Each day I go to work with a simple intention: to make today better than yesterday. “Today,” I think, “I’ll be more productive, embrace possibilities and challenges, and find ways to get to yes.” I’ll bet you approach your practice and each massage in a similar manner.
This approach is referred to in Japanese culture as kaizen, which translates to “continuous improvement.” Kaizen first became popular after World War II in many Japanese businesses, most notably Toyota. The basic tenet was that everyone—from CEOs on down—could improve company results and performance each day by noticing, and then improving upon, small imperfections and inefficiencies, thus eventually improving large tasks and increasing productivity. The philosophy proved so popular that it eventually influenced general self-actualization trends for everyday living. Making even tiny, daily changes will eventually add up to significant improvements in your health, your finances, your relationships, etc. (An often-used analogy is that flowing water slowly breaks down the rocks in its path until it forms a canyon.)
Where am I going with this? Well, I’ve worked alongside Massage & Bodywork employees Karrie Osborn, Amy Klein, and James Sutherlin for nearly two decades. They’re our seasoned editorial and design staff. Over the last few years, we’ve been fortunate enough to add important employees in Brandon Twyford, Mary Abel, and Andrea Brown. I’d like to think this is the hardest working magazine production team in the business. We love our product, we love our readers, and we want each issue to be better than the last. A common phrase echoing through our office corridors is, “Not good enough; we can do better!” And it’s that extra step or final touch that pushes something toward excellence. We embrace the kaizen principle on every page.
I’m particularly fond of the Zen Buddhism phrase, “In the beginner’s mind, there are many possibilities; in the expert’s, there are few.” The beginner’s mind may lack experience, but it can also be free of bias. Our team often tackles projects with “beginner’s mind” in order to reinvent, test, and challenge ingrained practices whenever possible. This valuable way of seeing things afresh has helped us time and time again.
I recently heard a snippet of a podcast in which a TV personality was describing his work environment. When asked to describe a good day and bad day at work, he responded, “I can’t remember a bad day at work because I’m always with people I like. And they like our work.”
The description perfectly sums up our fully dedicated magazine and association staff. We promise to seek continuous improvement on your behalf.

Darren Buford
Editor-in-Chief
darren@abmp.com