Posts from — August 2008

Happy 1st week!  By coincidence, this blog began one week ago on the same lucky day as the Olympics in Beijing – 08/08/08.  But then, many would say there are no coincidences.  Massage and sports have a long, beneficial history together.  In fact, some of our graduates have massaged at Olympics past, but I haven’t heard if any are in China currently.  Still, if you’d like to hear about what it’s like to be at the Olympics from a massage therapist’s point-of-view, Massage Magazine has a blog on that subject going now.  Click here to read all about it.

AS SEEN ON TV!  Often NHI makes it into the media as an authority on massage.  Not too long ago, if you didn’t see it live or record it, you missed it.  But now with the internet, our appearances can live on…

Here’s Melissa Wheeler yesterday on The View from the Bay, seen mornings in San Francisco on ABC-7:

Click Here for Massage Tips for Everyone

Check back Monday for Melissa’s first entry as a guest blogger.

Yesterday, our clinic clients made several of our graduating students cry.  But these were tears of joy.  For our students were reminded why they chose massage therapy in the first place.

As their next-to-last clinic, we took our students on a field trip to a nearby retired living facility.  Wednesdays are normally “outing” days for the residents there, but they agreed to stay in this day to get massaged.  And for 3 hours, that’s exactly what our students did – experiencing some very powerful stories along the way.

There was the woman who had undergone back surgery, was about to have foot surgery, and suffered from Parkinson’s.  After her massage, she told our student, “You gave circulation back to my legs.”

Then there was Leo, 98-years-old.  He hadn’t left his room in 2 months.  But massage brought him out.  Feeling so good afterwards, he said he might even venture out of his room more often.

Students practiced the gentle, caring touch that many seniors need.  One woman cried as she told her therapist, “I haven’t been touched in so long.”

Several students said they received the most meaningful, heartfelt client feedback they had ever gotten.  As they graduate next week, career and money are foremost on their minds.  But at the heart of it all is the power massage has to help people.

BodyWorlds will forever change the way you view the human body.  Four years ago, I had the good fortune to see the first BodyWorlds tour – an incredible experience!  Anatomy drawings, pictures, and models just don’t compare to seeing the complexity and intricate details of the real thing.  However, when I recently went to Bodyworlds 3 at the California Science Center here in Los Angeles, I was even luckier to be in the company of some of our outstanding teachers.  Getting insight from those who teach this stuff every day was its own education.

For those not familiar with it, BodyWorlds is an exhibit of real human bodies preserved through plastination.  These bodies are donated for the purpose of science; at the end of the exhibit, you can read testimonials explaining why some people chose to donate themselves.  The wild success of BodyWorlds has led to copycat exhibits of lesser quality.  While the science community has questioned the ethics of these imitators, the original BodyWorlds has consistently proven itself to be a reputable organization.

Our teachers have led some more field trips for our students since then, but for those going on their own, we put together the following tips.  This L.A. exhibit closes September 7, 2008, so you must hurry.  Otherwise, check the BodyWorlds website for a visit near you.

Click Here for BodyWorlds 3 Teacher Tips

NHI Teachers at BodyWorlds 3

On a related note, over this past weekend I watched a German horror film that uses plastinated bodies as its storyline.  It’s called Anatomie and stars Franka Potente (Run, Lola, Run).  It’s certainly not respectful towards the scientific intent of BodyWorlds, but if you enjoy German horror films, you’ll probably like it.  Apparently it was good enough to warrant a sequel – creatively titled Anatomie 2.  Viewing Tip: I saw the version with cheesy English voiceovers; it would have been much better in the original German with English subtitles.

Attending massage school was one of my greatest ideas.  I fell head over heals for massage.  This “hobby” was becoming a huge part of my life.  Now I was the one massaging my marathon friends!  Wouldn’t it be great if I could make a living doing something I enjoyed so much?  One of my classmates, Ed, had the same idea.  Together we started doing our sports massage gigs.  Then the school we had attended came up for sale.

We both knew what a treasure TTI was to the L.A. massage community.  While TTI had come highly referred to me, Ed actually attended another school for a short while.  It was so bad that all of his classmates dropped out and the school cancelled his class.  So, against the advice of our accountants, lawyers, families, friends, astrologers and the voice of reason, we bought Touch Therapy. 

Ed would never let down.

With plenty of blood, sweat, tears, a whole lot of our savings, and much laughter, we turned the school around financially while maintaining its quality of education.  Enrollment rose; completion rates soared; and all was good.  But feedback from graduates and employers told us that TTI’s main 200-hour program was no longer adequate.  Therapists needed more training to compete in today’s market.  Exploring how to extend our curriculum, I met Mason Myers, President of National Holistic Institute.

Over tacos in San Diego, Mason told me how great NHI is.  I countered by telling him how amazing TTI was.  He invited me up to San Francisco to see his campus and arm wrestle over the matter.  When I stepped foot into NHI, I felt like I was at Touch Therapy – only bigger.  So impressed was I, that I let him win the arm wrestling match (but don’t tell him that).  Talks of a merge began.  TTI needed a longer program and NHI wanted to expand to Southern California.  It was a match made in heaven.  I stayed on to manage the Los Angeles campus in Encino.

Now 2 years later, I massage paperwork more than people, but I wouldn’t trade my NHI experiences for the world.  I look forward to sharing these adventures with you as we go along.

This is only our 2^nd blogging date, so I figured we should get to know each other.  Well, it’s kinda hard for me to get to know you, so we’ll have to settle on you getting to know me.  This accomplishes 2 things:  1) let’s you have some history on the author of these blogs, and 2) allows me to talk about one of my favorite subjects.

So how did I get here?  I’ve always loved massage, but I used to think it was only something to pamper myself with on birthdays and special occasions.  Then in 2001, I began training for the L.A. Marathon.  My legs discovered a whole new kind of pain.  After our long training runs on Saturdays, I couldn’t walk normally until, oh say, Wednesday.  Then I started noticing that some other fellow runners weren’t having this difficulty.  Was I in that bad of shape?  Well, yes, but that wasn’t the only thing.  I discovered a different common denominator – these runners were getting massaged after their runs. “Hmmm,” I thought.  (You’ll find I’m a deep thinker.)  So, I started getting regular massages after my runs.  I felt better almost immediately.  I was even walking normally on Mondays!

Then my mind got the better of me.  How could something so simple work so magically?  I decided to take a class and find out – just for “something to do.”  I talked to some massage employers.  They all told me to go to Touch Therapy Institute.  A little grandmother-type named Marcie took me on a tour, signed me up, and suddenly I was rubbing people.

Speaking of rubbing, my crazy typing fingers need some massaging.  As Paul Harvey would say, “Stay tune for the rest of the story.”

I love massage and I love to talk, so this should be perfect!  Who knows what I’ll say.  Expect a little bit of anything and everything.  And in those rare moments that I’m at a loss for words, I have some marvelous guest writers who will be contributing.  At minimum, I hope this blog will be interesting, informative, and fun!

When I first learned massage, I felt so great being able to help people.  Then when I became a massage school owner, I felt even better being able to help people find work helping more people.  I felt like every day I was exponentially helping hundreds.  Now, blogging for NHI, I can reach even further and touch 1,000’s each and every day!

Whew!  That’s a lot of responsibility.  I’m going to kick back and think about it…

I think better with my eyes closed.