7. Sustaining Your Practice: Strategies for Balancing Mind and Body

In this post, we’ll explore strategies for balancing mind and body to sustain your practice and prevent burnout.

Addressing Burnout and Sustainability: Burnout is a common issue among massage therapists. Finding balance in your practice is essential for long-term sustainability and well-being. It is essential to have healthy boundaries, such as ending your treatments on time, not bringing people in before or after your regular shift if you're too tired to accommodate them.  If it is challenging for you to say "no" or "not now", consider using a Waitlist Strategy to put interested parties on a waitlist, where you can then pick and choose who you see.

Self-Care and Professional Growth: Implementing self-care routines and focusing on professional growth can help maintain a healthy work-life balance. These strategies support both your personal and professional development.  Some self-care massage therapists regularly turn to are: time in nature, baths, yoga, meditation and time with friends. 

Implementing New Self-Care Routines: Try incorporating a new self-care routine to support your well-being. Reflect on how these practices can enhance your overall health and sustain your practice.  If you're uncertain about how to incorporate these, consider doing a 30-day Self-care Challenge with yourself to implement at least one small thing for 15 mins per day for 30 days in a row.

Conclusion: Balancing mind and body is crucial for a sustainable massage therapy practice. Stay tuned for our next post, where we’ll discuss building your professional network.

References: Ljungqvist, O., Scott, M., & Fearon, K. C. H. (2017). Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) Protocols. JAMA Surgery. DOI: 10.1001/jamasurg.2017.0935

Eryn Price RMT has been in the healing arts for 25 years, instructing massage therapists for over a decade and has put over 500 therapists through her Mastectomy Guide certificate programs in the past 3 years. She is incredibly passionate about filling the gap in women's and trans health relating to accessing safe, educated, and ethical care for post-surgical rehabilitation from breast and chest surgery. To learn more about future training opportunities to enhance your massage therapy practice, please visit https://www.mastectomyguide.com/list-of-upcoming-courses.