As of yesterday, I have a part-time massage job! I responded to a post on Craig's List and received a phone call the next day. She said to be prepared to give a 30 minute demonstration of my work. I showed up to the building a little early. It's a hair and nail salon called New Identity on 11th and Broadway in Portland. The space is very nicely lit, clean and professional. They do a lot of pedicures and hair. I've only met 2 of the people who work there, both were Vietnamese. The interview went very well, partly because I had a wonderful 2 hour Thai Massage prior to the interview. Thank You, Margaret!. I was nervous, but I liked the manager's energy. She was straight forward, honest and it was easy to communicate with her.
Getting a job, newly licensed and just out of school, is a little daunting, especially since I've only held jobs like Receptionist and Front Counter Manager for the past 2 and a half years. I have a BA and am qualified for more challenging work, but just didn't have the desire to put the energy into doing the work. Now, I have the desire to do my best, both in working for myself and for someone else. That's a first for me. It's really changing how I do things. I'm have more integrity and energy for my work.
...back to the interview. Sandra and I talked for 10 minutes about the in's and out's of the job, it's based on 60/40 commission. I get 60%, they get 40%. They would like me to be on premises, or close by, for walk-in clients during the days I'm scheduled. They provide all supplies and clients, I'm to do my own laundry. She showed me the massage rooms. They are small, but very comforting, clean with table warmers, blankets, CD player and a dimmer switch on the lights.
I asked, "who will I be giving a massage to," she said, "me". Oh. It was a relief to not have the pressure of being watched like in the state practical exam. It also put more emphasis on my work being judged directly by her. I left the room, washed my hands in the bathroom, tied up my hair and attempted to leave my jitters in the bathroom. Tapping on the door to see if she was on the table, I went into the massage room and couldn't see. She had the lights turned very low compared to the bathroom I had come from. My eyes adjusted and I made myself comfortable by taking off my shoes.
We began talking about what she likes in a massage, what I'd be doing for her and for her to let me know about pressure at any time. I know that even though people aren't necessarily conscious of it they can feel how I'm feeling, especially when I'm touching them. I knew she could feel the nervous excitement pouring out my hands. I began with a little rocking on top of the sheet to feel how she holds herself. Typically, this is a shiatsu technique, but I complimented it with Mennell's stroke over the whole body before beginning. This gave me a little time to adjust before diving in.
I have to admit, I've focused on Shiatsu Massage for the past 15 months. I'm comfortable with Swedish, but Shiatsu is home. I had the slightest hesitation before pulling the sheet back, but didn't let that distract me from connecting with her. I spread the massage gel (also new for me) and let her know I was going to warm up her muscles before getting to the deep tissue massage she had requested. While I was working she asked, "is this your deep pressure?" Well, yes in some ways it was, see I don't believe in hurting people. I think some people feel in order to get deep muscle wringing massage you need to wince and hold back from crying out in pain. I feel my way through the tissue and desire to release more than just the muscle. It's the whole body that needs to relax, the body can't do this when the person is in pain.
In response to her question about pressure, I said it was my medium pressure and that the table was a bit high for me. Then I began to try to force my way in deeper and realized I was not taking care of my own body. Putting an end to that, I began to talk to her about how breathing deeply can help release the muscles and then I talked to her about trigger points. She was really interested and we had a nice exchange about how muscles get knotted and what you can do about it. She allowed herself to breathe much more deeply once I shared with her that breathing deeply helps pump her heart more, induces relaxation and moves more oxygen though the blood. I worked on a few more of her trigger points and felt some of them release now that she was breathing. I ended with compression over the sheet on her legs and a 3 minute foot massage.
The best parts were where I took care of myself, like taking off my shoes and not trying to work so deeply that it hurt my hands. Doing these things helped me open up and feel really good during the massage. People can feel this, again, even if they are not conscious of what they are feeling. She came out very happy and let me know that she had a few other people to interview, but she would call me in 2 days. She also asked if I had heard from my other prospects, I said not yet, but that I really liked this place. I left smiling. It felt so good to be able to connect with her that way and to know I had taken care of myself at the same time.
I start next Thursday, Oct. 29th! Smile. :)
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