I reached a milestone this year

This year I technically ended a decade and have started a new decade. I think that feels like a milestone to me. What does that mean? I have no idea. Just that I am now older than I ever imagined that I might ever be. Growing up I always wondered if I might get to be that age. Guess what, I did get there. I will also get there and things will be just fine.

I also reached another year in my business. I have now been practicing my work, will have once we turn to 2008, for fourteen years. I used to think that I would never get to this place. I thought that I might do this for a while and then go on to something else. I never imagined that I would be defining my life with my work. However that has what has happened. I am a Muscular Therapist and that is who I am and what I am.

One of my goals for 2008 is to really write this more than once every six months or so.

I want to be a Massage Therapist?

You have no idea how many times people ask me that question. Here's some examples. A client sitting in my office says "I want to be a Massage Therapist", A tenant in my building says "my girlfriend wants to be a Massage Therapist", or a complete stranger finds out that I am a Massage Therapist and says "wow, I have always wanted to do that for a job".

I am always very supportive of the individuals in the first two examples. I'm a result of the first cited, once being a client who chose to pursue massage after being exposed to the difference that well done massage can make in ones life. The second example gives me the opportunity to support a person who is considering their options, possibly helping them to make a decision. I'm not all that excited when a stranger mentions it, as I can't tell if they only want to make conversation or that they are hinting they want a masssage without knowing how to ask for one. Silly people!! Just ask to book an appointment.

In my case, I was a fledgling college student who was exhausted, stressed, and working too many hours. I had received massage in the past and was looking for a source for body work that I could afford. I was fortunate to discover the Muscular Therapy Institute in Cambridge MA. I can't say that the massage was the best one I had ever experienced up to that point. It was, however, very different than any massage I had before. I wondered why there coud be such a difference in massages, going back a couple more times to see if I could discover the secret.

I really began to understand the the differnece lay in the work and the depth of massage. One day, I ended up at one of the introductory workshops; the next thing that I new, the following fall I was enrolled in the school. I didn't plan on becoming at student at the school, only to get affordable massage from students, and relief from the stresses of school and work. I'm not sure what happend. I haven't tried to figure it out or wonder if there was any divine intervention or anything. It just happened. Well, thirteen years have passed since then. I'm still going!

Regarding the tenant who asked me about his girlfriend wanting to be a massage therapist, his desire is to offer encouragment and support to her. That's part of the fun! I got to answer his questions and, for the most part, just listen to what he was saying. I offered a few suggestions about what to do if she really is interested and also offered to meet with her if she wants to talk further. I encouraged her plans and hope that she get's in touch with me.

Well, that's it for now. I will expand on the qualities and education that I think one needs to become a good Massage Therapist over the next few posts. Otherwise this post will be too long for anyone to read. Plus I need a few more topics to keep the blog going.

What a day! Salt Lake City 2006

What an amazing day we had at convention today. I can't begin to describe all the things that we did. However some of the highlights were noted in the pictures on the blog today.

Bev (Mom) and I got going quite early today. We had lots and lots of things to finish up today. So off we went caught the shuttle at just the right time. We caught up with Dr Ladd McNamara and asked a few questions. We also got to talk to the folks at the Healthy for Life booth as well. I also met some great people and we all were bouncing ideas off each other. What a pleasure to talk to like minded folks.

The general session this afternoon was so very very nice. Many fun speakers and the car contest winners. Usana gave away 6 cars this year. I did not get the BMW though so I guess I have to work a bit harder at it for next year.

The best part of the day was Bev performing a few duties. She drew the names for the convention survey raffle and then she danced the Two a Day dance with the Usana staff in the store. She also got a chance to see and talk to the keynote speaker Li from the Houston Ballet. What a day for all of us here in Salt Lake City. I hope that you all will come with us next year for more fun and frolic.

Usana International Convention 2007 August 22-25, 2007. See you there.!

Salt Lake City again!

I am off again to Salt Lake City Utah. This is my fifth trip there and each time I go I explore a bit farther away from the hotel and the conference center. This year I am actually going to get a massage. This massage is not going to be in my room at the hotel nor is it at a spa. It is at a professional massage therapist's office. I actually have to get a cab and go there. I am quite proud of myself and excited that I am doing something outside of the convention. I am happy to also meet some locals. Not just locals that are working at the event itself.

I am staying at the Little America Hotel. This hotel is a jewel. We found this hotel (last year) through AAA here in Maine and of course we were not sure that we wanted to stay there however the rate was far too good to pass up. What a surprise to find that the hotel was so nice. You can look at it here. http://www.littleamerica.com/slc/

We were a bit late making our reservations this year so we were happy to get a room from someone that had to cancel their trip. I am sorry that this group will not be coming to the convention this year however I am happy that I was able to get a room. I like this hotel so much better than the other large hotels near the Salt Palace and the Delta Center that I don't even mind the walk. The UTrax is just outside and that is a great ride.

So if you are looking for me this week (Sept 12-17, 2006) I will be in Utah. See you all when I return. I might even get a chance to post some pictures while I am away.

Have a great week!

Time to update

I guess it is time to update my blog. I must admit I have been meaning to do this for a few months and I just got out of the habit. So tonight I decided to update the blog and also add a few things that another massage therapist and I are going to work on over the next few months.

What are we going to work on: Getting out and trying some different places around Portland Maine and also try to fit in some travel. We came up with this brainstorm on our way back from Philadelphia in January. We had a really successful trip to see BodyWorld2 at the Franklin Institute for Science. So the list of places that we are going to go will be listed below, we will add to the list as we go along and we will also include a little critque of the place.

Here is the list:
Isis on Penhallow - Portsmouth New Hampshire
Ocean Pizza I have been here many times...I need to take more people here.
Siam In Portland
Portsmouth Gas Light
Pepper Club
The Front Room
Cape Arundel Inn

Cities and Countries to visit:
Washington DC
London
Spain
Boston
New Zealand again and again and again
Australia

So we are off on our next adventure...does this have anything to do with massage...no...however I am going to keep at this. I am also going to add some pictures of our trip to Philly here.

See you next time!

Thanksgiving eer Harry Potter

I am sitting here this evening thinking about Thanksgiving being all over this time next week. What a bummer. It feels like the fall just really got going. Soon we will be into winter and I don't really want to think like that though since the weather has been quite nice here in Maine over the last few weeks. We even got very close to 60 degrees here (southern Maine that is)over the last day or so. Anyway by this time next week Thanksgiving will also be over almost.

Enough about Thanksgiving...let me get to the real reason that I am writing today. The newest Harry Potter movie is coming out in an hour and a half. I can't wait to see the new movie. These are really my favorite movies of the year. I could sit and watch each one over and over and over again. I am going to pass on watching it this weekend as I know the theatre will be packed. We meaning my husband Mitch and I will be going probably on Tuesday. I can't wait to see what they have done with this one Goblet of Fire.

How does all of this relate to massage? It doesn't. However if you come to see me for a massage we can talk about the movie the books or anything related to massage if you want.

I also wanted to let you know that I have a holiday special on gift certificates. Purchase 4 and get one free for yourself to use. This offer is valid till New Years Day 2006. So get your certificates now for that special someone on your list. Hey it is so much better to shop locally. There are a number of reasons that I say that. One: it is less stressful. Two: you do something good for someone. Three: you get in touch with local merchants, who keep the local economy going in your town, city or neighborhood. Look them up they have some great things to offer.

Bye for now.

Leaving for Vermont

We are working on a few projects here around the house. One of the projects is painting the front steps. I also added painting the front doors to the list. We have painted the doors a wonderful color of green. When the sun ever decides to come out again I will get a picture and add it here.

How does that relate to massage? It has nothing to do with massage at all. I just wanted to let you know what it is that I have been doing in between the raindrops.

I am getting ready to leave for Vermont tomorrow morning. I am quite excited about the trip. I am looking forward to connecting with my family there, and some good friends.

Have a great weekend!! See you later!

Have you ever?

Have you ever wondered why you might have fallen into something really great? I ask that from time to time and most recently I asked it about my Usana business. Once I asked that question I figured it out today. Here is why: http://www.forbes.com/200best/

I am so excited about what I do for a living. Can you just imagine what it is like to help someone improve their health then help them find that they can start a business and help others. Then when you look at the company that is supporting our efforts. How can you beat that one? Usana is such an incredible company to work with. I am so glad that I waited to find the best.

If you would like more information about Usana, my massage practice or anything related. Please feel free to contact me at this site.

Have a terrific week.

Contest for October

Wow, what a great afternoon we had the sun peaked out and gave us a show. How nice it was to see the sun after an entire week of no sun at all. That was a great way to cap off a great weekend already.

By now you all should have a copy of my newsletter. I wanted to say thank you for taking the time to read it. The information is not junk at all and some times you just never know what you might get from it. I am also getting a lot of comments about my newsletter. Thanks everyone for your support.

The first winner (not the last) of an extra half hour massage is Marsha Lawson. Would you like to pay the half hour price for a full hour massage? If so answer my trivia question. If you are correct you will get that as a gift from me. Bye for now. Have a great week.

My contest for the month of October 2005!

I am sitting here it is raining again. When hasn't it rained in the last week. I am listening to the cold raindrops hit the window and they are quite noisy. The cat is torn between sitting here with me or going to the living room to sit with Mitch. She has been back and forth a number of times. She can't decide what to do.

I have been thinking about my contest for my newsletter this month. I have been pondering what it is that I am going to offer to the folks that return an e-mail back to me after they answer the question. So here it it. There is a picture on my blog of Thurl Bailey and myself. Here is the question. Please tell me if you know what college team and professional team he played for? I will give you a hint they did win the college National Championship.

If you answer that question. Send me an e-mail with your response. I will give all the people that get the answer correct a free half hour session when they book an hour session with me at River Bend Therapeutic Massage. So send in your answers. Winners will be announced here on the blog.

Have a good weekend. I look forward to getting a lot of responses to this question.

Thurl Bailey and Heather

Thurl Bailey and Heather
Originally uploaded by hgheather.

I wanted to write a bit about this picture. It was taken in Sept 2005. Since I am a massage therapist hands are a very important feature of my work. You can see that Thurl's hands are so much bigger than mine. Thurl Bailey is an incredible motivational speaker. Thanks Thurl for being a good sport and putting up with my silly request.

Responses to my survey, a thanks and my newsletter

Ok so it is two days after my most recent post. I have recieved a number of e-mails related to my survey. Many people said that there were not enough choices for pricing of massage. One person paid $65/per session and that was not represented. I wanted to get a feel for what it was all about. I am not looking for specific details or specific information. I want to play with the information to see what happens when people answer questions.

Another part of my survey is the membership part. I did not get many responses to that answer. I am thinking about getting into some form of membership agreement where clients pay a monthly fee and for that fee they are given at least one massage a month and a discount off the other sessions that they may schedule that same month. What do you think? Let me know here and I can answer or reply to your questions.

I also want to thank Nat Piper for giving me this great idea about creating something that would give a sense of community. He even suggested the name "Hey Heather". Nat you are awesome! Thanks again.

I have a monthly newsletter that comes out on the 15th of the month. If you would like to get an electronic copy in your inbox let me know and I will add you to the list. Many comments come in from that like "I love your newsletter", "what a great picture", "little bits of information that I did not know". The best comments come like this: re: News from your Massage Therapist" can I book a session on _______. I love those ones!:) If you have not had a massage in a long time and you are interested in booking one. Let me know. I book sessions via e-mail and or the telephone.

Have a great day!!!

a Survey

Please go to the bottome of the page and fill out my survey so that I can get some basic answers for my massage practice.

Thanks, I really appreciate your assistance. Don't wait too long as the survey expires at the end of October.