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All Blog Posts Tagged 'massage' (222)

Advanced Certification: The Long-Awaited Announcement from the NCBTMB

The NCBTMB announced today in a press release that the organization is getting on with the task of offering an advanced certification examination, with a target date for the exam to start beta testing in April 2010.

While I applaud any effort from them towards that at all, the issue here is that I think they're a little off target, before they get started. I have heard input from hundreds of therapists who would be interested in gaining an advanced certification in their area of… Continue

Added by Laura Allen on September 8, 2009 at 3:36pm — 34 Comments

Help! My Client is an Energy Vamp

We've all heard, seen and most importantly felt an energy drain from working with certain clients. The drain can wipe us out for hours and sometimes days.We often attribute it to some shortcomming of our own or some issue our client has. But what if it's intentional. I mean Really Intentional. I'm not talking about the creepy ones...The ones that make us bristle long before they get to our table. I mean the subtle ones. Sometimes they're men sometimes they're women. They come in looking and… Continue

Added by Ruthellen Wood on August 24, 2009 at 9:52pm — 4 Comments

tourrettes syndrome and massage??

Hi I have a new client who has a 13 year old son with Tourettes Syndrome. He has some fairly obvious tics and jerks especialy when he gets nervous or upset about something. With the teen years just ahead of him, she expects things to get worse before they get better. She notes that he seems to respond well to "homemade massage". When he appears to be nervous, or anxious, she gives him small massages and she can tell that he very obviously calms down. She is wondering if there is any research… Continue

Added by Anne Hagan on August 24, 2009 at 9:06pm — 1 Comment

Massage Therapy Programs Experience Rise in Enrollment

U.S. Department of Labor reports that employment opportunities for massage therapists are expected to rise by 20% by 2016. Coupled with the fact that 45% of women and 21% of men reported receiving a massage within the last five years, the projected rise in demand for massage therapist certainly seems to make sense. Read full article here.

Added by Lisa Curran Parenteau on August 14, 2009 at 12:17pm — No Comments

Ashi-Thai foot photo

I think this is a cool picture of Ashi-Thai. It's one of the very few strokes in this modality that is actually skin on skin. Perfect for stretching out the client's gastrocnemius!

Added by Mary-Claire Fredette on August 11, 2009 at 9:06pm — 3 Comments

Advanced Ashiatsu Classes

If you've taken Barefoot Basics, but your clients are asking for more, advanced classes are for you!

Anterior/Side-Lying is for using one footed strokes on the anterior body as well as clinical strokes in the side lying position. I just received those this past week from fellow instructor Kina Ueda in Denver. Great stuff!

Deepfeet2-Advanced Ashiatsu (formerly Deepfeet 2 and the Fusion-blend) teaches the therapist how to use their full body weight to really work the… Continue

Added by Mary-Claire Fredette on August 10, 2009 at 5:30am — No Comments

Ashi-Thai

Ashi-Thai is a brand new modality that is sure to thrill many massage therapists. Like traditional Thai massage, the client is clothed, and no oil or cream is used. The therapist maneuvers the client into various positions that loosens and relaxtes the muscles.

Unlike Thai massage, the client receives the massage on a massage table with his face comfortable in a face cradle while in the prone position. Overhead bars provide balancing support for the therapist as she uses her… Continue

Added by Mary-Claire Fredette on August 8, 2009 at 6:00pm — No Comments

Bamboo-fusion massage

Like the effects of hot stone massage? A lot of people do. I, however, have no love for actually doing the massage. Why?

Because the set up time, clean up time is a pain. I have curly hair, so the hot water steaming about my face every time I pick up a stone frizzes my hair.

The perfect solution for me was Bamboo-fusion. The bamboo tools are high quality sticks that are solid bamboo. Fused together in a fashion similar to that of cutting board, they hold the heat well and are a… Continue

Added by Mary-Claire Fredette on August 7, 2009 at 6:00am — No Comments

Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy in Cincinnati, OH

Hey all you deep tissue therapists! Ever heard of luxurious deep tissue massage?Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy may be the solution for you.

~Thumbs sore?

~Back hurt?

~Massage therapist elbow?

~Love massaging, but it's killing you?

Barefoot massage can be deep, medium or even light pressure. If you do it right, it can be one of the deepest and yet most luxurious massages you've ever had. I just had the pleasure of receiving some Ashi from Kina Ueda in Denver… Continue

Added by Mary-Claire Fredette on August 6, 2009 at 6:00pm — No Comments

Care for your own body first

In my years as a Massage Therapist, I have learned more about myself by helping other people. I have also learned that I have to care for my own body to give to others. I have been in the field for 11 years and have owned my own spa, been a massage instructor, and worked at a spa on the strip in Las Vegas.

The physical part of my job is what drove me but it also led to burnout and injury. I was working full time at the spa and writing the… Continue

Added by Karina Braun on August 5, 2009 at 1:16pm — No Comments

How to use your body...

To think of massage as something you only do with your hands is incorrect. A therapist who uses the hands for a palpation tool and the whole body for most of the pressure is working correctly. Massage is very physical and the muscles of the arms should not be used for long periods of time without taking a break. The arm muscles are not generally as aerobic and fatigue easily; however, the large muscles of the legs and hips can function efficiently for many hours at a time. Generate your power… Continue

Added by Karina Braun on August 4, 2009 at 3:30pm — 13 Comments

The Gains and Pains of Energy Exchange

I'm sorry this took so long. I spent some time in Tampa recently at a Facilitated Pathways Intervention class given by Flo Barber her paradigm shifting work is amazing. I'll be devoting a post entirely to her work in the future.

Of late we've been covering energy at it's most basic. Now we move on to managing our energy exchanges with others. Energy exchanges occur at all levels between friends, family, clients and clerks. Literally every one all the time. Humans, as a means of self… Continue

Added by Ruthellen Wood on July 30, 2009 at 11:02am — No Comments

Belief about soft tissue

The belief you have about soft tissue is important in how you use your body to apply pressure. Soft tissues of the body respond to touch and when applied in an artful manner, a healing response can occur. Massage therapy and bodywork require a comprehensive knowledge of anatomy and physiology and a variety of approaches to the treatment of soft tissue. Expert knowledge in the bodywork field involves both intuition and intelligence to be successful. You must investigate all possible techniques… Continue

Added by Karina Braun on July 27, 2009 at 1:04pm — No Comments

Making Your Massage Career Last - Part I

I've been in practice since 1994, a few years longer than I originally planned. Initially I thought I would retire from doing hands-on work after about seven or eight years to focus on managing the busy (and demanding) day spa I opened in 1996. But even as my spa grew to a staff of almost fifty before I sold it four years ago, I never could make the decision to walk away from my massage practice.

Now, fifteen years after I saw my very first paying client, I am actually building my… Continue

Added by Felicia Brown on July 25, 2009 at 7:31am — No Comments

Healing and Wellness Costa Rica Workshop Series. Spa certification intensives

Join us for some or all of these intensives in beautiful Caribbean Costa Rica at Hone Creek, Talamanca http://www.spa-college.com/popCR09.html

Prepare for a career in the health and wellness space, enhance your existing talents or build life-skills and network with your peers.

CLASSICAL MASSAGE

Learn how to provide a full-body… Continue

Added by Nicolay Kreidler on July 16, 2009 at 11:45am — No Comments

Energy - Where and When

Energy, what some call life force, is everywhere. It's in all things and flows through all things. Yes, the living and the not so living. OK so my car has energy?! Sure, does the engine give off heat? Have you ever noticed how some mechanics just seem to have "a knack" with cars? It's almost like the car TOLD them what was wrong! This happened to me a few years ago. My car was almost 10 and started to make an odd sound. Knowing about how energy worked, I asked what's wrong? I heard "the… Continue

Added by Ruthellen Wood on July 15, 2009 at 12:53pm — No Comments

5 Tips for Going Green in Your Massage Practice...(and a cool new web tool to check out)

Going green is certainly a trend of late and of interest to many massage therapists. Although I have written an entire post about this idea on my own blog , I wanted to share this new animated video blog here instead. Hope you enjoy the short clip about 5 Tips for Going Green in your massage, spa or wellness business!

Click here to watch… Continue

Added by Felicia Brown on July 13, 2009 at 6:08pm — No Comments

Feeling the Heat:The Energy "Phenomenon"

I was reading recently about MT's struggling with energy over loads occurring during massage treatments. If you've experienced something like this good on ya! You're connecting with your clients on a deeper and more valuable level than simply manual technique based massage.

We all learned manual technique as the core of our required training for certification/licensure. Depending on our school's focus, energy techniques landed some where between a core competency and dangling on the… Continue

Added by Ruthellen Wood on July 12, 2009 at 11:12am — 7 Comments

RE: Insurance Billing for Massage

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More Free Forms: http://tinyurl.com/nslnwz

Insurance Tips: http://tinyurl.com/n32clk

CPT Codes:… Continue

Added by massagenerd on July 10, 2009 at 6:32pm — No Comments

Creating Peace with Your Hands

Think of yourself as a massage athlete. Manual therapy demands skill, strength, and endurance, just like a track and field runner or baseball player. The symptoms of overtraining are just like an athlete and include fatigue, lack of energy, pain, insomnia, and depression. Rest is essential for the treatment of overtraining. You can take your resting heart rate in the morning and if it is higher than the previous day, you may not have recovered from the previous day.

Insightful strategies… Continue

Added by Karina Braun on July 10, 2009 at 4:35pm — No Comments