NHI Students Continue Their Education with the Advanced Neuromusuclar Therapy Program
It has been another fascinating month of learning and discovery for the students in the NHI Advanced Program in San Jose. This program of advanced neuromuscular therapy, designed by AMTA President-Elect and NHI instructor Cynthia Ribeiro, began its inaugural class in San Jose in September 2010. The fruit of 25 years of clinical research and practice, Ribeiro’s brainchild grew out of her passion for bodywork, helping her clients feel great, and helping her students have work they love, as well as her studies with the late Dr. Janet Travell. Dr. Travell, the White House physician to presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, was the founder and developer of neuromuscular and myofascial therapy. Today, her work is being carried on by master teachers such as Cynthia Ribeiro, who is now busy passing on her knowledge and techniques to a new generation of therapists.
The San Jose students are busily engaged in the third module of the program, which focuses on the lumbopelvic region. Having already intensely focused their studies on the head, neck, and shoulder regions, they are now deepening their understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the low back and pelvis to better prepare them to learn and apply advanced techniques for working on some of the most troublesome complaints clients suffer from. As part of their anatomy studies, the students eagerly anticipate each cadaver class they attend, at nearby Life West Chiropractic College in Hayward. They have found that it is one thing to learn anatomy from lectures and books, and quite another through participation in an actual cadaver lab.
Two of the most enlightening classes focused on helping people with postural deviations, such as excessive lumbar lordosis or swayback, scoliosis, and pelvic rotations that cause the spine to become misaligned and create pain that is otherwise difficult to help. The students enjoyed performing postural assessments on each other and then practicing new, advanced techniques that actually corrected some of the most significant distortions in as little as an hour. They were amazed to see changes occur so quickly, and thrilled that they helped make them happen.
Another class that was particularly captivating focused on working with clients who suffer from disc degeneration and sciatica. Cynthia is always quick to point out the need to collaborate with other health care professionals, while at the same time empowering her students to “get in there and do the work,” which is exactly what the students learned to do.
A class that is becoming one of the students’ favorites is the Somatics class, which is held each module. This class helps students identify areas in their body that, due to stress, they have lost awareness of. They have been learning how to regain control of these parts of their bodies, both through meditative floor-work, as well as very gentle table-work. This class regularly creates many “aha!” moments as students reclaim areas that they had lost touch with for years. The benefits of this are many: increased flexibility, reduction of tension, less pain, and a greater sense of energy and aliveness.
New modules begin approximately every month and we welcome your inquiries into joining the program. Cynthia Ribeiro and her team of instructors promise you an educational experience that will turbo-charge your practice and, in many cases we see, change your life.