Some thoughts on Health Freedom

Heres an email I got today from Scott Schumacher

Hello Brandon and others.

I wanted to share what I wrote on the Freedom for Bodyworkers Yahoo group lately. My thoughts were in response to the new California regulations that have happened, and my feelings of "what have we built as a viable alternative to licensing or regulation?" and the fact that we're not as organized as the AMTA, ABMP, etc, and we've not developed anything for others to plug into that would halt the craze for licensing and restrictive regulation in the United States.

I believe it's going to happen everywhere eventually, because we've not organized ourselves on "Building" any other alternative institution to take it's place.

I'm wondering what you think. Below is a portion of the email I sent to this list on my ideas (though I feel like a very lone voice in this as everyone else is just bent on complaining or only acting "defensively" when legislation comes around).

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With regard to "new institution building" in massage and bodywork, I've had a few ideas that I've shared with a few folks, but not with a larger audience. Some of these are more radical in their approach, and might require lots of US even twisting our own paradigms about massage and bodywork. I also see these as potential "exit strategies" and "underground" institution-shifting models to counteract the licensing/specialization movements.

Here are some musings:

1) Aligning with the Energy Bodywork and Quantum Physics Science (or Spirituality)

All states but Florida last I counted, have exceptions in their laws with regard to the "human energy field" to exclude practices like Acupressure, Reflexology, Reiki, Healing Touch, etc. There's a push toward "medical massage" and more "science-based" training and certification. According to quantum physics, when we touch the body, we are not touching the body, but touching energy. Theoretically, and based on quantum theory, we never touch anyone. All bodywork is energy work. The quantum physics paradigm stretches into the boundaries between science, spirit, and consciousness. Institutions would need to be built alongside this philosophy. Learning centers, certifying groups, non-profits, member-associations, etc. And perhaps even a court case would need to happen to give credence to this philosophy of science being applied.

2) The "friends and family" exemption

Many states exempt from licensure, those who use massage in educational workshops, or on family and friends without payment. Another way to dilute the "specialties" of a licensed profession, is to make the education "common knowledge" or part of our "commons" of knowing and learning. Imagine that all of us could become consultants and educators to place this knowledge of touch in the hands of EVERYONE. We teach families and individuals the skills to use touch in their daily lives with their friends and family. People begin buying $300 massage tables instead of treadmills, and effleurage becomes a household word, as do meridians, chi, and trigger points. We teach the world, and the world uses the knowledge to use touch appropriately for their friends and family - apart from licensing, credentialism, accreditation, etc. We in turn dissolve the current "specialization" model, and become teachers and consultants.

3) The Open-Sourcing of bodywork education

It's happening in almost all forms of learning. College and University tuition is skyrocketing. Consumer debt is out of control, and yet, more avenues for "learning" in a free and supported environment are popping up as we speak. Universities are sharing courses through an OpenCourseware (google it!) model. Social Networks are defining and framing our interactions and are creeping into "learning". As our economy flattens, so does education. Showing work and proficiency would need to happen, and organizations that could "certify, credentialize, or verify" experiential and individualized learning OUTSIDE of our current Massage-Schools-ONLY paradigm would need to spring up.

I'm currently studying to take the FSMTB test, and I'm confident I could pass it, hence giving me complete passage to licensing in Wisconsin for the first year of their licensing, without their educational hours or schools requirement. I bet that FSMTB would have their eyes widened by this possible paradigm of showing proficiency. I hope.

4) The formation of LOCAL "Guilds" for bodyworkers

Just like the organic food labeling standards with the FDA, massage therapists, just like farmers, have tougher "entry points" into the market. Some areas in the country are forming "local organic standards" and are marketing them as a "local trust system." You know the farmer or bodyworker because of an alternate system of standards that is shared and supported locally. Infrastructure exists to have bodyworkers rated and commented upon (like your ebay or amazon.com positive or negative ratings percentage). Networks of trust happen organically when we can say "rate my service" to EVERY client, and this information is held by third-party organizations - feedback is confidential but OPEN for all to see. Think of it - would you choose a massage therapist with a 25% approval rating or a 99% one? A local (or even national) "guild" organization could begin to measure our CLIENTS' feedback, input, and feelings of protection. And we would have REAL DATA that speaks to who is protected by certification or not, and how a diversity of training and paradigms of massage and bodywork could provide the same protection across the board for the consumer. REAL DATA! think of it!

5) Massage Therapists and Bodyworkers shed their FEAR of spirituality

A lot of us already know that when we massage a person, that we're not just touching a body, but we're connecting with memories, emotion, SPIRIT, past and present, and maybe even THE DIVINE within the person on our table. We are so cautious to talk about these things, that schools, certifying bodies, states, and organizations have taken us completely down the rabbit hole of ONE VARIANT of science, and a Western medical model that is ONLY about 150 years old (that's NOT a very long time compared to much of our bodywork foundations and traditions). There's been very little or NO movement in concretely establishing a platform for legitimate SPIRITUAL Massage that could very well, with some work, infrastructure, unified voices, and a great liability insurance option, be a viable and crashing EARTHQUAKE to give a paradigm SPLIT that could work very well in our industry - In my opinion.

or..the last option.. not so certain..

6) We just wait it out - Let our economy collapse as we face healthcare crises, climate change, and the shift to a more localized economy post-peak-oil, and perhaps these current models will not hold societal weight. Perhaps our licensing model, along with our learning and specialization model, will simply crumble, and we'll need a new paradigm anyway.

Personally, I'd rather see us BEGIN doing items 1-5 BEFORE this happens, and then maybe we'd be a lot more poised to "change the story".

Feedback?! I'd love to hear what others think. Praise me, criticise me, or show me different possibilities.

-Scott Schumacher


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Scott Schumacher
Holistic Practitioner, Web Designer, Person
scotts@holisticgeek.com

http://www.holisticgeek.com/
http://www.holisticgeek.com/riverbetween/
http://www.apeacefultouch.com/