Category — Massage Techniques

One aspect of a healthy lifestyle is having a healthy diet. And an aspect of the “healthy diet” that has gotten a lot of exposure in recent years is the need to eat locally grown food produced without chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

Local, sustainably produced food has tons of health and environmental reasons to recommend it, and it generally tastes great too. But it does take work. Now, conventional, chemical-intensive agriculture is not easy either, but the work is generally reduced by using huge, expensive, gas-guzzling machinery and expensive, frequently toxic chemicals.

With seasonal, chemical-free farming, that chemistry and machinery is replaced by the farmer’s energy and exertion: digging, hoeing, weeding, shoveling, hauling, picking, and so on. In other words, many of the health and environmental benefits of small-scale, sustainable farming are due to the fact that the process rests on natural cycles… and lots of manual labor.

When I was in massage school up in the mountains of North Carolina, I spent some time working on an organic farm. The work was fun, active, outdoors, and I often came home with a bag of fresh veggies too. Wielding shovel and hoe, I did battle with weeds and insects. Naturally, I deeply appreciated my newfound circle of massage therapists-in-training. But what really surprised me was the difference that was made by learning to move efficiently… in other words, using good body mechanics. If you aren’t familiar with the term, check out this great video introduction to Proper Body Mechanics For Massage Therapists.

When I brought my massage therapist’s Lunge and Weight Transfer out to the spinach field it was nothing short of a revelation.

Suddenly it seemed like I had a boundless reserve of energy to apply to all of manual-labor challenges that farm work provides. The actual work became more fun, and the attention to the body mechanics made me more present with my work, and in a paradoxical way, being present rather than daydreaming made the work shift fly by. And at the end of the day I wasn’t exhausted, but energized, like I had done several hours of Tai Chi – the only difference being I had a hoe or shovel in my hand the whole time!

Now fast forward some fifteen years… My path of teaching massage has led me to Sonoma County, which may as well be the center of the sustainable farming universe. A multitude of small, sustainable farms are scattered across the wine country. Many are certified organic, and at least a few describe their practices as “beyond organic”.

As an effort to give something back to the hard-working men and women who are fighting on the front lines of this Food Revolution, National Holistic Institute’s Petaluma Campus is sending Student Therapists out to local small farms to do massage and offer coaching on body mechanics and self-care. This is a chance for sore, tired bodies to get massage, as well as get the movement education that might help them be a little less sore and tired next time. It’s also a chance for the students to practice their massage, networking, and health educator skills… and maybe to come away with some nice fresh veggies too!

Do you want to get involved in supporting our sustainable farmers?

Here are some ideas that you could easily implement in your area:
• Farmer’s Markets have become a big hit in many urban areas. This is a great opportunity to meet and market to healthy-minded people in general, and many markets feature on-site massage for customers. Bring your business cards!
• Farmer’s Markets are a prime way to meet your local farmers. Most of these folks would be happy to have you tour their farms. With a little clever marketing, you could easily set up a chance to do free chair massage for their workers as a promotional activity. You could also make a pitch to offer a little mini-class on body mechanics and self-care. Bring your fliers and Powerful Presentation skills!
• Most farms have a farm store on-site that could make a good externship site. Many organic farms have volunteer, internship, and work-trade options – and some might even be open to trading massage for farm produce. “Will work for food! (if it’s sustainable, local, and organic!)”

I hope that inspires you to “lend a hand” to the sustainable farming movement! Happy Eating!

~William Mathis,
Mentor and Instructor
NHI Petaluma

To become grounded is to let go of the stresses of life & to be present in the moment with the client. Taking precautions to operate within the moment & clarify the goals of the session are absolutely crucial when one considers how much massage is affected by intentions. The method to ground oneself can be different for everyone, require different levels of concentration, and will vary day by day.

The thinking behind grounding is to bring positive intentions to the client & increase the level of focus on the therapist’s goals. Without properly grounding, the therapist runs a risk of injury, on a physical level or possibly on an energetic level. The risk of injury is only one motivation to support the healthy habit of grounding. A much more exciting reason to ground is the prospect of increasing the positive outcomes of the body &/or energy work. Practitioners can use a variety of techniques to enter a grounded state to help achieve amazing results.

Methods of grounding can be as simple as entering a meditative state, concentrating on your breathing, or going through a specific series of motions (ie: Tai Chi, Yoga, Qigong…). Some people also get themselves pumped up, as if they are about to enter an athletic event. The goal is the same, to reach a state of clarity that will allow the therapist to bring the client the best experience possible. A term commonly used to describe the feeling of living in the moment, or reaching a grounded state is Zen.

Zen is the ultimate goal, and as most people who try to attain that state of clarity discover, it is rarely achieved in its purest form. As with massage & every other worthy endeavor, grounding before each session becomes more effective with practice.

By implementing this activity into your massage routine you will undoubtedly achieve new success stories from your clients & you might just find a sizable amount of personal growth as well.

If you hadn’t heard yet, April was National Autism Awareness month. Currently, we are in a trend of a growing number of children being diagnosed with developmental disorders which include Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, attention deficit disorder (ADD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), pervasive development disorder (PDD), and nonverbal learning disorder (NLD).

These disorders used to be rare. In the 1980s, the diagnosis rate was 1 in 5000. Today, we are at 1 in 110. With this rising rate, it is becoming more common for us to know at least one person in our life that either has Autism or is the parent of an Autistic child.

Tina Allen, founder of Liddle Kidz™, Pediatric Massage Master Teacher, and Massage Therapist says, “Many autistic children have sensory malfunction and dysfunction of the tactile system making them averse to certain sights, sounds, smells or touch. Given that autistic children have been reported to be opposed to physical contact, it is interesting that many massage therapists, and parents, are finding great success in the use of massage therapy with autistic children.”

She also states, “Research has found that these children show less autistic behavior, are more social and attentive after receiving massage therapy. This safe, nurturing touch and regular sensory integration is beneficial in reducing inattentiveness, touch aversion and withdrawal.”

The Liddle Kidz™ foundation offers Massage Therapists NCBTMB-Approved Training on Massage for children with Autism. These courses review what Autism is, what type of therapies are currently used, how to communicate, educating tools to help empower the parents, as well as hands-on practice time.

With this rising rate becoming as common as other pathologies, it is important that Massage Therapists become educated and prepared for this potential application to their practice. It very well could change the life of a family in a very positive way.

To introduce children to therapeutic touch, Tina suggests combining storytelling with touch to make the experience very positive for the child. Read our blog post, A Different Kind of Bedtime Story to find out how!

For more information on LiddleKidz™ and class schedules visit: http://www.liddlekidz.com/autism-massage-training.html

~Amy Atkins,
National Holistic Institute Sacramento Instructor

With the first rains of the season in the Bay Area recently, we started getting a little chilly!  And what better way to fight off the winter blues than a steamy Thai Herbal Compress Massage!  NHI Instructors Kristine TenBrink and Darlene Campo recently led a special lab for Group 30 Seniors in Luk Pra Kob (as the modality is known in Thailand).  Both teachers have had extensive, but slightly different experience working with the compresses: Kristine was trained in Thaiyurveda while working at the exclusive Preston Wynne Spa in Saratoga, while Darlene studied Thai Herbalism at Spirit Winds School of Thai Massage in Nevada City and recently attended a lecture given by Ajahn Supamas Kananurak at the Second Annual Traditional Thai Medicine & Massage Symposium organized by the Thai Institute of Healing Arts in Arlington, Virginia.

Students used authentic, handmade herbal compresses from Thailand which were purchased at Bua Thai Wellness Center in San Mateo.  Each cotton muslin sachet contained indigenous Thai herbs such as Siamese ginger, tamarind leaves, lemongrass, and kaffir lime peel, along with generous portions of camphor, borneol, sea salt, and turmeric.  (Note: For more information about the healing properties of Thai herbs, please see A Thai Herbal: Traditional Recipes for Health and Harmony by Dr. Pierce Salguero.)

The poultices were placed in a vegetable steamer to heat, which released the aromatherapy and medicinal properties of the herbs.  After testing the bundles on their forearm to ensure that they weren’t too hot for the client, the students addressed the Sen lines (energy pathways) of the back, softening the musculature, and encouraging the free flow of energy.  The combination of moist heat and compression was not only therapeutic, but also highly relaxing for the client.  Even Kristine and Darlene left the lab happy and calm from just being in the room with the herbs all morning!

To learn more about NHI’s curriculum including both Eastern and Western modalities, check out Our Curriculum Page.

At NHI we pride ourselves in making Anatomy fun and easy to learn for everyone.  We are fortunate enough to have a great collaborative relationship with the publishers of our Anatomy book we use, Trail Guide to the Body.  The staff at Trail Guide to the Body is happy to train our faculty on any new learning tools and advances in the field of Anatomy.  The Trail Guide is such a user friendly book, and now we have a companion Student Workbook and on-line tools for students and teachers alike.  Learning anatomy has never been easier and more rewarding!  And it is so much fun to learn about our own bodies work and then the bodies of our future massage clients!

Rhoni Hirst from Trail Guide to the Body recently wrote a warm email to NHI’s President and Vice President, sharing her regard for the devotion that our mentors showed toward the curriculum.

“Hi Mason and Tim,

I am not sure if you are aware but I have been holding some short trainings with your instructors regarding the complimentary online tools we offer for the Trail Guide to the Body text. We have 3 trainings completed and we have 3 more to go.

I spoke with Melissa this morning about how impressed I am with your crew and thought I would share this with you as well. Melissa has expressed how beneficial the trainings have been for the instructors and I told her how inspirational they have been for me… [I am amazed by] the focus, interest and enthusiasm I hear and feel from your instructors. It is very obvious to me that your instructors feel connected and know that they are a part of something bigger than just the classes they teach individually. There is also no doubt that this is filtering directly into your students as well.

I am sure it is not easy to keep such a big program so well connected but I have to tell you that, whatever you are doing over there, is working! Kudos to all of you!”

We feel honored to hear such wonderful words and would like to thank Rhoni for doing such a wonderful job bringing us up to speed on the latest Anatomy learning tools.  We’d also like to congratulate all of our mentors who were in the training sessions with Rhoni for showing their NHI spirit.  Here’s to many years ahead working with the Trail Guide to the Body and to making Anatomy accessible for everyone!

~National Holistic Institute

She’s done it again!  Cynthia Ribeiro is giving away all of the secrets of massage therapy!  To read the full article, “DIY Face Massage” in the Chicago Tribune, click the logo:

At first, it may seem counter-intuitive to teach your clients self-massage techniques that they can do without the therapist there to assist them.  You might be scared that they will become satisfied with the techniques that they can practice themselves.   Any great massage therapist understands that their mission is to create the greatest change and sense of wellbeing in their patients and this in turn will keep them coming back. 

Self-Massage techniques can not possibly provide the same benefits as a full massage session, but they are a great way for clients to relieve temporary headaches, stress and pain, and for them to maintain a holistic sense of well-being.  After all, graduates of National Holistic Institute are not only massage therapists, but also health educators! 

If you or someone you know is struggling with headaches, sinus allergies, or stress and tension throughout the body, here are some simple self-massage techniques from AMTA presiden-elect and NHI Advanced Program Instructor, Cynthia Ribiero that will provide fast acting relief until that next massage is booked…

During all of the following techniques, apply light to moderate pressure to avoid aggravating any issue. You should feel a “good” pain; if it hurts too much, back off.
 

For temporal headaches: Press four fingers against the temporal muscle and move them back and forth, up and down or in a circular motion.
 

For frontal and sinus headaches: Put three fingers of each hand above the eyebrow line and press left to right, to the hairline, without gliding.

For tension headaches, tired eyes and sinuses: Press your thumbs up against the underside of the brow bone in the eye socket.

For stress and tension throughout the body (if you have time for only one exercise, this is the one to do): Using your three middle fingers arranged in a triangle, apply pressure just above the bridge of your nose, known as the “third eye.”

For sinus headaches and allergies: With your index and middle fingers, press along, above and below your cheekbones.

For more on Cynthia’s endless log of massage therapy knowlege, check out our post about her work formulating the Massage Therapy Book of Knowlege (MTBOK) here.

Introducing…

John “The NHI Guy” Caguin will be starring in a new video series, showcasing massage therapy techniques, massage school facts and tips, and other NHI related videos.  To make sure you receieve updates when new videos are released, subscribe to the NHI Youtube Channel and subscribe to the NHI Blog.

For the first video, we thought it would be appropriate to show you something that will help no matter what type of massage you are giving.  Proper body mechanics can keep you from becoming fatigued or injured as a massage therapist and also increase the effectiveness of the massage so that your client is 100% satisfied.

Even if you aren’t an expert in massage therapy, these tips will give you more confidence and strength while providing massage.

Without further ado, let me introduce The NHI Guy!