This evening we had the first of our last two final exams - in Sports Massage. First, of course, we had the written final (97/100) and then we took the hands-on portion (98/100).
When I finished the written portion, I knew I had about an hour before I had to be back for the hands-on portion. I took advantage of the time to go fill up the gas tank on the car and got a chance to see one of my buddies at the gas station. In the year I've been going to the school, I have become friendly with a couple of the guys at the station - mostly because one of the guys started teasing me that they don't give out change. I guess I have that "mess with me" face.
Anyway, when I broke the news to my buddy that tonight was my last night of coming by, he took my hands in his across the counter and told me he'd miss me. So sweet. And I'll miss him, too.
I'm sure I'll miss a lot of things about the school, but the drive there - not so much.
On another note, while I was at the J-O-B today, my co-worker noticed how antsy and sassy I was. Wait until tomorrow! I'll definitely be bouncing off the walls!
Showing posts with label sports massage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sports massage. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Day 193 - Workin' Out (7 Days Left)
With taking the sports massage class, it reminds me that I will need to start working out soon - after I'm done with classes, I need to start taking off the extra weight I've put on in the last year (or so). I think that when I do start working out, some sports massage knowledge will come in very handy.
In tonight's class, we concentrated on post-event massage, which is done to relax the athlete as well as help in recovering quickly. It includes a nice mixture of strokes and stretching.
During the stretching portion, I was a little concerned with the decision to have black-eyed peas for dinner and any - uh - reactions I may have. But everything was All Good.
As for the deliberations about sports massage and whether or not I liked it, I think I do, but it's not one of my favorite modalities. Maybe once I get more practice at it.
In the few minutes in between the J-O-B and having to leave for class this evening, I was able to find a portable massage chair, brand new, and at really good price on craigslist. I have plans to pick it up on Saturday and am very excited about my find.
The other thing I also figured out is that between the first day of school last year (4/19) and the last day of school this year (4/14), I will have travelled over 17,000 miles.
Since once I'm done I'll be saving money on gas, I plan on putting that money toward my student loan, since I'm used to it going out the window anyway. It won't be like I'll miss it.
It seems like things are workin' out like they're supposed to.
In tonight's class, we concentrated on post-event massage, which is done to relax the athlete as well as help in recovering quickly. It includes a nice mixture of strokes and stretching.
During the stretching portion, I was a little concerned with the decision to have black-eyed peas for dinner and any - uh - reactions I may have. But everything was All Good.
As for the deliberations about sports massage and whether or not I liked it, I think I do, but it's not one of my favorite modalities. Maybe once I get more practice at it.
In the few minutes in between the J-O-B and having to leave for class this evening, I was able to find a portable massage chair, brand new, and at really good price on craigslist. I have plans to pick it up on Saturday and am very excited about my find.
The other thing I also figured out is that between the first day of school last year (4/19) and the last day of school this year (4/14), I will have travelled over 17,000 miles.
Since once I'm done I'll be saving money on gas, I plan on putting that money toward my student loan, since I'm used to it going out the window anyway. It won't be like I'll miss it.
It seems like things are workin' out like they're supposed to.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Day 189 - Sports Stretching (14 Days Left)
We had a lovely break from anatomy for our sports massage class tonight. After an hour of lecture about sports massage, its history and benefits and that sort of stuff, we got to see a demo of more stretches to do with our clients. Then we got to practice it ourselves. As far as I'm concerned this may be my least favorite modality, but the jury is still out on that. They may have to order pizza for these deliberations.
Because we're doing stretches and there are so many stretches to do, it's hard to remember them all, so that is somewhat frustrating as the practioner. However, as the receiver, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Once again, because I sit all day in basically the same position, it's really great to have muscles moved around into different positions.
So, we'll see what the next three classes offer about this sports massage thing.
Now, on to more interesting stuff. This whole program is part of the requirements for being a Licensed Massage Therapist in the State of Maryland. The other requirements are passing a written national exam and a Maryland State jurisprudence exam. In addition, it's best to carry liability insurance through one of the national massage associations. Needless to say, studying for all these quizzes and exams doesn't stop once I get my certificate from the school. I still have a good couple weeks to a month or so of studying for the national exam.
This past weekend, I joined the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA), and tonight, I submitted my application to take the national exam through the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (NCBTMB), along with my check for the exam fee.
With those two items down, I feel like I am right on track to where I want and need to be with working toward becoming fully licensed.
When I think about the period of time immediately following my graduation from this program, the only word I can describe that time is "detox." After living, breathing, and studying massage, anatomy, pathology, business, and the like, I will almost need to purge my system of all of that for a week or so afterward.
Because we're doing stretches and there are so many stretches to do, it's hard to remember them all, so that is somewhat frustrating as the practioner. However, as the receiver, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Once again, because I sit all day in basically the same position, it's really great to have muscles moved around into different positions.
So, we'll see what the next three classes offer about this sports massage thing.
Now, on to more interesting stuff. This whole program is part of the requirements for being a Licensed Massage Therapist in the State of Maryland. The other requirements are passing a written national exam and a Maryland State jurisprudence exam. In addition, it's best to carry liability insurance through one of the national massage associations. Needless to say, studying for all these quizzes and exams doesn't stop once I get my certificate from the school. I still have a good couple weeks to a month or so of studying for the national exam.
This past weekend, I joined the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA), and tonight, I submitted my application to take the national exam through the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (NCBTMB), along with my check for the exam fee.
With those two items down, I feel like I am right on track to where I want and need to be with working toward becoming fully licensed.
When I think about the period of time immediately following my graduation from this program, the only word I can describe that time is "detox." After living, breathing, and studying massage, anatomy, pathology, business, and the like, I will almost need to purge my system of all of that for a week or so afterward.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Day 184 - Life Goes On (22 Days Left)
Sun comes up sun goes downDuring the last 11 months I have been trudging away at learning massage and all the things that go with it, like Professional Development, Anatomy, and Pathology, life has gone on around me, just like the Little Texas' song says.
This ol' world keeps spinnin' around
Not much has changed since you been gone
I miss you honey but life goes on
- Little Texas*
I have tried my best to deal with things as they have come up, but it's definitely put a strain on everything: relationships, finances, physical, emotional, and spiritual health. Not to mention the dust bunny army that's been able to amass itself behind the bed, under the couch, and in the dark corners.
Today, we took the commuter car back to the shop to see if he can fix the problem it's had since we took it to him last time. Of course, the price of gas has gone up significantly, so there's more choking the wallet to put gas in the cars to make it to and from work and/or school for both WGH and me. I hope we can get the commuter car back really quickly - and that it works well.
I hate sounding like I'm complaining because I see the light at the end of the tunnel, and right now, the tunnel has nine more days of anatomy and five more days of sports massage.
Interestingly enough, I can see why we are studying the anatomy of the lower limb while taking sports massage. What we're learning in anatomy will help us in learning sports, seeing as how the lower limb is pretty important in sports.
In tonight's anatomy class, we had a big surprise: we didn't have the instructor we thought we were going to have. (sarcasm) I will say, though, that it looks like our stand-in instructor, who will be with us for the duration, will do a fine job in teaching us what we need to know.
A nice result of all the pretzel stretching we did last night in sports: my legs were stronger today and I didn't feel as much like a little ol' lady when I got up from my chair.
*I may be a little biased toward them, since one of my many cousins was the lead singer
Monday, March 21, 2011
Day 183 - Go With the Flow (23 Days Left)
In my time at this school, I have learned the meaning of the term "SNAFU," which is an acronym that basically means that things go wrong all the time.
I had an exit interview scheduled for 6:30 this evening with Career Services, meaning that about as soon as I got home from the J-O-B, I had to be on the road to get to the appointment on time. When I arrived a few minutes early, however, I was asked to reschedule my appointment for next Monday and they would be ready for me then. Knowing that I had a couple other exit interviews to take care of, I went to the front desk to see about getting those scheduled. I pretty much went right away to the financial aid office and took care of that, so at least all wasn't lost. I was also able to see the head of student services and she said everything looks good for me there, too.
After all that, come to find out, instead of having Anatomy class like was on the schedule given to us, we had Sports Massage instead.
That's like preparing to go to work and sit at a desk all day and then be told that you're working on the factory line instead. Needless to say, many classmates were frustrated - and it seemed the staff was frustrated as well.
If nothing else, being at this school has taught us to be flexible and go with the flow.
As far as class, in Sports Massage, we learned about why it's important to know this modality and how it differs from other forms of massage. We watched the instructor demo the stretches we learned tonight on the TA and then we got to try it out ourselves. The stretches looked pretty intense and our TA looked a bit like a pretzel during some of the moves the instructor was using.
Right now, I am pretty much in a sitting position for over 16 hours a day, between the J-O-B, the drive to school, and being in school. I have been trying to get outside and walk during breaks and such, but it's still minimal compared to how active I should be.
For this reason, I thought for sure that I would be screaming in pain most of the time during the stretches on the lower limbs and back, but they felt really good and it seemed that I was able to move a little better afterward.
We'll see how I feel tomorrow.
I had an exit interview scheduled for 6:30 this evening with Career Services, meaning that about as soon as I got home from the J-O-B, I had to be on the road to get to the appointment on time. When I arrived a few minutes early, however, I was asked to reschedule my appointment for next Monday and they would be ready for me then. Knowing that I had a couple other exit interviews to take care of, I went to the front desk to see about getting those scheduled. I pretty much went right away to the financial aid office and took care of that, so at least all wasn't lost. I was also able to see the head of student services and she said everything looks good for me there, too.
After all that, come to find out, instead of having Anatomy class like was on the schedule given to us, we had Sports Massage instead.
That's like preparing to go to work and sit at a desk all day and then be told that you're working on the factory line instead. Needless to say, many classmates were frustrated - and it seemed the staff was frustrated as well.
If nothing else, being at this school has taught us to be flexible and go with the flow.
As far as class, in Sports Massage, we learned about why it's important to know this modality and how it differs from other forms of massage. We watched the instructor demo the stretches we learned tonight on the TA and then we got to try it out ourselves. The stretches looked pretty intense and our TA looked a bit like a pretzel during some of the moves the instructor was using.
Right now, I am pretty much in a sitting position for over 16 hours a day, between the J-O-B, the drive to school, and being in school. I have been trying to get outside and walk during breaks and such, but it's still minimal compared to how active I should be.
For this reason, I thought for sure that I would be screaming in pain most of the time during the stretches on the lower limbs and back, but they felt really good and it seemed that I was able to move a little better afterward.
We'll see how I feel tomorrow.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)