A new certification course offered through Continuing Education will provide LMTs with an opportunity to take three levels of Reflexology so they can offer this modality as either a stand-alone session or integrate it into a general massage. The three certifications offered are:

Swedish Institute’s new Continuing Education certification classes have been a big success. The Medical Massage certification course filled to capacity so quickly that a second class was created. That one immediately filled up as well.

Its popularity is due in large part to the knowledge and enthusiasm of the course developer, Janine Strenta. Janine, a massage therapist and acupuncturist, is an exceptional teacher. After more than 25 years of teaching, Janine’s love for the subject is undiminished. “I teach medical massage because I love it and because I know how effective it can be,” she said one afternoon during a break from supervising the Therapeutic Massage Clinic. “In my Continuing Education classes it’s wonderful to watch the light bulb go on for students who already have a knowledge base, as they learn the next level of care. They know they have something they can use immediately to help their clients.”

What is Medical Massage?

For Janine, medical massage means treating the body as a three-dimensional system in motion. “I like to address the body holographically,” she explained. “With the medical massage I teach, students learn to approach both sides of the body and to use physical movement at the same time. We’re not just doing effleurage to the quadriceps, for instance. Instead, we’ll work with the quadriceps while the leg is moving, so we can integrate all of the muscles of the terrain.

We work the muscular structures and the fascial planes. If a massage therapist just releases the “knot” in a muscle it won’t do much long term, because other muscles that are compensating for the tightness also need to be addressed. All of the aspects involved have to come into mediation on the table and learn how to ‘play’ together again.”

Janine created this approach from her experiences as a massage therapist and acupuncturist, as well as from her own needs to address pain. “After having an injury and experiencing pain, I would experiment with moving and working with my own body. A lot of my techniques grew out of creating ways to work on someone the way I wanted my body to be worked on.”
Though protocols for specific problems are given in the 6-session Medical Massage course, Janine hopes participants will gain a new way of thinking about the body. “I joke that students probably think there is some secret treasure book hidden in the teachers’ lounge that has all of the answers for every condition,” she laughed. “But of course there is no one answer. Students can use the protocol as a starting point, and if they understand the muscles and structural dynamics involved in their client’s particular problem, they will be able to figure out what to do for that individual.

“Although I teach treatment protocols, I hope students don’t feel ‘married’ to a protocol. They should be committed to the idea of thinking about the body and choosing techniques that will accomplish their goals. Really good massage work references the client’s body for them, so they can once again experience their body as healthy and comfortable. When you help a person with a chronic problem remember that his or her body can feel good, it’s important.”

Current students may have Janine Strenta for Swedish Massage I and Clinical Strategies East and West. After they graduate, if they have an interest in one of her Continuing Education classes, they may want to enroll right away to ensure they get into this popular teacher’s course.

Swedish Institute hosted a table at the Spa & Resort/Medical Aesthetics Expo held at the Jacob Javits Convention Center on September 28-29. Spa owners and suppliers from around the world attend this show, which bills its focus as “the business of aesthetics and wellness”. Our Alumni Services department wanted to be there to remind everyone about our school and the high caliber of massage therapists that we train. We also wanted to remind participants how important it is to hire massage therapists who are licensed. 

Graduates and students were invited to attend the exhibit free of charge, as guests of the school. Many stopped by to chat and say hello and update us on what they’ve been doing. 

Instructor Geoff Dawe was on hand to give a presentation about bringing clinical skills to a spa environment. A former lead therapist at the Peninsula Hotel spa, Geoff shared his knowledge about spa services and customer service. His lecture and demonstration caught the attention of a spa owner from Turkey, who later asked for information about how she could hire a teacher to provide classes for her therapists. Will Geoff, who recently returned from working in Hawaii, soon be leaving for a stint in Turkey? 

The next opportunity to visit this Expo will be June 2011. Mark your calendars and stay tuned.

Join our Continuing Education Coordinator, Heather Hart, at her latest art project titled “Barter Town”. This free event will be held on October 3 from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm as part of the Art in Odd Places Festival. Location is on 14th Street and Ave C. Four Swedish Institute alumni will be among the participants who will barter services, objects, ideas or performances with the public in this street art project. 

We appreciate the wonderful job Heather does as part of the Alumni Services Department. But her creativity is more fully unleashed as an artist and sculptor. She just completed a residency at the Franconia Sculpture Park. She was selected for participation in the Whitney Museum Independent Study Program and was a recent NYFA Fellowship recipient. If you want to see some of her beautiful or whimsical pieces, go to her website www.heather-hart.com.

By George Russell, D.C.

Massage is often thought of as a “muscle thing.” Massage therapists stroke your muscles until they relax, right? Well, yes. But there’s more to massaging muscles than meets the hand. In holistic care, the particular lens through which you view your clients operates like a prism, showing a full-color spectrum: In other words, you see the whole person.

When “listening” to the tension level of a client’s muscles—length, size, and balance—the massage therapist can also “hear” other parts of the client. And this awareness is necessary. As all bodyworkers know, a pain, a glitch or an inefficiency anywhere, can become a pain, glitch or inefficiency everywhere else.

Let’s look at how massage affects the body in broader context.

1. The “Motor Unit”
   Muscles engage when the nervous system tells them to, and with a few exceptions these muscles move our bones at the joints. Nerves, joints and muscles unite to create human movement. This is what we call our “Motor Unit.” Massage—as does all healing touch—automatically affects the nervous system, which in turn affects the bones/joints. When massage targets the bones and joints by moving and mobilizing them, the nervous system is affected in several ways.
   
   
2. The Nervous System
   Muscles have innumerable motor nerves—the nerves that generate action in the body. Not all motor cells move muscles, but most of them do. Therefore, reducing muscle activity will also calm the nervous system, which leads to relaxation. Consider that the major drugs sold as anti-anxiety medications are in the muscle-relaxant family. Massage, unlike muscle relaxant medications (e.g. anti-anxiety pills) is a process that can train the central nervous system to relax itself. The switches in the nervous system are thousands of times more complex than the traffic lights in Manhattan, and massage works with the switches that control tension to help the entire system work more simply and efficiently.
   
   
3. The Blood
   Blood provides nutrients to the whole body, and our muscles are one of the biggest consumers of blood. Only the kidney, which cleanses the body of toxins, rivals the muscles in its use of blood. But each kidney is roughly the size of your fist, whereas one group of quadriceps is the size of three fists. What this means is that working on the muscles can alter the flow of blood through the body in a dramatic way. Blood is the supply superhighway of the body, and improving circulation helps the entire body function better. It also helps the blood itself to stay clean, oxygenated and potent.
   
   
4. Energy
   Muscles contract throughout day and night, at varying levels based on activity and intention. They never turn off completely. If the muscles that move your skeleton turned off completely at night, your joints would literally fall apart! Each microscopic muscle cell uses a minimum amount of energy to contract, and more energy to stay contracted. Muscle contraction is a huge part of the body’s energy budget.
   
   Besides keeping our structure intact and giving us the ability to move, muscles are our internal heat source. When we “warm up”, we’re using our muscles to generate heat. In the winter, when we shiver, we’re contracting muscle to turn energy into heat. So when a massage therapist releases muscle contraction, she’s releasing energy for you to use somewhere else and she releases heat in the local area. Ever notice how you can feel both quieter and more energized after a massage? And often cooler, as well? The tired, relaxed feeling comes from less holding on in the muscles; the energy comes from no longer wasting energy by holding tightness in muscles; and the coolness comes because less energy is being expended, and thus less heat is being produced.
   

When we understand the subtle and deep ways in which massage affects us, we enrich our experience of massage, whether we are giving or receiving one.

Email questions or comments to: sinews@swedishinstitute.edu.

Dr. Russell is a popular Continuing Education instructor who will be teaching a number of classes this Fall:

Addressing Rotations Throughout the Body
Advanced Postural Analysis for the Bodyworker
Core Strength and Bodywork
Treating the Jaw

View all Continuing Education Fall classes.

On Juneteenth (June 19) CE coordinator Heather Hart ran a successful fifth installment of her Trading Post projects. This one, entitled Barter Town, invited participants to bring ideas, services, songs, stories, unwanted goods, canned goods, handmade art, appliances, anything they think may hold value and haggle for something that they want. It was all about bartering; no money exchange was allowed.

Barter town “vendors” included alumna Diane Vreeland (offering massage therapy), along with people offering vintage clothing, tattoos, clothing, electric “chair” cut, homemade chocolates, plants, and various kinds of artwork. It was a creative, energetic event that was community and carnival rolled into one, with over 200 people attending. Check out Heather’s album on Facebook.

Looking for something unique to do this weekend? On Saturday, June 19, Continuing Education coordinator Heather Hart will present Bartertown, a unique art experience that offers participants a chance to exchange services and goods. The event will be held from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Duarte Square, at the crossroads of Sullivan Street, Grand Street, 6th Avenue and Canal Street. Heather is an artist and sculptor with many shows to her name. She will be taking a two-month leave of absence to accept an artist-in-residence grant in Minnesota during July and August. Google Map

As a future practitioner who works directly on the body, a thorough knowledge of skin conditions will be invaluable.

Take advantage of an upcoming Continuing Education Department class on Common Skin Conditions and Infestations which is open to current Swedish Institute students.

The class will be taught be Annie Morien, PhD, a licensed massage therapist and dermatology physician’s assistant with extensive experience in evaluating and treating skin diseases. Dr. Morien will cover various benign skin conditions and arthropod infestations that you may encounter as a practitioner.

Included will be benign skin conditions (eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, seborrhea) and bug bites (scabies, lice) with reference to prevalence, signs/symptoms, and treatment. Multiple color photographs of each skin condition will clarify characteristics and determine cautions and contraindications.

The class is NCBTMB, NCCAOM approved for Continuing Education credits.

Date: Sunday, June 13
Time: 9:00 am to 5:30 pm
Tuition: $179 until 5/31 ($199 after)
Register now.

GYROKINESIS ® Conditioning for Bodyworkers will begin on May 17 during afternoon break time, from 12:30 to 1:15 p.m.

GYROKINESIS® exercises are designed to work the entire body through spinal movement and joint articulation. Based on the body’s natural ability to move forward and backward and side-to-side, the movements are designed to be rhythmic and fluid. Natural breathing patterns and self-massage are also incorporated into GYROKINESIS® exercises.

Study this dance-like form of exercise with massage therapy instructor and dancer Aviva Geismar. This will be your last chance for a while, as Aviva will be taking a maternity leave in August; congratulations Aviva!

Register now through Continuing Education.