California Massage Therapy Awareness Day | By John Lambert, NHI teacher and AMTA-CA volunteer

On 1/12/2012, I had the opportunity to attend the Declaration of California Massage Therapy Awareness Day at our State Capitol. The California Chapter of the American Massage Therapy Association received the Declaration due to their continued efforts on the massage legislative front. I actually got to do some chair massage at the Capitol and celebrate the recognition with my fellow AMTA volunteers.

I’ve been in the massage field for 10 years since graduating from National Holistic Institute, and in that time, due to the AMTA’s legislative efforts, getting permitted and being able to work anywhere in the State of California has gotten a lot easier. When I first graduated from NHI, I had to get a license or permit in every city or county that I wanted to practice. With the state law creating the California Massage Therapy Council in 2009, I was allowed the freedom to practice statewide.

Even though we now have this CAMTC-certification, it does not allow us to sit back and be lazy on the legislative front. The massage field is constantly changing, and so does the legislative climate. Depending on who is elected and what other groups are interested in the massage profession, laws can change. This is why the AMTA’s Government Relations team constantly works to make things better and educate lawmakers. Of course there is strength in numbers, and the more people that communicate and educate their elected officials, the better off all massage therapists are.

If serving your profession in this way interests you, there is a special AMTA-CA Legislative Day at the Capitol on February 28^th, 2012. You will meet the AMTA-CA’s legislative representatives and learn how to create relationships with your elected officials and even meet them in their offices at the Capitol. The cost is $20, but the knowledge you gain may help all massage therapists in the future.

Click here for more information on the event!