About this site
Massage is awesome! Can your next massage be even better than your last?
Better Massage is the name of an emailed newsletter, and its articles are archived on this site. The bulk of the content focuses on these four topics: tips on being better at receiving massage; what to expect from massage as a therapy; insights into human anatomy & physiology as it pertains to massage; and profiles of other massage and bodywork practitioners. There will always be a handful of public posts, but the remainder of the content is for subscribers only. If you subscribe today (it's free), you'll get just one or two emails monthly containing quick and easy-to-read, new, original content written by an actual human being, plus the option to comment on posts. Before you opt-in, please read the Community Guidelines at the bottom of this page.
From Kathryn Morgan, Founder and Site Administrator:
This site was born of my frustration as a spa employee with not having enough time to educate my clients, which I consider a key aspect of my job as a massage therapist, no matter where I work. Therapists, you're welcome to respectfully disagree with me in the comments, which distinguishes and advertises yourself as a therapist.
We celebrate veteran massage therapists here! Their profiles show newer therapists what a long career in massage therapy can look like, and bring an audience to the therapists' offerings, many of whom teach continuing education courses or practice additional modalities.
The domain name for this website was inspired by "The 10,000-Hour Rule" in Malcolm Gladwell's 2008 Outliers, which I read back then. Gladwell relays that "researchers have settled on what they believe is the magic number for true expertise: ten thousand hours." I'd already been counting my massages since graduation, mostly for the practical purpose of estimating my paychecks. So I continued to count, intrigued by the chapter's discussion of innate talent, practice, and opportunity together yielding expertise in the complex tasks of one's occupation. This website serves in part to reveal that massage is indeed a complex task.
Gladwell asserts that it takes about ten years to put in ten thousand hours of hard practice, presumably if one works at it full-time, and for his purposes he regards those who work it at part-time as having less opportunity. Many massage therapists work part-time because 20 hours per week is the traditional recommendation from our profession (though not our employers).
While some long-time therapists are beyond ten thousand massages, I think it's an impressive career milestone and reasonable indicator of expertise. I gave my 9,000th massage in April 2025. After double-checking (geeking out 🤓 on the math), I can safely say it's been 9,000 hours, too.
Thank you, clients, for being the best part of a massage therapist's expression of expertise – we couldn't have done it without you!
Eventually, as the subscriber community grows, I may offer a paid subscription with premium offerings as well, such as "lunch & learn" Zoom calls for therapists, teachers, business owners, and clients. Your participation makes this site possible, and I thank you in advance for spreading the word.
Community Guidelines PLEASE READ
Join a community of kindred spirits: other massage clients and therapists, maybe even a yogi or esthetician, who share the same interests, or who also view therapeutic bodywork as health care. Our Community Guidelines require being respectful and constructive when commenting on my posts, guest posts, or in response to others' comments.
Sign up is valid only with at least your real first or last name plus an initial included (Kathryn M. or K. Morgan). Licensed professionals, please use your full name and credentials when commenting, though if I know or can validate that you're licensed, I'll add your credentials to your display name on my end. If you choose not to use your name, I may limit your participation. This policy is 1) to protect my intellectual property (my writing, and others') and 2) to build a sense of 'real human' community in our increasingly robotic society. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
Click the floating 'Connect' button or find it on the homepage. Thank you!
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