Category — NHI in the News

National Holistic Institute has been named 2012 Massage Therapy School of the Year at the World Massage Festival to be held in Las Vegas, August 19-22, 2012! 

“Today, NHI is one of the most respected and largest schools of massage therapy in the world. Their history and network of relationships in the field continue to help graduates have success and help keep their fingers on the pulse of the dynamic field of massage therapy.” – Massage Magazine

When you go to work every day and you love what you do, it’s surprising and humbling to receive recognition for it.  That’s how all of us at NHI felt when we heard that the World Massage Festival had chosen us as the Massage Therapy School of the Year.  For several years, this well-established festival has been home to the Massage Hall of Fame, complete with a who’s who of massage profession inductees.  To now be permanently acknowledged alongside those industry luminaries is an incomparable privilege.  For all the staff and students who have and will come through the NHI doors over the decades, we look forward to accepting this honor on their behalf.

More than three decades of hard work and commitment to the massage field has led to this recognition. Carol Carpenter, founder of NHI, had a vision of what massage education could be. Carol built a school whose roots still feed and support the organization today.  The foundation she built was made of knowledge, professionalism, and a deep dedication to excellence. In 2003, Carol Carpenter retired and Mason Myers and Tim Veitzer stepped in and continue to lead in the tradition of excellence.

Tim and Mason have grown NHI to be a statewide massage school with six (soon to be seven) thriving campuses. Today NHI offers the most current state of the art education available in massage therapy. Over the years, we have continued to refine our curriculum in order stay current with the growth of the massage industry and ensure that our graduates are ready to be successful in any area of the massage field they choose.

Our graduates work in a wide variety of industry specialization including the allied medical professions, spa industry, private practice, sports and fitness. Today the possibilities are virtually endless. The massage industry has grown tremendously and more and more job opportunities open up every day. It is a very exciting time to be a massage therapist!

NHI is growing along with the field. In addition to a foundational education in massage therapy, NHI now offers a 400-hour Advanced Neuromuscular Massage Therapy Program for massage therapists wishing to specialize in therapeutic massage. We also have robust sport massage and professional on-site teams that provide massage at events and locations around the state. We have had as many as 120 massage therapists gathered together to offer massage to the runners of the Nike Women’s Marathon, and participate in many more events year round.

We are proud of our growth and achievements, but our biggest accomplishment is our students. They go out into the field and bring professional, positive and healing touch to so many. We are proud to know that we have sent thousands of massage professionals into the field, and they in turn have enriched the lives of thousands and thousands more whom they’ve touched. Our graduates have helped those suffering from long-term and sometimes debilitating pain, supported women as they go through pregnancy and childbirth, provided comfort and care to those who need it,  helped professional athletes improve their performance, and generally have helped to decrease the stress levels of all with whom they come in contact.  You might even say our graduates are changing the world one touch at a time.
 

To read Massage Magazine’s article about the prestigious award bestowed on NHI, click the following link.
http://www.massagemag.com/News/massage-news.php?id=12079

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.

Photo by Manny Crisostomo of the Sacramento Bee

As a positive energy fills the air surrounding NHI’s brand new campus in Sacramento, CA, the Sacramento Bee and the Press Democrat both put the massage therapy profession into a new perspective.  The Bee article covers the growing demand for massage in the state’s capitol even through a rough economy.  Steve Pierce of Massage Envy Spas told the Bee,

“I’ll tell you how things are. If  NHI Sacramento had 20 or 30 massage therapists ready to graduate, I’d hire them all right now,”

Check out the article here:  

The Press Democrat featured a similar story:

“The industry’s growth has been prompted by several factors, she said, including a greater acceptance by medical professionals of the value of massage therapy and new state certification standards.”

Check out the article here:  

Despite a growing industry, we feel it is more important than ever for every massage therapist to be interconnected and get the best education possible.  With a focus on community and personal development, NHI staff and mentors strive to give each individual student the tools that they need to succeed.

Wrapping up 2010 with a streak of good news, we are excited to share the success story of NHI’s long-time teacher and Training Coordinator, Melissa Wheeler. Melissa was just featured in Massage Magazine for being named the American Massage Therapy Association 2010 Jerome Perlinski Teacher of the Year.  In addition to congratulating Melissa for her dedication to massage therapy education, we would like to thank her for her continued support of all of the teachers, so many graduates and the current students at the National Holistic Institute.

“I will never forget walking into the doors of the National Holistic Institute and feeling the professional, fun buzz” says Melissa remembering her first experiences as a perspective NHI student . ”I knew instinctively that NHI was the place for me.  I loved every minute of my education at NHI and had so much respect for the teachers who gave their all to us students.  It is hard to believe that I became one of those teachers that people looked up to – truly, this award is as much for all the teachers and students from NHI as it is for me.  I did not get here alone.”

Here’s to Melissa and anybody else that thought they’d never make it to where they are today!  Individuals like her are making a positive change in the field of massage therapy, and we look forward to our graduates following her example. We hope you and your loved ones enjoy the coming holidays and that we all continue to support each other in everything that we do.

You can read more about Melissa’s achievement in Massage Magazine’s article here.

We are pleased to announce that NHI‘s very own Cynthia Ribeiro has been voted President-Elect of the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA).

“I am very excited and honored to have been elected as President-Elect of AMTA! Thanks to everyone who participated in our election process, including everyone who voted and all of the candidates. It’s a very important commitment. I appreciate your kind wishes and hope to serve you well.”

As she moves ahead in this new role, we want to thank her for her dedication to the massage therapy industry. Her extensive [Read more →]

The National Holistic Institute (NHI) is excited to announce its expansion with the addition of a fifth location in Northern California. Classes are scheduled to begin at the new Sacramento campus in Spring 2011 with 150 students expected by 2012.  You can read details about NHI’s expansion in the San Francisco Business Times or the Sacramento Business Journal.                                                          

NHI has been exclusively focused on teaching massage therapy since 1979. NHI is expanding in terms of geography and curriculum as the massage therapy industry evolves. For instance, demand is increasing for [Read more →]

On 12/7/10, KGO-TV featured interviews with National Holistic Institute staff and many shots of the school’s Emeryville campus for Health Reporter Carolyn Johnson’s interesting piece about the medical benefits of massage therapy which aired on “ABC 7 News” throughout  Northern California. Johnson’s story explains how a recently-released study from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles demonstrates the clear health benefits of a single massage therapy session. The story describes the positive biologic effects of massage therapy including an increase in the number of white blood cells to a decrease in the stress hormone cortisol.

With Thanksgiving approaching and thoughts of helpfulness and selflessness on our minds, we thought it would be the perfect time to share answers to the simple yet powerful question, “Why Do You Do What You Do?”.  This self-inquisitive question has become a popular meme that is, as Google’s Evan Wittenberg mentions in a recent Wired Magazine article, “…a deceptively simple way to get people to connect to their core values and tell their story.”

 Check out the article by clicking the Wired link below!

 
At NHI’s San Francisco Campus, all of the Staff and Faculty post their responses to the question [Read more →]

National Holistic Institute Advanced Program Developer and Instructor Cynthia Ribeiro is currently running for President-Elect of the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA).  We encourage all NHI family, friends, and supporters who are AMTA professional members to vote for her.

In her candidate statement, Cynthia writes, “The immediate needs of AMTA, our growth and success, relate directly to the immediate needs of our members. It is important for us to help our members succeed by opening doors to a variety of opportunities as the economy, technology and profession change.”  She believes this can be done by looking “at different ways of supporting those needs through services such as social networking and internet-based business practices.”

Before joining NHI about a year ago, [Read more →]

Scholarship winner Asad Khan with his sister and NHI staff Joe Bob Smith & Jan Takeshita.

Asad Khan, a National Holistic Institute student who began his journey with us at the Petaluma Campus before moving to the Encino Campus, has won the 2010 JoyLife Chair Massage Ambassador Scholarship.  Way to go, Asad!  His winning essay is featured below.

Each individual is a world onto themselves, and massage therapy has the power to bring vitality and harmony within each person. Massage therapists are able to reach into a person’s microcosm and create abundance by sharing touch. Whatever a person feels inside reflects to the macrocosm, the world we all coexist and function together in. The more people that receive therapeutic touch, [Read more →]