“For fast active relief, try slowing down.” ~Lily Tomlin

I don’t like to rush. I don’t like to rush others either. While I detest rushing and realize all the dangers of rushing; klutzy accidents, spills, awkward moments, mistakes ugh! It just isn’t pretty. I actually do my best to create situations so I am not rushed and do not rush others. I am chronically punctual and there is never anyone there to appreciate it.

I went to get a massage one time from another therapist who was rumored to be amazing. I arrived (of course) 10 minutes early. She wasn’t out of her session yet. So I waited. Then she came out and handed me the form to fill out. I got done with the form about the same moment her client came out. She told me to just give her the paper and go on in while she “checked out” the client.
I hesitated. I was attempting to be polite. I thought perhaps her day was a shambles because clients were late and she was being nice. So I offered that I could wait a bit if she needed time to take a break and clean her room. She said no and asked me to follow her, while she waved at the departing client. She told me to go ahead and undress while she changed the sheets. I looked at the clock it was exactly the time my appointment was due to start. I asked if I could please wait until she finished changing the sheets and left the room before I got undressed and on the table. She said nope that wasn’t how she worked and she didn’t have time to do that. WOW!

And yet I had heard she was amazing. So, I just said I would get undressed and stay behind the screen until the table was ready. She joked about me being really modest for a massage therapist. I didn’t launch on that one. I really wanted to get the massage that was supposed to be amazing. It wasn’t. She only did effleurage, compression and very light point work. She talked the whole time. She would lightly touch a point and start telling me that this is where my pain was because of some nutritional thing. I told her I didn’t hurt there. She said it just hadn’t manifested fully yet but, she was going to take care of that before it did and save me the trouble. Yeah, the whole massage was her massage not my massage. And it wasn’t an hour like I expected. It was exactly 48 minutes from the time of my appointment when she announced that the session was over and she had another client in minutes so if I wouldn’t mind getting dressed and pulling those sheets for her, since I was a massage therapist and knew how to do that, she would see me out front in just a sec! WOW!

So I do not rush. I talk very little during the session. I like to listen. I like to help clients get the session they need. I like to meet clients where they are at. I schedule 30 minutes in between sessions so I can get a drink, go to the bathroom, clean the room completely (thank you) and maybe even return a phone call or text if I need to, sometimes I even snack. I am fully ready for the next client. They have my full attention. I am not thinking about rushing at all. I do not want my clients to think about it either.

If a client is late I do not call them 15 minutes after their appointment time. I have a deep fear that I would be calling them in the middle of a crisis or a wreck. Really, that would be my luck. I wait at least 30 minutes, sometimes later and send them an email. That seems safer and less rushed than a phone call or text message. I am quite fortunate that I do not have a problem with late clients. If the are 10 minutes late it is no big deal. I set aside time so I do not have to rush. I want to hear their whole story, I need all their information, I do not mind taking time to visit and go over results of the last session and/or goals for the next session. That is just comfortable for me and I believe the clients really appreciate it.

I did have one chronically late client. I simply changed their appointment time but didn’t tell them. They always apologized, had the best intentions, never wanted to change their appointment to another time and always offered to just have a shorter session. They appreciated it and gave me amazing holiday gifts.

The other benefit of this not rushed relationship with my clients is that the very few times I have had to rush to do something, they not only understood but fully supported me. They supported me when I had to cancel three weeks of appointments to rush to Oklahoma City after the bombing and work with 70 other therapist from 9 states to provide massage for the Rescue Teams, FEMA, Medical Examiners, volunteers and family members of the victims. They completely understood and didn’t mind missing an appointment or rescheduling when my husband Christopher and I answered the call to volunteer to train and mentor the AMTA Missouri Chapter and Missouri Massage Therapists so that they could provide relief and response after the Joplin Tornado.

So yes we don’t mind responding to a real emergency but, seriously no rush, just schedule an appointment whenever you like, take your time, it is after all your time.

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