As the 2024 Connecticut Legislative session ends, we reflect on our successful event at the Connecticut State Capitol for Massage Therapy Awareness Day (MTAD). Each year our chapter volunteers set up to provide chair and Thai massage for our legislators and staff at the Capitol in Hartford. This is an opportunity for us to demonstrate what massage therapy is and educate the participants about our profession.

Licensed professionals and students volunteer their time to educate our State Senators and Representatives about the many benefits regular Massage Therapy visits have on one’s health and wellness routine as well as the importance of proper education and licensure in our state.  

Laws and regulations change over time, and it is crucial to be aware of what’s happening not only in our state but across the country regarding licensure and education.

On April 23rd, students from Asnuntuck, Community College, along with two of their instructors, Jodi Wolf and Jeff Shuman, joined a team of licensed volunteers at the state capitol.  The student AMTA members attended to learn more about AMTA and how to provide chair massages at an event.

Below are comments from the experience of those students:

• I consider my experience at the Capitol to be invaluable. I’d like to focus on chair and event massage once I’m licensed and begin developing a career.
• I never imagined massage therapists would be setting up workstations and practicing right in the middle of a massive historic building, filled with not just senators and practitioners of law, but every type of person you can imagine. 
• I was lucky enough to learn about the structure and responsibilities of the AMTA. I hadn’t considered this event as an opportunity to learn about that side of the world of massage therapy but, I’m very grateful for what it turned into. 
• My first chair massage was on one of the massage therapy volunteers and she instructed me on how to apply pressure with my techniques.

 

• I met a massage therapist from the sports massage team and she told me about her experience in the industry, giving sports massage, and the massage therapy emergency corps that traveled and helped give massages to people in need. She highly recommended becoming a continuing part of the AMTA as the chapter is very supportive of their local members.
• It was important to me to do this event to get more real-life experience with random clients and working in a non-classroom setting giving massages to people who may not be familiar with getting work done on them regularly. 

Thank you to all who participated! We are truly grateful for your support.