If you want to become a professional massage therapist, you will most likely have to go to massage therapy school. What kind of school you go to, and how long you have to go for, depends on where you live. I graduated from a 720 hour massage program in Albuquerque, NM, though the minimum requirement for this state is 650 hours. New York has more strict requirements at 1000 hours. Check with the American Massage Therapy Association to find out what the licensing requirements are in your state or county. In very few states, licensing is not required.
A massage education usually involves a lot of time in the classroom, both in terms of academic classes and hands-on training. "Book" classes include anatomy and physiology, as well as ethics. Many schools nowadays also offer a business class so as to prepare students to be able to succeed as professional massage therapists upon completion of the program. In terms of the hands on portion, the foundation will most likely consist of Swedish oil massage. From there, you may have classes in shiatsu, deep tissue, craniosacral therapy, and polarity depending on the curriculum of your chosen school. The time you can devote to any one modality is limited, so this is more of a general introduction to many different modalities of bodywork which will give you a better idea of the kind of massage you like to do. You can always get more training in any modalities you are interested in after graduation. Of course, if you already know the type of bodywork you like to do, you can pick a program that is mostly or completely devoted to one modality of massage.
When choosing a school, it is important to consider the quality of instruction offered. Most massage schools will have a website and you can often learn about a school's instructors via online profiles. Check out what kind of work they do, how long they have been in the field, and what experiences they have both in terms of massage practice as well as in teaching massage. These are the people who you will be learning from, so you want to make sure the instructors are good at what they do and can impart their knowledge and know-how to you.
Make sure to visit the school before you decide, if possible. If the students and staff seem happy, and it feels good to you to be there, it could very well be a good fit. On the other hand, disgruntled students and staff are a big warning sign that something important is lacking in the school.
One important point which may sound obvious is that you should be pretty sure of your motivations for going to school. That motivation should be to help people heal by becoming a professional massage therapist. If you have many disparate goals such as healing yourself, or learning about the human body, don't just jump into school unless you have the resources to burn. Doing many massages a day to earn a living is a far cry from enjoying getting massages or giving them occasionally. Massage is demanding both physically and mentally, and a career as a professional therapist is not for everyone. Many people go through school, expending intense effort as well as a large sum of money, only to discover that a career in massage is not for them.
That said, massage can be a very rewarding career on many levels. It is a fast growing field as more and more people turn to alternative health care and discover the healing power of massage. As a massage therapist, you can have a real, positive effect on peoples' lives. If you do decide to go to massage therapy school, choose a good one and take advantage of what you can learn while there.
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