn. But how my clients help me is simply by being there on my massage table. I am grateful. They are helping me (and us – but I’m talking about me) by being clients upon whom I can practice my skills, my art – and of course they’re the source of moolah, which is why, really, we’re all doing this in the first place.

Be well,

Hamish and Rochelle.