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Recommended Reading for Success

                       

                                                                   

A selection of books that have educated, motivated
and inspired me over the years… and still continue to do so!
I will add new titles as I discover them, and would love to
hear about your own particular favourites too. 

 


Anatomy of Movement by Blandine Calais-Germain
If, like me, you’re a bit ‘spatially challenged’ i.e. have trouble visualising the actions of muscles, then this book is for you. Written by a dancer turned physiotherapist, it covers basic musculo-skeletal anatomy, with line drawn human figures marked with large arrows showing the actions of the muscles and the corresponding movements of the limbs/relevant body part. It truly couldn’t be clearer or simpler, and I found it a fantastically helpful next step after basic anatomy training. It’s also a great book for showing to clients when you want to explain to them about muscles and their actions.  Buy now from Amazon: Anatomy of Movement

 
Massage Therapist's Guide to Pathology by Ruth Werner
I remember that one of the hardest things about starting out as a therapist was knowing how much I didn't know about pathology.  All good massage colleges teach the basic contraindications, and drum into us the principles of safe practice i.e. to err on the side of caution if we are ever unsure about whether to treat or not, and to go away and learn about the new conditions our clients have just introduced us to.

I really wish I'd found this book earlier in my career, as it is written specifically for the massage therapist in a very clear and accessible way. As well as giving a comprehensive introduction to the basic principles and vocabulary of pathology, this book presents a review of all the body systems and their pathologies, and whether or not massage would be contraindicated in such cases - genius!

So whilst this book is not particularly cheap, the information it provides brings confidence and peace of mind as a practitioner, which in my opinion is completely invaluable, especially when starting out. It taught me a huge amount as a general pathology textbook, and the quick cross-reference section makes for great ease of use as a treatment room reference tool as well. It will be something you turn to again and again throughout your massage career.  Buy now from Amazon:
Massage Therapist's Guide to Pathology (Lww Massage Therapy & Bodywork Educational) (Lww Massage Therapy & Bodywork Educational)


The World's Best Anatomical Charts: A Collection of 35 Medical School Quality Human Anatomy Charts in a Handy Desk-size Format by D Stern

A "must-have" in your client education toolkit. Clients love learning more about their own bodies, but charts are also a great way of helping us demonstrate our knowledge and how we are applying it to our clients problems. These charts have the usual skeleton, muscles, and other body systems, but also illustrated pathologies of the spine and various joints too. A brilliant visual aid when explaining to clients about herniated discs, meniscus tears, rotator cuff injuries etc.

This book is in A3 size, large enough to give lots of detail, but still small enough to carry around.  Try to have a couple of anatomy charts framed on your treatment room walls too, if possible.  A great way to look professional, and another instant education tool for clients.  Buy now from Amazon:

The World's Best Anatomical Charts: A Collection of 35 Medical School Quality Human Anatomy Charts in a Handy Desk-size Format (World's Best Anatomical Chart Series)

 

Marketing Massage: From First Job to Dream Practice by Monica Roseberry

When I started reading this book I was both elated and angry…. Elated, because here was someone witing exactly what I’ve been thinking, saying and teaching over the years about best massage practice. Angry, because it’s the book I'd always wanted to to write!!  A U.S. publication, some aspects of the content obviously don’t apply to the UK market, but the majority of it is a spot-on, practical and insightful analysis of what it takes to build and maintain a successful massage practice. It explains exactly what marketing means when applied to the massage profession, and highlights the thousand and one little details that we have to attend to in order to achieve success as a professional therapist. I learned a huge amount from this book, even reading it many years into my massage career; I can’t recommend it highly enough.  Buy now from Amazon:  Marketing Massage: From First Job to Dream Practice

Write To Sell: The Ultimate Guide to Great Copywriting
As therapists we need to produce leaflets, business cards and websites to promote our businesses. And the purpose of these things is to attract new clients - to sell.  What we say, and how we say it, will determine how successful or not our sales tools will be.
"Write to Sell" is concise and immensely practical.  It gives tips and techniques that you can use immediately to improve your witing, and to get the results that you want - more clients.  

 As a lover of long, flowery, meandering sentences, this book has definitely improved my writing style (still lots of work to be done though!!) as well as teaching me about relevant content when the aim of writing is to market and sell.  Buy now from Amazon:  Write To Sell: The Ultimate Guide to Great Copywriting


The Educated Heart: Professional Boundaries for Massage Therapists, Bodyworkers, and Movement Teachers by Nina McIntosh

In my experience the subject of professional boundaries tends to be taught piecemeal - bits here and there on confidentiality, timekeeping, sexual attraction, setting fees etc - but is not really treated as a subject in its own right, and the important issue of transference and counter-transference is often not touched on at all.

This book, again by an American author, deals with all the professional and ethical issues involved in our work as massage therapists.  It gives lots of real-life examples, and suggests practical ways of dealing with the various issues covered.

No matter how long we practice as massage therapists, boundary issues will come up again and again, and the more  educated we are about them from the start, the better we will be at dealing with them. We need to develop self-awareness, honesty and insight to figure out exactly what is going on in our client relationships - and then have the courage and sensitivity to deal with it.
And in case you think, "Well, this is just a bit of psychological theory, I don't really need to know about that" then do bear this in mind - poor boundary skills are usually the main cause of us not getting re-bookings in the first place, or of losing clients in the longer term.  Boundary skills impact directly on our ability to earn our living as massage professionals, and lack of awareness of this is often the reason that many therapists fail.  Buy now from Amazon:  The Educated Heart: Professional Boundaries for Massage Therapists and Bodyworkers (LWW in Touch Series) 
 

Body Secrets - Unwinding your Historical Limitations by Don McFarland  

My very precious copy of Body Secrets was given to me by a virtual stranger who I met whilst researching a potential massage workshop/holiday venue in Turkey. I read it on the plane on the way home, and almost every page had me grinning like an idiot in recognition – it described massage and bodywork in exactly the way that I experienced it; it felt like coming home to a place I recognised and loved deeply. ‘Body Secrets’ is written by Don McFarland, founder of the Body Harmony bodywork system, who still works and teaches internationally at 80 years of age.

"Body Secrets" was out of print for a while, but is now available again. If your massage takes you right to the body-mind-emotions interface, then I am sure you will love this book. Buy now: Body Secrets: Unwinding Your Historical Limitations