Reflecting long-standing traditions in American education, September is the classic time to go back to school.  With classes starting throughout the year at National Holistic Institute, it is never to late to take the next step with your education.

As a long-term teacher at NHI, I have had the experience of watching many, many people re-adjust to being back in an educational environment.
For some students, their last school experience might have been very recent, but for others there might have been years, even decades, since they were a full-time student.

Sometimes the transition is easy, and of course sometimes it is more difficult – but nearly always worth it!

I wanted to understand the factors that might spur someone to set the familiar patterns of their life aside to seek the personal growth, financial success, and emotional satisfaction that learning a new skill set can engender. So I asked around a bit, and here’s some of what I found:

“Show me the money!”

For many, the incentive to re-engage their educational process is based on a financial decision – they need to be able to make money, and fast. As my massage teacher pointed out, you can be in and then out of massage school in less than a year, and in terms of overhead, setting up a massage business is cheaper than running a hotdog stand!

“I hate my boss!”

One massage therapist I know decided to begin her training when she found herself with a young child, and she saw massage therapy as one of the quickest routes to successful self-employment. Another therapist of my acquaintance was retiring from a previous career in his fifties, and knew his pension would only carry him so far. Massage offered him a way to build on his work as a personal trainer and educate his clients about how to take better care of their bodies.

“I want to make a difference!”

Of course, for many people, pursuing an education in massage therapy and health education is about following a dream, or connecting with a career that fuels their passion for life. Massage can be a financially lucrative job, for sure – and the chance to get paid well while helping others feel better really feels better than that previous, less emotionally satisfying career.

Having been out of school for a while, some of my older students sometimes express a worry that they won’t be able to adjust or keep up. And some of my younger students – many straight out of high school – worry about being able to stay focused while their not-in-school friends goof around.  Both of these types of students find their worries quickly alleviated. The NHI curriculum emphasizes hands-on skills, AVK (Audio/Visual/Kinesthetic) learning, and a highly structured environment. This combines with our robust Student Services Department in the form of Labs, Tutors, and Mentors focusing on individual learning styles to provide a solid foundation so that all students, young or old, fresh out of high school or returning after years away, can enjoy coming Back to School.

To find out if National Holistic Institute is the experience you are looking for, go to www.nhi.edu and click “Contact” in the top right.  You can talk to one of our friendly admissions representatives, take a tour of the campus and even sit in on one of our classes with no pressure!

Karla Jiminez and Dynasty Castro, the first two NHI Sacramento graduates

Sacramento had the benefit of having Dynasty Castro and Karla Jimenez as the 1st senior group. Transferring to the new Sacramento Campus from NHI Petaluma after their junior segment, they led the juniors in their new group of massage therapists with spirit and professionalism. They served as great role models for the rest of the student body.

As they accepted their diplomas, they shared their thoughts and feelings of their education and time at NHI.  I can assert we were struck by much of what they said. Their experience was profound, their words were passionate. I know many students and graduates can relate to their statements and sentiments: (to paraphrase) This place feels like a true community – They learned many lessons along the way – NHI helped them develop an amazing skill, and now they can love their work.

I want to end this post with an excerpt from a poem, read at the ceremony by Klayna Snider – Campus Manager

Remember what is most important;
It’s not having everything go right,
It’s facing whatever goes wrong.
It’s not being without fear,
It’s having the determination to go on in spite of it
- Vicky M Worsham.

We wish them well in their new careers! The Massage Therapy community just gained 2 great body-workers.

-Lucas Nevarez
Teacher / Mentor – Sacramento Campus

One of the things that we hear consistently during graduating speeches is how the educational experience at NHI goes so much deeper than massage therapy itself.  It is so wonderful to see students who feel like they have not only learned how to build a successful career as a massage therapist but have also boosted their overall confidence, have have overcome some lifelong struggles and have connected with a very tight community that they feel like they will be a part of for years to come.

Every year for during our annual Staff Day at the National Holistic Institute, we have made it a tradition to read aloud stories of our students’ personal experiences with NHI.  This year we decided to do it a bit different by letting the students share it themselves.  Two graduating students from Group 1 at the NHI Emeryville campus, Saideh Houston and Anne Nelsen, got to have a few minutes in the spotlight to kick off our new series of student and graduate videos.  Cheri Brown, a 2009 Group 47 grad who now has a thriving private practice also shared her story about how NHI helped her to overcome her struggles and become successful and confident in her career.

Congratulations to all of our graduating seniors and a special thanks to Saideh, Anne, and Cheri.  We are looking forward to hearing from many more students and graduates in the future we are also excited to announce another video series with John Caguin (The NHI Guy) who will be giving insight into lots of interesting massage therapy modalities and techniques as well as a sneak peek of campus life and the NHI community.

We hope you enjoy!  Please keep an eye on our Facebook and Youtube pages for more videos in the future.

Placement Coordinator Jan Takeshita & Teaching Assistant Suzanne Bose outside Bliss Spa.

A fortunate group of National Holistic Institute graduates and students got an exclusive VIP tour of Hollywood’s hottest new spa during a recent career night.

Since opening in January, Bliss Spa at the new W Hotel Hollywood has quickly become the go-to destination for the rich and famous looking to be pampered like a rock star.  In addition to the long list of celebrity clientele frequenting its legendary Hollywood & Vine location, Bliss has brought its unique “Spa-llywood” touches to over 40 high-profile events in just 6 months – awards shows, magazine fêtes, and movie premieres like [Read more →]

Courtesy of Yahoo! Finance

If you’re like thousands of other job seekers, you may dream of earning the big bucks without having to deal with the extreme stress that goes hand-in-hand with top-paying jobs. Of course, a high-salary, low-stress job sounds too good to be true. Or is it?

Believe it or not, you don’t have to take on a heart-pounding career as a brain surgeon, airline pilot or stock broker to bring home some serious bacon. As a matter of fact, some of the highest-stress jobs pay surprisingly scanty salaries. [Read more →]