Why Learning both Eastern and Western Massage Techniques Can Benefit Your Career

Why Learning both Eastern and Western Massage Techniques, there are many different techniques when it comes to massage therapy.

You cannot drill down and isolate a single therapy type and say that it is the most effective.

This is because each type of massage therapy technique has a specific advantage.

In other words, all massage therapy techniques are effective in their own manner.

Even though there are many sub-categories of massage therapy techniques, there are only two main classifications.

The two categories of massage therapy techniques are eastern and western.

There are many similarities and many differences between these two therapy techniques.

This makes them unique in their own way.

Eastern massage techniques have a concept of healing the body through balance while western therapy techniques have a completely different approach; one based on touch and muscle tissue manipulation.

Why Learning both Eastern and Western Massage Techniques.

Eastern massage therapy focuses more on the body’s natural balance.

They believe that the body has a natural balance which needs to be restored to eliminate any dysfunction.

However, the western massage therapy techniques focus more on hand movements, strokes and muscle stimulation.

Not surprisingly, both of these massage therapy techniques have proven to be equally effective.

There is no doubt about the fact that eastern massage therapy techniques have been around for longer, however.

One cannot single out one type of the one you should learn. In fact, it is preferred that you learn both massage therapy techniques.

This may have a significant impact on your massage practice since you may be able to provide a greater number of services to a greater number of individuals.

Here are a few reasons you should learn both western and eastern massage therapy techniques:

Client Preference – Why Learning both Eastern and Western Massage Techniques

One of the main reason you should learn both types of massage techniques is to please your clients.

On a daily basis, therapists come across a variety of clients.

Some clients just aim to get a massage for relaxation. However, there are others who focus more on healing their body rather than relaxation alone.

Clients who get a massage for relaxation are not quite picky.

They prefer all types of massage therapy techniques that relax them.

However, the clients who aim at healing their bodies prefer specific types of massages.

There are even certain clients who simply rely more on western techniques since they know more about them.

However, if you only know how to perform western massage, you may also get a client who doesn’t prefer the technique.

This is why it is best to learn about both techniques.

This could give you the ability to cater to the needs of every type of client that you come across.

Clients often prefer such convenience and variety. They like having the provisions of multiple services under a single roof.

Variety of Services Provided – Why Learning both Eastern and Western Massage Techniques

One of the best things any massage facility can do is to provide a bunch of services together.

This attracts a variety of customers and you may be able to boost your massage business substantially.

By providing both, could be getting customers who like eastern and western massage together.

Learning multiple massage techniques can be extremely beneficial for the business.

The time to start developing skills for eastern techniques is when you are in massage school. There are many advantages for this.

First and foremost you will know multiple massage techniques right out of school and you won’t have to spend extra time learning another massage technique.

Another important thing is the broader range of job opportunities which may be available to you.

You may not be able to get a job in a massage facility that uses eastern massage techniques.

But, if you know both western and eastern you could have a lot more options as to where you can apply for work.

This proves to be extremely helpful if you plan on working as a massage therapist rather than opening your own practice.

You can even make your way into alternate careers such as becoming a sports therapist or working at a spa.

Development of Skills

The only way a human being can develop is when the mind is being challenged.

Similarly, if you want to become a good therapist, you have to challenge your mind.

Challenging the mind will bring out the best in a person.

For a massage therapist, the best way of raising the bar for the brain is to learn multiple massage techniques; especially ones that are very different from each other.

This could give you a deep understanding of how both types of massages work.

Moreover, the techniques for both massages may help compliment your skills for each other.

Broader Career Horizon – Why Learning both Eastern and Western Massage Techniques

Even though the eastern massage technique is not a very popular technique in the United States, it is an important one and one that is more popular overseas if you’d like to travel or live abroad someday.

When you know both types of massages, you can select either one and make a specialized career in it for yourself, or you can remain a generalist that provides multiple types of services. The point is that you will have options, and options are always good to have.

Learning Both Massage Therapy Techniques

There are many ways you can make sure that you learn both massage therapies.

The first and probably one of the easiest is to learn both while you are in massage school.

This could allow you to begin practising both techniques as soon as you complete your education.

In the event you don’t learn something you wanted to or wished your school offered, you can always pursue additional classes elsewhere.

You can also expand your horizons by learning new types of massages through continuing massage education which is a requirement for ongoing licensing.

If you want to build a career specializing in multiple massage therapy techniques, you should definitely consider this as you evaluate massage schools to attend.

Most massage therapy schools provide programs for all types of massage techniques.

But there are some which do not. This is why you have to make sure that both techniques are offered prior to getting an admission.

The best way to do this is request information from all the schools you are considering in advance and take the time to go through the information material.

You can use our comprehensive database of massage schools near you to request information 100% for free. You can access our database here.

Do keep in mind that the most commonly practised techniques in the United States are a form of western massage.

That said you can certainly incorporate eastern techniques into your practice.

This could give both your massage practice and your customers a better variety of options while increasing your chances for greater professional success.

Your ongoing aspiration should be to acquire the necessary skills to deliver the health and wellness benefits your clients seek.

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This is exactly what successful massage therapists do.

Why Learning both Eastern and Western Massage Techniques

Neal Lyons is a founding member and volunteer contributor at the MTSI Institute, an information based portal dedicated to guiding and assisting aspiring massage therapists establish a successful career in massage. Neal is a published author and has collaborated on several mobile applications that serve the massage profession. You can view his published work on Amazon, iTunes, Barnes & Noble, Sony and Kobo. You can connect with him on Facebook, Twitter and on Google+

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