2008 Continuing Education Classes

Please select the workshop you are interested by scrolling down on each workshop’s course description & highlights of each workshop.  You will also find an application for any of the workshops that you can print out. 

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.

Bodywork for Insomnia & Anxiety

Offered  1 to 2 times  a season as a weekend  intensive. 

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

$300 per workshop.
January  26, 2008
April  19 & 20,  2008
June 21 & 22, 2008  
October 25 & 26, 2008  
December 13 & 14,  2008

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

Workshop $300
February 16 & 17, 2008
March 29 & 30, 2008

Acupressure For Everyday Living: Level 1

Workshop $300
Offered twice a year:
March 15 & 16, 2008
September 20 & 21, 2008

Professional Self Care Working Smarter,not Harder!!

A One Day Sunday Workshop offered every 2-3 months.

One Day Workshop : $175 . Deposit of $75 is required 2 weeks before.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Sunday May 18, 2008
Sunday August 10, 2008
Sunday November 16, 2008

Registering for the Workshop

Download the application by clicking here.

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, at 7812 Lake City Way, one house north of the intersection of Lake City Way, 12th Ave & 77th St. NE. 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 25 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.

Course descriptions & some highlights of the course content are provided below for each specific workshop listed above. For more specifics, speak with the instructor.

Bodywork for Insomnia & Anxiety Overcoming Insomnia, the Natural Way

Intro : 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.

Professional Self Care
Work Smarter, not Harder

One Day Workshop, 8 hrs of CEU’s

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 at home or work to manage the stress you absorb from your practice?

Professional self care is in part, learning to identify your own needs & managing your time more effectively & clarifying boundaries, so that you can value & carve out & schedule time for your own maintenance care. Many people entering the health care professions have a tendency for taking care of the needs of others, before their own needs are adequately met. This tendency can lead to various levels of burnout ~ physically, mentally & emotionally. Massage therapists can cultivate a large spectrum of regenerative skills to take care of ourselves when we pick up the residual tensions from their clients. This may include coiled finger rings that deeply massage & bring circulation into our finger joints when our hands are letting us know we overworked them.

Drawing upon many modalities such as self help massage tools, body mechanics, nutritional tips, Bach flower remedies & regenerative bodywork that you apply to yourself in between sessions, this weekend will astound you with a wealth of insights & practical tools for maintaining balance in your practice. Clearing out techniques will be routinely applied to prep bodyworkers during & after massages to cultivate endurance & freshness in their practice.

The study of body mechanics & injury prevention awareness is often given insufficient attention, resulting in career hampering injuries & strains. Even though most of us were routinely tutored in massage school about good body mechanics, there are always levels of refinement for doing various styles of bodywork, so that we are NOT straining your arms, hands & shoulders. The morning portion of the class, we’ll be demonstrating & modeling good & bad leverage for sustained strength & care of the hands, fingers, thumb pressure, wrist stressers & overuse of forearms & shoulders, locked knees & better efficiency in using your hips & back. Therapist will learn various ways to use their elbows, fists, knees & hara power to do quality, deep work while maintaining good body mechanics. Participants will receive a dynamic video on good body mechanics that addresses the most common stressers on massage therapist’s bodies. A workshop manual accompanies each participant to integrate more deeply many of the topics addressed in this unique workshop. The cost for the video & manual is $15.

We’ll draw on the Oriental model of the Five elements system for deepening one’s sense of self-love both personally & professionally. What do you do to refortify yourself on the job, when your gas tank is low? In what ways do you overextend yourself in serving your clients? We’ll shed awareness both consciously & unconsciously on our motivations for being in the caregiving profession. We’ll set the stage for integrating healthy dynamics in care giving & gain awareness about the traps of overgiving. We’ll look at the choice of how to empower clients to take more responsibility for their health care.

Deepening Rapport with Our Clients

25 % of our bodywork practice depends on our receiving our clients with attentive listening. Why is authentic listening so challenging for most of us? What are our unique blocks to deepen listening? Compassionate & attentive listening cultivates with it a commitment to understand how our clients feel & see their world. It’s a common tendency for massage therapists in assisting a client, to fall into the reflex of advice giving or sharing our own story. Supportive diads will deepen your ability to listen, clarify what clients re asking of us & negotiate unrealistic expectations clients may project onto us. We’ll look at habitual blocks that get in the way of compassionate listening.

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.