2010 Healing Wisdom Center / Kris Shaw Classes

PLANNING OUT YOUR CEU’s Education for 2010?
In 2010 the WA massage licensing requirements have changed from
16 hours of CEU’s to 24 hours.

Kris Shaw is an approved continuing education provider with NCBTMB.

CEU Weekend Workshops
Staying Healthy During the Cold and Flu Season
Counseling 101 for Massage Therapists
Arthritis and Fibromyalgia Care
Bodywork for Anxiety and Insomnia
Bodywork for Depression and Anxiety Winter
Acupressure for Everyday Living
Women’s Health Concerns
Clearing Out Headaches

Women’s Professional Care Support Group


Registration Information | Workshop Application

Click above to select the workshop you are interested in or scroll down to each workshop’s course description & highlights. 

To register for any of the workshops or classes, review the
registration information then print and complete an application. 

An orientation to workshops & this clinic’s teaching policies is included at the end of all the workshop descriptions.  Just scroll down to the very end of this class section for administrative concerns.
 
Directions & a map to the teaching facilities can be found here.

Staying Healthy During the Cold & Flu Season

***New Class for 2010***

Curriculum details

$200 per Workshop - 12 CEU's
December 5 & 6, 2009
January 30 & 31, 2010
December 11& 12, 2010
Saturday 9:30 - 5:30 pm - all day
Sunday 1:00 - 5:30 - half day

Counseling Skills 101 For Massage Therapists
Cultivating & Deepening Rapport with Clients

***New Class for 2010***

Curriculum details

$250 per Workshop - 16 CEU's
Monday Evenings 6:30 - 10:00 pm

*** First Evening is Free ***

Fall 2009
November 2, 16, 30, 2009
December 7, 2009

Spring 2010
March 8, 22, 2010
April 5, 19, 2010
May 3, 17, 2010

Fall 2010
September 20, October 4 & 18, 2010
November 1, 15 & 29, 2010

Arthritis and Fibromyalgia Care

***New Class for 2010***

Curriculum details

$300 for Workshop - 18 CEU's
$15 for manuals

Saturday and Sunday Workshop
Once a Season
9:00 - 6:00 pm
March 20 & 21, 2010
May 22 & 23, 2010
Sept 25 & 26, 2010
Nov 13 & 14, 2010

Bodywork for Insomnia & Anxiety

Overcoming Insomnia - the Natural Way

Curriculum details

Offered  1 to 2 times  a season as a weekend  intensive. 
18 CEU's
9:00 - 6:00 pm each day

A one day auditing of the class is available for $165  to clients  seeking  relief from their insomnia.

$300 per workshop
April  17 & 18,  2010
July 10 &11, 2010
October 9 &10, 2010

Bodywork for Depression & Anxiety
Offered during the Dark Days of Winter

Special Focus on SAD Syndrome.

Curriculum details

Workshop $300 - 18 CEU's
9:00 - 6:00 pm each day

February 13 & 14, 2010
March 20 & 21, 2010
October 23 &24, 2010
December 4 & 5, 2010

Acupressure For Everyday Living: Level 1

Engaging the mind, heart & hands in a broader
framework of doing bodywork.

Curriculum details

Workshop $300 - 18 CEU's
9:00 - 6:00 pm each day


Offered twice a year:
November 14 & 15, 2009
June 26 & 27, 2010
November 20 &21, 2010

Women’s Health Concerns: Bodywork for Fatigue,
Mensies, Cellulite Reduction, Frozen Shoulder & Various Heel Pain

Curriculum details

Offered 3 x a year in 2010
Feb 27 & 28, June 12 & 13, Oct 23 & 24

Clearing Out Headaches

****New for 2010****

Curriculum details

Cost - $100 for 4 hrs of CEU’s
Friday evening class : 6 to 10 pm

Offered each season :
March 26, May 7, August 6, September 17, November 5, 2010

Women’s Professional Care Support Group:
Massage Therapists

****New for 2010*****

Curriculum details

Meets Monthly on a Sunday / 30 CEU's if all attended
Cost - Sliding Scale
Limited to 10-12 women massage therapists

Meetings are Jan 30, Feb 28, March 28,
April 25, May 23, June 28,
Sept 19, Oct 24 and Nov 28, 2010

Back to top

Registering for the Workshops

Download the application by clicking here.

The one page application form needs to be completed & mailed in when you send in your $100 deposit for any of the workshops.

Mail your completed registration with deposit to:

7812 Lake City Way, Suite #18
Seattle, WA 98105

Checks are to be made out to Healing Wisdom Center. Visa or Master Card is another form of payment available, upon request. A receipt for tax purposes will be provided when you register on the day of classes.

The cost of most of the posted workshops are $300, if you register 2 weeks before the class with a deposit of $100. The deposit will secure a space in the workshop.

If you register the day of the class, the cost is an added $35 in tuition.

Specific questions about the workshop of your interest may be addressed by Kris at 206-370-2600. Best time to reach Kris is weekday mornings.

Refund Policy : You will receive your deposit of $100 in full when you provide our clinic 2 weeks notice. For those that do not provide 2 weeks notice in dropping out of workshop, there is a $35 administrative fee subtracted from the $100 deposit.

This refund policy also applies if there is not enough enrollment for a particular weekend. A minimum of 4 participants is required for a workshop to go ahead. If there is less than the minimum enrollment, those that have made their deposit can either wait for the next workshop featuring your topic of interest or you deposit check will be mailed back to you.

Healing Wisdom Center has completed the application process with the NCBTMP for national CEU accreditation for 3 of the 4 workshops offered. As of now, all weekend workshops account for 16 hours of continuing education with the WA State Department of Health licensing requirements required each year due at the time of your birthday. Each participant completing the full 2 day workshop will receive their diploma from this establishment.

Most workshops are accompanied by a manual for you to use as a reference guide in your clinical practice. The cost of that is usually $12 -$15. They are optional to buy. The training manual is not included in the cost of the workshop tuition.

Attendance is limited to 12 participants, on a first come first serve basis.

Location : The workshop space is located in the

Maple Leaf Professional Building
7812 Lake City Way
one house north of the intersection of
Lake City Way, 12th Ave & 77th St. NE.

Directions & a map to the teaching facilities can be found here

It is a little tricky to find the Maple Leaf Professional bldg, as it blends in with other houses in the neighborhood. I urge you strongly to do your Map Quest directions or click on to directions on this web site home page for exact land markers.

The weekend workshops will be taking place on the main floor, in the front room. It can be assessed by both the front & side door of the building. There is ample parking on 77th St, & one house south of the clinic building.

Making the time to get this orientation could save you some aggravation in finding the workshop space the morning of the workshop. The crossroads for the workshop are the NE side of town, in between 75th & 80th, close to the corner of 77th St & 12th. The Cape Cod home, converted professional building is tucked away on the East side of Lake City Way, just at the end of the exit ramp & tunnel when drivers exit off of Exit 171 for I-5 ( Lake City Way/ Bothell exit) We are located 3 blocks from the Roosevelt Water reservoir & 2 blocks north of the Safeway supermarket at 75th & 12 St.

Suggestions to Bring to the Workshop:
Please bring a clean set of sheets for working with a buddy. If you want to bring your massage table, let us know. Come 15 minutes early to register & settle in. Hot teas & a snack are usually provided. Dress in loose fitting comfortable clothing. We will have a morning & evening class break . Lunches tend to be later, around 1 to 1:30 pm, so bring a healthy protein snack to support your blood sugar levels mid-morning.

The teaching space has kitchen facility on the basement floor, should you choose to eat your lunch on site. There is a fridge & microwave to warm up any food. Restaurants abound in the local area & you have an hour for lunch . If you have a particular preference in international foods, ask the instructor for directions to a local restaurant. Whole Foods Market is a 5 minute drive to pick up delicious vegetarian lunches. Whole Foods is located south of the clinic close to Roosevelt & 65th St NE.

Instructor : Kris Shaw synthesizes a unique blend of health professional skills with her 30 years of commitment to the health & education field. She is a respected acupuncturist, health education writer & master bodyworker. Kris is one of the pioneers and grandmothers of the bodywork profession in the New Jersey area, having nurtured two massage schools over a 22 year period. She researched & wrote original & innovative massage curriculum for 3 decades, in which she continually stressed the importance of professional self-care, to assure longevity for those committed to the massage profession. Her humorous, creative & engaging style of teaching will support a richer balance & wisdom within the therapist in serving others as well as ones self. She is passionate about creatively engaging students in their learning process & has a charismatic flare for imparting her wisdom. For further background into Kris’s academic & clinical expertise, refer to the home page of this web site and click on Kris’s bio.

Back to top

Course descriptions

Highlights of the course content are provided below for each specific workshop listed above. For more specifics, speak with the instructor.

Staying Healthy During the Cold and Flu Season
Counseling 101 for Massage Therapists
Arthritis and Fybromyalgia Care
Bodywork for Anxiety and Insomnia
Bodywork for Depression and Anxiety Winter
Acupressure for Everyday Living
Women's Health
Clearing Out Headaches
Woman Therapist Support Group

Staying Healthy during the Cold & Flu Season

Each winter children & adults are catching more cold & flu bugs that linger on. How can we health care providers safeguard ourselves, our families & co-workers? For most of us running our own businesses, being inclement with too many colds, sinus infections, asthma or allergies can affect our income. Safeguard yourself & bolster your immunity & respiratory system, to provide added protection & precaution against virulent bacteria & viruses the likes of MRSA, strept, herpes &influenzas like the swine flu or SARS.

Packed full of practical tools & enjoyable pathology learning, you’ll learn oriental bodywork, seasonal moxa & hydrotherapy therapies, antiviral aromatherapies, the full spectrum of the most effective over the counter remedies & supplements to prevent or nurse your way through a tough cold or flu bout.

Course Curriculum
Paranoia & health alerts on the news have made health practitioners more sensitive to virulent community spreading viruses, the likes of the recent swine flu , mrsa, herpes or sars, the Asian flu bug.

Massage therapists in close contact with our clients are more vulnerable to the spreading of winter respiratory bugs, when our clients do not practice basic hygiene etiquette when nursing a cold along. Being on the front lines with attending to those seeking stress relief, massage therapists are vulnerable to clients when they are sneezing & coughing in the treatment room. If your immune system is down from overwork or dietary factors, you can be more susceptible to the 180 varieties of cold & flu bugs circulating during the change of seasons or winter months.

Most massage practitioners are self employed, so when we catch a bad respiratory bug, we can be out of commission or struggling with our energy to perform our work for a few days. Two or three bouts of a flu, cold or sinus infection means loss of income in our weekly earnings. Infectious exposure is especially so for you mothers who have young children when they bring home a resilient virus that is quickly spreading through school. Sometimes mothers need to stay home to nurse a feverish, congested child.

What powers and tools do you have to protect yourself when the cold or flu season begins its mischief ? What can you clinically do to be more resilient with touching & close exposure to contagious bugs that our profession is in contact with? Are flu shot immunization the only safeguard protection we have to bolster our immune systems?

Having taught massage students & my local community for years about reducing the economic losses & discomfort of preventing or lessening the impact of colds, I decided to share this research & clinical knowledge with my larger massage community. Over the last few years, I have accumulated many practical pearls of wisdom on respiratory & infectious diseases that is not commonly taught in massage schools.

We’ll look at the full spectrum of

• What maintenance and prevention care can we do as health professionals to reduce our chances of getting too many colds, sinus infections or allergic reactions that send our life force into a downward spin?
• What healing broths, herbal toddies or supplementation can tonify the immune & lymphatic system when we health care workers are battling the edges of a cold?
• Explore specific aromatherapies that are antiviral, that you can use in clinic spaces when the cold season is in full force.
• Practice self help bodywork that boosts the immune system when you get the beginnings of a sore throat or sinus congestion. Learn acupressure, hydrotherapy treatments, moxa, gusha & cupping techniques from Oriental shiatsu traditions, that make one more resilient when your surrounding community is inclement with a resilient bug.
• How can we use a cold or flu bug to our advantage, to let it’s cleaning house in our bodies ?? Can we quicken this cleansing process once a cold has settled into the lungs, sinuses or throat area? Yes.
• Many in the massage profession are not aware of natural remedies that aid in the healing journey of cleansing the respiratory system & for strengthening your immune system.
• Apply emergency acupressure points for children & adults when a serious asthma attack is triggered. These special points learned can give you a some negotiable time if a visit to the hospital is required.
• Gain insights from the Center for Disease Control & the Department of Health as to their hygiene precautions & statistics of when highly communicable viruses are on the rise & what precautions to take.
• What over the counter cold & flu remedies are most effective prevention wise or for quickening the cleansing process of a full blown cold or flu?
• We’ll practice specialized bodywork for the lungs and rib cage, drainage techniques for the lymph nodes, sinuses & throat.
• How stressful emotional or mental states, financial pressures & long standing conflicts can tax the immune & respiratory system.
• Integrate the basics of Western & Oriental physiology & pathology to lay a practical understanding of the respiratory, immune & lymphatic systems, to function optimally. How this changes with acute or chronic episodes .

A side note on this topic:

Do antibiotics work for most of the strains of colds and flus circulating around? As much as most GP doctors would like to assist their patients who are battling a miserable cold, antibiotics for the most part work mostly on strept or staph bacterial infections. They are not designed to work on cold & flu viruses. So most of us have to wait it out. We can do this miserably feeling out of control or use this time out to clean out house & aid our bodies in the detoxifying mucus &acidity from our lymph & respiratory system.

The Christmas and Halloween season of sugar & spice & dairy products so nice lays the fertile grounds for the cold & flu viruses to begin to propagate especially in children, if their immune systems are down. The populations most susceptible to influenzas are preschool children or ailing seniors. Clinically, I’ve observed over a few decades how young children’s immune systems are not fully functioning or mature and they seem to “catch” & pass on to adults more virulent mutating cold & flu bugs. Preschool & Special Ed teachers are vulnerable to this occurrence & can vouch for this as one of the pitfalls of their jobs.

When there are extreme fluctuations in temperature, as we have had with global warming & unusual weather patterns, shifting from winter into spring or fall into winter, these influences make our immune systems more vulnerable to opportunistic respiratory bugs. Taking a flight from a tropical climate to the NW winter coldness & dampness is a classic example of how we can become more suspectible to a bout with a cold.

The ventilation system in most planes continuously recirculates the same air. If there are one or two passengers incubating a cold & sneezing and coughing in the air, everyone on the plane gets exposure to it . Why are some people, when they are exposed to the broad spectrum of flu & cold bugs resilient & others so easily fall prey? Within 2-3 days of exposure to a respiratory virus or bacteria, infectious symptoms begin to bloom.

Back to top

Counseling Skills 101 For Massage Therapists
Cultivating & Deepening Rapport with Clients

Cultivating & Deepening Rapport with your Clients

Do you want to acquire the ability to express yourself with clarity & sincerity and extend empathy through the practice of deep listening? When you are losing connection or interest in conversations, how can you bring your clients back into focus? Dismantle & replace habitual listening skills that can derail a deepening of communication.

These classes are intended for anyone wanting to significantly embrace & transform their relationships with clients, partner & with co-workers. Commit to becoming a more compassionate therapist. Supportive environment utilizing many experiential exercises.

As you read through the following statements, think about which rings true for you :

• I often feel like a martyr who lives my life for everyone else.
• I break too many promises with myself.
• When I’m overwhelmed, tired or stressed, I rarely think to ask for help.
• Sometimes I am insensitive & anxious about being empathic with others & their needs.
• Because it’s not worth the hassle, I don’t bother to ask for help.
• I hate disappointing people.
• I’d like to be more sensitive to the underlying needs of my clients but get impatient with listening.
• I give to others in an effort to feel needed or worthy.
• I expect people to read my mind and know what I need.
• I have many one sided relationships where people take more than they give.
• I have trouble getting others to share in the workload at home.
• When listening to my clients, my common habit & reflex is to share my own experiences or give advice.
• I sometimes feel foolish about the ways in which I’ve put the needs of others before my own.

If you relate to any of these statements, then this workshop may  be a great benefit to you.  Below you will find the curriculum for this weekend workshop.

• What are the benefit s of reflective listening and developing rapport with your clients?
• Do you want to be able to listen more compassionately with your clients & friends & strengthen over time your empathy skills?
• Learn strategic & open ended questions that aid your clients in deepening his / her experience of communication.
• Initiate the art of diplomatically intercepting clients when you are losing connection or interest with their conversation.
• A supportive environment is provided in bringing more consciousness to habitual patterns that massage therapists typically can do to derail clients from deepening what’s on their mind and heart.
• Listening deeply to one another to connect with hidden needs, tuning in to the essential human needs underneath our words. This skill alone can alleviate much misunderstanding, judgments, blame & conflict.
• Cultivate compassionate listening for our clients as well as ourselves. We’ll practice self empathy exercises that support your awareness when you get triggered by quilt, blame or shame.
• Learn the capacity to suspend judgment of oneself & others.
• Resonate with the feelings of your clients within yourself & allowing that to guide an atmosphere of connection & healing.
• Needs as a word can have negative associations. We’ll look at reframing needs positively, as life moving through you and as your inner voice giving direction. Both professional & personal relationships provide a deeper understanding, that it is two people coming together with their needs. You’ll gain more clarity in identifying your clients needs & your own more consciously. What can both of you fulfill at that meeting place?
• Transform the pain of unmet needs into the beauty of needs. Making effective requests of clients & those you love. Asking for what you need.
• How to create a win / win situation when caught in an argument.
• Understanding & managing what triggers us in disagreements. Becoming more of how & when we get our buttons pushed & how to neutralize conflicts.

My journey to this course

What has led me to facilitate these classes is my own personal & spiritual journey to be a more compassionate individual with my clients, friends & family. It has taken commitment; time and experience to learn to be more patient & to cultivate more empathy in listening & the capacity to intuit what my clients needs are, behind their communication. As massage therapists & professional nurturers, sometimes we can fall into the trap of being more tuned into others needs and neither consciously aware nor able to express our own needs as well. Those close to us can support us in having more clarity about what it is you may have veiled as unexpressed needs. At the end of a long day of caretaking, you’ll learn to express more effectively requests that can open up your loved ones to responding favorably. It can give you more freedom, authenticity & connection with your important relationships.

Back to top

Arthritis and Fibromyalgia Care

This workshop is packed full of practical tools you can use with clients & self to preserve your fingers, thumb joints & hands. Learn how digital massage, finger rings, bone liniments, hydrotherapy, moxa & cupping give tangible relief to arthritic clients. Cold damp weather & aging erodes at joint health. Integrate massage skills for temperamental knees, neck & hip arthritis. Pathology insights on various arthritis, gout, fibromyalgia, bone spurs & neuropathies. Conventional & alternative remedies for joint Inflammation will be central to the learning process of long term degeneration of the bones & small & large joints.

Arthritis is the number one cause of disability in America, afflicting nearly 50 million Americans of all ages. Almost two thirds of those suffering are women aged 30 to 90 years. It also affects 325,000 children. Arthritis is not just the senior's degenerative joint challenge. We as health practioners will be seeing millions of baby boomers over this next decade seeking healthy solutions for greater mobility.

Arthritis costs Americans nearly $85 billion a year in medical treatments, medications and lost time at work. These are statistics provided by the Arthritis Foundation. The pain & costs associated with mild to moderate levels of arthritis can now be prevented by implementing nutritonal joint nutrients that have undergone three decades of research & multiple studies around the world.

Learn in this workshop educational information that your clients can make about their own choices with joint supplementation for decreasing pain & improving function for moderate to severe osteoarthritis.

Course Curriculum

Having used my hands extensively with bodywork for 35 years, I wish to share some clinical secrets for relief of overworked thumbs, fingers and forearms at the end of full day at your clinic. You’ll learn an enjoyable 15 minute routine, utilizing supportive deep tissue bodywork for your shoulders, spine, hands & fingers. When you overuse your thumbs or fingers, you’ll learn to repair these ligament dense areas with coiled finger rings & liniments. This protocol regenerates my achy, overworked thumbs & fingers within 1 to 2 days.

I’ve taught various types of arthritis conditions for more than a dozen years to various massage schools, graphically showing the various stages of joint inflammation & degeneration, as people age. We’ll address through film & discussion what medical interventions are available & resources to direct your clients to, should they choose conventional or alternative remedies for overused joint conditions. You’ll have a variety of practical massage techniques & tools to provide regenerative relief & feel more comfortable working with aging joints and bone spurs. We’ll draw upon deep tissue bodywork, acupressure, myofascial bodywork & medical massage to address challenging joint conditions. We’ll do treatment protocols for the hands, hips, knees and feet.

Oriental Physiology & Pathology

Explore arthritis from both the Oriental & Western pathology perspective. You’ll gain rich insights about osteoarthritis & rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, gout, bone spurs & fibromyalgia. The fingers, toes, knees, hips, neck, low back along with old injuries & fractures can be sites where the integrity of articulating joints can begin degeneration. This is more common in one’s 50’s & 60’s but rheumatoid arthritis symptoms can begin in one’s 20’s.

It is essential for massage therapists to integrate the Oriental concepts of how cold, damp or humid weather aggravates different types of arthritis & fibromyalgia. We’ll utilize a variety of therapeutic modalities, perhaps new to some bodyworkers, using acupressure, liniments, moa, cupping & various treatments of hydrotherapy that can provide relief to arthritic knees, hips, toes & hands. You’ll learn some great tips for reducing the onset of osteoporosis. You can learn some clinical tricks for giving relief to cantankerous inflamed gout.

Obviously, as massage therapists or chiropractors we cannot resolve bone spurs & deformation and more advanced joint damage from long standing inflammation, aging and wear & tear. We can provide secondary relief to achy, painful joints, especially with the smaller joints of the fingers & toes. Strong stimulation of the lymph & blood circulation in the extremities, ligaments & tendons can be catalyzed with tight fitting coiled rings & joint manipulation. You can choose to use these invaluable imported rings each time your arthritic clients do a treatment with you. You also have the option of empowering your senior clients to use these finger massaging tools at night while they are relaxing with TV. They will love you for this gift of having more flexibility & considerably reduced pain with their hands.

Kris works directly with referrals from rheumatology doctors. Explore the potential for networking with your local medical specialists to encourage more referrals with chronic pain patients. Those doctors that specialize in joint inflammation could be rheumatologists, podiatrists, naturopaths, functional medicine MDs, chiropractors, acupuncturists & Chinese herbalists and NAET allergy testing practitioners.

Fibromyalgia Care

With more than 3 % of the population stricken with the unrelenting widespread muscular pain & fatigue that hallmarks fibromyalgia, it is crucial that dedicated bodyworkers become more clinically sophisticated to the therapies that work. Fibromyalgia is becoming more prevalent with overworked middle age women & younger women in their late twenties.

• You’ll deepen your understanding of fibromyalgia’s progression & myofascial pain. Understand the low grade inflammation process & chronic pain cycles with its flare ups that makes massaging these folks so unpredictable & tenuous to do deep work on.
• We’ll address the value various styles of massage play in this low grade inflamed condition. We’ll unravel some of the misconceptions about it.
• We’ll look at this disease multidimensional and the need for health care teamwork approach it requires to improve energy, deepen sleep and reduce some of the shifting aches and pains.
• Look at the underlying conditions that aggravates fibromyalgia & lead to flare ups. You’ll gain more empathy & compassion when being the witness to FM patients stories & the despair & dependency many long standing fibromyalgia patients feel depending on medications & losing the quality of their old lifestyle.
• We’ll draw on clinical studies from Kris’s acupuncture & bodywork practice for what has been successful with chronic myofascial pain.
• You’ll experience first hand 2 or 3 patients sharing their own healing journey of what’s worked, what didn’t, for them in reclaiming the quality of their life again.

Back to top

Bodywork for Insomnia & Anxiety Overcoming Insomnia, the Natural Way

In our rapidly changing stress filled world, insomnia & anxiety have become epidemic. Many Americans operate on sleep deficit, which goes unrecognized as exhaustion, hyperness & erratic behavior. Insomnia can be triggered by many factors such as stressful life events, chronic pain, aging & menopause. And …surprising to discover but statistical research tolls that 85% of insomniacs never seek medical care. Simple relaxation bed routines, utilizing relaxation breathing, acupressure or guided imagery can support your clients wired nervous system’s in unwinding & getting more restorative sleep. Learn about what sets the stage for disruptive sleep habits & alternatives to drug induced sleeping aids.

This workshop is practical & informative for everyday living. We’ll be sharing some of the breakthrough therapies for chronic sleep disorders, some of which are part of the groundbreaking program at Harvard Medical school, using natural modalities. This 2 day workshop will be integrating good sleep hygiene & relaxation techniques, blending myofascia, craniosacral & several styles of oriental bodywork. Chinese physiology, handouts & practical home remedies are generously made available for you to use in your practice & home.

Saturday & Sunday mornings will address the theory, research & physiology related to insomnia, anxiety & glandular & nervous system imbalances. The afternoons are devoted to bodywork practice sessions & other experiential learning. A deposit of $100 is due 2 weeks before the workshop begins. The remainder of $200 is due the first morning of classes.

Some of the highlights of this workshop include:

• How does occasional sleep interruptions eventually erode into chronic insomnia patterns. The latest research on the causes of sleep deprivation, with practical solutions for improving restorative sleep. Learn basic self-help bodywork that your clients can do to relax themselves back to sleep.
• The preciousness of REM sleep. When we don’t get it, unexpected tendomuscular challenges can flare up. We see this in our practices with those suffering from chronic pain, restless leg syndrome, plantar fasctitis, TMJ, post traumatic stress, fibromyalgia & myofascia pain.
• Focus on sleep apnea & other common sleep disruptions.
• Sleep patterns change as we age. What function does sleep serve? We’ll explore the 5 stages of sleep & how they shift in menopause & the senior years. Hormonal & brain chemistry factors will be discussed.
• What aggravates insomnia? Lifestyle factors that contribute to poor sleeping habits. Discussion on caffeine, nicotine & alcohol intake, late night eating, hypoglycemia, shift work & exercise. Take home handouts for clients to utilize for improving regenerative sleep.
• Experience several energizing & relaxing bodywork sessions for adrenal exhausted clients. How to shift clients wired in the sympathetic mode into the parasympathetic mode.
• The interconnection between insomnia, anxiety & depression.
• The pros & cons of various sleeping aids.
• Insomnia: What are its positive attributes? Energy slumps throughout the day. What do they mean clinically?
• Natural remedies that work with different types of insomnia. Experience self-help acupressure, bedtime hot toddies, deep breathing & nurturing guided visualizations to play at bedtime.
• Be introduced to a successful, drugless therapy program researched at Harvard medical school that supports chronic insomniacs to alter their sleep deficit nights into restful sleep.
• Addressing the night owl syndrome. Why do some individuals gear up into their creative juices late at night, while others need to retire early?
• The stress response & various insomnia patterns. Studying the autonomic nervous system. How adrenal fatigue aggravates insomnia & anxiety patterns.
• The root cause of panic attacks, generalized anxiety & adverse effects of menopause.
  

The winter blues can be triggered by chronic pain, long term stress, divorce & post partum birth, repressed emotions, menopause & aging, to name a few. The NW sunless days of winter can catalyze their own unique seasonal depression, known as SAD syndrome. We’ll look to Western & Oriental body/mind roots to depression & current therapies that are successfully utilized. We’ll explore common patterns involved with anxiety & depression and current medication: their benefits & side effects. You’ll be alerted to recognize the subtle signs of mild or moderate depression in your practice & discernment in when & who to making referrals to appropriate health professionals.

Massage therapists can play a secondary health care role for those afflicted with depression & anxiety, with rejuvenating & calming bodywork, guided imagery & aromatherapies that can vitalize clients caught in milder funks. We’ll explore SAD syndrome in depth & the current therapies for it. Commonly, bodyworkers have contact with various forms of anxiety & depressive states through reoccurring & unrecognized tension patterns in the neck, shoulders, the ribcage, chest and belly areas. You will learn palpation skills to identify specific zone acquanted with stagnant energy patterns in the body. You’ll integrate into your practice acupressure points, craniosacral & myofascia bodywork specifically tailored for depression & anxiety states. Various Oriental bodywork techniques will be applied to support chronic pain clients who are on long term pain medications.

One of the intentions of this workshop is to bring more consciousness & clinical savvy to massage therapist to cultivate more sensitivity & wisdom to the increasing prevalence of depression in our American culture. There are a myriad of causes & different levels of depression that have both the physical, mental or emotional symptomology. Massage practitioners have exposure more commonly with mild or moderate depression, which often goes unrecognized, especially with people who mask their feelings. There are many faces to depressive states that massage therapists work with. Some of those specialty groups we’re exposed to in the stratas of our community are the winter SAD syndrome, bi-polar & anxiety disorders, those stricken with grief, mid-life crisis & dark night of the soul , chronic pain & post menopause women, the elderly, post partum new mothers, hypothyroidism , workaholics and those affected by Hepatitis C. You’ll be moved & empowered by the knowledge, processes & clinical skills you will integrate from this two day workshop.

Morning sessions for both days will address the theory & pathology . Afternoons will be more experiential; practising specialized bodywork & alternative therapies best suited to mood disorders. A deposit of $100 needs to be paid to reserve a space for the workshop 2 weeks before the class begins. The remainder of $200 is due the day of the workshop.

Some of the highlights of this workshop include:

• What triggers depression? How to recognize the subtle & often hidden signs of it ?
• Why is depression so common in our American culture ?
• Mild, moderate and severe phases of depression & anxiety disorders. When should it be reported & who among the many mental health professionals would be best to work with? How to network with these professionals.
• The hidden disguises of mental & emotional depression masked in physical symptomology. Case intake red flags to be alerted to.
• Recognizing medications commonly used with new clients who are undergoing pyschoemotional challenges. How to reduce liability & confidentiality concerns with appropriate charting notes. Keeping contact with such clients’ primary mental health counselor.
• How are mood disorders diagnosed by the psychiatric profession? What are the popular anti-depressant medications & how do they work? How do they effect the body with long term use?
• Basics on brain & nervous system / brain biochemistry & neurotransmitters.
• The Oriental 5 Elements system synthesizes a more holistic approach of the body/mind/ spirit in addressing mood disorders. This system looks to organ energetic imbalances of the heart & it’s spirit, the liver, lungs, kidneys & adrenals for depressive & anxiety conditions. This knowledge will be woven into the morning sessions.
• Acupressure points & aromatherapy oils specifically useful for depression, irritability & anxiety. First aid bodywork for grounding clients dealing with an emotional melt downs on the therapist’s table.
• Experience several energizing & relaxing bodywork sessions for adrenal & nervous system exhausted clients.
• Specialized bodywork & pathology basics for working with patients who are caught in chronic pain & anti -depressive medications.
• Excellent resource books & CD’s to refer clients to, in providing guidance, laid out by popular mental health professionals for healing out of control depression & anxiety.
• Six simple ways to stop the cycle of mild depression. Yoga stretches, deep breathing techniques, relaxing guided visualizations & self-help affirmation for pulling one out of an emotional funk.
• What works? What doesn’t for depressive therapies? Biochemical brain imbalances. Psychological intervention: cognitive therapy & medications utilized for moderate & severe types of depression & anxiety states. Suicide precautions for any health professional exposed to depressive personalities.
• The latest research on St John’s Wort’s & Sam-e, the European forerunners for alternative anti-depressants. Comments on some psychiatrists mixing alternative & conventional medications.
• What practical steps can massage therapist take for supporting clients through mild depression ? Specific Acupressure points, other styles of bodywork for anxiety, movement & deep breathing. Fortifying community outreach. Aerobic exercises support, hydrotherapy choices, aromatherapy specific for calming & sedating stressed out nervous systems.
• The workshop ends in a safe therapeutic environment with a Guest Speaker. It is an elective part of the workshop to attend. A seasoned mental health counselor will be offering enlivening bodywork, breath work & bioenergetic exercises for workshop attendants to experience experientially those caught in depressive pessimistic thinking patterns. Participants have the option to sample transactional analysis in it identifying mind/ body splits between the inner critic & inner child.

Added Notes:

Some acupuncturists in their training are educated about the full spectrum of health & mental health professionals, so that they can serve their clients well in matching them to the most appropriate specialists. This is not taught to most massage therapists in their schooling process & can create a blind spot in making discerning & intelligent referrals. It also limits your professional sphere of influence with potential networking with other specialists that support mental health with clients that are referred. In this workshop, we’ll devote 2 hours to this learning curve, to learn a larger perspective of the matrix of professional specialists involved in the healing & management of depression & anxiety. The following is a brief introduction to some of the specialists that caretaker those with mood disorders.

The largest piece of the mood disorder puzzle is the domain of psychiatry & brain biochemistry rebalancing . Anti-depression & anxiety relieving medications can be lifesavers for those entrenched in severe depression and unable to work & function in the world. Psychiatrists are the top dog in the mental health hierarchy, for customizing the most suitable combination of medications. Know too that there are more than a dozen mental health specialties that are trained in therapeutic intervention with depressive behavior . The spectrum of mental health professionals varies from clinical psychologists, to addiction counselors to social worker.

Many massage therapists new to the ranks of the health care field may not be acquanted with the role that naturopathic physicians, acupuncturists or homeopaths play & how they may interface with depression & anxiety diagnosis & treatments. Each of these professions comes from very different perspectives in unraveling the mood disorder puzzle. Nutritional deficiencies coupled with chronic long standing stress, hormonal imbalances & toxic overload are what naturopaths & functional medicine MD’s do biological testing with to pinpoint physical symptomology of the body/mind connections of depression. Acupuncturists, relying on Chinese herbs are other health professionals that utilize an energetic perspective for bringing about homeostasis for anxiety & mild to moderate depression. They may energetically work with the brain, nervous system, glandular system & other related organs that can effect the body’ mind interrelationships.

“The dark night of the Soul" is a term coined for those transitioning through painful life changes, perhaps grieving a major loss in one’s life or avoiding one’s soul’s purpose when it has been insistently urging change with stagnant situations in life. This intense and often anxiety depressive stimulating transformation may require the clinical wisdom & compassion of a pastoral or grief counselor. In other cases a new born baby can trigger a hormonal type of depression & isolation known as post partum depression that requires the support of a midwife that can administrate anti-depressive medications. These examples give you some sense of the many pieces of the pie that make up those committed to the mental health care. Getting acquanted with some of these various professionals is an excellent way of expanding massage therapists’ sphere of influence for networking & cultivating mutual referrals.

Back to top

Acupressure for Everyday Living, Part 1

• Many Swedish trained massage therapists are interested in adding to their clinical skills quick & effective techniques to clear out various types of headaches, eye strain, mid-afternoon energy slumps, cold & sinus problems, PMS & tummy aches. Acupressure techniques excel in this realm with their simple & effective applicable pressure points.
• Acupressure for emotional & mental stress are commonly not taught in Swedish massage training. To know specific acupressure points for these types of stressers is calming & grounding for clients to receive & balance out with. Clients can learn to apply these points to themselves in stressful work situations.
• For many somatic therapists, time saving techniques for clearing persistent body armor patterns will be integrated. Example : clearing out resilient upper neck/ occiput tension, mid traps, mid scapula congested zones, low back achiness & sensitive calves, fingers & toes. Acupressure with its knowledge of where the root causes of these chronic stress patterns are invaluable for those therapists wanting to use their time well & get effective results.
• This workshop teaches Chinese physiology with easy concepts to grasp for therapists to identify with their clinical & personal lives. The theory is very practical & enjoyable to learn and always involves layers of hands on acupressure & energetic exercises to empower participants to tune into the concepts of energetic bodywork.
• For many new to acupressure, location & useage for the concept of working on specifically located points, a variety of handouts are provided for therapists to take home & practice on clients.
• Participants will learn how to use their body mechanics & leverage in ways that are effective to get in deep, without upper shoulder & forearm or thumb strain. Different body postures, leverage & hara strength & focus are adapted for doing shiatsu on a massage table.
• Through the application of the Oriental 5 Element philosophy, massage therapists will learn to spot common seasonal health ailments & connect them with specific meridians for tonifying or dispersal. You will learn to feel for basic level excess & deficient tissue states & alter the energetic congestions that set the stage for common tendomuscular & joint complaints.

Back to top 

Women’s Health Concerns : Addressing Chronic Fatigue,
Menstrual Discomfort, Insomnia, Cellulite Reduction, Frozen Shoulder & Heel Pains

(This workshop is open to men & women)

Women’s health concerns straddle many ages, occupational stressors & genetic constitutions. In my clinical work over the last decade, I’ve noticed increasingly more women with insomnia & anxiety, fibromyalgia & myofascial pain. Frozen shoulder and its annoying restrictions on the scapula & plantar fasciitis’s discomforts on the support structures of the feet have mushroomed exponentially with women in their pre and post menopause years.

I’ve had to deal with my own reoccurring insomnia & heel pains that have cropped up in my fifties. Its propelled me on a journey to find what modalities give relief. For a quarter of the workshop time, we’ll focus on frozen shoulder causes & bodywork treatments. We’ll draw on trigger point therapy, deep tissue bodywork & stretches to open up the scapula’s range of motion. We’ll delve into the mysteries of myofascial challenges in the feet that make walking painful. Reflexology, deep tissue bodywork & orientation to the need for supportive orthopedic shoes will be taught by two instructors who’ve worked for years with many types of feet stresses.

Cellulite reduction, menstrual discomfort, insomnia & adrenal exhaustion are classes from the Women’s Health Series I researched & taught for many years at my own massage school. The theory around these common health issues is practical & empowering. The hands on practice sessions utilizing acupressure for many novices new to pressure point work can be easily sequenced into daily massage routines. Abdominal, hip & back massage is employed for massage therapists to perk up women’s life force. You’ll learn to give simple relief to menstrual congestion. One of my lifetime specialties has been interweaving the clinical wisdom of Chinese physiology with soft tissue pathology & nutritional pearls. Synergizing these different perspectives within my teaching content helps address the root cause of many modern day illusive joint & myofascial discomforts.

A three hour period is devoted to the battle of the bulge, with unsightly cellulite. Cellulite is very stubborn to clear out & quite often does not respond to normal dieting regimes to melt off inches. Often it is diet & genetically influenced. Daily skin brushing routines & hydrotherapy treatments can gradually decrease cellulite accumulations in the thighs, hips & arms. There are no magic bullets I’ve found for post menopause tummy bulges. Manual handouts are provided to pass onto your client’s, lifestyle choices that can lessen the effects of cellulite.

Back to top

Clearing Out Headaches

Knowing how to effectively clear out a tension headache within minutes is a door opener for cultivating new clientele. Knowing where to apply acupressure points for untangling the buildup accumulation of tension in the neck, scalp & face, when working long hours in front of a computer screen is a golden opportunity to convert many headache sufferers who’d never consider the value of therapeutic massage.

This workshop is packed full of practical tools & strategies to hone in on headache causes & dismantle them effectively. You’ll learn the clinical strategy of working distally, not just locally to decongest the face & scalp. You’ll discover how to identify other kinds of reoccurring headaches that don’t respond as favorably to hands on care: such as migraines, PMS & cluster headaches. These headaches are more influenced by hormone fluctuations or allergic reactions.
Chinese medicine has identified many types of headaches based on where the stress blockage is, along specific meridians. You’ll learn how to clear out specifically patterned headaches, in the temples, around the eyes, forehead, occiput & sinuses. There will be three practice sessions to address the hands on point locations of acupressure & Craniosacral bodywork that nips many annoying headaches in the bud.

One of the practice sessions will be devoted to integrating the “happy hour lapotemy treatment”. This specialized treatment to the scalp, neck & shoulder area defuses an over worked mind & its thinking. Devoting 10 minutes to this treatment protocol is a huge winner to destress your management clientele & reconnect the mind back into the body.

This class is a bargain for the 4 hours of continuing education offered. It can give massage therapists new to the magic & energetic of pressure point therapy, an opportunity to get your feet wet.

Back to top

Women’s Professional Care Support Group

Building a Deeply Supporting Community

Awareness through professional self care are essential survival skills needed to maintain longevity in this rewarding yet demanding profession. Is there more that you can practically do to nurture yourself to manage the stresses absorbed from your own business? This group & facilitators will be drawing upon many modalities to sustainably support your practices & lives in these areas:

• moving beyond fear & scarcity & tapping into the deeper resources of the universe to magnetize to you what you need. This utilizes the spiritual laws of manifesting
• financial & time management challenges
• support for important professional & personal goals
• taking charge of your health * breaking patterns of self sacrifice & deprivation
• burn out prevention & self care first aid
• improving on body mechanics in your bodywork
• how to empower your clients to take more responsibility for their health care
• creating soul loving spaces that nurture you at work & home
  

This support group requires a 9 month commitment of attendance. Massage therapists meet once a month, the 4th Sunday of the month from 5 – 9 pm.

Homework is required monthly: specifically journal writing & one chapter a month from the class reference book, The Art of Extreme Self Care, by Cheryl Richardson. Each chapter provides tangible support from this nationally recognized life coach for addressing professional challenges.

This monthly Sunday meetings offers 30 hours of CEU credits, provided you complete the nine months of support. Space is limited to 10-12 women massage therapists. The cost for this support group is based on a donation or sliding scale.

Each monthly support group has the opportunity to exchange a 30 minute massage with another woman. We’ll do monthly check ins on how our businesses are fairing. The rest of the time we will address pertinent issues about our professional & personal lives that could be hindrances to flourishing.

Please Note: the first three meetings are open to all that are curious & seeking support for their practices:

This support group meets Jan 30, Feb 28 & March 28, 2010.
This support group will then be closed to new therapists after March 21, 2010, to allow women to go deeper with their work.

The dates for meetings are Jan 30, Feb 28, March 28, April 25, May 23, June 28, Sept 19, Oct 24 and Nov 28, 2010.

Back to top