Getting To Know . . .
BRURIA GINTON, LicMT
The chief moving force behind QWL SPACE Ginton has been practicing massage therapy (MT) since 1979. Right from the start, she was affiliated with prominent physicians in related disciplines, such as chiropractor Dr Alan Pressman and podiatrists Dr Louis Galli and Dr Josef Geldwert. From actor Dustin Hoffman to tennis great John McEnroe, writer Norman Mailer, Olympic runner Grete Waitz, Olympic ice-dancer Judy Blumberg, Triathlete Allison Roe, lyric soprano Tomoko Shibata and a good number of medical doctors, Ginton is known internationally as an expert on the bodymind needs of high performance individuals. Trained in many MT techniques, Ginton views herself as client-centered and eclectic but basically traditional in her approach. She believes that MT-the earliest, latest and safest healing art-is THE link between Western and Eastern health technologies. Always promoting this philosophy, she early on developed her private practice into what was then the first MT group-practice. Her orientation and method of practice is known as Gintuina™.In 1980, with the late NYC Marathon maestro Fred Lebow's blessings, Ginton-then president of the NYS chapter of American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA)-organized 50 licensed massage therapists, who voluteered their services at the world's largest Marathon, thus starting an MT tradition, now on-going in many major sports events including the Olympic Games. That year she started a communication trend by publishing and editing AMTA's first state newsletter. And she is the recipient of an AMTA meritorious state award. As a way of directing fellow MTs to useful informational resources, between 1992 -1996, Ginton worked as Book Review Editor for Massage Therapy Journal. An avid computer user and, arguably, the lowest-tech member of WebGrrls Multimedia Club, she has nevertheless been an active participant in online health forums, and she hopes to inspire her colleagues--especially women, who make about 80% of the MT profession--to do the same.
Ginton has written many articles on MT and has given numerous print, radio, TV and New Media interviews on the subject. Her work has been described in several books, including MARTY LIQUORI'S HOME GYM WORKOUT, by Mary Liquori and Gerald Secor Couzens WORLD CLASS,by Grete Waitz and Gloria Averbuch and the more recent BODYWORK, by Thomas Claire.
With tremendous growth in the demand for all Bodymind work (professional Bodymind Healthwork, client-centered MT, but also the commercial, cosmetic/assembly-line massage variety), Ginton conducted a survey for QWL Services which demonstrated that the public is not aware of the difference between professional and commercial practices. In 1992 she has founded ASSOCIATED MTs™ as the first responsible voice and professional network for present and future Licensed Massage Therapists who are dedicated to providing MT as a serious and reliable healthcare option in professional settings everywhere for prevention, for pain and stress relief, and for rehab.
To accomplish the ASSOCIATED MTs™ goals, Ginton has been the publisher of LicMTs Advocate, its print newsletter and the more recent MT MATTERS!, its popular, global monthly E-Letter and FAQ. She has written and published the MT USER GUIDE (QWL '93), which has been described by author and college professor, Myron Schwartzman, PhD, as "the most concise, complete, and compelling information on massage therapy."
Ginton has an MBA education in Organizational Psychology (Baruch College, NYC) and has taken Continuing Ed courses and intensive seminars in Sportsmedicine (Temple University), Sports Psychology (University of Virginia), and Orthopedic Massage (Hofstra University). Combining her knowledge in the area of Work-Stress Overload and her interest in ergonomic design with her vast work experience, Ginton has designed a userfriendly, efficiency-driven computer keyboard, which she hopes will be discovered by a healthminded hardware company with vision. From time to time, she'll team up with other experts in this field to present on-site Bodymind Health Workshops for corporations and for women's groups. To expand the mind component of her work with high-performance clients, Ginton has trained in clinical hypnotherapy (American Institute of Hypnotherapy), which she offers in combination with MT.
Since childhood, Ginton has been actively involved in various sports and in music. She is a seven-time finisher of the NYC "Mini Marathon," and she has twice performed with her conga-drum and vocal ensemble for the NYC Marathon. To offset her own stress and maintain her own quality of work life, she is a regular recipient of MT herself and periodic chiropractic manipulations. In a profession characterized by a high rate of "drop-in and drop-out/burn-out," Ginton credits her longevity and reputation mainly to limiting her hands-on work load to a reasonable, quality four-hour day.
Recently, "in order to focus on building a professional infrastracture and on re-tooling and putting a new meaning into our ethical promotion engine, here, @ MASSAGE THERAPY WEB CENTRAL, I am now (happily) forced to devote most of my time to content-providing and other web-related chores," she adds. Her client-load has been limited to individuals who understand that professional-level MT works best when done on a regular basis and thus are eager to commit themselves to a series of five to ten MT visits, ideally, scheduled once a week, but not less than monthly. And she is not taking on new clients and patients currently. In Ginton's own words: "To me, MT has always been a noble profession, not an executive perk, a locker-room gimmick or a shopping-mall fad, I consider myself a professional practicing with principles before--but not without--adequate compensation. And now my pressing, yet exciting goal is to connect with even more like-minded consumers, other health professionals, and fellow MTs. Together, we can actually affirm life and . . . give 'em health!"
