Melissa Wheeler addresses her peers at All-Staff Day.

The American Massage Therapy Association has awarded the 2010 Jerome Perlinski Teacher of the Year Award to Melissa Wheeler, a longtime National Holistic Institute teacher and current teacher trainer.

To the many teachers, staff, and students Melissa has touched in her 19 years at NHI, no one deserves it more.  One of the highlights of this year’s NHI All-Staff Day was Melissa’s address to her peers and receiving of a scrapbook created by co-worker Sharlene Philip, containing numerous memories, congratulations, and accolades.  While Melissa remains as humble as always about this rare honor, here are words of praise from others:

“It has been my pleasure to work with Melissa, whose input always puts the teacher first [Read more →]

National Holistic Institute is honored that Books of Discovery, publisher of the highly-regarded massage textbook Trail Guide to the Body, has selected our resident Faculty Trainer Melissa Wheeler to represent them at this year’s World Massage Conference.  Way to go, Melissa! 

To find out how you can join in to the World Massage Conference online, please see the Books of Discovery press release below…

As we visit massage therapy programs across the country, we often hear about the need for more teacher trainings.
 
In response, we asked Melissa Wheeler, an Advisory Council member for Books of Discovery and Faculty Trainer at National Holistic Institute, to present “Ignite Your Students’ Passion for Palpation” on [Read more →]

Sunday’s sold-out Integral Anatomy workshop with Gil Hedley was a smashing success!  81 people, including staff, students, graduates, yoga teachers, personal trainers, artists and massage therapists, gathered at our Emeryville campus for this unique class.

You have a 2nd chance to catch this class at the National Holistic Institute Encino campus on May 17.  Email Denise at boyled@nhi.edu to register.

Here is some of the email feedback we’ve received since: 

I really can’t thank you enough for the fantastic anatomy workshop with Gil Hedley.  He more than lived up to his reputation.  The information and slides give an understanding of human anatomy that is rarely seen with the more common “origin/insertion/action” protocols.  Gil brings the human body to life.  The workshop has not only deepened my understanding of anatomy, but has also been a shot in the arm for the way I will approach my clients in bodywork.  – Art Riggs, author of Deep Tissue Massage

 

That was the best CEU class I have ever taken. Gil was amazing on so many levels, he truly is brilliant, and his message and intention is nothing less than beautifully divine.  His class was really a journey that must be experienced to truly be understood. I enjoyed his sense of humor and his unique perspective on life, the human body and soul – and his integration of them all. My expectations were exceeded and honestly, my mind was blown! Again, thank you for bringing Gil to NHI, what a gift. – Heather Hurless

 

Great day yesterday.  Nothing like seeing the real thing to get an education.  I loved him.  He’s an excellent teacher.  What makes him so great is not just his knowledge and the fun way he shares it, but also the little digressions that are at times personal and other times philosophical which bring a unique human and personal perspective with sensitivity to something that is usually clinical and detached from our humanity. – Luis Velez

Linda Rikli, VP of Education; Gil Hedley; Melissa Wheeler, Training Coordinator

Other overheard comments:

Unbelievably eye opening.

 

Both as a teacher and a massage therapist, I have gained a different way of approaching the body and teaching anatomy to my students.

 

The delivery of the information and format was brilliant; breath of fresh air.  I had many “aha” moments.  I cannot even find the words for how excited and inspired I feel!  Wow!

 

I can never again look at the body in the way I used to.

 

Respectful and awe-filled approach to the body and life.  Loved the weaving of nature and family seamlessly into the slides.  Such a sweet, personal and powerful approach.

 

Loved it, time just flew by.  This information will linger for days, months, years.

 

The fascia and our relationship to it is fascinating!  This course has elevated my appreciation for the human body.  My interconnectedness with my clients is taken to another level.

 

Not just a strict anatomy class.  Much gained from philosophical discussion, thinking way outside of the box.

 

Gil – what an amazing HOLISTIC approach to life through the lens of the body…incredible work you have done.  Your class exceeded all of my thoughts and expectations.  Thanks for blowing my mind!!

As with most families, at NHI the holidays are a time to gather and enjoy each other’s company…

Share laughs and memories of times past…

And wish everyone a joyous, healthy, and prosperous New Year!

Here are Melissa Wheeler’s impressions of the AMTA Convention in Phoenix last week.

Joe Bob Smith (Encino Campus Manager), Alicia Ramos (San Jose Campus Manager) and I all met up at the AMTA National Convention in Phoenix on behalf of National Holistic Institute.  NHI chooses to participate in such conferences both to learn what’s current in the larger massage community and to give our students and alumni a voice in those happenings.  This one was so big it required three of us to go!

Author Ruth Werner, NHI Grad John Lambert, & Melissa

In addition to taking classes like Integral Anatomy, Balancing the Art & Science in Massage, and Massage Therapy on Trial, we met up with teachers, NHI graduates, textbook authors, and massage therapists from all over the country.  It was so inspiring!

Just to show the variety of our experiences, I met 2 Japanese publishers who promised to send me a Japanese-language copy of the textbook we use, Trail Guide to the Body! 

Books of Discovery reception

Joe Bob found the red, white & blue table he’d always wanted from Oakworks.

Alicia won a basket full of creams and massage lotions at the Massage Envy gathering.

Massage Envy reception

We all had a wonderful time at the Massage Therapy Foundation reception, hanging out with the Trail Guide publishers and Ruth Werner who is not only the author of the beloved book Massage Therapist’s Guide to Pathology, but the leader of the MTF’s Education Committee.  What does all that mean?  Read about the MTF and their brand new e-journal that they have just launched online – propelling our industry forward.  This massage research is available free to all at the International Journal of Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork.

Melissa Wheeler explains why these 2 muscles are among her favorites…

I love these leg muscles because of their attachment and involvement with the FEET!

Massage Therapists often think of only the Gastrocnemius and Soleus when they think of calf muscles, but often the culprit in calf/foot pain is the deepest calf muscle, Tibialis posterior.  Tib Posterior has extensive attachments to the plantar surface of the foot and if you are aware of this, it can change your foot massage techniques forever!!!  Remember all those foot bones?  Navicular, cuneiforms, cuboid, metatarsals…

Then, wrapping around, from the Fibula (Peroneus and Fibula mean the same thing, one is Greek – one Latin) is the Peroneus longus muscle….it crosses under the plantar surface of the foot, from the lateral leg to the medial foot and attaches to the base of the first metatarsal and medial (or first) cuneiform.  Remember those old stirrup pants from the 80’s?  Something like that.

Working on the plantar surface of the foot, with these tendonious attachments in mind, can be a profound experience!  Clients will come running (literally) back to you.

Alicia in a portable Far Infrared Sauna at the AMTA Convention in Phoenix.

Would you like to boost revenue while easing your workload?  Massage therapists by nature can feel alone professionally, like a rowboat bobbing at sea.  They spend most of their working hours in a room with only their patients.  Many choose to work independently for themselves.

Weeks, months, and even years may pass without a therapist “talking shop” with a fellow therapist.  Hopefully, this means work is busy and running smoothly.  But, by not conversing with industry peers, therapists miss out on continuing (and relatively cheap) opportunities to learn the latest in patient care, business management, and marketing.

Conventions connect you to hundreds, possibly thousands, of people doing exactly what you do.  They have the same joy for massage, share similar business struggles, and desire to jointly improve both their personal lives and the massage industry in which they work.  You go from feeling like a rowboat to a fleet of ships!

Graduation from massage school shouldn’t be the end of education; rather, it should mark a whole new chapter of learning.  This means taking continuing education classes; reading massage articles; joining professional associations; and attending local, state and national gatherings.  Doing these things will elevate a therapist above other less involved peers, creating a livelier business and lengthening career longevity.

Author Ruth Werner and Melissa

While this was my first AMTA National Convention, I have always attended professionally related events whenever possible.  In fact, my NHI relationship began at such a conference!

Now that we’re back on campus, Melissa, Alicia, and I look forward to sharing more detailed stories about information learned, things seen, and people met.  So even if you didn’t make it to Phoenix, this blog can serve to connect you to the massage community at large.

Guest blogger Melissa Wheeler writes…

So Laura Miner (now Laura Repetto, recently married to Roger!) and I taught 15 Yoga Teachers-in-Training a 12-hour anatomy course!  This was in conjunction with the company YogaWorks, and NHI’s 3^rd time doing this!

It is so much fun and also very different to teach Yoga Teachers vs. Massage Therapists.  I am hoping that some of the yoga students would like to become massage therapists and vice versa!  They could do both, massage & yoga being so closely related, right?

Here are a couple of pictures, one with all of us after class (including one of our students “Deltoid Dave”).

Striking a Pose!

The other picture is of me, Melissa, with the leg muscles drawn on my own leg!  My 2 favorite leg muscles:  Peroneus Longus and Tibialis Posterior.  Look for a future blog to find out why those are my favorites.  If any of you NHI graduates are looking at this, you may remember me drawing on myself in your Kinesiology classes! 

Melissa's Artwork

For those who had Laura Miner as a teacher, I thought you’d enjoy seeing her as Laura Repetto with her new husband Roger!

Laura Repetto and Roger

I’m so delighted to have Melissa Wheeler as one of our guest bloggers.  She has been with NHI over 15 years and is one of the first teachers I met when I initially toured the school.  While Emeryville is her home campus, she is the Faculty Training Coordinator for all campuses.  She makes sure all NHI teachers continually meet our high level of training.  Her background is in Sports Massage and Rehabilitative work, having worked in a Physical Therapy clinic for a number of years – and with athletes at Cal Berkeley.

This is the first of Melissa Wheeler’s occasional series about interesting conditions that can benefit from massage.

Lace Bite.  Ouch!  What is THAT?  Runners, walkers, hikers:  Loosen your laces!

Lace Bite is a common condition that develops over the top of the foot where the long extensors of the toes pass under the extensor retinaculum. (see illustration below).  Compression of these tendons can cause a painful condition called tenosynovitis.  In this region it is commonly called “lace bite” because tight shoelaces are often the primary cause.

• Retinaculum:  Thickenings of deep fascia in distal portions of limbs that hold tendons in position.
• Tenosynovitis:  When tendons that pass through a synovial sheath become irritated and inflamed.

How to Treat with Massage?  Deep Transverse friction of the affected tendon along with myofascial release on the retinaculum (and loosening your laces) can resolve the problem!  I had a client who had this condition for months and could not figure out what was wrong.  After one massage specific to this area – the pain went away!  However, don’t work if acutely inflamed.

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.