My Massage Journey

By Ray Siderius as told by Wendy McKee

After working for 30 years in a Boise Cascade lumbermill and shipping department I was facing lay off and started to think “new career.” I probably could have stayed on at the downsized mill but it would have been at a lower wage doing work that was no longer a good fit for me. I had first thought about massage when I, many years earlier, had done endurance riding, i.e., riding a horse 50-100 miles cross country in less than half a day. I would stretch and rub my achy muscles after a long ride, and wanted to learn to do something therapeutic like that for my horse. That eventually led me to reading about massage.
Even though I had a few years of college preparing to teach, I had, some years ago, started thinking more about doing massage. I started getting massages from as many different therapists as I could find in my small community (towns of Colville and Kettle Falls in NE Washington). Knowing the layoff was coming I started doing some online research about massage training in Washington; someone encouraged me to check Oregon also, which led me to Oregon School of Massage. I was drawn to the flexible curriculum (i.e., lots of electives) and the holistic values. My impression was reinforced after visiting the school. Also, I had lived in Portland some years ago and really liked the area. Fortunately job retraining funding was approved just in time for me to begin training Summer Quarter 2009.

That first month was challenging as I was taking classes a couple days a week, then over long weekends driving 7 hours back to NE Washington to wrap up personal business there. One thing I really liked about that first quarter was that the Massage Fundamentals class fairly quickly progressed to doing whole-body massages on fellow students, which was very satisfying. Starting massage school was both scary and exciting…being in a new environment with people I didn’t know, yet seeing I could be headed for something that was really meaningful and not just a job.

As I passed into each new term, my perception of and appreciation for my classmates changed and grew. Instead of strangers, they became fellow explorers, each of us in our own place on the road of bodywork. I looked forward to exchanging work in class and out, and bouncing ideas off them. Many friendships that started in massage class are ongoing for me. We struggled to memorize muscle origins, insertions and actions together, and started our first small transitional steps toward becoming LMTs when we went through Clinic and Assessment at the end of the program.

I have been surprised, looking back, how much my sense of personal space has changed. All of a sudden in massage school you are working on, and being worked on, by others…some of whom you hardly know. You take off some or all of your clothes when you are being worked on…or the other person disrobes when I work on them. That was a whole new environment for me! Fortunately the training did a good job of teaching my classmates and I about safe and respectful draping, which allowed me to become more comfortable with the closeness of the work. Prior to massage school I was rather strictly protective of my personal space and now, while still protective, I am much more flexible and comfortable with the close proximity of bodywork. This and the overall increased awareness and acceptance of myself were significant parts of my training.

After five quarters of school and graduation, I dove into the scary licensing exams: a written test and a practical test. While studying for them they seemed like looming monsters. As it turned out, I did fine and, looking back, the exams now don’t seem like such a big deal. Sharing this part of the journey with fellow grads was a valuable source of both support and enjoyment.

After getting my license I looked at job listings but did not act on them for a few weeks…it took me that long to realize I really needed a little break. It felt rejuvenating to catch my breath and appreciate what I had accomplished up to that point. Shortly thereafter, I worked briefly in a salon, doing my first professional massage there–which was a thrill! The first couple months I felt like such a newby though, that I didn’t always feel confident about calling myself an LMT. With each massage I had a growing sense of being able to put together all of the pieces I had learned in school and now am delighted to call myself a massage therapist.

In January of 2011 I had the good fortune to find a massage position at Intel in the Beaverton-Hillsboro area. I am part of a team of six therapists; we work with employees at the various Intel locations. I really like the camaraderie, support and encouragement I experience in the team…sharing challenges and jubilation. So, I am now having many new adventures as a LMT…out in the world doing professional massages. I’ll tell you more about that in a future installment.