We take our food seriously in the Bay Area, especially in San Francisco. This is the home of slow food advocates and we are dedicated locavores. We eat out all the time, read reviews, get recommendations from, and talk about food, with our friends. We tweet about our meals, post pictures of dishes on Facebook, and trade recipes at communal dinner parties. In short, we love food. But for all of our love of food, how much attention do we pay to the pieces that make up our meals?

A few years ago, while in school for massage, I was putting together a roast chicken dinner for friends and I realized that our main course has the same basic systems that we have. A chicken has a skeletal and muscular system as well as other similar anatomical and physiological structures similar to mine. I realized that what I was learning in school at NHI could be applied to the main course roasting in my oven.

Now that I am a teacher, anyone who has been in my Kinesiology classes will tell you that I compare our musculature to that of animals. Take our friend the chicken: humans have bones, ball and socket joints, tendons, ligaments, fascia and so on and so does a chicken. Slightly different sizes and configurations, to be sure, and the pieces correlate. Not that long ago, after giving my usual “if you want to understand muscles, make dinner” speech, the students asked me to show them.So I did. We had a voluntary “Meat Lab.”

Four chickens, a bunch of gloves, exacto knives, and a healthy curiosity added up to some amazing discoveries. We saw intervertebral discs. We marveled at the fatty deposits in the superficial fascia and how you could feel, but not see, the fascial connections between the skin and the superficial fascia. We found a joint capsule around a hinge joint, cut through it and saw a meniscus, ligaments, hyaline cartilage and the tough tendons and ligaments. We explored the layers of muscles and took a very close look at the muscle fiber direction and finally understood how those adhesions can form. We opened the heart and were amazed at the differences between it, the muscles and the liver. It was astonishing. It was like looking into ourselves.

We had so much fun. Even though I have done this before, I came away from the experience with a renewed sense of appreciation for the awesome complexity that is a living creature – chicken or human. I urge you to renew your sense of appreciation for the wondrous variety that makes up all of us. If nothing else, you’ll gain a better understanding of how you are put together.

~Allyn Hall,

NHI San Francisco Campus

“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 background and positive can-do attitude will serve her well as she strives to better the profession and community of Massage Therapists. As Cynthia’s Candidate Statement notes, she is dedicated to expanding knowledge through education and research. 

“…Now more than ever it is incumbent upon AMTA to provide the value our members need in a rapidly changing world…”  “…The foundation of my vision is education and research. Providing opportunities for continuing education at the National and Chapter levels as well as supporting research are ways to help our members develop and grow in their practices…”

We are confident that Cynthia will thrive as the President-Elect and we look forward to all of her future accomplishments.  Congratulations, Cynthia!!

To read more about the AMTA elections, click here.

Low turnover is especially true among our teachers.  At this campus, we haven’t seen a teacher depart in over a year when one retired after almost a decade of service.  But yesterday our streak came to an end.

Jan, Joe Bob, John & Amy share one last chocolate cake!

Our beloved Amy Atkins has bid us adieu.  Luckily, she didn’t quit and she wasn’t fired.  Instead, Uncle Sam came calling – or, rather, called up her husband.  He’s in the army and has been deployed to Kansas, where he will no doubt protect all Midwesterners from cyclones, munchkins, and flying monkeys.

Some of you may recognize Amy as “the face” of NHI.  Her image is plastered on our website, in our brochures, and even hangs on our walls.  Had she a better agent (or any agent) back when, she would now be living high off royalties since we’ve used her effigy so much.  But Amy was just a student in those days and had no idea for what she was volunteering.  Even we didn’t know at the time that her face would be used for years to come.  There was just something about it that spoke of the tranquility and love that is massage.

Amy graduated from NHI and went on to do well as a massage therapist both in Northern and Southern California.  Who knew that a few years later, NHI would open a campus near her in Los Angeles and that she would come back to teach.  It seems Amy and NHI are never too far apart.  So, it’s my expectation that eventually Amy will find her way back to us or we’ll simply have to open a campus in Kansas.

If you happen to see this face around, tell her that we love her, miss her, and wish her all the best!

All of our teachers have at least 500 hours training and 3 years experience in massage.  But numbers alone don’t fully define our teachers.  Each one is his or her own person.  They combine their diverse backgrounds of massage, business, and good ol’ life to create a rich tapestry of knowledge that enhances our educational program.

They also have families.  And their families make up our extended family.  So it’s with great pride that we announce the latest addition to our NHI “family” – baby Griffin, the 2^nd child of our beloved teacher, Jeanette Ching!  Sister Emma and Daddy Jerome are so excited!  Mommy Jeanette is due back to work at NHI at the end of September, mentoring her group 18 in Emeryville.

Jeanette's baby, Griffin

In addition, one of our other babies isn’t a baby anymore!  Lisa Mendiola’s little girl, Adrianne Sage, turns one-year-old on August 23^rd.  And she already knows how to swim!

Lisa's baby, Sage

For those not familiar with it, BodyWorlds is an exhibit of real human bodies preserved through plastination.  These bodies are donated for the purpose of science; at the end of the exhibit, you can read testimonials explaining why some people chose to donate themselves.  The wild success of BodyWorlds has led to copycat exhibits of lesser quality.  While the science community has questioned the ethics of these imitators, the original BodyWorlds has consistently proven itself to be a reputable organization.

Our teachers have led some more field trips for our students since then, but for those going on their own, we put together the following tips.  This L.A. exhibit closes September 7, 2008, so you must hurry.  Otherwise, check the BodyWorlds website for a visit near you.

Click Here for BodyWorlds 3 Teacher Tips

NHI Teachers at BodyWorlds 3

On a related note, over this past weekend I watched a German horror film that uses plastinated bodies as its storyline.  It’s called Anatomie and stars Franka Potente (Run, Lola, Run).  It’s certainly not respectful towards the scientific intent of BodyWorlds, but if you enjoy German horror films, you’ll probably like it.  Apparently it was good enough to warrant a sequel – creatively titled Anatomie 2.  Viewing Tip: I saw the version with cheesy English voiceovers; it would have been much better in the original German with English subtitles.