California has been added to the growing ranks of states moving towards the regulation of individuals practicing massage. Gov. Arnold Shwarzenegger signed a bill that mandates minimum training requirements for massage therapists in order to receive state-issued cretification. The bill was strongly supported by the professional massage industry. But there were opponents.

One detractor referred to California as a “breeding ground for different types of massage.” This opponent to the law was the director of a massage school. Apparently, she felt that creativity would be stifled by requiring a minimum number of hours of training. I wonder if this opposition didn’t have more to do with accreditation than concern for the stifling of the creative spirit.

California will now require 250 hours of training to be certified as a massage practitioner and 500 hours to receive certification as a massage therapist. The training and certification is voluntary.

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