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

Before sunrise on a crisp San Francisco morning, 109 students representing all six campuses of the National Holistic Institute were busy setting up the massage tent with 80 massage tables at the Finish Line Village at the Nike Women’s Marathon.

This year marked the eighth year for the event that draws over 22,000 runners from around the world to the half and full marathon.  The course is filled with steep climbs and beautiful views of the city and the Bay.  The finishers of the race are rewarded with Tiffany necklaces and post-race massages.  Kaiser Permanente, a major sponsor of the Nike Women’s Marathon, contracted The NHI Sports Team to provide these post-race massages.

By 9:00, the massage tables are littered with runners and student therapists working to relax and stretch strained muscles. When the last runner was escorted off of her massage table at 2:15, the NHI Sports Team had performed collectively over 1700 massages.

The students were joined by seven instructors from the various campus, Beth McNeill (SJ), Kristine TenBrink (SJ), Curtis Hisao (SJ), Mark Nielson (PE/EM), Lucas Nevarez (SAC), Phil Okazaki (SJ), and Gabriel Posner (SF/EM) and 15 Teaching Assistants who supported the students by coaching bodywork, issuing and managing breaks and injuries.  The San Jose Campus Student Services and Career Life Coordinator, Chris Pavao acted as Master of Ceremonies directing the line and finding open massage tables for the athletes.  The average wait time was a mere 15 minutes.

The NHI Sports Massage Team prepped for this event by holding sports-specific training sessions where students learned about the marathon, athlete training plans, common injuries and massage techniques.  While it was a mild morning in the city, the team was equipped with skills to combat thermal injuries.

The calm before the storm

The student therapists had fun, worked hard and finished the day with a sense of accomplishment.  They each provided at least 15 massages through out the day, more clients than they see in a regular week.  Emily Luckett from On Board, who is the event planner for the Nike Women’s Marathon, “Thanks for all of your hard work, NHI!  Everything seemed to be managed very smoothly.  We appreciate your efforts!”

In response from the post-event report given by NHI Staff lead, Beth McNeill, Curshanda Woods from Kaiser Permanente had this to say, “Thank you, NHI.  Great job, Beth!  Everything looked great.”  The NHI Sports Massage Team ended the day taking a group picture and a group WHOOSH!  Kudos to NHI and to the students participating in the Sports Team.

How many times in life do you get a dress rehearsal before you have to do the real thing? They say life is about diving in head first, taking a leap of faith and just doing it. That may work for some people but it doesn’t work for everyone.  After all, you wouldn’t buy a car without getting a feel for how it handles and seeing yourself in the driver’s seat, would you?

We want to help you make the best decision when it comes to choosing the right school and the right career path. We want you to have the chance to experience NHI before you decide become a student.

You keep hearing that it is an amazing journey from beginning to end and the testimonials give you a sense of how this program impacts a student’s life, but what is it really like to be a student at NHI?  After all, going to school is a big commitment and an investment in your future. Well, what if you could attend a class for the day with no commitment?  Could you imagine yourself as a massage therapist?

Well, this is your turn to experience it. We are giving you the opportunity to observe and participate in a class at a campus near you. We know you will love what you see. After all, we want to help you have work you love.

There are many ways to find out when the next Class Observation will be!

-Tell our Admissions Team that you are interested in learning more about classes at NHI!

-Like our NHI Facebook Page and your campus Facebook Page to receive invites in your news feed!

-Keep an eye on our Campus Events Calendar!

+

Desiree Pooley and Laura Trumble from the National Holistic Institute of Petaluma recently devoted their massage therapy skillset to provide complimentary chair massage at the Redwood Empire School Insurance Group in Windsor, CA.   Despite some unexpected twists, the experience was beneficial for all parties involved.  Desiree provides a summary of the event:

On site massage was awesome!  Don’t get me wrong, there were definitely some challenges but they made it all the more rewarding.  The adventure began with some confusing directions… actually they were so simple, we were the ones to complicate them Once we arrived, we unloaded the car and made sure we were presentable; NHI shirts tucked in, name tags on, no lunch stuck in our teeth, you know… the basics.  We were all prepared to give our introductions but didn’t have a chance.  As soon as we walked in the door we were greeted with big smiles and sighs of “Oh thank goodness you’re here!”  We set up our chairs, which was a challenge all on its own, set up the table area with all the NHI goodies, tried to play our lovely cd on a broken cd player which we fixed and checked the time to find out all 4 clocks in the room were waaaaayyyy wrong!  Now some may think this is a bad start, but it was great!  Maybe we’re just crazy but either way it gave us some real life experience on all the things to be prepared for and taught us how to adapt in any situation.  Bottom line - we were there, our clients were there, and that’s all we needed to provide some relaxing chair massage :) Each client was so excited to see us and bummed to get out of that chair!  So many thank you’s and smiles, meeting many different people and hearing their stories about their health, job and life in general… it was so amazing to be a part of the on site massage team that day.  I am very excited to do as much on site massage as possible and learn from every site, every client, every time.

The group was so pleased with the work that our two wonderful therapists did that they asked us back on contract for regular visits as part of their Wellness Program!

Desiree Pooley is a student at NHI Petaluma and is a therapist at Tranquility Massage and Wellness.

Recently, I was invited to the Massage Envy Annual Franchise Conference for a peek behind the ME curtain.  As a presenter on the massage industry expert panel, I met many franchisees and home office staff.  All were more than congenial and seemed to care tremendously about the work they were doing.

Even more impressionable was the time I spent with their Top 50 therapists from around the country.  Out of thousands of therapists, these are considered Massage Envy’s best.  They were a diverse group representing various ages and races, with anywhere from 2 to 20 years of massage experience.

Among this elite group was National Holistic Institute’s own Raymond Washington, a 2007 graduate of the Petaluma campus and one of many NHI grads who have worked for Massage Envy.  In talking with Raymond and the other therapists, they found Massage Envy as a place where they could thrive with their massage careers.  Some hoped to own their own franchises someday.  Others liked that they could just focus on massaging their clients while someone else took care of the business side of things.  All shared a common passion: they love what they do!

Joe Bob Smith, Raymond Washington (NHI Petaluma Grad, Massage Envy Regional Therapist of the Year), and CG Funk (Massage Envy VP of Industry Relations)

Massage Envy has little shortage of clients.  Consumers eager for more massage have helped drive the company’s growth.  While demand is relatively high, supply has proved a growth challenge – supply being the ability to hire so many quality therapists.

For the uninitiated, Massage Envy is the largest massage franchise chain in the country, employing more massage therapists (16,000!) than anyone in the world.  With nearly 700 locations in the U.S. and 200 more in the works, Massage Envy is readily fulfilling their mission of bringing affordable massages to the masses.

As demand for exceptional massage therapists grows, National Holistic Institute looks forward to continuing its work with Massage Envy and other massage employers to fill that need.  With 6 – soon to be 7 – California campuses, a nationally accredited 720-hour core program, a unique 400-hour Advanced Neuromuscular Therapy Program, and 32 years of “helping people have work they love,” NHI is fully prepared to educate the future of massage therapy.

-Joe Bob Smith

There is a ritual that every National Holistic Institute student takes part in. This ritual happens all the time, even during the 1^st bodywork class they step into.  We all sit in silence for the first few minutes of class. Only the sounds of the softly playing music fill the space for those few minutes that day. In that quiet time, we encourage everyone to practice a meditation, to help them prepare for the class ahead.

The question I hear often in one form or another is; “why” and/or “how”? [Read more →]

Health and well being are some of our most valuable resources. Without them it is difficult to enjoy life, to be productive and to flourish as individuals and communities. Yet often self care takes the back burner as we prioritize everything else in our busy lives.

National Holistic Institute, Petaluma Campus is offering a free monthly Community Education night. Our goal is to contribute positively to this wonderful community we work in, and to offer a respite from this busy hectic world we live in. Come and join us to learn about: [Read more →]

In our continued efforts to give back to the community that supports our students and graduates, the National Holistic Institute is proud to share the success of our Sports Massage Team.  Sports Massage is a growing profession that focuses on the application of a variety of massage techniques and stretching exercises to enhance athletic performance. The NHI Sports Massage Team was formed in response to student requests to provide massage therapy for the community. The team is run on a volunteer basis, and all massages given to the community by NHI students at sponsored events are free of charge.  If the event is for a charity, all student tips go back to the charity sponsor!

In 2010, we were active in 40 Outreach Events throughout California.  Over 300 students and graduates were trained in sport-specific sports massage and volunteered their time and skills at these events to perform over 8,000 complimentary massages!  We are proud to have developed relationships with amazing organizations such as Diabetes Foundation, Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, Team In Training, MS Society, Best Buddy International, and the American Heart Association.  We would like to thank them for their support and all of the positive work that they do.

In 2010, the team also touched smaller populations such the Native American Indian population at an annual Pow-Wow; a family whose daughter was critically injured in a car accident and a local rotary club who was raising money to fight diabetes.   Our program has been extremely successful and this has shown through high praise that students have received from event coordinators like Tri-Cal, Finishline Productions, Avanti Sports, LA Marathon and Kaiser Permanente, to name a few.  The students developed a supportive, proactive team and succeed in promoting the benefits of massage.

The Sports Massage Team not only benefits the public, but the students who volunteer are exposed to new and exciting situations that are only possible in real-life experiences.  They are exposed to a high volume of clients for an extended period of time and learn how to work together in a setting that many students have never been a part of.  Many students took it as a chance to look at their own fitness and began training for similar events and becoming involved in some of the charities that they had been benefitting. They also gained an understanding of how their participation in sporting and charity events can help them develop their careers as Massage Therapists and how important community outreach work is to their personal as well as professional lives.  We hope to be even more active and work with more wonderful organizations in 2011!

To learn more about the NHI Sports Massage Team visit our Facebook pages:
NHI San Jose Sports Massage Team
NHI North Bay Sports Massage Team

Thanks to Petaluma Campus Manager Klayna Snider for this blog.

Petaluma held the first National Holistic Institute classes outside of the “Mother Ship” (in Emeryville), on July 27^th 2005.  The celebration activities included plenty of reminiscing, smiles, and expressed gratitude to the many members of the NHI community staff who contributed to our campus’ success. 

The campus buzzed with excitement and sentiment as we celebrated with stories of the pioneering days of start up and the wonderful expansion and growth of our campus. The Petaluma Campus halls were decorated with photos from the faces of over 240 grads that have gone through the program during the last 5 years! 

Included special guests were [Read more →]

On June 12^th, National Holistic Institute’s Petaluma Compassionate Touch Team (Instructor Shoshana Frieden and six Group 40 seniors) happily set out on the back roads of Sonoma/Marin County to Walker Creek Ranch to offer massage at Camp Challenge. 

Camp Challenge is a weekend family retreat, where everything is free for adult cancer patients (in all stages of cancer) and their families.  One student commented, “Thank you for finding this amazing event; it deeply touched and [Read more →]

Petaluma accepting a food donation.

At National Holistic Institute, helping people is part of our mission statement.  So, the holidays are an extra special time for us, a time when our students and staff do even more for our communities.  Here is a sampling of what some of the NHI campuses are doing this holiday season…

San Francisco will have a “Sock Hop.”  Clinic clients will get $5.00 off a massage for donating a new pair of socks throughout December.  All donations will be distributed to local homeless shelters where socks are a high priority.  On December 14, an extra clinic will be held with all proceeds going to charity.  Students and clients are encouraged to wear their most creative socks!

Encino is currently in the midst of their 4^th Annual Food Drive.  By donating at least 2 non-perishable food items, clinic clients can get a 50-minute massage for the rock-bottom price [Read more →]

As a special holiday treat, our Petaluma campus set up a series of Spa Treatments.  Clients had the choice of:

• Hot Stone massage
• Full-body massage with Salt Scrub
• Full-body massage with Hand & Foot Treatments

Needless to say, the response has been so overwhelming that we may try these Spa Clinics at the other campuses.  Be on the lookout!