When Your Body is Your Job
For most, if your laptop or your phone broke it would cause an inconvenience in getting one’s work (and life) done. You’d have to buy another or get that one fixed and use a back up (less good) option in the meantime. However, when you are an athlete, a dancer, a fitness instructor or a massage therapist, your body is the tool you most rely on in your work. This has it’s pro’s and it’s con’s.
When it is your job to look after your body, you take way better care of your body. When I worked as a professional dancer, each day started and ended with self massage and time with the foam roller. I had a meticulous warm up routine that took 20-40 minutes that I did before every rehearsal and every show. I had an indulgent warm down routine that took even longer that I would do at the end of the day, most days. I didn’t sit at a desk 40 hours a week so my posture and muscles were balanced and strong. I ate well most of the time because eating poorly would mean I would run out of energy mid rehearsal or before the show was finished. This lifestyle was normal, it wasn’t “a phase” it was my life. When I retired my dance career and took an office job, I was shocked at how quickly my routines fizzled out.
However, you do all that maintenance and self massage (or getting massage therapy) because if you do get injured, things get complicated really quickly. When I was training as part of my Bachelor or Dance from the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) in Melbourne, Australia, I did get injured. My left trapezius muscle was so tight that when I did a certain movement it compressed the nerve and tore the deeper muscle in my shoulder. For two weeks following this injury I performed in the show that I was doing. I saw the physio every day. I had strapping tape and ice on hand. I was in a lot of pain. Following the shows I spent almost two weeks laying on my back most of the day until the nerve healed. My flatmade had to do my food shopping. Then I was able to continue my degree by training only the bottom half of my body for weeks until my shoulders were back to full strength. If I had been working a paid job, I may have had to leave the job and be replaced by someone who could use their arms. Certainly, if I had had that injury somewhere other than VCA I would not have had access (nor the money) for daily physio. You do not get sick leave if you are a dancer contracting for a creative process.
A few years later, I worked as a fitness instructor. Specifically I was a barre instructor at an Australian franchise called Aleenta Barre. The business offered barre classes (a mix of yoga, Pilates, and ballet exercise work) at day spas as part of the full package treatment marketed primarily at (wealthy) working women in the city. I taught these classes at seven in the morning, during lunch time, and evenings along side a handful of other professional dancers who they almost exclusively hired. This work was an amazing experience and very informative. Not only was it physically demanding (especially in the heat of an Australian summer), but mentally challenging. Even someone who was a morning person would need a coffee before motivating a class full of tired women to work their thighs at 7am on a Tuesday morning while still keeping the elegance and grace expected at a high end day spa.
Despite the challenges, the niggling injuries, and the exhausted days, working with your body as my job has made me stronger and tougher. My pregnancy with my son was long and brutal and that was before I went into labour. Having worked with my body in extreme ways for years prior to my pregnancy, I felt I had a deeper connection with myself and more knowledge than expected. This guided me through the labour and the recovery that followed. My relationship with my body is a vital aspect of my massage practice. Not only for longevity of my practice, but also to give a quality massage experience to each and every client. Of course I have those irritating thoughts that critique how my body looks sometimes, but overall I am hugely grateful for my body. It has been my career.
