On Day 103, we took our final exam for this week's Core class. It was pretty much simple and straight-forward: come in, get the table set up, get on the table, get massaged for 50 minutes, get off the table, clean the table up, reset the table, have my partner get on the table, do a massage for 50 minutes and the instructor comes around and asks to see a couple strokes. Pretty simple.
Enough to earn me 99 points out of 100 for the exam! Yay!
I do have to say that my partner was not having a very good day, but I am so impressed with her that she was able to lay all of that aside and give me a great massage! She was truly "in the moment" which is what "beingness" is all about.
After the exam was over, we were free to go, and it was a bit earlier than usual, so that was quite exciting. A classmate and I ended up crashing at another classmate's house and we enjoyed the rest of the evening hanging out.
This morning, we got up and went to our Student Clinic orientation so we know what's expected of us for this portion of our education. It's going to be a gruelling six months. So the question is, should I count clinic in my "day count"? If so, we're talking Day 104.
In other news, since WGH and I end up driving about 200 miles between work and school each day, we purchased a "commuter car" that will be less of a hit to our pockets for gas. He took off yesterday to get it legal to drive with registering and such, so I got the chance to drive it to school last night and then home again this afternoon. It's a 1995 Geo Prizm, a smaller car than what I'm used to, and it actually does pretty well. What was really fun was filling the gas tank and it only took $25.00. I've driven 100 miles on it since filling it up and it was on about 3/4 tank. So, I think this is going to be a great thing for us in saving a little bit of dough, between gas and maintenance costs on the two other (bigger) cars.
Showing posts with label beingness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beingness. Show all posts
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Day 79 - Final Variations
We had our final exams tonight for Massage Variations. First, we had a written final. Then we had a nice little break and then the hands-on final, for which we were graded on beingness, body mechanics, technique, and some other stuff I can't seem to remember.
The important part is that on the written final, I got 100%, and on the hands-on, I got 95%. Yay!
On the way home from school, which is a 40 mile drive from the Baltimore beltway (I-695) to I-70, I got followed. It creeped me out -especially at 11:00 at night. WGH was with me, so I wasn't alone in the car, but it was still creepy.
I noticed the car pretty much tailgating me coming off the I-695 ramp onto I-70. I got over in the right lane so they would pass me, but they didn't pass, and instead go into my lane. I did a couple lane changes, all with the same effect: they got in the lane behind me, still tailgating me.
I started to exit off of the highway onto Rt 32, and they started following, so at the last second, I got back onto the highway (safely, of course). At that point, I knew I was being followed, so I dialed 9-1-1. The dispatcher transferred me to State Po-po, and their dispatcher instructed me to pull onto the shoulder to see if they followed. When I did that, they kept going and I finally got a look at the four-door white sedan (Mitsubishi Galant, I'm 99% sure), so I got back on the highway again and tried to get their license plate. They exited onto Rt 97 before I could get it.
Creepy. Just creepy.
Still excited about my final exam grades!
The important part is that on the written final, I got 100%, and on the hands-on, I got 95%. Yay!
On the way home from school, which is a 40 mile drive from the Baltimore beltway (I-695) to I-70, I got followed. It creeped me out -especially at 11:00 at night. WGH was with me, so I wasn't alone in the car, but it was still creepy.
I noticed the car pretty much tailgating me coming off the I-695 ramp onto I-70. I got over in the right lane so they would pass me, but they didn't pass, and instead go into my lane. I did a couple lane changes, all with the same effect: they got in the lane behind me, still tailgating me.
I started to exit off of the highway onto Rt 32, and they started following, so at the last second, I got back onto the highway (safely, of course). At that point, I knew I was being followed, so I dialed 9-1-1. The dispatcher transferred me to State Po-po, and their dispatcher instructed me to pull onto the shoulder to see if they followed. When I did that, they kept going and I finally got a look at the four-door white sedan (Mitsubishi Galant, I'm 99% sure), so I got back on the highway again and tried to get their license plate. They exited onto Rt 97 before I could get it.
Creepy. Just creepy.
Still excited about my final exam grades!
Friday, August 6, 2010
Day 64 - Getting Tested
We had our "final" night of Core this evening, including a hands-on final exam. We've been through this before, but apparently, the grading gets tougher in Core classes the more we take.
To simulate a "real world" situation, we put our name tags in a basket and somebody withdrew two names of who would be partners for the exam. It's supposed to be totally random and hopefully, somebody we've never worked with prior to tonight.
My thought was that it would be best to work with somebody I'm comfortable with, so I had lined up my partner on Monday night. Well, that was shot down, so I worked with a lovely woman with whom I had never worked (randomness worked) and it went very well. So, ok. I'll admit it. It's a good idea to switch up partners as much as possible to get used to working with all kinds of different bodies.
During the exam, I used one of the techniques that the instructor showed me last night, and when doing so, with all the lotion on my hands, my hands in contact with my partner's skin made a fart noise - like a 4th grader making fart noises with his hand under his arm. The first time it happened, I just went about doing what I was doing, but the second time, my partner giggled, and then a neighbor working at the next table over giggled, and then I pretty much lost it, giggling, and had to work really hard to get back to "beingness" to continue working on my partner.
I guess it wasn't too bad, but I think I lost three points on my final for it, getting a score of 97%.
To simulate a "real world" situation, we put our name tags in a basket and somebody withdrew two names of who would be partners for the exam. It's supposed to be totally random and hopefully, somebody we've never worked with prior to tonight.
My thought was that it would be best to work with somebody I'm comfortable with, so I had lined up my partner on Monday night. Well, that was shot down, so I worked with a lovely woman with whom I had never worked (randomness worked) and it went very well. So, ok. I'll admit it. It's a good idea to switch up partners as much as possible to get used to working with all kinds of different bodies.
During the exam, I used one of the techniques that the instructor showed me last night, and when doing so, with all the lotion on my hands, my hands in contact with my partner's skin made a fart noise - like a 4th grader making fart noises with his hand under his arm. The first time it happened, I just went about doing what I was doing, but the second time, my partner giggled, and then a neighbor working at the next table over giggled, and then I pretty much lost it, giggling, and had to work really hard to get back to "beingness" to continue working on my partner.
I guess it wasn't too bad, but I think I lost three points on my final for it, getting a score of 97%.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Day 23 - History of Being in the Moment
We had a new instructor again tonight. I'm not sure I'm liking that - with three different instructors in three nights, but I guess we're getting used to different people's style.
During the lecture portion, we learned about the benefits of massage - besides just that "it feels good." Things like improved circulation, promotes muscle recovery from exercise, increasing oxygen to the blood, improved lymphatic systems, helps invigorate the immune system, and so much more. We also learned some of the history of massage, dating as far back as 3000 BC in China learning about some of the pioneers of modern massage to what we have now, with its many modalities.
We did an exercise in meditation, closing our eyes, envisioning ourselves in our massage room, giving ourselves a massage, what we would like and how we would go about doing it. In the future, when we've had a busy, hectic day, we'll want to calm ourselves to be able to be "present" with our client on the table, so he or she feels cared for, which is the reason for wanting to take a few moments prior to the massage to do this.
We learned techniques on "draping." When a client is on the table, they are generally undressed to his or her comfort level, under a sheet, and probably a blanket as well. As a bodyworker, it is our job to make our client feel secure since he/she is in the most vulnerable position. We use what's called "draping," which is only uncovering the part of the body, such as a leg or the back, when it is being worked on. The instructor and TA demonstrated how to quickly and properly drape a client when on his/her back and stomach.
We only got a little bit of time to actually practice our techniques since we were running out of time. I think I owe my partner from tonight a good deal of time on the table when I get a chance. Poor thing didn't have her fair time on the table and I certainly didn't get enough practice.
Tomorrow night: final exam - all hands-on. No written. We'll be graded on professionalism, dress code, body mechanics, beingness, draping, and of course, stroke technique.
I got to set up my table before I left for class this evening. I think I need to rearrange the room a little bit to fit the table in there, but I think it's going to work out well. I also think I need to get more sheets.
During the lecture portion, we learned about the benefits of massage - besides just that "it feels good." Things like improved circulation, promotes muscle recovery from exercise, increasing oxygen to the blood, improved lymphatic systems, helps invigorate the immune system, and so much more. We also learned some of the history of massage, dating as far back as 3000 BC in China learning about some of the pioneers of modern massage to what we have now, with its many modalities.
We did an exercise in meditation, closing our eyes, envisioning ourselves in our massage room, giving ourselves a massage, what we would like and how we would go about doing it. In the future, when we've had a busy, hectic day, we'll want to calm ourselves to be able to be "present" with our client on the table, so he or she feels cared for, which is the reason for wanting to take a few moments prior to the massage to do this.
We learned techniques on "draping." When a client is on the table, they are generally undressed to his or her comfort level, under a sheet, and probably a blanket as well. As a bodyworker, it is our job to make our client feel secure since he/she is in the most vulnerable position. We use what's called "draping," which is only uncovering the part of the body, such as a leg or the back, when it is being worked on. The instructor and TA demonstrated how to quickly and properly drape a client when on his/her back and stomach.
We only got a little bit of time to actually practice our techniques since we were running out of time. I think I owe my partner from tonight a good deal of time on the table when I get a chance. Poor thing didn't have her fair time on the table and I certainly didn't get enough practice.
Tomorrow night: final exam - all hands-on. No written. We'll be graded on professionalism, dress code, body mechanics, beingness, draping, and of course, stroke technique.
I got to set up my table before I left for class this evening. I think I need to rearrange the room a little bit to fit the table in there, but I think it's going to work out well. I also think I need to get more sheets.
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