|
|
Choosing a Massage School
Deciding whether or not you want to pursue massage as a profession or hobby requires
research, forethought & exposure to learning various massage styles.
There are a variety of steps to explore
to help you decide what level of commitment & financial
investment you want to make with your education.
Research to find the right
massage training program that works
for you personally &
professionally.
Allow yourself 2 to 6
months to explore & see what
feels right for your educational
needs & lifestyle.
You'll be investing $5500
to $10,000 to cultivate a new
service profession. Discern &
shop well for what you
value most.
|
|
Massage School
Director for 20 Years
I consider it a privilege
& joy for those new to the
hands on healing profession to
support
and unfold your individual
healing talents & broaden your
vision of this rewarding work, at
the entry level training &
beyond. Because I remain
unaffiliated with any of the local
schools,
I'm in a position to offer you
my unbiased view of what’s out
there to build your career upon.
Consider
me as your tour guide to the
more creative styles of bodywork
you may have an affinity to
study.
Taking your time to choose
the right school is very important,
before you invest $5500-$10000
&
a full year committed to this
process. Investing in a massage
& career counseling session
with me
will give you, the novice many
insights to make the most from your
educational process. I can help you
refine your choices as to what
talents you have with your hands
& heart. We’ll explore
what
massage modalities feed your
passion & support your
values.
You, the neophyte researching
massage schools can get much more
of a sense of what is out there to
study, by feeling the
effects of very different
styles of bodywork directly upon
your body and mind. A massage
career counseling session with
myself will cost the massage
neophyte $120 -$180, depending on
the length of massage & career
counseling time
spent. You can choose from 2 to
3 hours. The session will expose
the recipient to a dozen or more
styles of massage.
A question & answer
dialogue will be synthesized.
Some Valuable Steps to
Take for Choosing a Washington
State Massage School
Take the time to research,
sample & question how this
massage educational process will
blend
with the following. Evaluate your
lifestyle, work schedule and the
discipline you require for regular
homework required & a
massage practice time, before you
commit to an intensive 6 or 12
month
track of professional training.
It is much more challenging to
adapt to all these responsibilities
when you
are fully entrenched in the
training program.
Step 1: Request school
catalogs from local Seattle massage
schools.
Also it may be worth your while
to shop for out of state massage
schools. Carefully review the
course studies &
hours, highlighting various
curriculums. Each massage school
has unique features &
attributes, depending on
your individual interests.
- What type of massage
styles are you interested in
studying, beyond the standard
basics of Swedish
or Shiatsu training?
- If you don't know what
the various massage styles are or
have never have experienced them on
your
body, its well worth the time
& financial investment trying a
few massage specialties from
various countries.
As a seasoned massage
instructor for 20 years, with very
diverse styles of bodywork learned,
I’m a rich resource
for potential students &
their parents exploring a new
health career in the healing arts.
. I have been affiliated with
some of the oldest massage
schools in the United States. I am
acquainted with most of the Seattle
massage schools but
not affiliated with them. I
will not be selling you on a
particular massage school. I will
be asking you questions to help you
target in on what you want for
your educational process, in as
unbiased a way as possible.
Step 2: Look over the various
curriculums offered at each
school.
- What excites you the
most about each school’s
classes?
- What do you have an
affinity to study? Keep in mind
your long range goals of what you
want to be doing
in your massage practice, not
just the short range goals of
passing the national massage
exams.
- Remember, the course of
studies you will be choosing will
be important to you for years to
come, in the
creativity of work you will be
doing, and who you will assess as a
client market.
- Keep in mind that the
500 to 850 hour training with the
massage school of your choice is
the first big step
with your entry level
training.
- Most graduating massage
students will be moving into more
specialized areas of continuing
education
studies once they graduate.
- Many students expect
the massage school to do all the
areas of educating for them about
many styles of
massage within the package of
the tuition paid. This is an
unrealistic expectation for entry
level students to expect.
You will need to budget for
other steps of your specialty
massage education.
Step 3: Do you want a
holistic type of education
integrating the body/mind, healing
relationship?
- There are a variety of
perspectives to learn this from, so
check this out in Seattle. More
often the holistic
approach combines health
education skills with personal
healing for the student, to
strengthen their confidence
with being self employed.
- There are a few
holistic minded Seattle massage
schools. Each has their own
individualistic flavor.
- What kind of clients do
you want to work with?
Professionals, women, couples, men,
athletes, rehabilitation,
the elderly etc…?
- Each specialty group
can require different styles of
massage to be therapeutically
effective. I am speaking here
of moving beyond the generic
Swedish massage routine that is
applied to everyone for relaxation
massage.
- So what styles of
massage do you want to learn for
specific target markets? Would it
be sports massage for the
athletes? Or pregnancy &
couples massage for a family
practice?
- Are you drawn to the
Western approach to studying
the body? This emphasizes the
muscles, bones, joints
& body systems as well as
pathology. Some approaches to
learning anatomy & physiology
are massage
technician orientated while
others are more experiential in
their approach.
- Are you drawn to the
Oriental approach to studying
the body/mind? There are fewer
Oriental massage
training programs to choose
from within Washington State.
- The emphasis in this
educational perspective is more
with energetic massage, working
with meridians, acupressure
points, inter- relationships
between the body/mind/spirit, and
the symptom & root related
cause of repeated tension
patterns.
- Emphasis is placed on
palpation diagnosis, Oriental
physiology & more in depth
health assessment. Do you have an
affinity to support your
client’s health & well
being through stress management
skills? Lifestyle counseling
is commonly taught.
Step 4: Try to visit the
schools that interest you most
Sit in and audit a few classes
that are in session, if the school
policies allow that. Ideally most
of us want experienced &
compassionate instructors to
learn from but this is not always
the reality. If you can find a few
in the program of your choice,
this is a valuable find.
- Are the teachers clear
in presenting their ideas?
- Are the teachers
seasoned & experienced in their
massage specialties?
- Is the faculty
supportive of your desires &
goals?
- Are the staff
empowering of the student’s
learning process? Finding these
qualities in some of your
massage instructors can
accelerate the student’s
learning process & broaden a
student’s
clinical experience
exponentially.
Step 5: Massage schools can
vary with the massage styles &
skills acquired.
This depends on the approach
taught & massages styles
integrated, after the basic entry
level Swedish massage is taught.
Professionally I feel a first
hand experience of what you would
be learning, by feeling the effects
throughout your bodymind
connection is invaluable. You
may want to consider a massage
& tutoring session with myself,
where I will be talking you
through a dozen major massage
styles, as we work through areas of
your body.
Because of
my 20+ years of tutoring massage
students,
those new to the world of
massage seeking my advice will be
encouraged & enriched to hone
in on their innate healing talents.
Having integrated a broad
spectrum of massage styles into my
clinical practice (20
different styles of
nurturing & therapeutic
bodywork) you & I could
spend a tutoring session educating
you, the newcomer, to the vastly
diversified types of massage
out there to practice. A tutoring
& counseling session is usually
2 to 3 hours priced at $120 to
$180.
Feeling the effects of the many
varied massage styles, first hand
on your own body would give you a
much more tangible sense of what
you have more of an affinity to
study.
Other Things to Consider When Choosing a School
Time Management
- How far are you willing
to commute to attend the massage
school you are interested in?
- Is the specialized
course of studies that interests
you worth driving up to an hour for
your bi- weekly commute?
- Would you consider
relocating in the area to be closer
to the school, say for instance the
Seattle massage school area?
- How much time can you
devote to this schooling process in
the Washington state area? Will you
move to Seattle where
there is a large concentration
of specialized massage schools?
- How many times a week
will you are attending school to
complete the 500-850 hour program?
Will it be day classes or
evenings?
- Will it be taking
weekend classes as well as 2 or 3
classes a week?
- Do you have reliable,
long term day care if you are a mom
going to school for a year? You
must tangibly look at all these
aspects when planning your
massage career.
Financing Your Education:
Review Your Finances
- Do you have savings to
draw upon for part of your
tuition?
- Are you willing to work
full time as you attend school for
a year?
- Could you pay for the
program as you learn, setting up a
monthly payment plan with the
school?
- Can you get federal
student loans for your education?
(Very few massage schools offer
this, as it is quite
difficult for private
vocational schools to get federal
student loans.)
- Would your partner or
family support you financially as
you make the transition into a new
career?
- Is it more challenging
to take the long term 12 month
training than over the 6 month fast
track training?
If your budget does not
allow for an overview of different
styles of massage & career
planning, get a couple of massages
from the
student clinics of your choice.
Or get a list of massage
graduates from the schools you are
most interested in. Take the time
to interview
graduates about their successes
and their challenges while they
were in school & how they are
doing in their first year of
practice.
There are always pros &
cons to each schooling process, as
there is to each individual. Some
schools cater to & are more
responsive to student
challenges & complaints
I sincerely hope this
educational process has been
helpful in your web site searching
for the right massage school for
you. If you have
more specific questions, you
may call Kris Shaw to set up a
combination of counseling/ massage
session to clarify your career
making
process. I am here to serve
you in your educational quest of
the healing arts professions.
For A
Career Counseling Session, Call
Kris at 206-937-1469
|
|