What’s Massage School Like?

That’s a question I get asked often by friends, family and clients.  The simple answer is, a proud exclamation of “only ten months!”… followed by “But then you have to take the licensing exam and that’s no joke”.  

Back when I graduated from the Therapeutic Massage & Training Center in Westfield, NJ, the total hours required for completion of a massage program was 500. It had some requirements like a total amount of hours needed for Ethics, Law & Regulations, Anatomy, Physiology, Kinesiology, Pathology and a few others.  We had to do 100 supervised clinic hours on the paying public.  Literally on the job training. There’s also a requirement to be CPR, AED & First Aid Certified. Thankfully they schedule all of these requirements for you and I didn’t have to worry about “can this class I need to graduate  fit my crazy, hectic college schedule” like the higher education days of St Johns. 

And honestly, I did it in a ten month program.  I quit my day job, and took on what was essentially a 4th year of college since I did my Bachelor of Science in 3 years.  

Ten months. Which to me? Wasn’t long enough honestly. I loved it.  It was incredibly challenging and fostered both growth as a massage therapist, but also personal inner growth too.  I never took an anatomy class before. I had no idea where the femur was, and I couldn’t tell you the difference between biceps femoris and biceps brachii.  (Thankfully, now I can). 

I had never heard of these terms the teachers were saying like “myofascial release” or “craniosacral”. They were discussing energy work (which to me is still mostly mumbo jumbo). They taught us an intro to lymphatic massage, which I fell asleep to. 

But they also taught us massage THERAPY.  Getting the body out of pain. They taught us the muscles, how it should move, why it is not moving that way, and how we can help get it there.  They taught us stretches, bamboo massage (saves our hands!), proper body mechanics so we don’t hurt ourselves giving the deep tissue pressure, an intro to prenatal where they actually brought in pregnant clients, and even how every system of the body is effected in a beautifully healing way by massage therapy sessions.   I ate it all up.  I loved this.  

I learned how to help heal my own body through these classes, both the lectures and hands on classes.  I learned more ethical case studies than I could imagine (and also how to react professionally which have all somehow come up in 6 years of being an LMT!) 

I also learned I had great leg strength from soccer, but my upper body was needing some work.  I also realized how advanced my knowledge of the lower body was because of soccer. I knew stretches for the lower body easily. Upper body? I asked for help. Again and again.   Thankfully, my teachers and classmates allowed for an environment where asking questions was not a sign of weakness, but an attitude of curiosity for growth.   I am always grateful for my teachers and classmates.  

I also learned how absolutely crap my posture was back then. My teacher Millie was the posture police.  She always came around and fixed our body mechanics while massaging, our posture during any lectured class, and even would poke and prod and tell us exactly where we are tight because of these prolonged sitting styles we had. 

And then, after graduation, I had to take the Massage & Bodywork Licensing Exam, aka the MBLEX.  As I sat there, taking it, I thought I failed.  In those anxious test taking moments, I didn’t even think of the fact I would have to repay the $265 and take it again. All I could think of was that I changed my career, studied so hard, and just went blank. I thought about letting down my parents.  Letting down my new girlfriend and putting a stain on myself in my future in-laws eyes that their daughter is dating someone who isn’t smart.  I thought about letting down my teachers.  

But then, somehow, I got the results in my hand.  

PASSED. 

I blacked out. I don’t remember driving home. I don’t remember calling my teachers, my parents, or my soccer coach. I called everyone.  

I’m so happy we don’t get the grade and it is just Pass/Fail. 

Still to this day, when people tell me “wow you can tell you really love this” or “wow you are so good at this”, I always respond with “Thank You, but I just had really good teachers who had really good teachers”.   I am the massage therapist I am today because of this foundation TMTC gave me.  For that I am always grateful.  

I am also mindful of the fact that those ten months are not enough to be a great, knowledgeable LMT.  

Thankfully in Nj, we are required to do 20 hours of Continuing Education every 2 years.  14 of those have to be in person. 2 hours have to be ethics, 1 has to be NJ Law.  

And I’ve now renewed three times.  All three times I’ve managed to take over the 20 required CEU hours.   There is so much to learn.  I do believe the second you become complacent, is the second your business, your career, your abilities, all become obsolete. 

“When you stop learning, you start dying” - Albert Einstein.