Massage Therapists Protest on Capitol Steps Thursday

Group wants to loosen restrictions in some areas, but add controls like police background checks.

Recent capitol steps demonstration in Olympia, Washington Courtesy: thefreedomride.org

(SALEM, Ore.) - A group of people who want to lessen restrictions over massage therapy laws will make their point known on the Oregon State Capitol steps Thursday.

Brandon Raynor who is a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine, says they want state lawmakers to pay attention.

"We are holding a demonstration on the main steps of the Capitol building on Thursday July 19th between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM to encourage legislators to support changes to the current massage laws."

He says this will be the 2nd such demonstration of 60 planned for all US State and Canadian Provinces in North America.

"Our last demonstration in Olympia, Washington received a lot of support from the public and media coverage from local news agencies. He says this year long campaign dubbed "The Freedom Ride" is sure to gain momentum and International publicity.

"We want the laws to be less restrictive so that they allow practitioners of other forms of massage therapy to practice according to the traditions and standards of their particular form of massage therapy. Right now, the current state of affairs standardizes all massage training into one particular philosophical and cultural approach that many massage practitioners find to be unfair."

One example he cites is Thai massage. "Thai massage, as taught at the Wat Po temple in Bangkok, where Thai massage has its origins, is taught in the traditional Thai manner focusing on learning the Sen or energy lines and also on practical application, rather than on Western anatomy."

He says people can practice this technique effectively after only 10 days of instruction.

"Raynor massage, which I teach, can also be learned effectively in 5 or 10 days and in many people's experience around the world is a far more effective form of therapy than many conventional forms of massage therapy."

He says they will be holding a demonstration of Raynor massage on the steps of the Capitol, tomorrow, between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM.

Raynor says there are other ways to legislate to protect the public, "from sleazy practitioners other than the current 500 hour requirement that forces people to be trained in one culture's (Western) approach to massage, even when that culture has no significant history of massage."

According to Raymor, legislation could be enacted that requires a person seeking a massage license to have a police background check. "Any history of sexual crimes or fraud related activities could cause a denial of a license."

"Simple codes of conduct could be established and a person must learn these to get a license."

He says relaxing the massage laws to allow more freedom in the health industry when America’s health system is in crisis, that in turn will help those who support the nation's freedom.

"It is critical at a time where our soldiers are coming back from combat and desperately needing every form of therapy." Experts say this type of therapy can to help deal with the physical and psychological stresses of the wars. Brandon Raynor, N.D., D.R.M, says more information is available at this Website: thefreedomride.org and brandonraynor.com.