Would you go to a Massage Therapist who's into chakras, reincarnation etc

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What a great way to evangelise and a good massage to boot, I’m all for it.
 
Steve Andersen:
Depends on how pushy they are about it

Some therapies have a clear benefit. The techniques were arrived at empirically even if the mumbo jumbo behind it is silly.

If the therapist is happy in their little world and you’re getting the therapy you need what is the problem?
:confused:
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I agree. That stuff doesn’t scare me, and I find it interesting to hear what other people believe and what they think it does for them. If they wanted to tell me about their beliefs, that’s OK with me. I have pretty good mental resistance even against parts of my own religion so it’s not like I’m going to start believing the stuff.

Plus, sometimes I can validate some of other people’s ideas by comparing them to my own. For example, I could say, “that almost sounds like my religion where we actually believe…”

If she is doing something weird that I don’t believe in, that’s OK too as long as I’m getting a good massage.

Many human beings minister to me, either for pay or not, from all different religions. I don’t have a problem with one giving me a massage who has a different religious belief any more than one working on my home remodeling.

Alan
 
I prefer a massage therapist who is trained in a sports medicine or physical therapy setting and knows anatomy, who keeps her workplace and equipment spotlessly clean and is clean in her person, and who interviews me about my physical condition and current state of health and where the pain is, and who talks only when necessary during the massage, playing soothing instrumental music during the process. I pay for massage, not a lot of extraneous new age claptrap.
 
Steve Andersen:
Depends on how pushy they are about it

Some therapies have a clear benefit. The techniques were arrived at empirically even if the mumbo jumbo behind it is silly.

If the therapist is happy in their little world and you’re getting the therapy you need what is the problem?
:confused:
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I agree…and given the chance, I would do a little evangelizing of my own.
~ Kathy ~
 
See an osteopath, the real pros. That said, Catholics are offered warnings about spiritualist practices, e.g., this OLW page. However, it is likely that this ‘occult’ stuff is a partly irrational understanding of the physical world. There may well be some ‘energy centers’ that she is helping you with. She may not correctly understand what she is doing, but if you strip it of its irrational metaphors and let it be a physical process, well, that is what science would do anyway. “Chakra one” doesn’t have to be ‘earth, survival, and prosperity’; it may simply exist, and whether it does or not is an objective matter. If the quacks keep discovering it, they may in some sense be ahead of science. Remember that the true faith can baptise anything that is true, so if an energy pattern exists, it exists, period. The practitioner may believe that she is “relying on powers other than God and His Grace to obtain things, such as health, prosperity, etc” [from that link], but what she is actually doing is another matter. Whether such a person has the power to actually cause harm through black magic or whatever, I have no idea. For myself I would regard the overall procedure as too much of a bother; when I am in the market for health care I prefer to stick to receiving a competent service and not some sort of guesswork fraught with irrational interpretations.
 
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AlanFromWichita:
I don’t have a problem with one giving me a massage who has a different religious belief any more than one working on my home remodeling.
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Home remodeling? Try Feng Shui. 😃
 
Oh boy! I’ve been to many massage therapists due to a painful condition. The massage helps me for a while but it’s not a cure. Many of the massage therapists are into the New Age stuff. When one put her hands on me and started to do “energy healing” I told her I don’t believe in that stuff. I don’t. I don’t feel any different, I don’t feel any energy going into or out of me, I am a total skeptic when it comes to crystals, Reiki, channeling, etc. As a jewelry maker (my hobby) I have loads of stones and crystals and they never have any effect on me. It’s all New Age non sense. Much of it is geared to making money off you, just go to Ebay.com and do a search for crystals or crystal wands. There are some therapists who do not use the New Age hocus pocus. Look for a therapist who’s European or got her or his training in Europe. I notice the Polish therapists I went to just did body work and not the other stuff. Most therapists will use soothing music or scent but there is nothing wrong with that, it just helps you to relax. I hope my post helps. :yup:
 
Island Oak:
Exactly! By the way are there massage therapists out there who aren’t into channeling your energy with some silly twist on Eastern meditation?!?

Hello out there. I am fairly new at this game, so be patient if I don’t do this corretly. I am a Catholic, who happens to be a massage therapist. I have read many of the posts that are out there but not all.

I would like to address some of the issues brought out:
  1. Yes, there are MT’s out here who wish to “do the job at hand” and none other. I am strictly into soft tissue manipulation in the effort to relieve sore muscles, and “unknot” bound up muscles. My main reprotoire includes Swedish (broad relaxation strokes to soothe tired sore muscles) ,Deep tissue ( delving more into the 2nd and 3rd layers of muscles at their points of origin and insertion), and stretching.
  2. Yes most MT schools do teach Eastern plilosophies and encourage the
    Eastern techniques which include energy work, crystals, meridians, chakras… When it came to this part of my education, I wore my scapular medal on the outside of my clothing and often wore my St. Michael Tshirt. I also vaiced my concern about the teaching and spoke with many of the other students who were there.
    througout my entire education ( and afterwards,) I have sought the guidance and help of a spiritual director.
I have kept in touch with other MT’s in the area that I live in and I know there are several of us who do not subscribe to the Eastern way of thinking.

For those of you, who are leary, I must say that I cannot blame you as I have found myself on the table of some MT"S that caused me to be alarmed. ( I should have known better) However, massage therapy is needed in this stressed out society of ours and is valuable. Please treat this as you would any other service: Ask around and get references, speak with the therapist,. ask for her credentials, ask if she’s into energy work ( without giving away your own beliefs). Look around the room, and ask to see the music collection. I have pictures of the human body on my wall, with pretty flowers and soft music to relax. No crystals, no amulets…

I hope this helps.

“For the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercyy on us and on the whole world”

Faithful Mom
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Great post, FaithfulMom! It’s good to hear that there are principled therapists out there who don’t try to impose this New Age nonsense on the unsuspecting.

I hope everyone will forgive me if I seem a bit hostile toward the New Age stuff, and in all this voodoo-type energy manipulation in particular. Blame it on my scientific training. 😃

One of my old friends, who had been fairly non-religious in her early 20’s and 30’s, suddenly became a scrupulous Mormon. Her fervor even affected her marriage, and she is now divorced.

Then, all of a sudden, in her 40’s she suddenly decided to go back to school and change her entire life. (Not that I can blame her for that, since I have done the very same thing.) I was happy for her when I heard she wanted to be a massage therapist, since that sounded fairly solid and reliable. Silly me - I had no idea how things were these days.

All of a sudden I got these emails from her talking about all this New Age stuff, and really going off the deep end. Reiki, crystals, energy portals (like in certain locations on earth), and past lives. I’ve been afraid to ask her how this all fits in with her Mormonism. I guess she’s happy, but it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

Anyway, there is no way that I would put up with a therapist who started some mumbo-jumbo with me, especially if it was not discussed beforehand.
 
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WhiteDove:
So, let’s say, theoretically of course… :whistle: , that this massage therapist encourages you discuss traumas from your past that might have contributed to stresses that you carry in certain areas of your body. Her theory is that these memories are stored in the cell memory. You feel at ease with her, and maybe you do have some emotional blocks, and perhaps there’s something to it… And, perhaps talking about your past is a helpful thing, something you really hate to do, but perhaps need to anyways in order to become a more effective person in doing God’s work in your life.

What do you think??? 🙂
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Are you talking about a massage therapist - or a psychiatrist?
 
They can believe anything they want, I know where I stand and am comfortable in it. Just give me a good massage and be done with it.

People of weak wishy washy faith should stay away for they can easily be swayed.
 
I would be tempted to run to the nearest exit! When they start waving the rocks around, I’d totally pull the plug on that - Massage only please! But a practitioner in this position could benefit from a believer *gently *speaking his/her mind. Personally, I have a tendency to go for the juggler & want to blast someone. I guess I’ve learned a great deal about the new age starting from the early 80’s - more than I care to know!

I would tell her my strength comes from God & God alone & all other “power sources” are truly suspect - “He who is not with me is against Me!” If this massage therapist admits he/she cannot p(name removed by moderator)oint the actual source of this “power”, then maybe you’ll get 'em to think about things. Yes we are obligated to plant seeds wherever we go & pray for these seeds to grow. A friend of mine said was to put the Blood of Jesus over the person & business - cover them with the Precious Blood & pray and is the most powerful way to address situations such as these.

All in all, I would probably find another place to spend my money, maybe a massage therapist with kids to raise that may be more down to earth; after all we’re there to relax & not grind our teeth over their off-wall-ideologies. Yet we are the Lord’s hands, eyes, heart etc. and we need to reach out to others & stand firm when opportunities present themselves as part of our Christian duty. If you have the spiritual fortitude to stand up against these people & while they are working on you maybe you could stay as a client! But new agers in any form can be sooooo persuasive & seductive so watch out! They tickle to ears. Bottom line for me: I would probably just feel too uncomfortable & move on.
 
stbruno said:
For those of us that suffer from chronic back pain…go see a licensed chiropractor. I have never felt better and the massage you get as well as the adjacent treatments are usually covered by your health insurance. Why bother with a masseuse.
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some chiropractors do this too…
I didn’t see a choice that directly fits, but I would confront her or him then and there, as well as before seeing again. If the practice while I am there does not cease, then I would not go again.
 
I don’t mean so sound alarmist here, but after my Lutheran upbringing I was involved in New Age for almost ten years. I really hated and pitied Christians because in the New Age mindset they’re the most backward and in need of enlightenment. Not Muslim fundamentalists, not atheists, not scientologists. Christians were the enemy, although sometimes their saints might get a glimpse of the Real All-That-Is by virtue of their own spiritual giftedness, but marred throught their Christian interpretation. Some are more tolerant but think Jesus learned yoga in India, that sort of thing. It took a lot of failure, a lot of money, and a lot of breakdowns before I realized how badly I was hurting myself.

Avoid it at all costs if you can. It’s tempting but I wouldn’t see someone who might want to recruit you. That’s just my two cents.
 
Island_Oak said:
Exactly! By the way are there massage therapists out there who aren’t into channeling your energy with some silly twist on Eastern meditation?!? I’ve encountered it only once and that was at the St. Paul Saints (minor league) baseball games where there was a nun with a portable table who would move around the stands offering massages.
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Yes! We are out there! And some of us have crucifixes on our walls, and other sacramentals.and often play catholic music instead of “new age” genre . We usually pray as we work and sometimes if we know our clients share our Christian faith- we will pray with them if they like. We understand that any skills and knowledge we possess comes from God.—I worked hard and prayed for a clientele that wants therapeutic manipulation of the soft tissue. I am blessed with a mostly Catholic clientele. If someone comes to me looking for new age practices, I explain the work I do with neuromuscular, myofacial and orthopedic therapies . If they are interested, I treat them!
 
I definitely would not go. That kind of stuff is very spiritually dangerous and can invite demons into your life.
 
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