The Choosing a Massage School Podcast is an excellent resource for anyone wondering how to become a massage therapist. Today we’re examining the episode featuring Til Luchau, a world-renowned therapist who in 2018 was named Massage Magazine’s first Massage All-Star. Aspiring LMTs can stand on the shoulders of this massage therapy giant by attending to his advice.
The Story of Til Luchau’s Career in Massage
Til Luchau pursued several career paths prior to massage therapy; he has been a foreign car mechanic, an Outward Bound instructor, and a high school teacher. He was first exposed to hands-on healing while studying psychotherapy at the Esalen Institute. There, Til was exposed to key concepts including Gestalt therapy and bioenergetics, and influenced by those trained by Ida Rolf, Moshe Feldenkrais, and Milton Trager. While completing his psychotherapist training, Til continued to pursue massage therapy.
Today, Til Luchau is a Lead Instructor and Director of Advanced-Trainings.com. He is also a Certified Advanced Rolfer, having taught for two decades at the Dr. Ida Rolf Institute, the massage school specializing in Structural Integration. He authored the Advanced Myofascial Techniques textbook series, and his series titled “Myofascial Techniques” and “Somatic Edge” have been featured in Massage Magazine since 2009. As an established teacher in the massage therapy field, he has taught thousands of LMTs in more than 20 different countries around the world. In 2015 he was inducted into the Massage Therapy Hall of Fame. He continues to provide therapy from his Boulder, Colorado private practice
Til Luchau’s Advice for Aspiring Massage Therapy Students
While your best bet is to listen to Til’s entire interview on the Choosing a Massage School Podcast, here are a few highlights:
“The really good therapists are the ones who inspire their clients.”
Exceptional therapists not only provide superb manual healing; they also inspire their clients to choose healthy lifestyles. How? By authentically pursuing their interests, thereby putting their whole selves–mind, body, and spirit–into their work.
“Go for it. Don’t worry about [your educational pathway] being just the right thing right now.”
Til’s decades of experience have taught him that the right path will appear as you choose opportunities that resonate with your authentic self. If he could give his twenty-year-old self advice, it would be not to worry that a single choice will limit future options. Rather, his journey has revealed that multiple doors open when you choose what deeply attracts you.
“[Massage therapy] can be a full calling. It will give you back as much as you put into it.”
Til warns that multi-tasking only dilutes experience. Even if pursuing massage therapy as a second career through evening and weekend classes, (as offered at several Oregon massage schools) he emphasizes being present to the current moment. That means not texting under the desk, and not trying to work too many jobs at once. Wherever you are, be there–not mentally dialed into another place or time.
Hopefully, those tidbits have enticed you to listen to the whole conversation. If so, here’s how to access the Til Luchau episode of the Choosing A Massage School Podcast, according to your preferred platform.
Til Luchau’s Choosing a Massage School Podcast Interview across Platforms
