Below is the most up to date information from the public hearing in Lansing held on March 5th. This information was taken from the ABMP website and can be found in its origional for here.

From: Jean Robinson, government relations director

RE: March 5, 2012 public hearing regarding the proposed administrative rules to implement massage therapy licensing.

Applications for licensing are NOT available yet. They probably won’t be available until the fall at the earliest. There is no action for you to take at this time. This is simply an update.

I wanted to take a moment to update you all on the public hearing I attended last week. The purpose of the public hearing was to solicit feedback from the massage therapy community regarding the proposed regulations. This is an important step in the process because it allows different points of view to be heard or brought to the attention of the board and the staff at the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA). Read ABMP’s comment here.

The issue brought up the most by commenters who attended the public hearing was from schools with regards to the proposed student clinic rule (Rule 7).

Timeline

Desmond Mitchell, the policy analyst working with the Board, will now merge all of the comments received from the public into one document. He will respond to the comments and likely provide some advice to the Board on how to proceed. The board will discuss this document, comment by comment, at its next meeting on April 9^th.

The Board could agree with certain comments brought to their attention and vote to change the proposed rule, or they could keep the proposed rule regardless of comments/concerns brought forward. In some cases, public comments that were issued may not be relevant because the provision is in the law, not in the rules proposed by the Board. The Board cannot change the law, only the regulations. The Board will need to provide some justification for their decisions.

If, at the April meeting, the Board doesn’t propose significant changes, i.e. changes that could be interpreted to mean a more restrictive regulation of massage therapists, the proposed rules will again go through the proper channels to become finalized. The LARA staff at the public hearing stated that the earliest applications may be available would probably be in the fall. The Board has done an excellent job, as evidenced by the fact that there are really only a few issues they will revisit in April.

We need to be patient. I know people are getting antsy to apply for a license but it’s in everyone’s best interest that the rules adopted by the Board are consistent with the other states that regulate massage and that the licensing process be as streamlined as possible.

Reminder – this is the “grandfathering provision” in Michigan.

For 2 years after applications become available, the qualifications for licensing will be to meet one of the following:

(a) For at least 1 year before January 9, 2009, has been an active member, as a massage therapist, of a national professional massage therapy association (such as ABMP); If you were an ABMP member prior to Jan. 9, 2012, you will qualify through option (a).

(b) Has practiced massage therapy for an average of at least 10 hours per week for 5 or more years, as established by affidavit of the applicant.

(c) Has practiced massage therapy for an average of at least 10 hours per week for at least 3 years, as established by affidavit of the applicant, and has successfully completed at least 300 hours of formal training in massage therapy acceptable to the board, as established by evidence from the school or schools attended.

(d) Has successfully passed an examination (either the MBLEX or NCBTMB exams). The passage of this examination may have occurred before January 9, 2009.

(e) Completed a massage program of at least 500 hours in class training.  If you graduated from massage school after January 9, 2012, you will qualify through option (e).

It’s easy for me to make excuses not to exercise. As someone who deals with chronic pain and fatigue, simply getting out of bed can sometimes be a struggle. On a day like that, the last thing I want to do is exert myself!

But I know I should. Even for people with health problems, gentle exercise can be very therapeutic. It can ease pain, help boost  energy, and lift mood. If I overdo it, sure, the soreness is so bad I probably won’t be able to work out again for a week, but that’s part of knowing my boundaries. If I stay inside my body’s limits, regular exercise can make me feel much better in both the short and long term.

We already know how good it is for us. The problem, no matter what level of health you usually experience, is renewing your commitment day after day and actually starting that workout.

Dr. Mike Evans recently released this excellent video that discusses physical benefits of exercise. It is well worth watching if you have ten minutes to spare. The way he frames finding time to exercise daily is very refreshing, and cuts through the excuses: Can you limit your sitting and sleeping to just 23 and a half hours a day?

Well, can you?

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who celebrates it! I hope you have a wonderful time with loved ones, and enjoy the incredible bounty of food that continues to be available to us these days. Even though times are hard for many of us, there is still so much to be thankful for.

Did you know that Thanksgiving is also National Family History Day? Ever since 2004, by declaration of the United States Surgeon General, families have been encouraged to talk about and record which health conditions run in the family on Thanksgiving. Preferably not during dinner, if you prefer to keep things polite.

Family history can be a very important screening tool to assess risk and sometimes even diagnose health problems. Families can share common lifestyle, environment, habits and behaviors, diet, and other factors that influence health as well as often sharing genetics. Of course, just because something runs in your family doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily have to deal with it personally, but when it comes to health, knowledge is power.

A complete family history record covers several generations of your extended family, including children, nieces and nephews, brothers and sisters, cousins, parents, aunts and uncles, and grandparents. If you have enough information, going even farther back in your ancestry couldn’t hurt. This can also be a great time to share family stories and explore your heritage.

If you’re not spending the holiday with your family, consider making some phone calls or remembering to bring up medical histories at the next family gathering. A family record can be a very precious gift to give yourself and the next generation.

And if possible, try not to overdo it on the sugar.

When I was first diagnosed with a chronic illness I read somewhere online about a clinical study in which a group of sick patients who consistently repeated the affirmation “I’m getting better every day” got well significantly sooner than the control group, who didn’t say the affirmations.

Now, the existence of this experiment was second-hand internet information, so I don’t know if there was any such study. Let me be clear about that. I was never able to track it down, and I don’t know if it’s anything more than an urban legend. But as someone coping with overwhelming health issues, just hearing this maybe-fictional story reminded me to hope. I immediately found a piece of sturdy paper and wrote “I’m getting better every day” in bright orange marker and hung it on my wall so I’d see it and remember to say it.

I didn’t think these were magic words that would miraculously cure me, but I knew that there was one sure way to ruin my chances of ever being healthy again, and that was*TO*  give up on myself. Even if I had to play what felt a little like mindgames with myself to stay positive, I was going to do it. No matter how sick I became, how discouraged I got, I knew I could not afford to let myself stay in a negative state of mind.

Because whatever positive thoughts may or may not do, the negative ones can be disastrous. I can’t speak to anyone else’s situation, but in my own, I know that stress is one of the worst things for my condition. It makes me more tired, it makes my chronic pain worse, and when I feel stressed and miserable I’m less likely to do things for myself that might help, even simple things like taking a warm bath or doing a little gentle yoga. When I get into a cycle of negative thinking, I’m bombarding myself and my poor, defenseless body with stress every waking moment.

Can the power of one little affirmation stop that juggernaut in its tracks? Are you kidding?  No! Of course not.

However, the power of habitual positive thinking, practiced consistently, has helped me. I’m now used to believing I will one day be healthy again. Because I deeply believe this positive affirmation, when my thoughts turn negative I just have to remind myself of something I already know. I haven’t beaten my illness yet, I tell myself, but I most certainly will. And that keeps me fighting. That keeps me working toward my goal.

Even if I’m wrong, and I’m just cultivating delusions, and I never enjoy a fully healthy body again, I’m still keeping myself away from thought patterns that lead to stress and depression. Don’t get me wrong, I still think I’m right. I am going to get well, but even if I weren’t I’d still be coming out ahead.

“I’m getting better every day” is pretty basic, though. Maybe I should add in some extras like laser vision or a cool new bike. It couldn’t hurt to ask.

Do you use affirmations in your pursuit of health? I’d love to read yours and learn whether you think they’ve helped you. Please share in the comments!