Massage News
(there ain’t much).
May 9th, 2020
NOTE: Please take a moment to look at the Art Energy Project tab. This is a creative ‘hands off’ healing practice that I am developing with this stay at home time.
May 6th, 2020
Dear Massage clients,
I hope you are all staying safe and getting projects done that you have put off forever. I wanted to let you all know what my tentative plans are for massage, so you can plan accordingly.
First of all, I miss all of you very much. This whole thing has certainly derailed a lot of lives (not to mention finances). But as eager as we all are to get human touch right now, and get that stress worked out, after a LOT of deliberation, I have decide not to open my practice (whatever that will look like without an office!) until late summer or the fall.
(an update a few days after sending this letter, massage is not allowed to open until July state wide anyway)
My first priority as a therapist, friend, and human being, is to ‘do no harm’. Because of my at-risk clients, I currently do not see a way to have a hands on massage practice that does not put others at risk. Masks, gloves (I couldn’t massage with gloves anyway, sorry!) really are not going to do the trick with the kind of close contact that my work involves.
There are some massage therapists that are now still working, or planning to get back to work the moment that our stay at home order is lifted. The premise is that despite the close contact, one-on-one interaction poses less threat to the population.
However, every situation is different, and this is mine: as a Geriatric massage specialist (horrible name, I know): without testing, we simply do not know enough yet- in some ways we don’t know any more than we did 5 weeks ago, about the progression that this pandemic will take.
There is absolutely no way I can make massage completely safe during a pandemic. I work with many older clients, and although most of my clients are healthy, I can’t put at risk any of my clients who are not. Even if one client got sick because of a session, well, I don’t even want to think about it.
I know this is really no news at all, but I did want to say that I miss you and am really pretty sad, as I am sure everyone is, about what has happened to human touch, but I want to be safe before anything. Massage is great, but it is not worth getting sick.
This lack of touch and human contact is going to take its toll on people, I don’t think we really know how much we will miss things until we don’t have them. I do think things will get better, but I think that more caution now will pay off later. I hope you understand my decision and that it is not made lightly. I have such a great group of clients, I feel very fortunate to have you all come to me over the years (some of you over a decade!). I look forward to keeping in touch and figuring out future plans.
I am hoping this website will be a way to do that. I plan to update it frequently, daily or if I get lazy, weekly at least!
I hope you are well, and stay well. I welcome news of any kind, and how you are, or thoughts on massage or questions for me, anything!
Also, if you have an outstanding gift certificate, let me know, I will be more than happy to refund your money for that. If you want to hold onto it, I will honor it this fall as well.
Miss you lots! I hope that you are staying healthy and as happy as is possible through all of this.
Sarah