Read Part 1 here
Back to the books
...A few months had passed by after jumping into the unknown, signing up and literally changing the course of my life forever.
OK! OK! I'll admit it!! I was shitting bricks!!
Could I really do something other than IT which I'd done for 15 odd years?
Could I go back to school at my age and basically start at square one?
Would I be able to fit this into my already mental schedule?
The first night at the academy couldn't come fast enough and thankfully it quickly silenced the doubting voices in my head.
It was definitely an odd experience being back at school in my 30s! (and still getting told off for talking too much). My class was made up by an eclectic bunch of people all on their own journeys, some just wanting a hobby, some hoping this would be "their thing".
It would have only been a week into my course when I was sure that I'd made the right choice. This definitely wasn't going to just be a hobby! Arriving at the academy for training 3 times a week, I instantly felt at ease after stressful days at the "office". Sometimes you just know what you're doing is right for you.
Out in the wild!
I was lucky enough to have some supportive family and friends who became my "guinea pigs" to practice on. While they lay on the table (mostly i hope) relaxing, I went through the internal turmoil that you don't get told about when starting this career.
Is that too hard or too soft? Too much oil or not enough? Is the music too loud? Are they liking this or just being polite? Oops I'm going too fast! Damn that music!! Hmm, wonder if they are cold, no wait maybe they are too hot! Holy crap it's already been 45 mins and I've still got their whole back to do!!
After a few treatments, I started to get my flow on and thankfully the feedback was mostly good!
We're not in Kansas anymore
You told a friend about me?
Someone I don't know?
A...a...a REAL client?
Commence panic!!
Making some progress
Learning anatomy and physiology was coming pretty easily to me and it wasn't long before I was wondering where this would take me?
Myotherapy? Osteotherapy? Physio?
Of course being a female in this industry must be unbelievably tough! Constant unwanted sexual innuendo and worse, fear of attack is unfortunately par for the course (enough guys!)
But being a male has it's own challenges too! I too received the very not funny (especially after 100 of them) "happy ending" jokes.
I also found it tough to get clients at the beginning as I was only trained to do relaxation massage.
I feel this was probably because some backwards thinking men were worried about a male touching them (it's fine guys you won't turn gay!) and obviously women are fearful of welcoming a strange man into their homes.
Hmm, how do I solve this problem?
I knew then and there that I definitely wanted to become a qualified Myotherapist and also head towards running a sport based business treating injuries.
To be continued...
