MT MATTERS!

ON THE WHOLE . . .
Our New York Webquarters continue to bustle with interactive activity. Like the rest of the world, more and more fellow MTs are "getting connected" and are visiting @ MT WEB CENTRAL. Our modest but vibrant website continues to receive compliments and decidedly fewer words of criticism. We thank and welcome all feedback. Our February 50,000 hit-rate (and growing at a steady pace of 75% every 20 days) demonstrates that people are beginning to "discover the difference." In a profession essentially made up of creative minds and "doing my thing" spirits, many more MTs are recognizing the usefulness of a central meeting-of-the-minds space where fellow MTs from every corner of the world are re-tooling and climbing up the ramp toward the necessary balance between "doing my thing right now, and preparing for our long-term success with diginity, with professional pride, and with fun. Clearly, more and more MTs are less and less excited about working for entrepreneurs who are cashing in on the commercial massage fad. They want something more meaningful than working until they burn out or until the fad fades away. Health practitioners outside the MT profession appreciate what we're doing, and a growing number of consumers (especailly, parents who tell us that their kids want to go to MT school--but also others with health conditions for which MT is helpful) compliment us all the time. And they can all count on our website and on this monthly newsletter to continue to provide "tell it like it is" content...indefinitely.

Refreshing, in particular, are the few--but far from enough-- Active Members of ASSOCIATED MTs™ who have gone online since the beginning of '97. And we would like to count on you to do the necessary "hand holding" toward bringing another fellow MT to her or his professional Web Central. Thanks to Internet technology, our undiminished commitment, and your personal initiative, ASSOCIATED MTs™ can now match our already established reputation with vast quality web-presence. And we can't wait to publish all the professional-bios of existing members who are, alas, still, hmm...procrastinating, bios of all the members who can now join via our recent operational alliance with the New York State Society of Medical Massage Therapists, and bios of members of other non-global American and overseas professional MT organizations--big and small--that we can bring online. What a blast!

As promised, we've begun to publish a few banner ads marked with "sponsor's content." Let us know what you think about them.

WHAT ELSE IS NEW?
By checking the "Updated" date on the home page of MT WEB CENTRAL, you can tell if new stuff has been added, and how recently. We are routinely adding and updating stuff. For instance:

• Check out the MT Index: Just when we think the job is "done," someone drops us an informative note about a "new, improved" technique or method.
  
• There's always something new at our long-published list of publications. For ease of orientation, we've (slightly) changed the categories.
  
• Don't miss "For the Keyboard and Mouse Athlete: LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL." Bruria Ginton's "syndicated" article was initially written for NYMUG's "MacStreet Journal," for Dandelion's "Brew-Net," and a few other E-zines. In it, you can read our founder's views on Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and RSIs.
  
• Oops, our Classifieds have not been announced on the MT "Content" home page. The mistake has been corrected and the clssifieds are there, nevertheless, ready to take your ads. Best of all, from "Help Wanted" to "For Sale," the service is FREE.
  

AN OPEN NOTE . . .
[from Bruria Ginton, LicMT, Founder, MT WEB CENTRAL]

I spent a most enjoyable part of last weekend "cocooning" with the informative and entertaining book "Clicking" by futurist Faith Popcorn and Lys Marigold. In it, the authors so rightly remind us that "Success is, for the most part, not just an accident or a matter of 'blind' luck, but a result of having a clear picture of the future." And I cannot tell you just how much fun it is for me to interact with some 1300 people who are now receiving MT MATTERS!--not to mention the thousands of health-minded folk who are visiting our MT WEB CENTRAL each month. The fun of sharing with you the clear picture that I've always had of Massage Therapy, ever since, as a graduate business student, I chose MT over corporate America. That picture--for me--never included the "MacDonaldizing" of MT--and never will! But neither did that picture, I must confess, include the "clicking" that occurred and the thrill that I've been feeling when my efforts took a whole new direction--via this mind-blowing medium that the Internet is.

When our co-founding member, Laurence Witzow of Brisbane Australia recently reported that his team of practitioners is now using the cool MT acronym, I just knew that our direction and our progress are very, very real even if our medium of communication is only, er, ... virtual.

A few days ago, when my assistant placed our snail-mail on my desk, I was delighted to find a copy of the newsletter of the Swiss Federation of ... we call them MTs. Alas, the Federation still uses ... Masseurs. With it, a note from their member internaut Sonja saying something like "Oh, Bruria, so you're a real person... Now I'm beginning to make the connection.." Yes, Sonja, I--and the rest of us--are very much "for real." Please feel free to print out this issue of MT MATTERS! and show it to your fellow Swiss MTs. Our Silicon Alley webquarters can't wait to bring fellow MTs from the capital of the Internet online @ MT WEB CENTRAL! Also, Sonja (and others), don't forget to add your Email address to all your offline correspondance (and business cards too). These days, your Email address is as useful as your phone number! ;)

FOR MEMBERS OF ASSOCIATED MTs™
As you know, we've discontinued our routine offline correspondence, saving it for special occasions only. But to be able to deliver personal attention and mentoring, we want to be sure that we have every member's E-Mail address online. If you are a member--even if you think we have your address--please send us a message. In "Subject", enter: "AMTs-MEMBER". Mail your message to:[mt@qwl.com] with the following info in the "body":

• NAME:
  
• LICENSED SINCE:
  
• MEMBERSHIP CATEGORY (leave yours, delete the rest): Active; Student; Supportive
• E-MAIL ADDRESS:
  
• SNAIL-MAIL:
  

(If to repond, you hit "Return," don't forget to delete the unnecessary portion of MT MATTERS!--it saves bandwidth, AND eyes!:) Also, you can just copy and paste the applicable part. Thanks.)

MEMBERSHIP/ADMIN [TEMPORARY] OVERLOAD: In keeping up with its online growth, ASSOCIATED MTs™ reports being a little late in mailing out its wall Certificates. The individual certificates will go out soon. Please accept this--now mainly online--professional network's apologies.

Yes, ASSOCIATED MTs™ continues to take orders for business cards. To arrange for your business cards, send a message to [info@qwl.com].

HOW TO GET A FREE MT "T": Join ASSOCIATED MTs™ during March '97!

AN EDUCATED CONSUMER . . .
[From Texas, USA]
"I am helping my son locate a quality school for LicMT Training..." First Choice Vermont, Second: New York, third: Texas...

[From Ontario, CANADA]
"Please provide information regarding schools in Ontario, Canada. I was unable to pull this information from your list."

[From Alberta, CANADA]
"I am looking for a school here in Calgary . . . and I would like to know what are all the ins and outs to the association of Massage therapy in Alberta, if you have any information please e-mail me."

[From Port Horton, Michigan, USA]
"I did not find a school in Mich. Are there any not in your directory?"

These are just representative samples of many Qs like them. The MT profession is still very much in a state of building its professional infrastructure. Unfortunately, not all states have passed a professional MT licensing law. As a public service, our global directory, MTs NEAR YOU™, includes the names of the regulatory state bodies and their phone numbers--just as soon as we have them. You should also be able to find helpful publications on the MT as a chosen worklife.

At the top of our MT School Directory we have published an article "About MT Education," which you might want to read. We continue to list MT schools as soon as they request us to do so. Our goal is to take MT beyond a hobby or a commercial fad so that future fellow MTs encounter an easier professional path with greater opportunities, dignity and economic success.

We invite the public and MT schools to submit information about MT educational facilities, which we then publish and make available for people like you. Our service is free to the public, and we intend to keep it that way.

TECH SUPPORT . . .
[from Spokane, WA, USA]
"I'm getting ready to buy an MT table for my practice. Although most of my colleagues have portable tables, I'd like to have an "electric lift" type, like a chiropractor's, you know. Being a woman of average height, I don't want to hurt my own back. But is that type of table heavy? Will I be able to move it around?"

Excellent Q. MT MATTERS! followed the route to Comfort Craft, where an enthusiastic and patient company's spokesperson, Steve, told us much about their sturdy tables which come in two basic models. The "800" isn't free, all right, but in addition to its up-and-down motion it has a mid-split mechanism. Splitting the table allows for elevating the center to various degrees, allowing for better feel and deeper pressure to the lumbar and abdominal regions of the client or patient. The "200" comes only with the up-and-down motion. You can get either model in a smaller [30" X 68"] table-top or larger [32" X 72"]. You can also decide on the range of movement: lower [16" to 29"] or higher [18.5" to 31"]. The tables weigh a hefty 200lb. Best of all, however, Comfort Craft will fit wheels with stoppers on the table's legs for you. For those of us who have seen chiropractors at work, the up-and-down table is a dream come true. Question is, at a little under $2,000.00, can it pay for itself soon enough?

WHAT'S IN A [BRAND] NAME?
[from ENGLAND]
"I'm a Shiatsu teacher... I'm very much against the proliferation of new bodywork therapies with names like circle-centered therapy and looyenwork, etc. Basically, they only provide something for people who are purely in it for the money. In shiatsu, for instance, we have ... Ohashiatsu, Watsu, Tantsu, Zen, Macrobiotic movement, 5-element, healing kiatsu, to name but a few. I practice Shiatsu, I have studied with many teachers from different styles, but that does not make me want to jump up and label what I do as Scotshiatsu, well, hey, maybe I will just to confuse the hell out of an already confused public."

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. (You forgot to mention "Gintuina...";) This is an open discussion. We're still just collecting opinions...We want to know what MT prfessionals think.

MY NOSE GETS INTO MY MT WORK . . .
[from Ontario, CANADA]
"Is there anything which can help MTs who are sensitive to the "dust" of newly washed sheets and towels--without side effects? Also, would a mask protect MTs from other air-borne organisms--common cold germs? Would it protect clients and patients from same? How much is a mask? How long is it effective for?

MT MATTERS! got in touch with Ray of the Allergy Supply Company and received this message: "The only product that comes to mind is the dust & pollen mask by 3M. The therapist would wear a mask when exposure to dust was likely to occur. Dust and pollen masks do not protect against bacteria or virus particles. A box (5) costs $5.15, and each mask may be used up to 8 hours.

BLOWING STEAM . . .
[From Seal Beach, California, USA]
"I was quite surprised to find that your list of professional therapists was not including those that had a business in the states that don't have state lic. I have been very upset with organizations such as yours that exclude those of us that have been tested by national organizations such as AMTA, the National Certified Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork and graduates from colleges of holistic studies that are recognized by these organizations. You as a organization have a list that is telling the world who is ok, implying that the rest of us are not because the state we live in fails to recognize us as professionals. Why is it that you do not recognise who we are ?. . . I would hope that your association is planning to include all of the MTs that are here to help heal the world. Please let me know more about your organization."

Thanks so much for writing. Your observation is simply incorrect...! Had you read more about our professional network [http://www.qwl.com/pronet.html], you would have realized that we are on your side and that we do recognize MTs who are from states [and other countries] which have not yet passed MT laws.

"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars" ... [or in our states]. MT WEB CENTRAL believes that MT organizations and their individual members must demonstrate an unequivocal commitment to the passage of state licensing laws along with professional behavior which will compel politicians and their constituents to pass these laws. MT WEB CENTRAL is unique in that we believe that you can't be professional and non-professional at the same time. Actually, our dream is that most commercial massage settings will also become professional! And we are certain that by keeping clear professional boundaries, we are, In fact, better able to dialogue with MT-related companies that are in MT not just to cash-in on a fad, but to support and benefit from a long-term, long-due health trend. As the consumer has a right to know the difference between professional-quality MT and the commercial massage variety, we intend to continue to inform the world about professional-quality MT, and we hope that all other MT organizations will examine closely what MT WEB CENTRAL has already accomplished and join us in our quest to help fellow MTs acquire and maintain a real professional status. That's why, BTW, we have also begun to help MT organizations other than ASSOCIATED MTs™ get online. It's a big job, and we are getting closer. Don't lose sight of the goal just yet.

Our articles will give you even more food for thought on the subject.

AMATEUR SURFERS/PROFESSIONAL MTs UNITE . . .
[FROM Minniappolis, MN, USA]
"I just sort of stumbled onto you. I am an AMATEUR "surfer" still in the discovery stage. I am a MT and am thrilled that I found you! Thanks."

Our pleasure! Exactly, we need one another. Come again soon. :)

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