This is a very hot topic in the spa universe. I have never in my 17 years legitimately been an independent contractor at a spa. I have had independent contractor mobile work but every single spa that I have worked at that has paid me as an independent contractor has been doing so in error. However when you call them out on this, they generally get very upset and mysteriously find a reason to end the working relationship. I have copied and pasted the IRS independent contractor definition as well as posting a picture of the 20 point questionnaire that the IRS uses to determine your status. Pay particularly close attention to #7. For years workers in our industry have been getting taken advantage of. Some spa owners are aware of what they're doing, and some of them are not. The purpose of this is not to persecute anyone. It is simply to bring awareness so that our hard-working hands and heart can be appropriately educated, compensated, and respected. (The following is copied from IRS) "IRS Independent Contractor Are you an Independent contractor (self-employed) or employee? It is critical that business owners correctly determine whether the individuals providing services are employees or independent contractors. Generally, you must withhold and deposit income taxes, Social Security taxes and Medicare taxes from the wages paid to an employee. Additionally, you must also pay the matching employer portion of Social Security and Medicare taxes as well as pay unemployment tax on wages paid to an employee. Generally, you do not have to withhold or pay any taxes on payments to independent contractors. Select the scenario that applies to you: I am an independent contractor or in business for myself. If you are a business owner or contractor who provides services to other businesses, then you are generally considered self-employed. For more information on your tax obligations if you are self-employed (an independent contractor), see our Self-employed individuals tax center.

This massage can be performed in any order as you intuitively feel what your clients biggest concerns are. This is just one possibility of how a session could go but definitely feel free to follow your instincts and follow the subtle clues and cues from your client. You may want to begin before putting any oil on your hands, with a very gentle slow approach. As your client rests in the supine position, land like a butterfly and wrap your wings (palms and fingers) around their head. Very gently sliding down to land in a position with two fingers in front of and two fingers behind each ear. Make tiny circles with your palm as your fully contacted fingers stimulate the lymphatic system in front of and behind the ears. Each circle should gradually get a little bit deeper contact, remember we landed like a butterfly and then spread our wings. As the contact gets deeper gradually your circles will get bigger and you will eventually come out to where you are doing circles with your fingers all over the scalp and just generally relaxing the entire Galea apeneurotica and temporalis. Once this is achieved, I like to get a little bit of argan or jojoba, with a touch of castor oil for deeper penetration, and a nice facial essential oil blend. I usually use copaiba, vetiver, tangerine, lime and ginger. I will make a custom blend for a client if that's not something they like. With a few drops of this magical elixir on my fingertips and palms, I will put the palms of my hands on either side of their forehead and slide my fingers down onto temporales to spread the oil gently and lightly. Again like a butterfly. I will spread the oil over their entire face coming back up to frontalis, doing a few sweeps through getting that tension out of the eyebrows, maybe doing a little bit of skin rolling and pinching on the eyebrows. As that area softens I'll move laterally down on each side coming into the zygomatic area hitting some of the sinus points, sculpting up around the nose and doing circular motions around the eye sockets.

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Very excited to announce that I have been selected to present two classes at this year's FSMTA trade show and convention. Join me for High Tolerance, Low Threshold 6ce We will discuss chronic pain and the necessity to come in under the radar to help our clients get back to a normal nervous system baseline. We will discuss opening fascia pain-free techniques slowing down going with breath and tools that can be used to assist in bringing the nervous system into a parasympathetic dominant state. And Get in My Belly an Introduction to Abdominal Massage 6ce In this class we will look at the anatomy of the abdomen, discuss the impact that the abdominal muscles have on the various body systems and get hands-on practice to become comfortable working on this often neglected and delicate area.

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