Amy has been working as a mobile massage therapist for over a year now and she loves her job. Read about her experience as a mobile massage therapist and how much she enjoys what she does…
When I started out as a massage therapist I already had a full-time career in theatrical Stage Management, which took up most of my time. Reflexology and massage were great extra skills to have under my belt and I frequently found that performers and crew members had bad backs that needed massaging, shoulders that required de-knotting, or necks that just loved a bit of kneading!
Since the start of this year I found myself a little disillusioned with my chosen career path. I loved working on productions, but the lifestyle was becoming less and less my bag and I needed to do something to re-boost my confidence and challenge myself in a different way. I came across an advert for a mobile massage agency and decided to give it a go. I passed the assessment day and put myself out there as a full-time mobile massage therapist.
For the past seven months I have been traveling around London with my massage table and oils, providing relaxing and therapeutic treatments to tired, stressed, achey Londoners (and visitors) in their homes, offices and hotels. And I love it!
I am often asked if I enjoy working as a mobile therapist, rather than practicing from one location and I always emphatically exclaim “Yes, I do!”. I love that I get to move around this great city, experiencing different parts of the capital along the way. And who doesn’t enjoy the chance to nose around other people’s living rooms, bedrooms and bathrooms (when I say ‘nose around’ I of course mean check out their decor and admire their furniture, art, window views and bathroom toiletries, rather than rooting through their cupboards and drawers when they’re not looking!). Every new space brings a new energy and although that can be draining, I rarely have to work in an unpleasant or uncomfortable environment.
The worst part of my job is the traveling. I use only public transport to get around and clients are often amazed that I take my massage table on the underground and in buses, but I got used to it pretty quickly. In April I upgraded my 10-year-old massage table to one that’s half the weight, so I never moan about carrying it, as I remember how it felt to lug 20kg of massage couch up and down staircases. Besides which, my couch has a fantastic set of wheels and straps that make it incredibly easy to pull along the street and lift up and down steps. I liken it to walking a dog, but without the barking and the mess, plus it doesn’t tend to pull off towards others it spots in the street!
The most stressful part of my day by far is sharing the London transport system with commuters at rush hour. I know that there are several thousand people who feel exactly the same way, but imagine doing that journey with a massage table! People see me pulling along my big black trolley and they’re actually scared that I’m going to get in their way/slow them down/stop them from getting to their destination in double-quick time. Most people who encounter me on public transport make every effort to get in front of me. A lot of the time they don’t even consciously acknowledge it. It’s an instinct; an automatic blinkered reaction to help them get where they’re going faster and more efficiently. As a result, boarding a packed train, tube or bus, for me, can be a complete nightmare. I frequently have to wait for one, two or sometimes more vehicles to come and go before I can fit onto one and even then I frequently have to forcibly push my way in and ask people to move.
Back in January I was an introverted, go-with-the-flow, don’t-make-a-fuss passenger, but these days I find myself increasingly pushy and selfish, like all the robotic, blind-sided commuters I used to moan about. I’m pretty certain I’m getting myself a reputation for being the girl who shouts at people in the carriages to MOVE DOWN!! I could write a whole article about the crazy (but sadly predictable) behaviour of the commuting masses. My journeys are particularly frustrating when I’ve allowed extra travel time to get to my client and it’s all eaten up at my first connection by having to wait 10 minutes for a train I can fit on. I have no qualms about running from a station to a client’s house, racing along the pavement like a lunatic on a mission with my trusty trolly flying behind me, but I prefer not to arrive looking like I’ve stepped out of a wind tunnel and smelling of fresh sweat, panting “Hi, I’m you massage therapist, here to relax you!”.
All that being said, I feel incredibly fortunate that the only stressful part of my job is the journey. Once I’ve arrived at my destination, set up my couch and created an appropriate atmosphere with gentle music and the wafts of lavender (or your chosen alternative essential oil), all the stress is left outside and I become the calm, tension-melting professional my client is paying to gently ease their troubles, aches and pains away. Because massage is relaxing for me too! In order to put my client at ease I need to be stress-free. I need this person, who I have likely never met before, to put their trust in me, release their tension under the weight of my hands and allow me to work on their muscles in a relaxed state.
For me, massaging someone is calming and therapeutic. I always begin with setting an intention of relaxation for my client and in aiming to release their stress I also release my own. The time that I spend with them in that calm room, inducing a state of tranquility and healing is almost as beneficial for me as it is for them. All of the stress of my journey to get to that place, however last minute and rushed, melts away as I start to soothe out the tension of the person under my hands.
But I haven’t even got to the best bit yet; the reason why I really love treating someone in their own space. My favourite aspect is the biggest benefit my client receives from having a massage therapist come into their environment. Once my work is done and my massagee* is in a blissful state of rest, appreciating the looseness of their muscles and the freedom in their joints, they don’t have to make the journey home. They are already back in their own space. They can slide into their pyjamas and sink into their sofa or climb into their bed without having to go out in the cold/rain/smog, take a bus/tube/train home or walk along busy streets, re-tensing their bodies and re-stressing their minds. It’s such an indulgent treat to have all of your stress taken away, all of your aches and pains rubbed and eased out of your body and then to be able to relax in your own space; read a book, watch a film, take a bath and bask in the bliss of being tension-free for a few more hours.
I love leaving a client’s house knowing that they feel significantly better than they did when I arrived and that they are going to enjoy the rest of their day or evening with a vastly improved feeling of physical and emotional wellbeing.
And that is why I love my job.
*YES, I DID JUST MAKE THAT WORD UP.
You might be eligible to claim a free massage treatment
Did you know you can claim chashback for 100% of a massage treatment if you are a member of a Health Shield health cash plan? Read more details on our Health Shield chashback post.