Consumer Edition
May 2006 | Vol. 7, No. 5
© 2006 American Massage Therapy Association®
All rights reserved.
Dear e-touch reader,
Probably most of us have, at some point, donated our free time and skills to a project or cause that we care about. This edition of e-touch describes the experience of an AMTA member who donated her time and talent to the television series Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, and found many surprises, delights and rewards while doing so!
In other news, the website for mtj has just been enhanced with online-only exclusive stories and expanded content from the columns! Check it out right here.
Enjoy the issue!
~The Editors
E-mail: etouch@amtamassage.org
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By Jane Seiberling
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eing a massage therapist can sometimes lead to unexpected and wonderful opportunities. Just ask AMTA member Kristen Sykora!
Sykora, a graduate of the Swedish Institute in New York City, is a licensed massage therapist practicing in New York. One day in March she was talking with Alure Home Improvements, an award-winning local remodeling firm she had contracted to work on her house. While they spoke, Alure told her some surprising news that gave her a great idea.
A Great Idea
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Alure had agreed to be the crew for an episode of the hit ABC television series, “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” It would be Alure’s fourth time working for the show. Their task was to tear down and rebuild a three-story home in less than five days.
Because everyone on the crew of the show is a volunteer, donating their labor to help a family in need, Sykora thought it would be a nice addition to have a team of volunteer massage therapists to work on the crew during their breaks.
Working the Telephone
Alure loved the idea, and Sykora sprang into action. She sent e-mails to the Swedish Institute alumni site and her AMTA chapter, telling her colleagues that “It is an exciting opportunity, as we may get to promote massage to those who labor physically every day for a living, as well as volunteer for a great cause!”
Getting people to commit had its challenges; for one thing, Sykora couldn’t tell them the location until 48 hours before the job would start. But through plenty of hard work on the telephone lines, Sykora put together a crew of 23 massage therapists. Early on the morning of Tuesday, March 28, she was able to call all the therapists who had signed on and tell them to go to the home of the Peter family in Jamaica, Queens, NY.
Volunteers On Site
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The worksite was very secure; the entire street was blocked off, and all the therapists had to report to a warehouse near the site to sign in. Once signed in, they were issued official T-shirts that gave them freedom to move around the site. They all provided their own massage chairs and tables, face covers, disinfectant and so forth.
“There were some services in tents,” says Sykora, “but we were set up on the sidewalk next to the Alure tent. We were lucky because the weather was beautiful—it rained only one day for about an hour. There were also usually a few massage therapists working in the warehouse too.”
The volunteer therapists worked for five days in two- to seven-hour shifts, from 6 a.m. until 12 a.m. “We could only have teams of three to five therapists working in a shift, because they didn’t want to lose too many workers from the site at one time,” recalls Sykora. Some therapists worked only a few shifts, while others stayed for many hours and until 2 or 3 in the morning because, says Sykora, “the need was so great, and we were having such a good time!”
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All massages were done over clothing and lasted 5 to 15 minutes. Chair and table massages were provided to all members of the crew, including workers from Alure, ABC staff, caterers and other volunteers.
The volunteer therapists didn’t, however, get to work on the show’s hosts. Reports Sykora, “ABC wanted us to give massage on the bus on Monday, but we didn’t know they would still be filming that day.” Only two therapists were able to return Monday, and with all the activity of filming they were able to give only a few massages to the crew.
Still, Sykora did get to see the big reveal to the Peter family the day before, on Sunday. “I was invited to the Alure tent to watch it all,” says Sykora.
It was a wonderful experience for all who participated. “There was such a need for our services,” says Sykora. “The workers were all so grateful. One man told me he felt like he’d gotten hours of sleep after only a 15-minute massage!”
The experience left her eager to help out again. “I’ve already been contacted for another episode being filmed in April,” says Sykora, “and I’m trying to get some of the same people to work with me again.”
The television episode of the Peter family’s home makeover is scheduled to air on May 7, 2006, on ABC. Sykora succeeded in organizing a second crew to help with the makeover of the Arena family’s home in Purdys, NY. That episode will air on May 14, 2006. You can read more about that experience in the June edition of e-touch. To learn more about Alure and its relationship with “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” go to the Alure home page at www.alure.com.
Want a massage? Go to AMTA’s Find a Massage Therapist® national locator service! It’s a quick and easy way to find a qualified massage therapist in you area. For your massage needs, choose an AMTA member!
Jane Seiberling is publications manager for AMTA and editor of e-touch.
Volunteerism can be great way not only to help others, but also help you meet your life goals. You could meet new people, use skills you usually don’t, and learn things you might never have known.
Interested in a little history and some fun facts about volunteering?
- In 2005, 64.5 million people volunteered in some capacity. The volunteer rate held steady at 28.8 percent.
- Volunteers spent a median of 52 hours on volunteer activities during the period, unchanged from the previous year. Men spent 52 hours and women spent 50 hours doing volunteer work.
- By population, 25 percent of men and 32 percent of women age 16 and up volunteered in 2005.
Sometimes a perfect volunteering opportunity just comes up, but at others you may want to research the activity before you give your time. Fortunately the Internet offers great resources to help you make your charitable decisions.
One of the most famous volunteer home-building efforts is Habitat for Humanity You can go to their website to learn about their projects near you, or worldwide.
If you’re trying to start your own independent volunteer effort, check out the website Independent Sector. They gather and share research on volunteerism, as well as giving solid advice to people thinking of contributing time and money.
You can find a lot more links to information and other resources at the U.S. Department of State Volunteerism homepage.
However you decide to get involved in volunteering, giving to others will ultimately give back to you. You can do your little bit to change the world, and have some fun too, by becoming a volunteer!
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
By now you’ve seen mtj’s new look in print. But have you had a chance to look at it online? Visit www.amtamassage.org/mtj to find online exclusives and opportunities to tell us how we are doing!
mtj keeps you in touch with the latest in the industry. A key way we do that is through our columns. Let us know what how the new columnist line-up is doing by taking our brief survey. You’ll also find online bonus material, including an exclusive article on one member’s account of living through Hurricane Katrina, as well as extra content from some of our columns.
So check out mtj online today and keep yourself in touch.CLICK `N PICK: DO YOU DO VOLUNTEER WORK?
Please spend a few moments answering this question at the link below, even if you never volunteer. It’s quick, and it’s easy! See the results in the next issue of e-touch.
Last Month's Results
What's your favorite way to overcome stress?
Number of responses: 11
| Get a massage |
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| Give a massage |
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| Meditate |
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| Play sports or exercise |
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| Rearrange home or office |
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Q: I just had a massage, and I feel great! But before I left, my therapist asked me to be sure to schedule my next appointment. Why would I need to get a massage more than once in a while?
A: The therapeutic effects of massage are cumulative, so the more often a person gets a massage, the better he or she will feel and the more quickly one’s body will respond. Massage has its greatest benefits over time. From one session to the next, relaxation deepens as the chronic patterns of stress in the body are identified and released. These changes are readily felt in day-to-day life as well, which is another reason keep the progress going. If you are getting massage to address chronic muscular tension or recovery from a soft tissue injury, more than one session is usually needed. So be prepared to schedule several sessions.
Source: American Massage Therapy Association, 2005.
Head Massage
For those of you who spend a lot of time "in your head," a good head massage works a variety of accupressure points, increasing circulation to your head and brain. It is very relaxing, and can take as little or as much time as you wish. Take a minimum of two to three minutes. Close your eyes to diminish sensory input and start by resting the bases of your palms on your forehead with the fingers positioned on the scalp. Using a firm pressure and NOT sliding your palms or fingers at all, rotate your hands. This moves your whole scalp. Then with your right hand, using a circular motion of your fingertips, massage the right side of your scalp. Reposition your hands as necessary to cover the entire right side of your scalp front to back and from the midline of your scalp to your ears. Remember not to slide your fingers, but use just enough pressure to move the top layer of your scalp. Now switch and work on the left side of your head. Next, using either your index or middle fingers on both hands, place them midline of your scalp and at the edge of your hairline. Working from front to back, using the same circular pressure as before, massage these pressure points, advancing a quarter inch at a time. Use as little or as much pressure as feels good to you. Stop when you reach the "crown" of your head. The finishing touch to this massage is to take small tufts of your hair and gently pull and release them, covering the whole head; then gently scratch your entire scalp. Practicing deep breathing while doing this massage adds greatly to the benefits of this massage technique. Now you're ready to go back to work if you must, or go to sleep if it's bedtime!
Sandi Russ
Professional Member
Greenville, South Carolina
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Articles submitted by individual authors are copyrighted by those authors and reprinted with their permission. Views expressed in these articles are not necessarily the views of the American Massage Therapy Association®, and should in no way be construed as an endorsement. They are for informational purposes only.AMTA Mission
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