Are you worried about cuing your clients in ways that you may find almost intimate? Have you ever feared over stretching a client? Have you ever overdone it with a foam roller, or some other myofascial device? These are all issues that many trainers deal with on a regular basis. We can learn a lot from having even a base level of skilled touch.

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-James Nicholson

My dream is for bodyworkers to have dialogue, financial and strategic cooperation, social visibility, and understanding of our place in healthcare and our secret allies.  But what in the world is a bodyworker?

o    Well, that’s anybody’s guess, but for me it’s any form of work that approaches the body through the touch sense, whether it’s self-sensing aided by instruction or touching/interacting with the patient by the practitioner.  A bodywork form could approach any of the parts or tissues of the body, and the energy pathways running through and around the body.  Active engagement of the person’s nervous system with the goal of balance, ease, reorganization and functional achievement is probably involved in all bodywork to some degree.

o    Some, but not all, of the fields that could fall in this category are Gyrotonic and Gyrokinesis, manual osteopathy, yoga, physical therapy, medical intuition, gym training, Body-Mind Centering, orthopedic surgery, Zumba, Alexander Technique, Centered Riding, any sport, Pilates, Reiki, chiropractic, Feldenkrais, yoga, physiatry and acupuncture.

o    These fields are all distinct, and often their practitioners are radically different and bitterly opposed to one another. But they are all bodyworkers, and I am seeking to improve and promote dialogue, understanding, and sharing between bodywork fields. Dialogue and respect has been shut down by lies about economic competition, fear-based ideas that someone must be right and someone wrong, and a failure of imagination. That’s where I, and you come in.

-George Russell

“Space is soft, it’s tender it’s enveloping and delicately holding us at all times. Space allows thoughts to flow through the mind without getting stuck or snagged. Space in the heart allows for compassion to blossom, kindness to be automatic, understanding to be a given condition. Space not only allows for the body to remain in greater health, but we feel better when the muscular fabric of the body is soft and relaxed – we are more at ease in our own skin.

We can attune to the space between words, thoughts and feelings. The beautifully poignant gap between things said both internally and externally, the silence of a room, the quiet soft space of the sky.”

Jill Satterfield is a yoga and meditation teacher in New York City.

Bodyworkers can have ethical dilemmas that occur with clients, co-workers and employers.  What makes up our ethics?  Bodyworkers often face dilemmas due to the solitary nature of our work.  When ethical dilemmas arise there may be two or more possible solutions.  Does either solution lead to either party feeling harmed?  Do you risk losing a client or feeling as if you shamed a client?  You commit a small ethical misstep but you get more referrals because of it?  Maybe you feel you harmed a client in some way even though the client feels they got what they wanted.

Would you like to sit down with a group of professionals and discuss any concerns you have?  We offer a three hour class where you can do just that.  Get clarity on the legal responsibilities of your profession. Get supervision, discuss your concerns and explore professional responsibilities with a group of peers.

-Erika Clinton

New York State Licensed  Massage Therapists will be required to takecontinuing education (CE) to maintain licensure effective January 12, 2012.  Many of us already participate in continuing education to enhance our skills and continue our professional development and now New York State (NYS) wants to know about it.  After the effective date mentioned above therapists will submit proof of their CE when re-registering with the state.

Each therapist should read the law in its entirety to understand their particular obligation regarding CE.  The law can easily be accessed on the Office of Professions website: www.op.nysed.gov.  Here are some basics to help with understanding this new requirement:

1.     Newly licensed therapists will be exempt from the requirement during their first registration period.

2.     Therapists who are not currently practicing massage are not required to comply with the mandatory CE requirement.  This must be declared to the state.

3.     You need to have 36 hours of acceptable continuing education.  If your registration date occurs less than 3 years after the effective date of the law the amount of CE needed is pro-rated.  One hour per month of CE from January 2012 is how the amount of hours will be calculated.

4.     If you do not obtain the CE hours upon registration the state can allow you to practice with a conditional registration as long as you are willing to complete the CE requirements.

5.     And of course there is an additional fee for this new requirement. $45.00 in addition to your registration fee will be required.

Thankfully you have options for how to obtain your CE hours. You can take an in-person class with an instructor.  You can take a class at a conference or at a school offering a massage therapy program.    You can also take an online course.  You can have 12 hours of the total requirement as self-study (read the law to understand acceptable forms of self-study).

Online courses can be taken as self-study hours (12). We offer a variety of courses online at Getting Better Bodywork. The other 24 hours are completed in live situations and we teach these types of courses as well. We have a program to ensure that you do not miss your deadline.  Contact us if you need a course.

Courses need to be considered NYS approved and that should be clear to upon signing up for any course.  The approval process is documented on the State Education Website as well as on various sponsoring organizations (NCTMB, AMTA).  If courses submitted are questioned this could delay your registration and possibly put your license in jeopardy. Getting Better Bodywork is working on the approval process for our courses and will update as soon as that status has been acquired.

-Ericka Clinton