During a session, therapists use a wide variety of movements and postures: standing, sitting, bending, reaching, and lifting. They also use a wide variety of hand and wrist positions. When performing these movements and postures from a properly supported position, and utilizing balanced breathing techniques, you have less risk of injury and can conserve body energy. This makes massage easier on you! These Massage & Bodywork self-care articles look at good body mechanics in specific body positions.

When massage therapists contemplate self-care, they often focus on the physical body. But how we think, and the way we feel and act based on those thoughts can play a big role in stress and burnout. In this series of articles, Massage & Bodywork magazine authors explore issues of self-care for the mind. These practices lead to resilience, motivation, and feelings of gratitude for our clients.

Any massage therapist will tell you that practicing bodywork takes spirit—a lot of it! Burnout is a state of physical, emotional, and spiritual depletion that manifests as a loss of motivation, feelings of cynicism, digestive issues, fatigue, a compromised immune system, and even depression. A key to protecting your bodywork practice is taking good care of your spirit. This series of Massage & Bodywork articles gives you a number of strategies to help bring the heart back to your work.

Clear ethical guidelines for therapeutic massage and bodywork practice are critical for protecting the public, practitioners, employers, and the profession. From understanding client/therapist boundaries to being clear with intention and practice, ethical concerns and considerations need to be part of every aspect of a therapist’s interactions with clients. This course explores components of creating and maintaining an ethical practice.

Anatomy is obviously a critical component of a solid massage and bodywork education and a successful practice. But anatomy is not a stagnant discipline. New scientific discoveries are constantly changing how we perceive the body and all its many intricacies. This course first explores the historical context for our modern-day anatomical knowledge and then dives deep into the relationships between cellular function and the connective tissue system, before tying these concepts to a practitioner’s hands-on work.

Anatomy is obviously a critical component of a solid massage and bodywork education and a successful practice. But anatomy is not a stagnant discipline. New scientific discoveries are constantly changing how we perceive the body and all its many intricacies. This second course moves us past the first course (Anatomist’s Corner: An Advanced Guide to Anatomy in Massage & Bodywork—Part 1) into the world of structural bodywork, and delivers discussions that range from both firmly biomechanical to speculative and esoteric. An in-depth look at author Thomas Myers’ Anatomy Trains concept, and its structural integration “recipe,” helps lay foundation for the conversation.

Anatomy is obviously a critical component of a solid massage and bodywork education and a successful practice. But anatomy is not a stagnant discipline. New scientific discoveries are constantly changing how we perceive the body and all its many intricacies. This third course moves us past the first and second course (Anatomist’s Corner: An Advanced Guide to Anatomy in Massage & Bodywork—Part 1, Part 2) into the world of structural bodywork, and delivers discussions that range from both firmly biomechanical to speculative and esoteric.

There's a lot to learn about the physical and psychological challenges and changes cancer patients face in their journey. While gentle touch, such as massage to the hands or energy work, is almost always appropriate and beneficial, the needs of cancer clients will best be served by those therapists who have taken the time to become informed, instructed, and supervised in this specialized field. The goal of this course is to inform therapists with affinity toward this work.

Ethical concerns and considerations are present in every aspect of a massage or bodywork practice, from the way practitioners set up and manage their business to daily interactions with clients. Being ethical includes not only following laws and regulations, but doing the right thing, in the right manner, for the right reasons, and with the right attitude. This course explores components of creating and maintaining an ethical practice.

Technology-including websites, email marketing, social media, crowdsourcing, practice management software, and online scheduling-can help therapists market and manage their practices more efficiently and successfully. Explore the various technology options therapists have available to them and how each of those options can benefit a massage and bodywork practitioner.

Pregnancy is a physical and emotional journey that can benefit greatly from massage and bodywork when provided by a therapist who is specifically trained to work with a mother's unique needs. This course explores many aspects of prenatal and postpartum massage and helps the learner gain a better understanding of the unique considerations related to working with these populations.

Working with animals presents challenges and nuances you won’t see with your human clientele. But it also presents huge opportunities for financial and professional growth. Some even say working with animals makes you a better therapist for your human clients. This compilation of articles lets learners explore everything from the highly specialized equine market to working with abandoned animals to rehab work for four-legged family members and more.

Massage & Bodywork magazine promotes professionalism among practitioners and stimulates healthy dialogue about the field, while remaining mindful of the breadth of bodywork backgrounds, beliefs, and modalities. In this issue, learn about sound therapy, insurance billing, HIPAA regulations, research-endorsed benefits of massage, manual lymphatic drainage in hospice care, and fungal pathologies. This issue also includes information on improving body mechanics, website security, and bicipital tendinopathy.

The July-August 2019 issue of Massage & Bodywork magazine features contributions from various authors including Laura Allen, Lisa Bakewell, Christy Cael, Cyndi Dale, Erik Dalton, Irene Diamond, Lizabeth Fauble, Roger Gabriel, Allissa Haines, Ian Harvey, Whitney Lowe, Til Luchau, Amy Andrews McMaster, John Mramor, Niki Munk, Douglas Nelson, Heath and Nicole Reed, Michael Reynolds, Ruth Werner, and Cindy Williams.

Massage & Bodywork magazine promotes professionalism among practitioners and stimulates healthy dialogue about the field, while remaining mindful of the breadth of bodywork backgrounds, beliefs, and modalities. In this issue, learn three practical approaches to help you work smarter, not harder, including how to implement the pin and stretch technique, working more thoughtfully with a client in sidelying position, and practicing better posture while you work.

Massage & Bodywork magazine promotes professionalism among practitioners and stimulates healthy dialogue about the field, while remaining mindful of the breadth of bodywork backgrounds, beliefs, and modalities. In this issue, learn the importance of self-care for career longevity, exercises to prevent back strain, ways to recharge between clients, how to build a business action plan, and what to do if you’re accused of an ethics violation, as well as info on spinal discs, suprascapular neuropathy, Alzheimer’s disease, facial muscles, and more.

Massage & Bodywork magazine promotes professionalism among practitioners and stimulates healthy dialogue about the field, while remaining mindful of the breadth of bodywork backgrounds, beliefs, and modalities. In this issue, update your knowledge on HIV and AIDS and how massage can benefit those with the disease. Familiarize yourself with the shortest rope concept, and learn the value of biodynamic craniosacral therapy. This issue also includes information on grounding, success, mindfulness, pain exposure therapy, carpal tunnel assessment tests, health intake, and complex neck pain. 
 

Massage & Bodywork magazine promotes professionalism among practitioners and stimulates healthy dialogue about the field, while remaining mindful of the breadth of bodywork backgrounds, beliefs, and modalities. In this issue, update your knowledge on posture and its value as a guide for client assessment, and ultimately solutions. This issue also includes information on massage and sexual misconduct, massage for grieving clients, deep pressure, and working with clients with paralysis. 

Massage & Bodywork magazine promotes professionalism among practitioners and stimulates healthy dialogue about the field, while remaining mindful of the breadth of bodywork backgrounds, beliefs, and modalities. In this issue, rethink your palpation work, learn about the union of yoga and massage somatically and business-wise, explore the brachial plexus and thoracic outlet syndrome, and benefit from the wisdom of Therapeutic Touch developer Dolores Krieger. This issue also includes information on the right to refuse a client, working for on-demand massage companies, polymyalgia rheumatic and giant cell arteritis, the pelvic girdle suspension system, and working with the vagus nerve.

Massage & Bodywork magazine promotes professionalism among practitioners and stimulates healthy dialogue about the field, while remaining mindful of the breadth of bodywork backgrounds, beliefs, and modalities. In this issue, learn about the millennial client and their consumer behaviors, learn about using posture as a guide to assessment and treatment, explore the considerations to take when clients take statins, and explore the tools that can help you in your practice. This issue also includes information on client confidentiality, working with dorsal scapular nerve issues, force distribution in the foot, and professional networking.

The January February 2018 issue of Massage & Bodywork magazine features contributions from various authors including Laura Allen, Christy Cael, Susan Coffey, Kristin Coverly, Kath Cox, Cyndi Dale, Erik Dalton, Tara Doyle, Allissa Haines, Jennie Hastings, Mark Liskey, Whitney Lowe, Til Luchau, Kate Mackinnon, Niki Munk, Douglas Nelson, Karrie Osborn, Lynn Parentini, Heath and Nicole Reed, Ruth Werner, Yoni Whitten, and Cindy Williams.

Massage & Bodywork magazine promotes professionalism among practitioners and stimulates healthy dialogue about the field, while remaining mindful of the breadth of bodywork backgrounds, beliefs, and modalities. In this issue, learn about touch for frail clients, the integrity of hospice massage, squamous cell carcinomas, de-rotators and other muscles that change their joint actions, and Guyon’s canal syndrome. This issue also includes information on working with confidence, understanding intervertebral disks, figuring your client return rate, and the client-therapist power differential.

The March April 2018 issue of Massage & Bodywork magazine features contributions from various authors including Laura Allen, Lisa Bakewell, Christy Cael, Lauren Cates, Susan Coffey, Kristin Coverly, Cyndi Dale, Erik Dalton, Allissa Haines, Jennie Hastings, Mary Ann Konarzewski, Whitney Lowe, Til Luchau, Niki Munk, Joseph Muscolino, Douglas Nelson, Heath and Nicole Reed, Arizona Righetti, Mary Kathleen Rose, Irene Smith, Ruth Werner, and Cindy Williams.

Massage & Bodywork magazine promotes professionalism among practitioners and stimulates healthy dialogue about the field, while remaining mindful of the breadth of bodywork backgrounds, beliefs, and modalities. In this issue, learn about pain science research; the knowledge, skills, and assessment skills MTs need for treating pain clients; building a retirement plan; homolateral gait and neck strain; the supraspinatus; massage therapy for paracyclists; massage therapy tipping protocols; understanding indications and contraindications; and the value of your work.

The May June 2018 issue of Massage & Bodywork magazine features contributions from various authors including Laura Allen, Ben E. Benjamin, Christy Cael, Kristin Coverly, Cyndi Dale, Erik Dalton, Allissa Haines, Jennie Hastings, Whitney Lowe, Til Luchau, Niki Munk, Douglas Nelson, Heath and Nicole Reed, Ruth Werner, Kirsten Wiley, Cindy Williams, and Leslie A. Young.

Massage & Bodywork magazine promotes professionalism among practitioners and stimulates healthy dialogue about the field, while remaining mindful of the breadth of bodywork backgrounds, beliefs, and modalities. In this issue, learn about watsu and its developer, Harold Dull; treatment for scoliosis; obesity and massage; flotation tanks; helpful business apps; placebo research; postural plasticity; dual relationships; conscious breathing; and the potential for muscle regrowth.

The July/August 2018 issue of Massage & Bodywork magazine features contributions from various authors including Laura Allen, Lisa Bakewell, Christy Cael, Nikki Campanale, Kristin Coverly, Cyndi Dale, Erik Dalton, Harold Dull, Allissa Haines, Jennie Hastings, Whitney Lowe, Til Luchau, Niki Munk, Joseph Muscolino, Douglas Nelson, Karrie Osborn, Heath and Nicole Reed, Brandon Twyford, Ruth Werner, and Cindy Williams.

Massage & Bodywork magazine promotes professionalism among practitioners and stimulates healthy dialogue about the field, while remaining mindful of the breadth of bodywork backgrounds, beliefs, and modalities. In this issue, learn about cadaver labs, the Human Fascial Net Plastination Project; massage researcher Tiffany Field; how to structure a team-based practice; how to specialize your practice; shoulder releases; how to use critical thinking skills in your practice; the rectus abdominis; massage for pediatric cardiac surgery patients; the clinical relevance of overpronation; and decoupling the ankle and leg.

The September/October 2018 issue of Massage & Bodywork magazine features contributions from various authors including Laura Allen, Bob Benson, Christy Cael, Rachelle Clauson, Kristin Coverly, Cyndi Dale, Erik Dalton, Allissa Haines, Leanne Hart, Jennie Hastings, Whitney Lowe, Til Luchau, Niki Munk, Joseph Muscolino, Douglas Nelson, Karrie Osborn, Heath and Nicole Reed, Michael Reynolds, Ruth Werner, and Cindy Williams.

Massage & Bodywork magazine promotes professionalism among practitioners and stimulates healthy dialogue about the field, while remaining mindful of the breadth of bodywork backgrounds, beliefs, and modalities. In this issue, learn about reflexology for the feet, seeking connection in the sometimes-lonely profession of massage therapy, sports massage as a career option, the power of podcasts, how to implement a rate increase, transference and countertransference, how to bolster on a budget, the adductor magnus, arthrokinetic reflexes, and inflammation.

The November/December 2018 issue of Massage & Bodywork magazine features contributions from various authors including Laura Allen, Lisa Bakewell, Christy Cael, Kristin Coverly, Cyndi Dale, Erik Dalton, Allissa Haines, Jennie Hastings, Carrie Jones, Whitney Lowe, Til Luchau, Niki Munk, Douglas Nelson, Heath and Nicole Reed, Michael Reynolds, Brandon Twyford, Ruth Werner, Cindy Williams, and Marc Zollicoffer.

Massage & Bodywork magazine promotes professionalism among practitioners and stimulates healthy dialogue about the field, while remaining mindful of the breadth of bodywork backgrounds, beliefs, and modalities. In this issue, learn about the physical assessment and palpation of the psoas, explore if a no-tip policy is right for you, understand the implications of massage and temporomandibular joint disorders, learn about massage license reciprocity when moving out of state, and refresh your knowledge of the trapezius. This issue also includes information on compassion, bones as levers, spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis, and practice-based research networks.

The January February 2019 issue of Massage & Bodywork magazine features contributions from various authors including Laura Allen, Christy Cael, Kristin Coverly, Cyndi Dale, Erik Dalton, Allissa Haines, Ian Harvey, Ivy Hultquist, Liz Koch, Whitney Lowe, Til Luchau, Amy Andrews McMaster, Niki Munk, Joseph Muscolino, Thomas Myers, Douglas Nelson, Karrie Osborn, Heath and Nicole Reed, Michael Reynolds, Anita Smith, Ruth Werner, and Cindy Williams.

Massage & Bodywork magazine promotes professionalism among practitioners and stimulates healthy dialogue about the field, while remaining mindful of the breadth of bodywork backgrounds, beliefs, and modalities. In this issue, learn about yomassage, integrative anatomy, Sarga bodywork, and Essenian and Egyptian healing. This issue also includes a fascial dysfunction conversation with Leon Chaitow, tips on how to work with the jaw, and the importance of health promotion messaging in massage therapy.

Massage & Bodywork magazine promotes professionalism among practitioners and stimulates healthy dialogue about the field, while remaining mindful of the breadth of bodywork backgrounds, beliefs, and modalities. In this issue, learn about impostor syndrome, structural integration 2.0, stretching the neck, and how curiosity and real listening can lead you into deep discovery with your clients. This issue also includes information on honoring the client’s stress response, talkative clients, and disk pathologies.

The May-June 2019 issue of Massage & Bodywork magazine features contributions from various authors including Laura Allen, Christy Cael, Lauren Cates, Cyndi Dale, Erik Dalton, Allissa Haines, Ian Harvey, Kerry Jordan, Whitney Lowe, Til Luchau, Amy Andrews McMaster, Niki Munk, Joseph Muscolino, Thomas Myers, Douglas Nelson, Heath and Nicole Reed, Michael Reynolds, Ruth Werner, and Cindy Williams.

Massage & Bodywork magazine promotes professionalism among practitioners and stimulates healthy dialogue about the field, while remaining mindful of the breadth of bodywork backgrounds, beliefs, and modalities. In this issue, learn about CBD and massage, setting wellness goals with your clients, and techniques for stretching the piriformis. This issue also includes information on Fritz Smith and his Zero Balancing work, as well as side-lying techniques, COPD, and working with the hip’s rotator cuff.

The September/October 2019 issue of Massage & Bodywork magazine features contributions from various authors including Laura Allen, Lisa Bakewell, Christy Cael, Julie Crispin, Cyndi Dale, Erik Dalton, Allissa Haines, Ian Harvey, David Lauterstein, Whitney Lowe, Til Luchau, Amy Andrews McMaster, Niki Munk, Joseph Muscolino, Douglas Nelson, Karrie Osborn, Heath and Nicole Reed, Michael Reynolds, Diana Thompson, Ruth Werner, and Cindy Williams.

Massage & Bodywork magazine promotes professionalism among practitioners and stimulates healthy dialogue about the field, while remaining mindful of the breadth of bodywork backgrounds, beliefs, and modalities. In this issue, learn about working with pediatric patients in a hospital setting, how to administer tests for meniscus tears, and ethical standards in massage therapy. This issue also includes information on Pamela Miles’s premise that reiki is not energy medicine, as well as understanding assessment biomechanics, dealing with difficult clients, and working with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

Massage & Bodywork magazine promotes professionalism among practitioners and stimulates healthy dialogue about the field, while remaining mindful of the breadth of bodywork backgrounds, beliefs, and modalities. In this issue, learn about the biomechanics of tennis and golfer’s elbow, how to find the subscapularis, the value of using less lubricant in your sessions, the importance of boundaries and how to communicate about those boundaries, and how to adapt massage for clients with lightheadedness. This issue also includes information on the motion segment of the lumbar spine, the big toe’s place in the kinetic chain, and getting your finances in order.

The January February 2020 issue of Massage & Bodywork magazine features contributions from various authors including Laura Allen, Lisa Bakewell, Christy Cael, Lauren Cates, Sasha Chaitow, Cyndi Dale, Erik Dalton, Allison Denney, Allissa Haines, Peggy Lamb, David Lobenstine, Whitney Lowe, Til Luchau, Joseph Muscolino, Douglas Nelson, Heath and Nicole Reed, Michael Reynolds, Ruth Werner, and Cindy Williams.

Massage & Bodywork magazine promotes professionalism among practitioners and stimulates healthy dialogue about the field, while remaining mindful of the breadth of bodywork backgrounds, beliefs, and modalities. In this issue, learn how to prevent and handle instances when clients cross boundaries in the treatment room, how to work with clients who have service animals, setting up a wellness room, and working with clients who have trigeminal neuralgia. This issue also includes information on exploring tendon disorders, dealing with a client’s emotional release, and rethinking scoliosis.

The March April 2020 issue of Massage & Bodywork magazine features contributions from various authors including Laura Allen, Lisa Bakewell, Ben Benjamin, Kristen Burkholder, Christy Cael, Lauren Cal Cates, Sasha Chaitow, Cyndi Dale, Erik Dalton, Allison Denney, Allissa Haines, Kerry Jordan, Whitney Lowe, Til Luchau, Kate Mackinnon, Douglas Nelson, Heath and Nicole Reed, Michael Reynolds, Robyn Scherr, Ruth Werner, and Cindy Williams.

Massage & Bodywork magazine promotes professionalism among practitioners and stimulates healthy dialogue about the field, while remaining mindful of the breadth of bodywork backgrounds, beliefs, and modalities. In this issue, learn about COVID-19, its implications for massage therapy, how to emotionally and financially survive during a global pandemic, being in isolation, dealing with grief, as well as what it will look like when massage therapists return to work.

The April 2020 Special COVID Issue of Massage & Bodywork magazine features contributions from various authors including Laura Allen, Bob Benson, Cal Cates, Sasha Chaitow, Allison Denney, Allissa Haines, Karrie Osborn, Heath and Nicole Reed, Michael Reynolds, Les Sweeney, Julie Tudor, and Ruth Werner.

Massage & Bodywork magazine promotes professionalism among practitioners and stimulates healthy dialogue about the field, while remaining mindful of the breadth of bodywork backgrounds, beliefs, and modalities. In this issue, learn about endangerment sites and how to address them, join the discussion on if there are muscles that can’t be stretched, delivering deep pressure to clients, working with your clients using active engagement techniques, and the structural and energetic significance of the sacrum.

The May/June 2020 Special Issue of Massage & Bodywork magazine features contributions from various authors including Laura Allen, Christy Cael, Cal Cates, Sasha Chaitow, Cyndi Dale, Erik Dalton, Allison Denney, Allissa Haines, David Lobenstine, Whitney Lowe, Til Luchau, Joe Muscolino, Douglas Nelson, Heath and Nicole Reed, Michael Reynolds, and Ruth Werner.

Massage & Bodywork magazine promotes professionalism among practitioners and stimulates healthy dialogue about the field, while remaining mindful of the breadth of bodywork backgrounds, beliefs, and modalities. In this issue, learn about scar tissue and the impact your work can have on old wounds, COVID-19-related coagulopathy and how you may need to adapt your work with clients, the importance of talking about professional failures, and how to deliver contactless payments for your clients. Additional content includes a conversation on science, pseudoscience, and communication, as well as using bones as levers, chondromalacia, and intakes, informed consent, and treatment notes.

The July/August 2020 issue of Massage & Bodywork magazine features contributions from various authors including Laura Allen, Lisa Bakewell, Christy Cael, Lauren Cal Cates, Sasha Chaitow, Cyndi Dale, Erik Dalton, Allison Denney, Irene Diamond, Allissa Haines, Whitney Lowe, Til Luchau, Douglas Nelson, Heath and Nicole Reed, Michael Reynolds, Catherine Ryan, Robyn Scherr, Ruth Werner, and Cindy Williams.

Massage & Bodywork magazine promotes professionalism among practitioners and stimulates healthy dialogue about the field, while remaining mindful of the breadth of bodywork backgrounds, beliefs, and modalities. In this issue, learn the latest about COVID-19 complications and the implications for massage therapists, get the latest advice for prenatal and postpartum massage during the coronavirus pandemic, explore bodywork and water therapists, and join in the conversation: “Is the client always right?” This issue also includes information on avoiding making false claims, how to respond to client emotions, and an overview of muscle pathologies.

The September October 2020 issue of Massage & Bodywork magazine features contributions from various authors including Laura Allen, Christy Cael, Cal Cates, Cyndi Dale, Erik Dalton, Allison Denney, Allissa Haines, Kerry Jordan, Whitney Lowe, Til Luchau, Douglas Nelson, Heath and Nicole Reed, Michael Reynolds, Marybetts Sinclair, Ruth Werner, and Cindy Williams.

Massage & Bodywork magazine promotes professionalism among practitioners and stimulates healthy dialogue about the field, while remaining mindful of the breadth of bodywork backgrounds, beliefs, and modalities. In this issue, learn the latest about the value of combining manual and movement therapies, read the first results from the Palmer Study on palliative care massage, discover how to prepare for financial independence, and join in the conversation: “Can massage and bodywork combat the effects of racial stress?” This issue also includes information on scope of practice, arrhythmias, upper back pain, and intelligent fascia.

The November December 2020 issue of Massage & Bodywork magazine features contributions from various authors including Laura Allen, Christy Cael, Cal Cates, Sasha Chaitow, Cyndi Dale, Erik Dalton, Allison Denney, Allissa Haines, Ian Harvey, Whitney Lowe, Til Luchau, Joe Muscolino, Douglas Nelson, Heath and Nicole Reed, Michael Reynolds, Machelle Varma, Ruth Werner, and Cindy Williams.

Massage & Bodywork magazine promotes professionalism among practitioners and stimulates healthy dialogue about the field, while remaining mindful of the breadth of bodywork backgrounds, beliefs, and modalities. In this issue, learn the latest about pelvic floor dysfunction and restoring pelvic floor integrity, explore getting grounded with animals, read how to address tendon pathologies in the wrist and forearm, and join in the conversation about equity in massage therapy. This issue also includes information on lipedema, the tensor fasciae latae, avoiding boundary burnout, and the importance of SOAP charting.

The January February 2021 issue of Massage & Bodywork magazine features contributions from various authors including Laura Allen, Christy Cael, Cal Cates, Erik Dalton, Allison Denney, Allissa Haines, David Lobenstein, Amanda Long, Whitney Lowe, Til Luchau, Samantha Lynn, Lola Michelin, Thomas Myers, Douglas Nelson, Heath and Nicole Reed, Michael Reynolds, Machelle Varma, Ruth Werner, and Cindy Williams.

Massage & Bodywork magazine promotes professionalism among practitioners and stimulates healthy dialogue about the field, while remaining mindful of the breadth of bodywork backgrounds, beliefs, and modalities. In this issue, learn how the concept of scapulohumeral rhythm and kinematic chains of motion are interwoven, discover ways you can improve the air quality in your treatment room, get tips on 2020 tax updates that may affect you, and hear what it takes to open a new business successfully. This issue also includes information on client confidentiality, compartment syndrome, addressing stiff hips and low-back pain, and the value of client expectations in the therapeutic work you deliver.

The March/April 2021 issue of Massage & Bodywork magazine features contributions from various authors including Laura Allen, Lisa Bakewell, Christy Cael, Cal Cates, Sasha Chaitow, Erik Dalton, Allison Denney, Allissa Haines, Whitney Lowe, Til Luchau, Joe Muscolino, Douglas Nelson, Heath and Nicole Reed, Michael Reynolds, Julie Tudor, Ruth Werner, and Cindy Williams.

Want to fill your schedule with repeat clients? Join Kristin to discover how to create an exceptional client retention plan for your practice. We’ll cover all aspects of retention from strategies to increase your immediate rebooking rate to ongoing marketing campaigns for current clients. This step-by-step guide will give you the tools you need to keep clients coming back!

This webinar is 75 minutes in length (1 CE hour).

This webinar was featured during the 2018 ABMP CE Summit: Common Client Conditions. Have you or your clients experienced low-back pain? Chances are high that you both have. Experts estimate that as much as 80% of the population will experience a back problem at some point in their lives. This dynamic and fun course focuses on understanding the many competing forces that pull on the pelvis and how each contributes to lower back pain. Join Eric to learn Intelligent Deep-Tissue Massage techniques for seven areas of the body that can contribute to this common condition. You’ll be able to immediately apply the concepts and techniques from this course to your work with clients with pain in the low back.

Join Allison Denney of Rebel Massage for a dynamic webinar that takes an in-depth look at the muscles, structures, and common dysfunctions of the lumbar region while putting the “fun” in functional anatomy. Detailed muscles painted on a client show the relationship between where the muscles are in the low back, what they do, and how they most often create a pain response. Explore examples of how each of the three common low-back issues—overuse injuries, muscles strains, and trigger points—occurs and learn practical treatment approaches you can use with your clients today.

This webinar introduces palpation and hands-on techniques to support your work with two of the most commonly injured areas of the body: the shoulder and knee. Learn to palpate key structures in the shoulder and knee with confidence as Dr. Benjamin walks you through detailed anatomy palpation techniques for both areas of the body. Deep tissue muscular therapy techniques for the shoulder and myofascial techniques for the knee will enhance your ability to treat clients with pain and injury effectively.

This webinar is a sampler of a full-day, hands-on workshop offered by The Benjamin Institute.

Recommendations: Download the course handout by clicking "View course slides" below. Arrange to have a client present and follow along with Dr. Benjamin as he teaches anatomy palpation and hands-on techniques for the shoulder and knee!

This webinar is 83 minutes in length (1.5 CE hours).

Ayurveda is an ancient Indian healing tradition that has been practiced for more than five thousand years and continues to influence the world today. This course explores Ayurveda’s holistic framework and foundational concepts to help you understand the complex nature of health and wellness. In addition, this course introduces you to the basics of the chakra system and concludes with a guided meditation. These ayurvedic concepts will help bring a holistic perspective to your practice.

Please download the course handout and slides to follow along effectively with the presentation.

This course is 90 minutes in length.

Networking can be a scary word to some massage therapists. It doesn’t have to be! Join Michael Reynolds and Allissa Haines of Massage Business Blueprint to learn how to expand your massage practice through events, groups, and other networking activities. You’ll gain practical tools to determine what type of networking events to attend, how to meet people, and how to fit networking into your schedule. Topics include public speaking, elevator pitches, being memorable, follow up etiquette, and getting referrals.

This ethics course addresses the critical topic of sexual misconduct in massage therapy. Viewers will learn the definition and history of sexual abuse, how to maintain sexual boundaries in draping and quality of touch, and the warning signs of predator therapists. Ethical guidelines for schools, spas, clinic owners, therapists, and clients are given to prevent sexual, physical, and emotional harm in massage therapy. Use this webinar as your guide to create a safe and ethical practice.

Read Dr. Benjamin's accompanying Massage & Bodywork magazine article, "Massage Therapy and Sexual Misconduct" in the September/October 2017 issue.

This webinar was featured during the 2018 ABMP CE Summit: Common Client Conditions. Fibromyalgia syndrome is the second-most commonly diagnosed musculoskeletal disorder in the United States—only osteoarthritis is diagnosed more often. Yet, little is well understood about this common condition—including that it turns out NOT to be a musculoskeletal disorder. This course will examine current thinking about the etiology of fibromyalgia and implications for the safe and effective practice of massage therapy for our clients who live with this challenging condition.

Learn more from Ruth Werner through ABMP's Pocket Pathology quick-reference app with key information on nearly 200 common pathologies!

Our feet hold great healing power—a secret that ancient civilizations have known and practiced for centuries. This dynamic webinar introduces you to the benefits and philosophy of foot reflexology and highlights how the modality works with both the physical and energetic bodies. Review the anatomy of the foot—including the fascia, bony landmarks, and muscles—before following along on your own feet as the instructor teaches each of the 34 foot reflexology points in order, covering the physical location of, and technique used on, each point.

This course is the first in a pairing of two webinars.

This course is 83 minutes in length (1.5 CE hours).

Build on the knowledge from the “Foot Reflexology 1 & 2: Benefits, Philosophy, and the 34 Points” webinar as you begin to work with clients’ feet. Learn along with the instructor as he teaches how to locate the reflexology points on a client’s feet, the proper technique to stimulate each foot reflexology point, and the correct order to work the points. You’ll also learn rituals and techniques to enhance the session. After this webinar, you’ll be ready to incorporate foot reflexology techniques into any session!

This course is the second in a pairing of two webinars.

Are you thinking about incorporating insurance billing into your practice? Join Diana Thompson for this comprehensive course from 2018 that covers topics including the questions to ask yourself and others before you begin, the common types of insurance, CPT codes, charting and recordkeeping requirements, how to appeal denials, and the ethics of billing.

This course is 72 minutes in length (1 CE hour).

This course teaches therapists of all experience levels a safe and effective approach for optimal body mechanics when performing Intelligent Deep-Tissue Massage. A special emphasis is placed on body mechanics and ergonomics as you learn to work comfortably in both standing and seated positions. This engaging course introduces simple postures, movements, and approaches to extend your career, avoid injury and burnout, and provide a stellar client experience.

This course is the first in a series of three webinars.

This course teaches therapists of all experience levels a safe and effective approach for addressing the upper body when performing Intelligent Deep-Tissue Massage. A special emphasis is placed on body mechanics and ergonomics as you learn to work comfortably in both standing and seated postures while working the upper body. Includes demonstrations of techniques for the pectoralis major and minor, anterior deltoid, shoulder girdle, back, and flexors and extensors of the forearm.

This course is the second in a series of three webinars.

This course teaches therapists of all experience levels a safe and effective approach for addressing the lower body when performing Intelligent Deep-Tissue Massage in standing and seated postures. Learn techniques for the lower body with the client in prone, sidelying, and supine positions while placing a special emphasis on body mechanics and ergonomics. The purpose of the class is to introduce simple, but effective techniques a therapist may employ to extend their career and avoid injury and burnout, while ensuring the therapist provides a stellar client experience.

This course is the third in a series of three webinars.

Ashiatsu therapy—barefoot massage—has been practiced around the world for centuries. This unique course introduces you to the history of barefoot massage, shares the origin of DeepFeet Ashiatsu therapy, and teaches you several seated barefoot massage techniques you can perform without installing overhead parallel bars. You’ll receive a wonderful introduction to Ashiatsu and using your feet in a whole new way!

This course is the first in a pairing of two courses.

Additional equipment needed for seated Ashiatsu therapy: sturdy stool and wall access.

ABMP members save 10% off any live or e-learning DeepFeet course! Use promo code ABMP10 at www.DeepFeet.com.

This webinar is 56 minutes in length (1 CE hour).

Are ready to start thinking differently about the way you perform deep-tissue massage techniques? This introduction to Ashiatsu DeepFeet Bar Therapy includes flowing demonstrations of Ashiatsu and Ashi Thai techniques delivered with the feet while standing and using overhead parallel bars. Learn core concepts, foot care, and take an in-depth look at specific techniques with the client in prone, supine, and sidelying positions. The foundational knowledge you gain from this webinar will help you determine if you have an interest in pursuing additional training in this unique modality.

This course is the second in a pairing of two courses. This is an introductory course. Please do not attempt to perform standing Ashiatsu techniques without additional training. 

ABMP members save 10% off any live or e-learning DeepFeet course! Use promo code ABMP10 at www.DeepFeet.com.

This webinar is 61 minutes in length (1 CE hour).

Join Healwell’s Cal Cates and Kerry Jordan to learn about a massage therapist’s role in hospital-based massage therapy, including working with other health-care professionals, medical charting, appropriate levels of pressure, and body mechanics around a hospital bed. The course includes a demonstration of hands-on techniques for the shoulder, face, and hand, as well as video of how to safely and effectively maneuver in a hospital room. This in-depth introduction will help you determine if you’re interested in additional training in this unique and rewarding modality.

Read the presenters' accompanying Massage & Bodywork magazine article, "Pediatric Patients," in the November/December 2019 issue.

This webinar was filmed on location at the 2017 World Massage Festival.

Learn the benefits and fundamental techniques of vacuum manual therapy as you watch Anita Shannon of ACE Massage Cupping & MediCupping demonstrate a full-body massage cupping session while sharing core concepts and client case studies. The foundational knowledge you gain from this webinar will help you determine if this is a modality you’re interested in exploring further.

For additional information, read Shannon’s article, “Medical Applications for Vacuum Manual Therapy” in the July/August 2016 issue of Massage & Bodywork magazine.

Every person in massage workplace or school environments must maintain the highest sexual ethics. This webinar aims to provide clarity on key terms and concepts related to sexual innuendo, sexual harassment, sexual assault, sexual abuse, and sexual exploitation. This content is for all massage profession stakeholders, including massage practitioners, clinic owners, managers, and staff, as well as massage school administrators, faculty, and students. With a common, informed language, the massage profession can hold honest, meaningful discussions about how to protect clients and each other from unwanted, inappropriate, or violent sexual behaviors.

This course is the first in a series of four webinars.

Unfortunately, the unethical behavior of a few massage therapists tarnishes the whole profession and may cause many potential clients to avoid massage and miss out on the benefits that a professional, therapeutic massage can impart. While most people working in the massage profession hold high ethical standards, all of us can do more to protect ourselves and clients from sexual misconduct. In this course, we’ll work together to learn how to demonstrate the highest level of professionalism, empower clients during sessions, report sexual impropriety, respond to client concerns about the safety of massage, and encourage others in the profession to step up to maintain sexual ethics in the massage profession. 

This course is the second in a series of four webinars.

This webinar is 68 minutes in length (1 CE hour).

Most clients are seeking massage for reasons that are healthy and appropriate. But what do you do when a client seeking massage for the wrong reasons ends up on your massage table and starts to cross your ethical boundaries? Also, is it possible that massage practitioners sometimes overreact to client behaviors that are inappropriate but not dangerous? Finally, what about clinic managers or massage supervisors that act inappropriately or fail to safeguard the practitioners that work for them against sexual harassment? How do you report sexual harassment and what whistleblower protections exist? In this session, we'll tackle these complex questions and discuss ways we can keep ourselves safe as massage practitioners.

View the course handout for additional information on reporting sexual harassment and whistleblower protections.

This course is the third in a series of four webinars.

This course is 73 minutes in length (1 CE hour).

We’ve seen the headlines. We know that sexual misconduct and sexual assault are happening in the massage profession and on postsecondary campuses. Based on the national statistics, which are alarming, you can bet that someone on your campus is behaving in a way that is sexually inappropriate, harassing, or even violent. In this webinar, we examine best practices for promoting sexual ethics on campus. We define terms, talk about legality, outline sound policies, describe informal and formal complaint procedures, and develop ways to educate students, faculty, and staff. Our goal is clear: a safe school environment and a safer massage profession.

This course is the fourth in a series of four webinars.

This webinar is 73 minutes in length (1 CE hour).

This webinar was featured during the 2018 ABMP CE Summit: Common Client Conditions. Join Til Luchau in this engaging and practical webinar to learn new ways to assess and address sciatic pain. Drawing from up-to-date perspectives and recent research on pain and neuroinflammation, Til walks us through a chapter from his best-selling book, Advanced Myofascial Techniques Volume II, and shares valuable tips, clear concepts, spectacular 3D animations, and multiple hands-on techniques from actual training sessions.

Click the "Handout" link to access a course outline. Go to http://a-t.tv/abmp18s to download the free follow-along handouts, or get the optional ebook that includes an entire chapter from Advanced Myofascial Techniques Volume II, as well as a mini-manual, webinar anatomy slides, and note organizer with additional related techniques. 

Want to increase your ability to palpate the psoas major with precision and confidence? Join Dr. Joe Muscolino for a comprehensive course on palpation of the psoas major. Learn to palpate the muscle’s femoral belly with the client in supine and sidelying positions, and the abdominal belly with the client in supine, sidelying, seated, and prone positions.

Read Dr. Muscolino’s accompanying Massage & Bodywork magazine article, “Palpation of the Psoas Major” in the January/February 2019 issue.

This webinar is 62 minutes in length (1 CE hour).

This webinar was featured during the 2018 ABMP CE Summit: Common Client Conditions.

The time has come for an integrative approach to pain management. The dangers of both opioids and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are in the spotlight, and massage therapy is finally on the recommended list for alternative, evidence-based modalities for pain management. This timely course addresses the current focus on the biopsychosocial aspects of treating pain; the full range of massage, movement, and mindfulness techniques most bodyworkers have within their scope; and the responsibilities and expectations of working on a multidisciplinary team. Leave the webinar with a deeper understanding of how to work with clients with chronic pain and an action plan for working with an integrative health-care team.

Most massage therapists have no idea how much money they need to retire comfortably. Why? Because retirement planning can be scary, intimidating and, well, boring! Join Michael Reynolds from Massage Business Blueprint to learn the basics of how much you'll need to save to retire at your desired age, the magic of compound interest, types of retirement accounts, benefits of pre- and post-tax accounts, and how to choose the right investments. This course will get you excited and prepared to fast-track your own retirement savings.

Read Massage Business Blueprint's accompanying Massage & Bodywork magazine article, "The Definitive Retirement Plan for MTs" in the May/June 2018 issue.

This webinar is 60 minutes in length (1 CE hour).

Save your wrists! Join instructor Sunny Klaber for a dynamic self-care webinar that focuses on career-saving wrist and upper-body techniques. Follow along as she guides you through exercises to enhance your strength, balance, and stability including demonstrations of the Anusara Universal Principles of Alignment, a series of shoulder stretches, and a yoga flow for the upper body with a focus on the wrists and shoulders. You’ll finish this webinar with techniques you can immediately integrate into your self-care routine.

We recommend you have the following materials available to follow along with the instructor: rice pack, yoga mat, yoga strap, and wall access for stretches.

Shin splints is a common repetitive strain injury that can cause significant pain and discomfort for clients. This engaging course gives therapists the information and techniques they need to understand and treat this complex condition. Join Eric Stephenson to learn the common causes of shin pain, the four different types of shin splints, effective Intelligent Deep-Tissue Massage techniques (in prone, supine, and sidelying positions) to address the soft tissue, optimal body mechanics, and self-care techniques for the lower leg.

This course is 60 minutes in length (1 CE hour).

Join Dr. Joe Muscolino for a comprehensive course on stretching the neck. Learn to effectively stretch the six major functional muscle groups in the neck: the flexors and extensors in the sagittal plane, the right lateral flexors and left lateral flexors in the frontal plane, and the right rotators and left rotators in the transverse plane. An emphasis is placed on optimal body mechanics and client positioning while performing multiple techniques including static stretching, dynamic stretching, pin and stretch, contract-relax, and agonist-contract.

Read Dr. Muscolino’s accompanying Massage & Bodywork magazine article, “Stretching the Neck” in the May/June 2019 issue.

Join Dr. Joe Muscolino for a comprehensive course on stretching the piriformis. Learn to effectively palpate the muscle and implement several different stretches with the client in the prone and supine positions. An emphasis is placed on optimal body mechanics and client positioning while performing these stretches and additional techniques including pin and stretch, contract relax, and agonist contract.

Read Dr. Muscolino’s accompanying Massage & Bodywork magazine article, “Stretching the Piriformis” in the September/October 2019 issue.

This webinar was featured during the 2018 ABMP CE Summit: Common Client Conditions.

Overuse injuries of the upper extremity are common and occur as a result of many recreational activities and occupations—including massage therapy. This group of problems of the shoulder, elbow, forearm, and hand is critical for practitioners to understand. Join Whitney Lowe as he uses stunning 3D anatomy images and video to explore the key anatomical and biomechanical factors that can lead to seven upper extremity injuries including shoulder impingement, posterior rotator cuff injury, bicipital tendinosis, epicondylitis, pronator teres syndrome, cubital tunnel syndrome, and carpal tunnel syndrome. You’ll also learn key assessment and treatment strategies to help get clients back to healthy activity as soon as possible.

Join Dr. Joe Muscolino for a comprehensive course on thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS). Learn to distinguish between the four types of TOS—anterior scalene syndrome, costoclavicular syndrome, pectoralis minor syndrome, and cervical rib thoracic outlet syndrome—through an in-depth look at the signs, symptoms, and causes of each type. Enhance your ability to assess and treat clients with TOS through orthopedic assessments, palpation, massage techniques, and stretching.

Read Dr. Muscolino’s accompanying Massage & Bodywork magazine article, “The Brachial Plexus and Thoracic Outlet Syndrome” in the November/December 2017 issue.

This webinar is 67 minutes in length (1 CE hour).

This webinar was featured during the 2018 ABMP CE Summit: Common Client Conditions. Rotator cuff injuries are common but can be complicated to assess and treat. Dr. Ben Benjamin teaches this highly technical and complex material with a clear and accessible step-by-step approach. Follow along as he teaches anatomy palpation of the rotator cuff tendons, assessment tests to determine the injured muscle or tendon, friction therapy techniques, and injury rehabilitation protocols to address the most commonly injured structures in the shoulder. This information-packed webinar will prepare you to assess and treat the four common rotator cuff injuries.

Recommendation: download the course handout by clicking "View course slides" below. 

This webinar is 85 minutes in length (1.5 CE hours).

Inflammation is involved in most musculoskeletal issues including joint pain, muscle soreness, many neuropathies, chronic pain, and more. But working with inflammation can be a real puzzle: sometimes hands-on work can clearly help; other times, massage or bodywork can worsen inflammatory reactions. Join Til Luchau as he helps clarify inflammation’s complexity and offers specific techniques, goals, and strategies for working with different types of inflammation. Topics include understanding inflammation’s progression and resolution; types of inflammation; and pain, the brain, and inflammation.

Before the webinar, click the “Handout” link to download the course outline and CALMS worksheet. Go to http://a-t.tv/abmp18i to subscribe and receive the free PDF of the webinar slideshow or get the optional ebook with additional resources (both from Advanced-Trainings.com).

Read Til’s accompanying Massage & Bodywork magazine article, “Understanding Inflammation’s Progression” in the November/December 2018 issue.

This webinar is 71 minutes in length (1 CE hour).

Active engagement techniques incorporate active client movement along with specific massage treatment applications and can be applied to virtually any region of the body. Not only are they a great way to treat pain and injury conditions, they are also an excellent method for increasing the effectiveness of pressure during deep massage applications, making less work for the therapist.

Read Whitney Lowe's accompanying Massage & Bodywork magazine article, "Active Engagement Techniques," in the May/June 2010 issue. 
 

This webinar is sponsored by Massage Envy.

This webinar was filmed on location at the 2016 World Massage Festival.

This webinar introduces the principles of Active Isolated Stretching (AIS) and teaches AIS techniques for the lower and upper body. You’ll learn to encourage active client participation to perform stretches that increase the flow of blood and oxygen to overcontracted and overstretched tissues. Demonstrations are shown with the client on the table and in the seated position.

This is a sample of Dr. Ben Benjamin’s accelerated, full-day course in muscular therapy for injury. Participants will be introduced to detailed palpation anatomy, as well as several challenging myofascial and massage techniques designed to support treatment of the most common soft-tissue injuries in the neck and low-back regions. These techniques are advanced variations on the Benjamin System of Muscular Therapy, targeting injured ligaments, muscles, and tendons.

This webinar is 75 minutes in length.

Join Douglas Nelson for an enlightening exploration of the fascinating (and sometimes frustrating) complexity of the shoulder girdle. After a brief functional anatomy review, learn how to perform fast and highly effective assessment techniques for common shoulder problems. These clinical reasoning skills will immediately increase your effectiveness directing treatment to the correct structure.

Join somatic pioneer Judith Aston as she presents "Aston Kinetics for Fascial Integration," a webinar rooted in the Aston paradigm, offering a new math application for the body in motion. Learn how to use the earth's forces, gravity, and ground reaction force to improve your practice and your body. Find your neutral for now and discover how to move the three-dimensional body with slack and stretch.

Explore how to present the facts while also using art and intuition in all types of courses. Discuss how to anchor the more intuitive with keen observation and evidence-based guidelines, learn to engage both sides of your students' brains for deeper learning and more fun, and discuss creative strategies to spice up and ground all areas of your classes and your school's curriculum.

This webinar was filmed on location at the 2016 World Massage Festival.

The Bamboo-Fusion massage treatment is an innovative way to provide relaxation or deep-tissue, full-body massage on the table, while reducing stress on your hands. In this webinar, you’ll learn a new way to effleurage and petrissage with warmed bamboo tools that are different shapes and sizes. The history of the modality will be discussed and we’ll review contraindications, and the proper care and cleaning of the bamboo tool sets. You’ll learn proper body mechanics to help deliver a deep-tissue massage that is easy on your hands. Using the bamboo tools, you will be able to increase your client load, give longer sessions without fatigue, and save your thumbs and wrists from repetitive use injuries.

This is the first course in a two-part series.

This webinar was filmed on location at the 2016 World Massage Festival.

The Bamboo-Fusion massage treatment is an innovative way to provide relaxation or deep-tissue, full-body massage on the table while reducing stress on the therapist’s hands. In this presentation, the second in a two-part series, you’ll learn how to do both facial massage and chair massage using warmed bamboo tools that are different shapes and sizes. You’ll be taught proper body mechanics to help deliver a deeply relaxing face massage and chair massage. Bamboo-Fusion massage is easy on your hands so you will be able to increase the amount of clients you see in practice, give longer sessions without fatigue, and also save your thumbs and wrists from repetitive use injuries.

This course is the second in a two-course series.

The true measure of success of any massage program is the ability of its graduates to work in the field as professionals. After completing this webinar, participants will be able to create relationships with local employers, establish and maintain job listings, prepare students to make smart career choices, and explore the benefits of hosting on-site and off-site job fairs.

The ultimate goal of the admissions process at any massage school is to enroll students who are constructive contributors to a functional school culture, can benefit and complete the program, and who will represent the school and the massage profession positively after graduation. This webinar explores best practices for admissions processes and presents ideas for overcoming common admissions challenges.

In this first webinar in ABMP's Body-Mind webinar series, Til Luchau leads a stimulating inquiry into some of today's leading-edge body-mind theories, with an emphasis on practical applications for hands-on manual therapy. Using the latest research in the fields of connective tissue, neuroscience, pain management, and somatics, we'll examine simple but powerfully tangible ways to include body-mind awareness in a massage therapy or bodywork context. This information is relevant to those who work with chronic pain, emotional well-being, stress, and any other issues with a body-mind dimension.

This webinar was recorded during a live event. Some aspects of the live course are not available in this recorded version.

Learn about the ways hands-on work helps us deal with the physical and emotional effects of stress, overwhelm, and over-busyness. This information is relevant to all types of stress-from mild, everyday hectic states to more severe trauma, and even PTSD. Join Til Luchau for the second webinar in this Body-Mind webinar series.

This webinar was recorded during a live event. Some aspects of the live course are not available in this recorded version.

As hands-on practitioners, we usually get amazing results with our work. Nevertheless, there are symptoms that are outside our scope, or simply don't seem to change. How can our work be helpful, even when our clients' symptoms don't go away? How can we support clients finding their own meaning and their own way through their struggles? What can we offer to clients who are dealing with chronic pain, complex or serious diagnoses, or apparently "intractable" issues? Join Til Luchau for the third webinar in this Body-Mind series.

This webinar was recorded during a live event. Some aspects of the live course are not available in this recorded version.

Why do we sometimes feel our clients' emotions as our own (and why do they feel ours)? Is this harmful, or potentially helpful? What do brain science, shamanism, and bodywork folklore have to say about empathy, emotions, and boundaries? How can we best take care of ourselves, and serve our clients? Join Til Luchau for the fourth webinar in this Body-Mind series.

This webinar was recorded during a live event. Some aspects of the live course are not available in this recorded version.

A radical revision of conventional ideas about pain is currently underway. Innovative researchers are suggesting that pain has even more to do with context, expectations, and other "mental" factors than previously thought. Of course, philosophers, mystics, and yogis have said this for years. So, is pain all in the head? And, even more to the point, what can manual therapy practitioners learn and do to help our clients with ongoing pain? Join Til Luchau for the fifth webinar in this engaging Body-Mind series.

This webinar was recorded during a live event. Some aspects of the live course are not available in this recorded version.

Our understanding of the mechanisms and effects of trauma have increased tremendously in the last 20 years. What do hands-on therapists need to know about the body and brain's response to trauma? From mild everyday overwhelm, to physical and psychological trauma, to full-on PTSD, we'll examine ways we can make sure our work is helpful to those who have experienced some kind of trauma or traumatic event.

This webinar was recorded during a live event. Some aspects of the live course are not available in this recorded version.

Please note: we experienced some audio technical difficulties during the recording of this webinar and you may hear periodic background noise from a second microphone. 

Anatomy Trains Myofascial Meridians is a revolutionary way of understanding the body's myofascial patterning. In this webinar, Thomas Myers overviews the process of BodyReading: how it works in practice and how to get started in making useful assessments.

This webinar was recorded during a live event. Some aspects of the live course are not available in this recorded version.

Read Thomas Myers' accompanying Massage & Bodywork magazine articles, “Visual Assessment of Postural Patterns” in the March/April 2011 issue and "Subjective Elements" in the May/June 2011 issue.

In this second webinar of the series, we explore visual assessment of the Superficial Front Line-the most sensitive and delicate of the Anatomy Trains lines. Explore the restrictions on breathing, emotion, and head-forward posture, which tension in the Superficial Front Line sling can create.

Read Thomas Myers' accompanying Massage & Bodywork magazine article, “The Superficial Front Line” in the July/August 2011 issue.

In this third webinar of the series, we explore visual assessment of the Superficial Back Line. The Superficial Back Line connects and protects the entire posterior surface of the body like a carapace from the bottom of the foot to the top of the head in two pieces-toes to knees and knees to brow.

This webinar was recorded during a live event. Some aspects of the live course are not available in this recorded version.

Read Thomas Myers' accompanying Massage & Bodywork magazine article, “The Superficial Back Line” in the September/October 2011 issue.

In this fourth webinar of the series, we explore visual assessment of the Lateral Lines. The Lateral Lines are out on the body's sides-east and west.

This webinar was recorded during a live event. Some aspects of the live course are not available in this recorded version.

Read Thomas Myers' accompanying Massage & Bodywork magazine article, “The Lateral Lines” in the November/December 2011 issue.

In this fifth webinar of the series, we explore visual assessment of the Spiral Line. The overall movement function of the Spiral Line is to create and mediate spirals and rotations in the body and to steady the trunk and leg to keep it from folding into rotational collapse.

This webinar was recorded during a live event. Some aspects of the live course are not available in this recorded version.

Read Thomas Myers' accompanying Massage & Bodywork magazine article, “The Spiral Line” in the January/February 2012 issue.

In this sixth webinar of the series with Thomas Myers, we explore visual assessment of the Arm Lines. Identify four distinct myofascial meridians that run from the axial skeleton to the four quadrants of the arm and four 'sides' of the hand: namely the thumb, little finger, palm, and the back of the hand.

This webinar was recorded during a live event. Some aspects of the live course are not available in this recorded version.

Read Thomas Myers' accompanying Massage & Bodywork magazine article, “The Arm Lines” in the March/April 2012 issue.

In this seventh and last webinar of the series, we explore the Deep Front Line as described in Thomas Myers' Anatomy Trains text. Learn how the Deep Front Line plays a major role in the body's support: lifting the inner arch; stabilizing each segment of the legs; supporting the lumbar spine from the front; and stabilizing the chest while allowing the expansion and relaxation of breathing.

This webinar was recorded during a live event. Some aspects of the live course are not available in this recorded version.

Read Thomas Myers' accompanying Massage & Bodywork magazine article, “The Deep Front Line” in the May/June 2012 issue.

This webinar was filmed on location at the 2016 World Massage Festival.

This webinar will familiarize the massage therapist with the medical condition of Parkinson’s disease, which is becoming more and more common as baby boomers become the largest segment of the American population. You’ll learn about the pathophysiology of the condition, learn about treatment modifications and adaptations, and see a demonstration of a massage done on a Parkinson’s client.

Massage therapy is a physically challenging career that involves many body stresses. However, the human body has great potential for increased health in its musculoskeletal and cardiovascular system. When we build our strength and stamina, we notice a number of benefits including more earning potential and a reduced risk of injury. In this one-hour webinar, we work with fitness coach Burt Henry to identify ways to improve musculoskeletal and cardiovascular health.

Please note: there were technical difficulties with the sound during filming. You will hear background static in some sections of the webinar.

Emotional intelligence activities used in massage classrooms can help improve learning environments, student-teacher interactions, and grade point average. This webinar takes a closer look at the use of emotional intelligence building as a way to enhance learning environments.

Explore the roles of culture and community in massage school, identify shared stories, goals, and values across your campus, assess the environment, traditions, and awards that make your school unique, and develop practical ways to strengthen your school culture and community.

Tracy Walton discusses issues related to oncology massage, including chemotherapy considerations and client interview questions. Gayle MacDonald discusses the importance of proper intakes and other basic considerations relevant to chair massage at cancer-related special events.

Join Thomas Myers for an engaging discussion of the Anatomy Trains, a revolutionary map that brings fascia, muscle, and movement together in a sensible and usable way. In this webinar, quickly review all of the myofascial meridian lines and explore more in depth the first four lines (Back, Front, Lateral, and Spiral) by looking at the clinical applications and treatment strategies of each.

Ben Benjamin explains the three most common causes of neck pain and headaches. Learn how to perform precise assessment tests to detect each of these problems, as well as simple and effective self-treatment techniques that can reduce, prevent, and even eliminate head and neck pain.

Use this link to view the "Guidelines for Friction Therapy" video that Dr. Benjamin refers to in this webinar.

Learn how to build a successful massage practice even in a tough economy. Felicia Brown provides massage therapists with plenty of ideas for energizing their practice and improving their level of service to clients. By understanding the motivations of clients, you will be empowered to increase referrals and appointment bookings and improve your overall client relationships and communications.

Instructors lead change at a school by creating new curriculum, developing new community outreach, implementing new procedures, and taking their programs to the next level academically. Motivating positive change within students is their most important impact of all. This webinar with ABMP Education Director Anne Williams explores ways to facilitate positive change in ourselves as educators, in our schools, and most significantly in classroom dynamics and individual students.

This webinar was featured during the 2016 ABMP Head & Neck Summit. There are more than 220 reasons you could have a headache. Join Dr. Ben Benjamin for a detailed look at headache pain including the anatomy of the head and neck and the causes of muscle tension, migraine, cluster, sinus, rebound, and ligament-injury headaches. Hands-on content includes assessment tests and techniques.

This webinar was featured during the 2016 ABMP Head & Neck Summit. Neck pain is a prominent problem for many clients and neck pain complaints can become complicated and chronic due to the biomechanical complexity of the neck and its kinetic chain. Understanding—and being able to evaluate—your client’s problem is paramount to effective treatment. In this webinar, Whitney Lowe discusses the key anatomical factors of common pathologies in the head and neck region. He teaches assessment strategies and primary treatment processes to address a wide variety of pain and injury conditions in this area. These clinical skills have wide-ranging applications from sports or work injuries to overall wellness massage.

Noted Anatomy Trains author and educator, Thomas Myers, shares his discoveries of the human body through dissection. Myers believes that exploring the human form is one of the most certain ways of confirming or disproving bodywork theories. In this webinar, developed in partnership with Massage & Bodywork magazine, Myers illuminates the wonders of the body and helps us connect these wonders to our massage and bodywork practices.

This webinar was featured during the 2016 ABMP Head & Neck Summit. Rejuvenate the skin, clear congestion, and calm the mind with the unique synergy of techniques for the face, head, and neck from modalities across the globe. Learn a self-care sequence, as well as a protocol to use with clients that includes a soothing and effective fusion of ayurvedic, Thai, Chinese, Japanese, craniosacral, and lymphatic drainage techniques that work together to help alleviate tension, headaches, sinus congestion, and TMJ pain.

Join ABMP Director of Professional Education Kristin Coverly and learn how to use ancient theories to enhance the way you run your Western massage therapy practice. You will be inspired to look at your practice from an Eastern point of view and shift the way you manage your business to create balance and prosperity. Explore how each of the Five Elements relates to a different aspect of your business and how to balance those, and examine how strengths and weaknesses in one aspect of your business affect all other areas.

Discover how soft tissue approaches affect specific muscle function and overall performance. Learn how soft tissue techniques can affect aspects of athletic performance such as endurance, muscle strength/muscle inhibition, muscle flexibility, muscle activation patterns, proprioception, and balance.

Aromatherapy is the art and science of healing body, mind, and spirit with natural plant essences called essential oils. Aromatic plants hold meanings, developed over time, from the qualities assigned to them from cultures around the world. Learn about using essential oils for common conditions, and explore the spiritual meanings of plants.

This course is 2 hours and 26 minutes in length (2.5 CE hours). *Please note: Arkansas and Mississippi only accept 2 CE hours for this course.

We invite your most expanded self to join us as we experience and collaborate with practical presencing tools! Learn to practice creative presencing, body-centered intelligence, and "loop of awareness" techniques to refresh yourself and run your practice on pure, positive energy. Feel yourself grounded in space as you build your unique body map to see yourself and your clients as whole, complete, and resourceful.

Designed for massage and bodywork practitioners, this engaging and interactive webinar series uses real-life scenarios to give participants a new understanding about the power and potential of the client/practitioner relationship.  In Part 1, Til Luchau identifies power differentials in the therapeutic relationship and determines how practitioner power can be used most effectively for positive therapeutic outcomes.

This webinar was recorded during a live event. Some aspects of the live course (homework, private discussion group, etc.) are not available in this recorded version.

Designed for massage and bodywork practitioners, this engaging and interactive webinar series uses real-life scenarios to give participants a new understanding about the power and potential of the client/practitioner relationship. In Part 2, Til Luchau defines boundaries and lists 3 functions of boundaries and 4 practitioner boundary styles. He also explains how these boundary types and styles impact the therapeutic relationship.

This webinar was recorded during a live event. Some aspects of the live course (homework, private discussion group, etc.) are not available in this recorded version.

Designed for massage and bodywork practitioners, this engaging and interactive webinar series uses real-life scenarios to give participants a new understanding about the power and potential of the client/practitioner relationship. In Part 3, Til defines transference and countertransference, as well as explains how both impact the therapeutic relationship.

This webinar was recorded during a live event. Some aspects of the live course (homework, private discussion group, etc.) are not available in this recorded version.

Designed for massage and bodywork practitioners, this engaging and interactive webinar series uses real-life scenarios to give participants a new understanding about the power and potential of the client/practitioner relationship. In Part 4, Til Luchau evaluates scope of practice and determines when it is best to refer out, terminate the therapeutic relationship, and to communicate new agreements with clients.

This webinar was recorded during a live event. Some aspects of the live course (homework, private discussion group, etc.) are not available in this recorded version.

Designed for massage and bodywork practitioners, this engaging and interactive webinar series uses real-life scenarios to give participants a new understanding about the power and potential of the client/practitioner relationship. In Part 5, Til Luchau defines and describes the various client/therapist and therapist/therapist relationships, what their boundaries are, and how to effectively negotiate these relationships.

This webinar was recorded during a live event. Some aspects of the live course (homework, private discussion group, etc.) are not available in this recorded version.

Designed for massage and bodywork practitioners, this engaging and interactive webinar series uses real-life scenarios to give participants a new understanding about the power and potential of the client/practitioner relationship. In Part 6, Til Luchau prompts the learner to review one's attitude toward money and explain how this attitude impacts negotiations in the therapeutic relationship.  He places a specific emphasis on receiving money, raising rates, and determining the value of one's work.

This webinar was recorded during a live event. Some aspects of the live course (homework, private discussion group, etc.) are not available in this recorded version.

This webinar was featured during the 2015 ABMP Back Pain Summit. Back pain affects 8 out of every 10 people at some point in their lives, meaning that most massage therapists are likely to confront this issue regularly in their practices. Join clinical practitioner Clint Chandler for a discussion that explores common types of back pain, terminology used by the medical profession, the anatomical complexity of the spine, the biomechanics involved in spinal movements, and the mechanisms of back injury. This in-depth course includes demonstrations of several hands-on techniques.

This webinar was featured during the 2015 ABMP Back Pain Summit. Historically, up to 85 percent of back-pain cases have been thought to have no known cause. Recently, a number of researchers have identified a contributor to many kinds of previously unexplained low-back pain: the highly innervated and multilayered thoracolumbar fascia. Join Til Luchau as he demonstrates several hands-on myofascial techniques for the thoracolumbar fascia and thouroughly discusses the anatomy of the low back. 

Ever feel as though you are running on empty-always giving to others and feeling drained? Recharge your battery and fill your cup as we practice fun and easy ways to feel good every day! Connecting with the energies of nature (wood, fire, earth, metal, and water), we will practice simple self-care movements to harmonize our physiology and build our vital life force.

Great customer service is the key to repeat business from clients. When you identify what your clients need and want, and initiate activities to ensure your processes and procedures support client satisfaction, you establish the foundation of a great customer service plan.

This webinar was filmed on location at the 2016 World Massage Festival.

Learn more about the anatomy and pathologies of the region of the body with which we earn our living—the forearms and hands! This course makes the complex anatomy of the hand easily understandable through clear instruction and incredible graphics. In addition to structural anatomy, you’ll learn about acute and chronic injuries to the area including Dupuytren's contraction and trigger finger. Techniques for palpating and treating the soft tissue of the forearm and hand are demonstrated in a step-by-step format.

This course is the first in a pairing of two webinars.

This webinar was filmed on location at the 2016 World Massage Festival.

Learn more about the anatomy and pathologies of the region of the body with which we earn our living—the forearms and hands! This course covers the anatomy of the forearm and hand as it’s relevant to carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). You’ll learn the signs and symptoms of CTS, how to test for CTS, and how to differentiate this condition from other common conditions causing wrist and hand pain (pseudo CTS).

This course is the second in a pairing of two webinars.

This course introduces new and creative ways to work smarter, not harder with “Hands-Free Therapies.” Save your hands, thumbs, and wrists while exploring more possibilities of working with your forearms, soft fists, and knuckles. Start with medical qi gong warm-ups and ergonomic body mechanics that reinforce a sustainable practice and self-care to prevent energy drain, pain, or injury. Then learn globally inspired healing techniques from lomilomi, Thai yoga, and Esalen massage that are sure to wow your clients!

In this self-care webinar, you’ll learn to take exquisite care of your physical body through several different approaches that also help you expand your capacity to give and receive loving attention. Follow along with the instructors as you learn to keep your joints lubricated, mobilized, and aligned with a standing medical qigong series. Release and stabilize the muscles and structures of your low back and hips with floor work inspired by yoga therapy and Feldenkrais. Address the tension in your shoulders and soften tight hands, wrists, and thumbs while you release nerve, blood vessel, or fascial constrictions with wall-based healing moves.

We recommend you have the following materials available to follow along with the instructors: yoga mat and wall access.

Read Heath and Nicole’s accompanying Massage & Bodywork magazine article, “Simple Self-Care Practices & Why They Matter,” in the May/June 2017 issue and view additional "Healing Moves" videos for purchase at www.livingmetta.com/feelgoodvideos .

Whether we manage, administrate, supervise, or teach, the way we communicate determines how others respond to us. For better or worse, our communication determines the results we get. Small business communications expert Dana Dupuis presents five communications styles in this webinar. Then, with Til Luchau, she helps us recognize which ones we use, and how this might impact our coworkers or team members.

During this webinar, learn evidence-based benefits of infant massage, review current infant massage research, discover how to become certified to teach infant massage, and understand the importance of nurturing touch in healthy emotional relationships.

Help your students learn new practical skills and increase their knowledge by eliminating ambiguity in your teaching. Join Anne Williams as she discusses different methods instructors can use to build instructional clarity to better support student learning.

Good learning objectives define the behaviors and knowledge that educators believe students should attain in order to progress to the next course, or achieve success in the massage profession as a graduate. In this webinar, learn how to use objectives to map meaningful learning experiences, and organize courses or programs to provide continuity and sequence for the learner.

Learning theories describe ideas about how people learn. Education theories describe ideas about how people facilitate learning for others. Learning and educational theorists offer a variety of perspectives that can influence our teaching choices in massage classrooms. Join ABMP Director of Education Anne Williams for this informative webinar.

Learning theories describe ideas about how people learn. Education theories describe ideas about how people facilitate learning for others. Learning and educational theorists offer a variety of perspectives that can influence our teaching choices in massage classrooms. In this webinar, fundamental models of teaching are put into practice by exploring classroom activities based on cognitivism, constructivism, and humanism.

Your lesson plan helps students meet course-learning outcomes effectively. This webinar looks at lesson-plan models, activities, and best practices to ensure instructional clarity, student motivation, and enhanced learning outcomes.

Explore different discussion formats and methods for structuring classroom discussions effectively to ensure everyone participates and grows personally and professionally from your discussion activities.

In this webinar, we discuss methods for structuring demonstrations that allow students to absorb, imitate, and practice hands-on skills effectively. We also discuss the importance and development of role-playing activities for topics like boundaries, ethics, and professional communication.

From "starbursting" to "free writing" to "assumption busting" to "reverse brainstorming" to well-crafted "response moments," great classroom activities generate awareness of issues, stimulate original thought, and promote dialogue and learning. Join ABMP Director of Education Anne Williams as we explore fun classroom activities that help students personalize content, develop communication skills, and think critically, all while enjoying themselves!

Great discussions help students understand the relevance of subject matter, encourage different perspectives, apply and anchor concepts, and build problem-solving skills. In this webinar, we explore different discussion formats and methods for structuring discussions effectively to ensure everyone participates and grows personally and professionally from your discussion activities.

People don't file insurance liability claims against massage therapists and bodyworkers, right? Wrong! Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals (ABMP) staff members regularly answer questions about claims. In some cases, therapists were negligent or made choices that put clients at risk. In others, they were victims of the sue-happy age we live in. Join us to review examples of real (and shocking) insurance claims. Learn how to use these cautionary tales to safeguard your practice and take steps to prevent unnecessary claims.

This webinar was filmed on location at the 2016 World Massage Festival.

While stone massage is a widely recognized and utilized modality, most therapists only use hot stones, not realizing the therapeutic implications or techniques for massaging with cold stones. In this webinar, stone massage expert Bruce Baltz will introduce you to the benefits and applications of cold stone massage. Through hands-on demonstration, he’ll give body mechanics recommendations and protocols for incorporating this therapeutic technique into your massage sessions.

This webinar was filmed on location at the 2017 World Massage Festival. 

Esalen massage is a fluid modality conceived at the Esalen Institute on the coast of Big Sur, California, that infuses Eastern and Western philosophies. This webinar introduces therapists to the history, philosophy, approach, and foundational techniques of Esalen massage through lecture and hands-on demonstration. The instructor guides viewers through several movement exercises to learn the Esalen massage approach to bodywork including presence, grounding and centering, breath and contact, and flow. Therapists also learn, through demonstration, the foundational Esalen massage hands-on techniques. The goal of the course is to introduce therapists to Esalen massage so they are able to incorporate the philosophy, approach, and hands-on techniques into their current sessions and determine if they wish to study the modality further and in more depth.

COMTA Executive Director Kate Zulaski provides an inside look at the often-misunderstood process of obtaining accreditation. Find out how that process of self-regulation relies on your skills and education as a massage therapy practitioner or educator, and how you can help improve massage therapy education through accreditation.

Discover that muscle palpation can be learned and performed easily with common sense guidelines. Joseph Muscolino teaches the importance of knowing the attachments of the target muscle, learning and understanding palpation guidelines in order to promote critical reasoning skills, and choosing the best action of the target muscle in order to engage it.

This webinar was featured during the 2015 ABMP Back Pain Summit. Chronic pain has far-reaching effects, requiring a biopsychosocial approach to treatment. In addition to covering pain statistics, treatment planning, and assessment and measurement tools, Diana Thompson discuss client-centered pain management and the many layers of dysfunction beyond the physical manifestations—fatigue, fear, isolation, frustration, abandonment, etc. Learn how bodyworkers are well-equipped and uniquely positioned to address the multifaceted and diverse needs of the individual living with pain.  

This course was originally presented at the 2017 ABMP School Forums. Digital ad strategies. Social media campaigns. Content marketing. What does it all mean and what can make a difference for school enrollment? In this information-packed webinar, we’ll examine six different digital marketing strategies that schools can implement to boost awareness, increase leads, and attract more students.

Whitney Lowe explores the unique challenges faced by numerous instrumentalists and many of the soft-tissue disorders they experience including cubital tunnel syndromes, focal dystonia, median nerve entrapment, and trigger finger. Techniques focus on the neck, shoulders, elbow, wrist, and hand.

Read Whitney Lowe's accompanying Massage & Bodywork magazine article, "Fretting Over Musicians' Injuries?" in the January/February 2012 issue. 

Whitney Lowe explores common injury conditions affecting dental workers and shows techniques, including active engagement techniques, for the low back, upper back, and neck. This is the second webinar in our ongoing series about massage approaches for occupational injuries.

Read Whitney Lowe's accompanying Massage & Bodywork magazine article, "Brushing Up on Dental Worker Care" in the March/April 2012 issue. 

Whitney Lowe examines the biomechanics of housekeeping workers and how these biomechanics lead to many common injury complaints in the low back and upper extremities. Techniques focus on the paraspinal muscles, deep intrinsic spinal muscles, lumbodorsal fascia, quadratus lumborum, and forearm extensors.

Read Whitney Lowe's accompanying Massage & Bodywork magazine article, "Cleaning Up Housekeeping Worker Injuries" in the May/June 2012 issue.

Whitney Lowe focuses on common office worker injuries including chronic overuse tendon disorders, forward head posture, vertebral artery compression, brachial plexus compression, shoulder impingement, carpal tunnel syndrome, and cubital tunnel compression. Techniques focus on neck, shoulders, forearm, and wrist including the suboccipital, upper trapezius, supraspinatus, and pronator teres muscles.

Read Whitney Lowe's accompanying Massage & Bodywork magazine article, "Keying Into Office Worker Injuries" in the July/August 2012 issue.

Whitney Lowe looks at key biomechanical factors leading to nursing injuries and shares assessment and treatment strategies focused on injuries of the lumbar discs, fascia, and soft tissue in the low back.

Read Whitney Lowe's accompanying Massage & Bodywork magazine article, "Nurses' Injuries" in the September/October 2012 issue.

Whitney Lowe explores the complex biomechanics of the low back and knee that play a key role in the onset of delivery workers' injuries. Assessment and techniques, including active engagement techniques and pin and stretch, focus on the lumbar fascia and the soft tissue of the patellar region of the leg.

Read Whitney Lowe's accompanying Massage & Bodywork magazine article, "Delivering Care for Delivery Workers" in the November/December 2012 issue.

Massage therapists must maintain the boundaries of a therapeutic relationship while providing nurturing care to clients. The stresses of a massage practice can take a toll on therapist emotions, mood, and energy levels, increasing the possibility of injury or burnout. In this webinar with psychotherapist Analisa Macias, we’ll discuss the characteristics of good mental health and share strategies massage therapists can use to handle their emotions effectively, feel more positive and energetic, boost mood, build resilience, and manage the stresses of a massage practice.

Til Luchau explains hands-on and active-movement myofascial techniques and orthopedic tests for assessing and improving wrist, arm, and hand pain. Neurovascular compression issues, especially median nerve entrapment or carpal tunnel syndrome, are included.

What word first comes to mind when you think of "hamstrings"? "Stiff," "injured," or "tight"? Hamstring issues are common, but fortunately there are very effective ways to work with them. Join Til Luchau as he explores the relevant anatomy of the area and demonstrates effective myofascial techniques to work with the hamstrings and their influence on the knee and hip.

Join Til Luchau for an in-depth cousre on the anatomy and function of the ankle and foot. Learn assessments and techniques for the foot, ankle, and lower leg including hands-on techniques for the gastrocnemius, soleus, tibialis anterior, and interosseous membrane to address dorsiflexion restrictions and plantar fasciitis.

How many of your clients complain of neck issues? Do you have any clients who DON'T need neck work? Join Til Luchau as he demonstrates several effective hands-on myofascial techniques for the scalenes, cervical facet joints, and other key structures of the deep neck as he walks us through a chapter from his best-selling Advanced Myofascial Techniques textbook.

Get the optional ebook from Advanced-Trainings.com that includes information from the textbook, as well as a mini-manual, webinar anatomy slides, and note organizer with additional back-pain techniques. (Anatomy image courtesy Primal Pictures, used by permission.)

Join Til Luchau as he explains hands-on and active-movement techniques for assessing and improving impaired shoulder joint mobility including techniques for the subscapularis and muscles of the posterior rotator cuff. Shoulder anatomy and frozen shoulder, adhesive capsulitis, rotator cuff injuries, and other relevant issues are included.

Up to 70 percent of people have symptoms of temporalmandibular joint (TMJ) syndrome at some point in their lives. Join Til Luchau as he discusses the signs and symptoms of TMJ and both local and whole-body contributors to jaw pain. Get a new three-dimensional understanding of jaw anatomy with Primal Pictures' interactive anatomy software before learning hands-on techniques for the neck and head including work on the temporalis and masseter muscles.

This webinar was featured during the 2016 ABMP Head & Neck Summit. Join Til Luchau as he demonstrates several effective hands-on myofascial techniques for the cervical facet joints, transversospinalis, suboccipitals, nuchal ligament, and other key structures of the deep neck. Get the optional ebook that includes a technique mini-manual with the webinar’s 3D anatomy slides, note organizer, and additional cervical techniques. 

Join Til Luchau for this course addressing how the fibula can be the key to unlocking many common ankle issues, including movement restrictions, instability, and overpronation. Learn the anatomy of the fibular region, assessments, and myofascial techniques for working with fibular mobility restrictions.

Join Til Luchau as he demonstrates several effective hands-on myofascial techniques for the sacrotuberous ligaments, and shows how these important structures are keys to working with pelvic, coccyx, sacroiliac, low-back, or sciatic pain; perineal pain and numbness; painful sitting or bending; hamstring tendinitis, and more. This course includes a dynamic look at the anatomy of the pelvis and low back.

Join Til Luchau for a visual exploration into the nature and composition of bone, with a special emphasis on how a deeper understanding of bone can inform your hands-on work. Explore bone's role in soft tissue work and learn three different techniques to work with bone to add to your hands-on versatility, specificity, and skill.

Read Til Luchau's accompanying Massage & Bodywork magazine article in the November/December 2013 issue.

Restricted hip joint mobility has been linked to a wide range of physical complaints, including back pain, postural issues, impaired balance, and reduced athletic performance. Til Luchau presents myofascial techniques for assessing and releasing impaired hip joint mobility. Hip replacements, gait, and other relevant issues are included.

Read Til Luchau's accompanying Massage & Bodywork magazine article, "Myofascial Techniques: Working With Hip Mobility" in the March/April 2012 issue.

Not all headaches are created equal. There are many sources of head pain, and what helps with one kind, can actually worsen another. Being able to distinguish migraines from other kinds of headaches is one key to effective hands-on work. Join Til Luchau as he presents a clear framework for distinguishing between neurovascular and musculoskeletal headaches, as well as practical tips you can incorporate into your hands-on work today.

Restricted rib motion can arise from the usual things that cause us to lose mobility: stress, postural and habitual stance, inactivity, disease, pain, or injury. No matter what the cause, skilled hands-on work is an effective way to help reestablish lost motion. Join Til Luchau for a webinar discussing hands-on techniques for restoring rib cage mobility.

Whiplash is a common injury that can be made better or made worse with hands-on bodywork. Join Til Luchau as he teaches the anatomy of the head, neck, and shoulder region and myofascial techniques to safely and effectively work with this complicated injury.

This webinar was featured during the 2015 ABMP Back Pain Summit. Low-back pain is one of the most frequent and challenging musculoskeletal conditions that massage therapists will face. While the condition is very common, identifying the specific cause of pain continues to pose challenges for clinicians in every field. Recent research studies have shown that many conditions such as disc herniations, which traditionally were thought to be the cause of much low-back pain, exist in people who have no symptoms whatsoever. In addition, cadaver studies have shown the presence of severe structural deformities such as nerve compression, spinal degeneration, and serious disc compression in people who reported no back pain at all. The fact that pain can exist without tissue damage, and tissue damage can occur without pain makes identifying the specific cause of low-back pain very difficult. In this in-depth course, Whitney Lowe discusses the anatomy of the low back, several common causes of back pain, key factors to identify potential causes, how to create a treatment plan, and demonstrates appropriate techniques for work in the low back.
 

According to the American Psychological Association, approximately 45% of students on college campuses have mental, emotional, or behavioral conditions that influence their academic performance and ability to participate in classroom activities. Conditions like anxiety disorders, disorganized thinking, and mood disorders likely cause disruptions. Add incivility to the mix (something the Journal of Effective Teaching calls “a plague in higher education”), and you’ve got your hands full. This webinar looks at practical ways to address disruptive classroom behaviors so we can take the emphasis off the chaos and put it back on the learning.

The transition to student life can be difficult. New students must learn to balance school, work, family, and social obligations while tackling new academic challenges. Well-developed orientations help students fill in academic readiness gaps, bond with peers and school staff, anticipate and prepare for challenges, and fit into campus culture. Join ABMP and Anne Williams as we explore the components of great orientations.

Douglas Nelson of NMT Midwest shows you how to develop clinical reasoning and apply it in your practice. In "Form and Function," the first webinar of our five-part series on Precision Neuromuscular Therapy (PNMT), Nelson provides information on the "why" of treatment therapy and not on the "how" to treat. Use this foundational knowledge, including assessment, to hone your problem-solving skills, and utilize this deductive approach to bodywork as the platform for the series.

Douglas Nelson of NMT Midwest shows how to efficiently evaluate and address people with various types of back pain involving the lumbar and thoracic area in this second part of the Precision Neuromuscular Therapy (PNMT) series. Nelson emphasizes problem-solving skills and clinical reasoning as he reviews how soft tissue restrictions are tied to movement and everyday complaints.

Douglas Nelson of NMT Midwest addresses upper extremity conditions including frozen shoulder, rotator cuff problems, muscle tears, bursitis issues, nerve entrapment, and repetitive stress injuries of the arm/hand in this third webinar in the Precision Neuromuscular Therapy (PNMT) series.

Douglas Nelson of NMT Midwest will assess the muscles of the hip, looking closely at muscular issues as well as the effect of hip pathology on joint function. He'll address conditions such as piriformis syndrome, knee pain, hamstring strains, plantar fascitis, and other common lower extremity pain patterns.

Please note: we experienced some audio technical difficulties during the recording of this webinar and you may hear periodic background noise from a second microphone. 

Douglas Nelson of NMT Midwest will finish our Precision Neuromuscular Therapy series with a focus on the head and neck. Learn how to efficiently evaluate and address clients with various types of head and neck pain including headaches, whiplash, herniated disks, military neck, reverse curve, and reduced range of motion. Strategies to determine the most effective protocols will be discussed.

How do you implement best practices to create a healthy massage and bodywork practice? This webinar provides the key information therapists need to understand infectious agents and communicable diseases including HIV/AIDS, prevent disease transmission through hygiene and sanitation, and implement Universal Precautions. 

This course was originally presented at the 2018 ABMP School Forum. Join Anne Williams to discover how to create PowerPoint presentations that use key principles of instructional design to engage your audience, support learning processes, encourage the personalization of content, and enhance learner appreciation. You’ll learn the secrets of structure and slide design that will allow you to quickly take your presentation expertise to a new level.

This course is 98 minutes in length (1.5 CE hours).

Wading through sexual boundary issues can be challenging for school administrators, instructors, and students. This webinar helps schools and instructors define sexual harassment, identify sexual conduct that can be considered harassing, outline the elements of a sound anti-sexual harassment policy, describe informal and formal complaint procedures, and develop ways to educate students, faculty, and staff.

Many students experience some anxiety before quizzes and exams, but with sufficient preparation and strategies, test-taking can get easier and performance can improve. Join us for an exploration of ways to reduce test anxiety and improve test performance in massage students.

Art Riggs shares the necessary skills to communicate with clients about their comfort levels and pain thresholds, understand the psychological and emotional components that may be influencing your clients' actual perceptions of intense work and their trust in your work, refine your ability to monitor clients' reactions to your work, and apply specific techniques to soften your touch and work more powerfully and effectively.

Lectures get a bad rap because they are often poorly constructed with little interaction between the presenter and students. When lectures are designed well, teach the right content at the right level, and include activities that keep learners involved they remain the most efficient and effective way to teach terms and concepts. This three-part series deconstructs and then reconstructs lectures to ensure learners stay engaged while learning important content. 

In Part One:
• Use a learning taxonomy to properly build knowledge in the right levels.
• Identify components of the cognitive domain and match them to learning levels.
• Use four methods that build context for learners in the beginning of lectures.
• Identify five methods to 'hook' learners at the beginning of lectures.
• Explain two up-on-your-feet activities that increase learner curiosity and energy before lectures.
• Discuss two methods that improve slide design to enhance the visual aspect of lectures.

Lectures get a bad rap because they are often poorly constructed with little interaction between the presenter and students. When lectures are designed well, teach the right content at the right level, and include activities that keep learners involved they remain the most efficient and effective way to teach terms and concepts. This three-part series deconstructs and then reconstructs lectures to ensure learners stay engaged while learning important content. 

In Part Two:
• Explore conceptual understanding and determine content that is nice-to-know, basic knowledge, must-know, or advanced knowledge.
• Identify the components of a construct (memory representation) and relate these components to levels of conceptual understanding.
• Explore the pitfalls of faulty constructs and explain their impact on future learning.
• Outline the components of a lecture formula and use it to organize lecture content.
• Personalize lecture content with well-designed response moments.
• Use research-proven methods to teach terminology explicitly and systematically.
• Categorize data points and differentiate them properly on lecture slides.

Lectures get a bad rap because they are often poorly constructed with little interaction between the presenter and students. When lectures are designed well, teach the right content at the right level, and include activities that keep learners involved they remain the most efficient and effective way to teach terms and concepts. This three-part series deconstructs and then reconstructs lectures to ensure learners stay engaged while learning important content. 

In Part Three:
• Explore methods for anchoring learning at the end of lectures.
• Turn a dull content review into interactive opportunities to deepen knowledge and learning.
• Direct learners' next steps for application of lecture content in real-world situations.
• Provide emotionally satisfying closure for lectures.
• Discuss effective lecture handouts and student note-taking.
• Apply basic design principles to get learners' attention with lecture slides.

How well do you know your prospective student pool? How well do you know their habits, tastes, emotions, perceptions, and interests? Lifestyle marketing is a term that describes marketing strategies that match the needs of an individual to products and services that enhance life. Could more emphasis on massage as a lifestyle career rekindle student enrollment numbers? This webinar explores these important questions and more.

This course was originally presented at the 2018 ABMP School Forum. Schools and instructors have a myriad of technology options available to them to build and enhance their relationships with prospective students, current students, and alumni. How do you know which is best for your program? In this webinar, we’ll examine your options, including social media and online marketing, and create strategies for using today’s technology to accomplish your school’s goals.

This course was originally presented at the 2016 ABMP School Forums. Well done! You’ve attracted their interest. Now, how do you get students through the front door for a first admissions meeting, enrolled, prepared for the challenge of classes, and seated in class on the first day of school? Use this step-by-step process to turn leads into excited students.

It's so easy for those of us who help other people to lose sight of what we need for ourselves. Sometimes it's important to simply stop and be, instead of continuously doing. Join Brian Halterman for an easy, fun, and energizing kundalini yoga set, designed for any level of ability. Follow along as you learn how to use breathing techniques, dynamic movement, and focused meditation to replenish and nurture ourselves.

Increase your profitability by improving your money habits! In this webinar, you will learn techniques to help you better manage your finances so you can create more profitability for your business.

In this webinar, Stephanie Beck will be sharing the best strategies to utilize exciting content for your social trigger points like Facebook, Google+, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. You will understand the differences between informational and promotional sharing and how it plays a role in getting new clients.

Strengthen your charting skills! Join Diana Thompson to discover methods of charting client sessions that track meaningful results and lead to stronger relationships with your clients and other health-care providers. Explore the reasons why charting is such an integral part of a practice, the key components of charting, and the correct content to track based on the type of session you’re giving. This informative course simplifies electronic health records and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and provides step-by-step instructions on how to chart effectively and efficiently.

This course is 66 minutes in length.

Experience simple and potent therapies to reverse neck and shoulder issues while improving mobility and performance. Unlock common anatomical features and lifestyle patterns that contribute to excessive kyphosis (slouching posture), thoracic outlet syndrome, frozen shoulder, and tendinosis. Learn Table Thai Yoga Massage techniques to safely stretch and relieve restrictions along fascial and energetic meridians to improve your clients' sense of ease in the neck and shoulders.

Join Heath and Nicole as they share their clients’ favorite Thai yoga massage techniques on the table and in the massage chair. Follow along with the hands-on techniques and discover how to quickly and easily adapt these powerful and safe stretches into your own bodywork sessions!

We will explore three aspects of body mechanics instruction: the educational process involved in teaching motor skills, the biomechanical concepts underlying effective body mechanics, and learning activities that instructors can use in stand-alone body mechanics classes or integrate into technique classes.

This course was originally presented at the 2018 ABMP School Forum. Are you optimizing the methods you use to teach hands-on skills in the classroom? The psychomotor domain is learning related to well-coordinated physical movements, hands-on skills, fluid use of professional language, learned behaviors, and informed responses. You teach in this domain when you provide a demonstration of massage techniques, use role playing in ethics classes, or teach professionalism (among others). Use the research-informed theory and practice in this information-packed webinar to enhance your hands-on skills teaching.

This course is 84 minutes in length (1.5 CE hours).

It can be challenging for student massage therapists to interview medically complex clients, and then to link the interview to specific massage contraindications. Learn how to strengthen your students' interview skills and their ability to work safely with a broad client base with these five essential questions.

The most important thing we can do as massage instructors teaching in foundational massage programs is improve learner concept formation by teaching level 1 of the cognitive domain effectively. In level 1 of the ELAP Learning Taxonomy the focus is on terms and concepts. Great teachers consciously build learners’ mental representations of basic massage concepts and anchor them in memory. If you want your students to thrive in your classes, pass the MBLEx on the first try, and think critically to plan effective sessions for clients, you’ll want to learn these methods.

Learn how massage palpation can be taught simply and effectively by presenting students with commonsense guidelines instead of having them memorize palpation protocols. Using these guidelines in the classroom teaches critical thinking, making palpation easier for the students and facilitating their path to a more successful clinical/orthopedic practice.

The days of promoting your school with direct mail postcards, glossy brochures, and ads in local newspapers or Yellow Pages are over. Today, successful, cost-effective marketing is web-based and evolving quickly. This webinar explores easy and practical ways to attract prospective students using new web-based tools. Even if you don't know an FTP from KFC, you can jump on the Internet bandwagon and ramp up the success of your marketing efforts.

Thai Yoga Massage is a fresh approach to bodywork that ushers the body through a variety of movements designed to maximize flexibility, spaciousness, and relief. Experience the marriage of Yoga Therapy and Thai Massage as you gracefully integrate "fearless draping", stretching, and bodywork with Yoga Massage. Demonstrations include working with clients in the prone and supine positions. This work is mutually beneficial for therapists' bodies as it emphasizes easeful ergonomics, moving from the center, and promotes alignment in your body and your client's body. Evolve beyond the conventional 2-dimensional bodywork context as you explore 3-D range of motion and stretching.

This webinar was featured during the 2016 ABMP Head & Neck Summit. The neck is burdened with the challenging task of supporting the head, while at the same time allowing an incredible range of movement. Because of tension, trauma, and poor postural habits, it comes as no surprise that head-on-neck and neck-on-thorax disorders rank high among the most common pain generators driving people into your practice. Clients show up in your office with degenerative joint disease and pain from headaches, rib dysfunction, TMJ, and Dowager’s Hump. Join Erik Dalton in this fascinating presentation where you’ll learn how to move beyond treating the symptoms and instead stop the problem at its source.

Today, 60 million Americans don’t get the sleep they need to feel refreshed. If this is you, you know the negative impact that lack of sleep can have on your massage practice. It takes a lot of energy to show up for clients, listen carefully to their wants and needs, develop treatment plans to benefit their unique health picture, and stay motivated to provide your best work over a long shift. You need the best quality sleep to be your best quality self. This one-hour webinar explores healthy sleep, insomnia, good sleep hygiene, and complementary health care that can improve the quality and duration of sleep. 

Sitting for the state-approved exam and obtaining massage credentials is one of the more stressful events in a massage student's or graduate's career process. In fact, around 30 percent of students graduate from massage programs but never sit for the exam or get their credentials. Join ABMP's Anne Williams as she explores strategies schools and instructors can adopt to help students effectively prepare for the exam and move efficiently through the credentialing process.

This webinar was featured during the 2016 ABMP Head & Neck Summit.

While there are many muscles that have the potential to limit cervical rotation, this presentation focuses on three major muscles that most commonly play the biggest role in limiting the client’s rotation range of motion: splenius cervicis, semispinalis cervicis, and obliquus capitis inferior. Learn to accurately measure cervical rotation restrictions in both the seated and supine positions. After exploring the anatomical and functional aspects of these three muscles, you will explore multiple treatment options with in-depth hands-on demonstration. The goal of this presentation is to present treatment strategies that are most likely to have the greatest effect on the most common cervical complaint. 

The practice of massage or bodywork requires a significant amount of mental, emotional, and physical energy. We bring our best selves to our clients—and it can be exhausting. “Hectic,” “stressed,” and “drained” describe the ethos of our times as we multitask like crazy, striving to get more done in less time and balance the demands of work, family, friends, and the goals we set for our personal development. This session is about learning from fatigue and using its teachings to examine our lives, ourselves, and what it means to bring heart to every massage without depleting our own energy levels. 

Attrition is defined as the reduction in student numbers based on withdrawal from a course of study including transfers or leaves of absence. Often students drop out of massage programs for the wrong reasons and negatively impact themselves and the massage school business. Schools lose thousands of dollars each year because they fail to address attrition issues. Join Anne Williams, ABMP's Director of Education, for a discussion of methods schools can use to reduce student drops and improve retention.

A massage therapist's ability to reach out to other health-care providers in universally understood and respected language is dependent on research literacy: the ability to read, interpret, and evaluate research. Research literacy can also impact how and where a massage therapist practices. Join Ruth Werner and Diana Thompson for a discussion on the importance of incorporating research results into your massage therapy program.

Emerging advances in the science of pain are not only fascinating, they open doors to possible avenues of treatment. Douglas Nelson introduces research on pain as presented in his book, The Mystery of Pain. He discusses the definition of pain, the scientific understanding, and the many physical, psychological, and environmental factors that influence its intensity.

One in five Americans will develop skin cancer in the course of their lifetime and more people have had skin cancer than all other cancers combined in the past three decades. As some of the only professionals to see clients’ skin so closely and often on a regular basis, wellness professionals have a unique opportunity to spot melanoma long before anyone else. After participating in this webinar, you’ll have a deeper understanding of the different types of skin cancer, the tools to screen for suspicious spots, and the knowledge to know when to refer your client to a medical professional for further evaluation. Join us, and together we’ll learn how to save lives. 

Noted business expert and educator Cherie Sohnen-Moe explores common challenges to business classes and best practices for teaching business topics to massage students effectively.

Touch Tools are 14 unique techniques developed by master practitioner Erik Dalton that teach bodywork practitioners effective use of body weight and correct structural alignment. While the practitioner learns to use their body more efficiently, the client enjoys connected, engaged, and vital methods that warm, compress, and stretch myofascial structures. The aim of this one-hour self-care webinar is to show practitioners how to take care of themselves while building a rich toolbox of body-saving methods clients love.

In this webinar, Deane Juhan discusses the transformative power of touch and its potential as a communicative, nurturing voice in the dialogues between our bodies and our minds. Topics include the important properties of water (our most basic constituent), the skin, the connective tissue matrix, neuropeptides, the neuromuscular system, and the many forms of memories in our bodies.

Read Deane Juhan's accompanying Massage & Bodywork magazine article, "Touching the Mind" in the January/February 2011 issue.

Join Dr. Ben Benjamin for a thorough course on the most common ankle injury: anterior ankle ligament sprain. The course includes a detailed look at the relevant anatomy, assessment tests, and treatment techniques for ankle sprains. 

There are more than 20 injuries that occur in the hip and thigh. Join Dr. Ben Benjamin as he takes a detailed look at the anatomy of the hip joint including the ligaments and the sartorius and psoas muscles. Learn assessment tests and treament options for three common hip-joint injuries. 

Join Dr. Ben Benjamin for a thorough course on one of the most common knee injuries: medial collateral ligament sprain. Learn the relevant anatomy, assessment tests, and several therapeutic techniques to treat this condition.

View Dr. Benjamin's video on friction therapy that he references in the webinar here.

Ben Benjamin discusses the most common (and most commonly overlooked) causes of low-back pain. Learn the relevant anatomy, assessment tests, and effective treatment techniques that can reduce, prevent, and eliminate severe and chronic low-back pain.

Join Dr. Ben Benjamin for a thorough course on one of the most common injuries to the shoulder: subscapularis strains. This important, but commonly misunderstood, injury causes intense pain in the shoulder and can also refer pain as far as the wrist. The course includes a detailed look at the relevant anatomy, assessment tests, and treatment options for this shoulder injury which, correctly identified, can be treated easily.

Visit Dr. Benjamin's YouTube channel to view the videos he references in this course.

Instructional scaffolding is used to help students understand important ideas, make connections between concepts, learn new practical skills, or combine the practical and conceptual into an integrated skill. Instructors can use scaffolding to help move students from where they are now to the next level of skill, knowledge, and ability.

Laura Allen shows you how to conduct your own research projects, find and utilize existing research, apply for grants, share research with clients and other members of the health-care team, and get attention for your research.

Explore pediatric massage: how to become trained in this area, the applications for pediatric massage, the many benefits associated with this modality, and research that has reinforced these benefits.

A case report is a description of a client seen in clinical practice, which is written in a scientific manner. Case reports may be the only evidence published on massage therapy for a given condition and may be the "springboard" for researchers to develop larger studies. In this introductory webinar, learn how to decide which case might be worth documenting and how to choose the journal to which you will submit your report.

*Please note that the URL (mulford.medohio.edu/instr/) which is referred to in the webinar has changed to mulford.utoledo.edu/instr/.

While acknowledging that writing a case report is an ambitious project, this webinar helps break the "elephant" into bite-size pieces. Listeners interested in doing a case report will come out of this hour with step-by-step suggestions for how to go about the important task of writing the introduction and discussion sections of a good case report, with special emphasis on using other scientists' work to help inform and advance your own project.

This webinar focuses on how to write the methods and results section of a case report. This includes describing the client, the specific intervention (massage technique), assessments used, and the results of the treatment. Advice on how to determine the best measurements to use and how to appropriately present the results are given.

Research posters are a visual snapshot of information contained in research articles and case reports. They are a great way to communicate the effects of massage therapy in a variety of settings such as your office, a health fair, or even a research conference. Participants learn how to design and create a research poster, building on concepts discussed in the previous "Writing a Case Report" webinars. Different uses of research posters are also discussed.

Rosemary Chunco, a Massage Therapy Foundation Case Report Contest gold award winner, presents this final webinar in the series of five. She discusses the challenges encountered in writing a case report and gives tips and encouraging reasons why students and practitioners should consider writing a report.

Are you intimidated by the idea of marketing your practice? Don’t be! Join Kristin to learn essential marketing concepts delivered in an approachable and understandable way. We’ll walk step-by-step through the skills you need to attract new clients; including target markets, grassroots marketing, promotion, word-of-mouth referrals, and more. With the easy-to-implement strategies you receive, you’ll be ready to create a personalized, heartfelt, and effective marketing plan to build a thriving practice!

How do you encourage alumni to do word-of-mouth marketing for your program? Join Kristin Coverly to explore strategies to turn your alumni into your best marketing team ever!

An endangerment site doesn’t necessarily mean “don’t touch,” but it does mean “touch with special care and knowledge.” Unfortunately, although massage is generally safe, medical and legal records show many cases where clients have been injured, often by well-meaning, but under-educated massage therapists. We can minimize that risk by knowing where certain tissues are most vulnerable to damage, and how to accommodate our touch to be safe in those areas. Join award-winning educator Ruth Werner for a deep dive into this topic as she draws on her client’s body to illustrate the boundaries and structures of endangerment sites in eight areas of the body. Your clients will thank you!

Join scar tissue experts Nancy Keeney Smith and Cathy Ryan for an informative introduction to wound healing, scar tissue formation, and a massage therapist’s role in scar tissue management. Learn the foundational science of scars, fascia, connective tissue, and the lymphatic system as well as the aspects and contributing factors of normal and abnormal wound healing.

This is the first course in a series of three courses.

ABMP members receive a discount from Handspring Publishing which can be applied to the purchase of the presenters’ book, Scar Tissue Management—Massage Therapy Principles, Practice and Protocols.

Join scar tissue experts Nancy Keeney Smith and Cathy Ryan to explore the clinical considerations related to scars and wound healing. Take an in-depth look at both edema and fibrosis related to wound healing and what massage therapists can do to help clients with these conditions. Hands-on techniques taught include lymphatic fluid-moving techniques and fascial and connective tissue techniques.  

This is the second course in a series of three courses.

ABMP members receive a discount from Handspring Publishing which can be applied to the purchase of the presenters’ book, Scar Tissue Management—Massage Therapy Principles, Practice and Protocols.

Join scar tissue experts Nancy Keeney Smith and Cathy Ryan to learn best practices for providing effective massage therapy treatment on scar tissue. Start with assessment and evaluation tools to evaluate the scar tissue and plan your session appropriately. Then learn lymphatic and fascia/connective tissue treatment techniques and guidelines to work with scars at various stages of wound healing.

This is the third course in a series of three courses.

ABMP members receive a discount from Handspring Publishing which can be applied to the purchase of the presenters’ book, Scar Tissue Management—Massage Therapy Principles, Practice and Protocols.

Join Til Luchau for an engaging course in hands-on approaches for caring for our own hands, and our clients’ hands. Drawing from the Advanced Myofascial Techniques (AMT) series, this course combines key hand concepts, dynamic anatomical graphics, hands-on technique demonstrations, and research findings. Topics include using the hand/brain connection; myofascial, articular, and interstitial approaches; touch tools for pain and local inflammation; and techniques for improving hand mobility, sensitivity, and stability.

Read Til's accompanying Massage & Bodywork magazine article, “The Hand in the Brain” in the September/October 2020 issue. 

Before starting the course, we recommend you find a tennis ball and a hand to work on—your own, or a friend’s. Click the “Handout” link to download a course outline. Go to http://bit.ly/amt-hand-slides for a free note-organizer handout from Advanced-Trainings.com.

Learning how to mind and manage your money is one of the most valuable skills for a small business owner to develop. Financial literacy is essential in moving from being a hobbyist to being a professional and earning a living doing the work you love. Join Allissa Haines and Michael Reynolds of Massage Business Blueprint to learn how to manage your business finances, make more money, and plan for your financial future.

Learn more from Allissa and Michael on ABMP’s Financial Literacy Series resource page.

This course was featured during the 2020 ABMP CE Summit. Learn about the impact of health disparities in communities of color. This presentation highlights the factors that contribute to health inequalities for Black, Hispanic, and Native American communities and explores the role the wellness industry can play to help address these inequalities.

This course is available to ABMP members only and is not available for non-member purchase. Course access ends April 30, 2021.

This course was featured during the 2020 ABMP CE Summit. Pain in the sole of the foot can be a vexing issue for massage and bodywork practitioners. Join Til Luchau and Whitney Lowe as they share current insights about relevant anatomy, research, mechanisms, assessment, strategies, and hands-on techniques for effective work with this very common condition.

This course was featured during the 2020 ABMP CE Summit. Join Healwell’s Cal Cates and Kerry Jordan for a thoughtful discussion exploring the benefits of modifying our definitions of boundaries, serving, and what it means to be a health care partner. Throughout the course they share tools to expand your awareness and develop helpful habits to navigate impermanence and show up to suffering without taking on suffering.

This course was featured during the 2020 ABMP CE Summit. The neck is home to a lot of moving parts and a host of frustrating dysfunctions, but perhaps the most frustrating of all is the general neck pain that accompanies the stressors of life. The most common complaint from clients is the neck pain that seems to have an elusive onset and no resolve. Join Allison Denney for this fun-filled course including muscles painted on the client’s body, her favorite neck techniques, and approaches that work to alleviate clients’ pain.

This course was featured during the 2020 ABMP CE Summit. More than ever, the ability to recognize and address trauma in clients—and ourselves—is paramount. Gain an understanding of what trauma is, how to identify its signs, and how to follow the “dos and don’ts” when working with trauma. Learn to work effectively and safely with clients experiencing trauma and empower them to use your bodywork session as a tool in their healing process.

This course was featured during the 2020 ABMP CE Summit. This course provides four complete mini sessions, from BodyReading (visual assessment) to treatment strategy to technique. Learn techniques for balancing the myofascia of the shoulders, arms, and hands, from Anatomy Trains author Tom Myers. Human arms require a complex equation of stability versus mobility to balance correctly on the rib cage and spine. Problems in the shoulders can, over time, travel down into the arms and hands or up into the neck and jaw. Learn to recognize “ideal” and compensated patterns and how to tie them into the story of the rest of the body. Learn to really “see” what work needs to be done to create lasting results for your clients.

This course was featured during the 2020 ABMP CE Summit. We are neurobiologically wired for connection. We are also living through monumentally challenging times personally, professionally, and nationally. In these times of deep uncertainty, join Brené Brown certified Dare to Lead facilitator Amy Andrews McMaster to explore how to connect to ourselves and to others in ways that fill our deepest needs, and how to have brave conversations even when we can’t control the outcome. We will remember that accepting and regulating our own emotions strengthens the ability to recognize and honor the emotions of people we love and long to help.

This course was featured during the 2020 ABMP CE Summit. COVID-19 presents unprecedented challenges to the massage therapy profession. In this course, pathology expert Ruth Werner focuses on what we currently understand about COVID-19, including the pathophysiology, communicability, and the many complications of this infection. Werner discusses how to make safe, effective, evidence-informed decisions, and shares client-screening suggestions for safety.

Join Healwell’s Cal Cates and Kerry Jordan for an introduction to oncology massage. Topics include metastasis and cancer-related conditions including lymphedema and deep vein thrombosis. Explore some of the myths regarding massage therapy and cancer. Discover the critical intake questions therapists should be asking all clients and learn how to apply the answers you receive to ensure you’re providing a safe session.

This in-depth introduction will help you determine if you’re interested in additional training in this unique modality.

This course is the first in a series of two courses.

Join Healwell’s Cal Cates and Kerry Jordan for an introduction to oncology massage and the special considerations that are needed when working with this population. Learn the proper client screening protocols, the correct levels of pressure to use with clients with cancer or a cancer history, and how to successfully refer to qualified healthcare professionals when needed. Includes video demonstration of levels one and two of Tracy Walton's Massage Therapy Pressure Scale.

This in-depth introduction will help you determine if you’re interested in additional training in this unique modality.

This course is the second in a series of two courses.

Learn a targeted speed treatment focused on neck and shoulder muscles—including the sternocleidomastoid, scalenes, subclavious, subscapularius, and pectoralis major and minor—your clients will love!

If you’re like most therapists, you made some mistakes when you set your fee structure that could be robbing you of your freedom, credibility, and self-worth. In this presentation, you’ll discover how to get back on track so you can charge what you’re worth ... and get it.

Forget the myth that it takes a long time to build a practice and follow this proven step-by-step strategy to get 60 clients in 60 days. If you find yourself struggling in your practice, with little money to invest, take the time to watch this presentation. This practice-building solution is for practitioners who dislike marketing and possibly lack confidence in their skills, but who aren't afraid to work hard. 

With more students looking for online education opportunities, schools and educators need to know how to integrate this emerging technology into their business models. In this presentation, schools and educators will have the opportunity to discover the potential of online learning in massage education. You will learn about the possibilities provided by integrating online learning with classroom learning. In this presentation, McQuillan will discuss a model of online delivery and the potential of open-education resource development for massage educators.

For more than a decade, Thomas Myers—the visionary author of Anatomy Trains and Fascial Release for Structural Balance—has contributed ground-breaking articles and a pivotal column series to Massage & Bodywork magazine. Myers, who studied with Dr. Ida Rolf, shares the evolution of his ideas in this behind-the-scenes session. Myers reveals the questions that keep him curious, the formative moments that led to Anatomy Trains, how he inspires his students, and his continued work in the massage and bodywork profession.

Judith Aston is widely recognized as a pioneer in the art and science of human movement. As a young dancer, Aston was intrigued by the potential of the human body in motion. Early in her career, from 1963–1971, she created movement education programs for a community college, theater groups, dancers, and athletes. In 1968, Dr. Ida Rolf asked Judith Aston to create the very first movement education program for the Rolf Institute, where Aston taught her movement education curriculum until 1977. She is the author of Moving Beyond Posture: In Your Body On The Earth, Aston Postural Assessment, and Walking the New Body DVD. In this behind-the-scenes session, Aston shares with former Massage & Bodywork magazine Editor-in-Chief Leslie Young the evolution of her ideas, the questions that keep her curious, and the formative moments in her life and career.

Ruth Werner is an icon in the massage profession. She is the author of A Massage Therapist’s Guide to Pathology and Disease Handbook for Massage Therapists, and is also a columnist for Massage & Bodywork magazine. She has served the Massage Therapy Foundation since 2007, first as a trustee and then as president. In this behind-the-scenes interview, werner shares with former Massage & Bodywork magazine Editor-in-Chief Leslie Young the evolution of her ideas, the questions that keep her curious, and the formative moments in her life and career.

What if we were to turn hot stone massage upside down and make it cold? Learn the healing power of cold stone therapy and how it can affect the body on a deeper plane. You’ll find your perceptions of “cold” shift as you discover how to gently challenge the body’s systems and their intrinsic healing processes and take your client to a new level of healing.

This course gives participants a better understanding of the physiology of stretching and range of motion. Participants will learn different applications of how proprioception works in the muscular system and the science behind different stretching techniques. Receive the latest information available about stretching through valid, peer reviewed, scientific reports and learn how this new information may affect the way we stretch our clients and athletes.

Do you want to bring more depth into your treatments? Do you want to empower your clients to take better care of themselves at home while improving your bottom line? Join Bruce Baltz as we examine some core spa treatments, review the necessary products and their ingredients, and learn how you can incorporate them into your massage practice.

Discover an approach to treating tendinitis based on research presented on myofascial pain at Harvard Medical School and in research archives dating back to 1946. You will hear about techniques that will change the way you approach myofascial pain, trigger points, and tendon pain. Waslaski will discuss some of the unique structural approaches to pain management, where you will discover what kinds of modality methods are available to learn for achieving immediate and permanent results for complicated pain conditions of the shoulder, elbow, forearm, hand, and wrist.

Discover the strategies involved in starting and running a successful social media campaign for your massage practice. Learn where to focus your efforts and how to make sure you’re making the most of your valuable time on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and others. We’ll talk about how to decide what platform is right for you and your clients, what to post and where to find it, how to avoid the social media time-suck through scheduling and automation, and much more!

Do you want to promote your practice to physicians? Are you seeking strategies for scheduling the meetings? Would it be helpful to know how long the meetings should last, what to bring, say, and how to ask doctors for patient referrals? David Kent is an actively practicing therapist and has been meeting with physicians since 1992. Join him for this informative seminar and learn powerful referral techniques you can apply immediately.

Learn from five leading massage educators, Cherie Sohnen-Moe, Mary Ann Foster, Ruth Werner, Whitney Lowe, and Susan Salvo as they join ABMP’s former Director of Education Anne Williams in a roundtable discussion about the joys, challenges, and practicalities of teaching massage. Each shares their unique perspective as they coach massage instructors in foundational principles of education and offer their advice on applying those principles in the massage classroom.

Over the past few decades, experts have advocated static stretching as a safe and effective way to stretch muscles. However, this type of stretching can actually decrease blood flow within the tissue, creating localized ischemia, irritation, or injury. Active Isolated Stretching is a novel approach to stretching that can be incorporated into your massage and provides effective, functional, and physiological restoration of superficial and deep fascial planes.

Shoulder pain affects up to 60 percent of the population at one time in their life, and its incidence increases with age. Touch therapists encounter shoulder problems every day, and there is often a great deal of fear and confusion around the best approach. In this presentation, you'll learn the three most common shoulder problems, explore concepts from the latest research into shoulder pathologies, and learn a novel osteopathic trigger-point-based technique to address theses issues. The approach is evidence-based and clinically proven to reduce pain and increase range of motion over and above traditional physical therapy and placebo.

An important part of ABMP’s mission is to support massage therapists in the development of fulfilling careers—whatever form those careers might take. Some therapists strike out on their own and work as independent practitioners, others work as employees, and many have blended occupations. In this panel discussion, a trio of Massage & Bodywork magazine’s favorite business experts focus on the fun, creative, and self-empowering aspects of maintaining an inspired massage career.

Anatomy Trains is a revolutionary map for creating holistic strategies for lasting soft-tissue intervention. Anatomy Trains connects the muscles together in kinetic chains and fascial slings to transcend the old idea of single-muscle actions. Increased scientific understanding of the nature of soft-tissue relationships has led to a new understanding of how the plasticity of the "neuro-myo-fascial" web can be used to create lasting change for injury rehabilitation, performance enhancement, and personal development. This audio-visual presentation reviews new research findings, presents recent dissection evidence for fascial continuities, and points to some of the strategy directions emerging from this groundbreaking new way of seeing the locomotor system at work.

The world of massage therapy research is exploding, and access to high quality research articles is easier than ever. But many massage therapists don't know where to find the evidence that can help them build their practice. And once they do discover it, it can be challenging to figure out how to apply findings to build their skills. This webinar with Ruth Werner, former president of the Massage Therapy Foundation (MTF), will discuss recent findings in massage therapy research—some funded by the MTF and some by other sources. We will discuss how to find the best information and ways it can be applied to help your practice become more effective.

Join us for a fascinating view of the body as a 360 degree by 360 degree structure. The body is a complex system with many moving and interdependent parts; however, its inner workings are governed by simple laws. This presentation will provide an insightful perspective on the way the human body functions. It will inspire both new and experienced therapists, bodyworkers, and movement teachers to search for ways to integrate this insight into their practice. Initial concepts will be discussed that will define a way of thinking about posture and movement that many practitioners have never considered.

It’s estimated that some 44 million Americans have myofascial pain problems. One study, for example, found trigger points to be the cause in 55 percent of head and neck pain cases. Despite their prevalence, they often remain overlooked and misdiagnosed. In this video presentation, Dr. Laura Perry will provide you with a thorough overview of trigger points and myofascial pain syndromes based on the exhaustive work of Dr. Janet Travell and Dr. David Simons. You’ll learn to recognize when myofascial trigger points may be involved in your clients pain complaint and discover effective treatment approaches to ensure your clients remain pain-free.

Not all headaches are created equally. Although working with them may be straightforward, there are many sources of head pain, and what helps with one type, can actually worsen another. Understanding differences between different kinds of headaches is one key to effective hands-on work. Join Til Luchau as he presents a clear framework for distinguishing between vascular and musculoskeletal headaches, as well as practical tips and specific suggestions you can incorporate right away into your hands-on work. In the video segment, Luchau demonstrates techniques that will dramatically improve your ability to work with common types of head, sinus, and eye pain, including common headaches, migraines, and cluster headaches.

Millions of Americans are receiving massage therapy on a regular basis, and hundreds of thousands of others are exploring massage for the first time. They have different perceptions of massage therapy and hold different beliefs around touch. Because of these vast differences in perceptions and boundaries, massage therapists have to be extremely vigilant in their communication, approach, and conduct with each client. This presentation examines human sexuality and our beliefs about inappropriate conduct and inappropriate touch. Find out how you can prevent your intentions from being misinterpreted by a client, and protect yourself and your career in the process.

Bell's palsy affects 40,000 people annually, leaving some of them with permanent paralysis. Find out how to assess clients who are affected by this condition and learn effective methods of treating and restoring them to optimal health. You’ll discover advanced neurological techniques that can be applied equally to Bell's palsy or stroke victims. 

Join six top massage business experts for a look at simple, actionable strategies to grow your practice. Find out how to provide a stellar experience and keep clients coming back for more. Discover the truth about daily deals like Groupon and how to make these work for you. And learn how to get more doctor referrals and how to painlessly increase your prices.

There are tremendous opportunities for clinic owners and associating practitioners to share resources and expand business opportunities in a working relationship. The associate enjoys low start-up costs, overflow business, and established business location and reputation. The clinic owner can expand hours and types of service, scale expenses proportionately, and build capital for expansion, contingency, and professional development. Yet many practitioner-owner relationships end in resentment and lost income. Why? There are a number of logical errors the typical massage agreement is built on that doom the relationship to eventual failure. Join Don Dillon as he outlines five common errors in forming a massage business agreement and how you can correct these before it's too late.

Discover eight simple shifts you can implement effortlessly into your life to support elevated emotional, physical, and mental states. The basics of physical health and vitality all come down to these core changes that anyone can use for the rest of their lives. With the science of alkalinity, physical responses to stress, and physical stamina, this presentation provides a dynamic approach to implementing healthy life choices from a non-restrictive, fun, joyful, and simple perspective.

Do you have the practice you want? The right number of clients? The ones you most want to work with? When and where you choose? If you can say yes to all these things, you’re the rare bird who’s managed to balance the inner and outer factors involved in a successful practice. If you’re like most of us, though, the balancing act usually has room for improvement. Til Luchau leads participants through a process of assessment, reflection, insight, out-of-the box thinking, and planning that will give you practical ways to nurture the practice you want.

Proper body use is the foundation for a sustainable and long-term massage practice. Understanding how to use your body efficiently will extend the life of your career, allow you to serve more clients, protect you from strain and injury, and enhance every modality you practice. As a massage therapist, you are your most precious resource. Patrick Ingrassia will introduce you to his unique approach to body use that allows you to care for, and maximize, that resource, making you the best practitioner you can be.

Bowen Technique has increased in popularity since it was introduced to the world by Australians Ossie and Elaine Rentsch in the 1980s. In this fascinating presentation with Ossie Rentsch—the man given the responsibility of documenting the technique by Bowen himself—you find out about Bowtech, the original form of Bowen Technique. You’ll learn about the history of the technique and its phenomenal growth worldwide and you’ll get an overview of how it works, discover conditions that can be successfully treated using this approach, and learn how it can be integrated into your practice.

This presentation describes and explains the presenting features and symptoms (pain, fatigue, and anxiety) of unbalanced respiration (breathing pattern disorder), as well as rehabilitation strategies. Research shows this widespread habit (mainly affecting females) negatively affects disturbed autonomic balance, musculoskeletal and circulatory function, pain thresholds, and motor control and core stability, as well as balance. Safe rehabilitation methods are described and discussed. Every massage therapist should be able to recognize and advise on this widespread problem, which requires a combination of breathing re-education and manual treatment to achieve rehabilitation.

Bruce Baltz worked with Aaron Mattes in reformatting Active Isolated Stretching (AIS) for the spa-going population. Whether you work in a spa or a clinic, you will be enlightened by this presentation. You will learn the principles behind AIS and why it is so effective, as well as the depth it will bring to any program or session.

This session explains the use of emotional intelligence building as a way to enhance learning environments and interaction with students, whether they are baby boomers, Gen Xers, or members of Millennials. Emotional intelligence skills are important to the professional massage therapist and can be a critical component of success. By taking time to develop these skills through classroom activities, all students—no matter their generation—can benefit.

This special business panel features experts Felicia Brown, Irene Diamond, and Jeff Shearer. They address the most common and important aspects of starting, building, and maintaining a thriving massage practice. The panel members will respond to the most asked questions by massage professionals—both those just starting out and seasoned professionals who are looking to build on their current successes. You’ll discover how to generate new business, leverage your current clients, and set yourself apart from the crowd. Learn strategies that you can implement immediately into your practice for increased business success.

Learn from some of the profession's top leaders in business in this one-of-a-kind roundtable presentation. These authors, presenters, practitioners, product developers, and researchers bring more than 70 years of combined experience and expertise in the massage and bodywork profession. You’ll learn plenty of great ideas on how you can increase your business skills, attract and retain more clients, find the best products and services for your type of business, and plenty of other tips you can implement immediately.

Breathing is something we never think about. And unbeknownst to us, we tend to have unhealthy breathing patterns—seemingly innocuous habits that disrupt our biochemistry and deprive the body of oxygen. In order to significantly help a number of common conditions—including anxiety, asthma, hay fever, high-blood pressure, insomnia, and snoring and sleep apnoea—it is necessary to have a basic understanding about the way we breathe, the importance of breathing volume, and how to normalize it. Join Patrick McKeown as he shares his expertise in the Buteyko Method to help you enjoy greater vitality through improved breathing patterns.

Achieving the ability to meet therapeutic goals and provide client satisfaction can bring success, but a therapist’s career path does not have to end there. Participants in this session will have an opportunity to re-examine their role in light of the expanding spa industry. Topics include: requirements, expectations, and career paths for massage therapists in a spa setting. Key insights will be shared by a massage therapist with over 20 years of experience who runs a world-class resort spa (#5 in North America, #13 in the world) employing 50-plus massage therapists.

Life-long learners are people who seek out fresh ideas, alternative perspectives, and chances to explore our changing, dynamic, information-rich profession by keeping their senses active and their minds open. Join life-long learners Ruth Werner, Whitney Lowe, Ben Benjamin, and Jan Schwartz for a panel discussion that reflects on the many ways we can express our curiosity, enthusiasm for life, and love of massage as practitioners, students, teachers, and life-long learners.

Learn how chair massage has developed outside the United States and discover how you can develop a career in massage beyond the traditional routes that are most evident to therapists in North America. Join Tony Neuman as he discusses these topics and outlines how chair massage can provide your practice with diversity to avoid burnout. He’ll also discuss the potential of chair massage as a marketing tool for your clinical practice.

This presentation is audio only.

Your brain continues to learn and develop new skills and abilities at every age. By using Brain Gym techniques, your brain can develop to its fullest capacity physically, mentally, and emotionally. Join us for a fascinating introduction to the neuroscience behind Brain Gym and learn five simple movements that can be used individually or in sequence to put yourself and your clients in a learning-ready state and reduce stress, and to ensure that your clients get optimal results from your massage sessions.

Tiffany Field, director of the Touch Research Institute, discusses findings from research done at the University of Miami. She examines the effects of massage on a wide range of conditions—from back pain and fibromyalgia to asthma and job stress. You will discover some of the underlying mechanisms that make massage effective in the treatment of a wide range of pathologies.

People don’t file insurance liability claims against massage therapists and bodyworkers, right? Wrong!  Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals (ABMP) staff members regularly answer questions about claims. In some cases, therapists were negligent or made choices that put clients at risk. In others, they were the possible victims of the sue-happy age we live in. Join us to review examples of real (and sometimes shocking) claims. Learn how to use these cautionary tales to safeguard your practice and take steps to prevent unnecessary claims.

There are many aspects to massage research. It's surprisingly easy for you as a massage therapist to get involved in building the base of the research pyramid. Join our presenter Ruth Werner as she takes you on a climb up the massage research pyramid, from the anecdotes and case reports that form our base to the systematic reviews at our peak.

In this presentation Dr. Lisa Upledger discusses CranioSacral Therapy (CST), the history of the technique, and Dr. John Upledger's involvement in its development. She shares insights into how CST effects overall health as a fluid-moving system and the four aspects therapists are feeling for when they palpate the craniosacral rhythm. Lisa also talks about the fascial system and explain how it interfaces with the CSS and when to use SomatoEmotional Release in clinical applications.

The root of success in using massage to treat pain and injury conditions does not lie purely in any particular technique. Though knowing effective treatment approaches is a benefit, determining the "how, why, and when" of those techniques is mandatory for successful treatment. Incorporating proper clinical reasoning skills is critical to both evaluating your client's condition and tissues, as well as developing the most effective treatment plans. This presentation shows how you can enhance treatment outcomes and client satisfaction by improving your clinical reasoning skills, ultimately improving your practice and success as a practitioner.

The transition to student life can be difficult. New students must learn to balance school, work, family, and social obligations while tackling new academic challenges. Well-developed orientations help students fill in academic readiness gaps, bond with peers and school staff, anticipate and prepare for challenges, and fit into campus culture. This session explores the components of great orientations and the action steps schools can take to evaluate and evolve their orientations to better meet student needs.

John Corry provides some insights into intra-oral techniques and principles in the area of TMJ dysfunction. As soft-tissue bodyworkers, we bring a unique and valuable contribution in that the mandible is suspended by soft tissue and is therefore governed by soft-tissue responses to craniomandibular function. Whether TMJ dysfunction be primary, or an expression of a whole-body pattern, knowing how to effectively access the "Mandibular Sling" is a valuable part of a massage therapist's toolbox.

Greek physician Hippocrates (460–377 BC) once declared that the “natural forces within us are the true healers of disease.” In the centuries since then, medical science has undergone incomprehensible advances. Yet for all of our technological wizardry, it is more apparent every day that nothing dreamed up in a laboratory has more power to facilitate true healing than the essence of Nature itself. When we refine our ability to channel that power through our bodies and minds, then we become the living medical instruments we were meant to be. Join Drs. John and Lisa Upledger to learn how you can strengthen your ability to work in concert with Nature to tap those natural forces. By learning more about the miraculous capabilities of the energy flowing through you every moment, you can perfect your own ability to direct your intention for the greatest good of all concerned.

As a massage therapist, you dream of having a large base of loyal clients who regularly see you and who refer friends and family to you. What does it take to make this happen? Join this panel of business experts to learn how to implement the three R's of raising your income, use research articles in your practice, develop self-promotion techniques, and build a great team.

Every small business needs a website. You may think creating a website is difficult to do, but it's easier than you think. Eric Brown will guide you step-by-step through the process and help you design a website that looks fabulous, even if you hate "computer stuff" and type with just two fingers. He'll tell you about the five pages you must have on your site to generate business, what to say (and more importantly, what not to say) to turn casual visitors into loyal clients, and will give you the key to getting your website ranked at the top of Google listings. In no time at all, you'll have a powerful client-generating website to take your business to the next level.

This presentation explores the subject of sustainability and the impact that we have on the planet. Learn about green products, your carbon footprint, carbon offsetting, and synthetic ingredients to avoid. Gain tips on changes to make in your life and business to create a green practice.

Join Angie Patrick as she shares with you the essentials that can take your existing massage practice and make it a thriving massage practice. She will touch on points like proper equipment and product usage and how to set up your work environment with specific decor suggestions, including how to properly display retail products to increase your bottom line. All these add up to influencing your clients' perception of you as an expert in your field. Creating a unique, welcoming, and professional environment will make your clients want to talk about you and your services to others, and will keep them coming back again and again.

The long-term success of any massage, spa, or wellness business depends on building strong relationships with, and recurrent sales from, existing clients who not only come in regularly themselves but also refer everyone they know to the business. If you struggle to retain and rebook clients and find yourself wasting time, money, and energy focusing on bringing in new clients, then you must attend this special video presentation, where you'll discover surprisingly simple and effective techniques for creating repeat and referral business from lifetime clients.

Start the year off right by getting clear on what you want to have, do, and be in your practice. This class will not only explore the reasons and the steps for effective goal setting, but will also help you uncover and move past common roadblocks that could keep you from achieving your goals. By knowing what you want, you'll be better able to take the right steps to achieve it and save yourself wasted time, money, and effort.

Even though most massage professionals maintain high ethical standards, ethical violations in the massage profession do occur, and boundaries are often inadvertently crossed, putting both therapists and clients at risk. That’s why it’s vital that we examine the role of boundaries in the client-therapist relationship. In this presentation, you’ll discover common areas where boundary crossings occur, and will learn to bring more awareness to your professional relationship and develop strategies for effective boundaries for healthy therapeutic relationships.  

This introductory presentation is designed for manual therapists who are curious about cupping therapy and are wondering whether they should incorporate it into their clinical environment, or for those who may only be interested in gaining a better understanding of the technique. In addition to answering the 5 W’s, you’ll see video demonstrations of cupping techniques.

For most massage professionals, neck pain/discomfort is one of the most frequent client complaints they treat, so it's important that we understand neck pain and are able to treat it in the most effective way possible. In this video presentation you'll learn a comprehensive deep tissue massage protocol that will help your clients get the results they're looking for. The massage techniques demonstrated will include myofascial, neuromuscular, cranial as well as therapeutic stretching.

Deep Tissue Unwinding is a simple five-step process that helps clients disperse superficial tension and settle into the massage table. The technique uses a fluid combination of gentle rocking, slow deep compressions, myofascial elongation strokes, targeted pressure point holds, and integrative movement to unwind and relax the client. Deep Tissue Unwinding is easy to integrate into any routine and can also be used as a standalone therapy.

According to Businessweek, an estimated 30 million PowerPoint presentations are given each day around the globe. Unfortunately, an estimated 72 percent of them are unbearable! If you’re a instructor, continuing education provider, or therapist doing client education events, you want to deliver stunning presentations that help you teach your methods, sell your services, build your brand, get clients, and ensure your audience enjoys learning. In this class, you’ll discover how to use key principles in instructional design to engage your audience and you’ll learn the secrets of structure and slide design to quickly take your presentation expertise to a new level.

Do you need a niche? The answer is no. But many massage therapists find that identifying a particular niche—or two or three—is one of the simplest and most powerful things they can do to take their business to the next level. This presentation with Tad Hargrave will look at the possibilities and the limitations of niche marketing for massage therapists.

This presentation is audio only.

Failing to keep proper records not only makes treatment planning difficult, but it could be considered illegal in some circumstances and put you and your practice in danger. You must keep complete and accurate documents as part of your massage practice. You are likely required to maintain clinical records, and may also need to keep financial, employee, state, and federal records. Complete and accurate records are also vital if you are involved with third-party insurance billing. During this presentation with author and renowned educator Sandy Fritz, you will discover the importance of outcome-based care plans, how critical reasoning is used to formulate these care plans, various charting methods for session-by-session documentation, and how technology and software can make this process more efficient.

This presentation offers the opportunity to learn about the background and benefits of Dorn Spinal Therapy. You will be introduced to a demonstration and explanation of treatment steps and processes. You will learn how to combine massage therapy and Dorn Spinal Therapy and gain an understanding of the benefits for the client and the therapist.

Teaching innovative techniques developed over the past two decades, Raymond Aaron shows you step by step how to take conscious control of your world so you can increase your income doing what you love to do. Aaron has spent years developing, refining, and testing the techniques he teaches so you don’t have to struggle to get what you want in life. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. This presentation is based on his book by the same name.

Dry brushing is a simple and underutilized spa technique that you can easily incorporate into your existing practice. Find out how this technique can increase lymph circulation, exfoliate skin, and possibly reduce cellulite. This video presentation demonstrates all aspects of application. After you’ve finished watching, you’ll be ready to add this valuable add-on to your list of services.

Known by the spa world for several years, Signature Services are special, usually longer treatments that incorporate products and techniques that make them just a little different from the norm. This class shows therapists how to create three distinct world-fusion signature massage services: One service blends Swedish massage techniques with an exfoliation from Bali, a heated herbal compress from Thailand, and transitional movements inspired by Hawaiian lomi lomi. Another recreates spring in Tuscany with warmed herbal-infused oils of rosemary and neroli. The last service features clays and pine extracts from the deserts of the American Southwest, warmed basalt stones, and pure sage for purification. With this information, you"ll be able to offer your clients an international therapeutic tour right in your own massage room.

Wraps aren't just for spas. Discover a dynamic way to use a simple cocoon wrap to move your client's body in new ways. Using the techniques you'll learn in this fascinating presentation, you'll not only provide your client with an unforgettable massage experience, but you'll be able to effectively prepare your client's body for deeper work, leading to a more effective and less painful experience.

Some of the most effective and enjoyable spa treatments can be done in the average massage room without a shower or wet-table. By adding a few simple spa techniques, therapists can easily diversify their work and increase their income. In this video presentation, you’ll see mini-demonstrations of waterless spa treatments and discover how to incorporate the spa experience into your existing practice.

Delivering exceptional customer service is the key to building and sustaining any customer-focused business. The only way to do that is to thoroughly understand what your clients want, need, and expect. Learn five vital elements of communication needed to understand your clients' expectations. Use the structured format outlined in this presentation for communicating with your clients and deliver exceptional service every time.

People who find chair massage hard to perform haven’t realized that massage done in the chair requires a totally different approach to that done on a table. The truth is chair massage is only hard on your body when you do it wrong. In this presentation Eric Brown will dispel the myths that chair massage is hard on your hands and that it cannot be done deeply or effectively. He’ll review eight body-use principles that will revolutionize the way you work through clothing and that will allow you to do chair massage comfortably, effectively, and safely.

To get longevity out of your career you need two things: effective client results, and an approach that's easy on your body. Your clients' results are achieved through an effective treatment protocol that should have depth of maneuvers and be gentle on your body. The level of stress to your body is determined by your personal focus on your own muscle balance, tone, and flexibility. Tune in to learn simple, easy techniques that both you and your clients can use between appointments to stay strong, balanced, and flexible.

Initiated by conversations among the profession’s leadership early in 2011, the Entry-Level Analysis Project (ELAP) goals were to obtain and use research data and analysis of findings from other massage profession documents to inform the creation of an entry-level curriculum map. The map defines the essential elements of entry-level curriculum necessary for safe and competent practice in a massage career and predicts the total number of minimum hours needed to prepare graduates for entry into the massage profession. The project outputs are being used to inform the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards’ Model Practice Act to promote portability of credentials in the massage profession. This session reports on the project findings, resources, and implications for massage professionals, schools, instructors, and students.

Did you know that 10,000 people turn 65 every day? Or that the fastest-growing segment of our population is 85 years and older? Among people turning 65 today, 69 percent will need some form of long-term care, whether in the community or in a residential care facility. There are 16,000 certified nursing homes, 39,500 assisted living facilities, 1,900 continuing care retirement communities, and more than 4,700 hospice programs in the United States. Working with elders and those in hospice care can be a successful area of practice and a personally rewarding experience. But even massage therapists who feel called to do this work struggle with some fears and lack confidence in their ability to successfully reach out to this special population. In this presentation we will demystify working with frail elders and offer keys to success. Join us and find out how you can expand your practice with confidence and follow your heart!

Learn about the basic principles of the Kinesio Taping Method, Prossage Heat, and Biofreeze, and how soft tissue treatments will enhance your therapeutic effectiveness. This method of taping uses a uniquely designed and patented tape for treatment of muscular disorders and lymphedema reduction.

Join renowned manual therapist James Waslaski and discover a unique approach to onsite sporting event massage, injury prevention and rehabilitation, and performance enhancement techniques. In this engaging presentation, you'll find out about muscle firing sequencing for optimal performance, discover which techniques can have a negative effect on performance if applied too close to competition, and learn about protocols to enhance transitions in endurance events like triathlons.

Join some of the top minds in emarketing and learn how you can use the web as a powerful tool to build and manage your practice. Forget the hype and get practical advice on creating a website, getting found at the top of Google with SEO, email marketing, social media, Facebook marketing, the increasing importance of online video, and more.

Most massage therapists have experienced an emotional response from clients during a massage. This can range from personal talk to outbursts of tears and even more extreme reactions. How do you manage the emotional client? Are there ways to predict whether an emotional response will happen? How should the therapist respond? Is there a protocol that will help the client and protect the therapist? Join us for this stimulating discussion, where you’ll develop a better understanding of the highly impressionable mindset of the client during massage therapy and learn about the triggers behind emotional reactions. You’ll be better prepared for these situations as you discover how to best manage these incidents with practical, in the moment responses.

As Derek Bok said, “If you think education is expensive . . . try ignorance.” Bad agreements can be devastating to your practice. Whether you are a business owner who is contracting therapists or hiring employees or whether you are a therapist looking to rent space or partner with someone, it’s important to know how to create an effective agreement. In this broadcast you’ll learn how to set up appropriate expectations and ensure your business is financially sustainable. You’ll also find out why straight percentage agreements are not practical for the long term. And as a contracted practitioner or employee, you’ll discover how to improve your value so you have the upper hand in negotiating agreements.

Do you find your energy dips throughout the day and you grab for easy but poor food choices? Do you find you give everything to your clients so there’s nothing left for yourself or your loved ones? Join certified nutritionist Madeline MacKinnon and learn how to develop an easy plan to keep you nourished throughout your workday. You’ll come out armed with quick and easy recipe options that are super tasty and nourishing. Understand how to balance your blood sugar to keep your energy up, reduce cravings, and balance your hormones.

Discover how to triple your new client referrals using the effective "3-1-3 Referral Marketing Program." This referral system will transform your massage practice by getting your clients to rave about your business.

Communication skills affect every aspect of a therapist’s ability to initiate, manage, and maintain a healthy therapeutic relationship with clients. From understanding a client’s concerns to creating a treatment plan, communication is everything. Yet in this day and age of technology often becoming our “go to” medium for conversation, it’s easy to get a little rusty on making those face-to-face interactions more effective and meaningful. Learn how a few simple techniques and increased awareness can make all the difference in your communication.

Working with animals can be a wonderful and rewarding addition to any massage practice. The theory and technique of the Wilson Meagher method of sports massage, equine biomechanics of motion, and strategies to achieve complete freedom and range of motion will be presented. Muscles and their functions will be reviewed as a foundation to recognize muscle tightness, why tightness develops, how to prevent it, and how tightness is reflected in range-of-motion restrictions that contribute to diminished performance. Examples may include diminished endurance, shortened stride, leaning on one rein, hanging a leg while jumping, and drifting to one side.

What are the Top 12 pain complaints you see in practice? And how do you treat them? In this lively, interactive, and visually stimulating presentation, myoskeletal expert Erik Dalton reveals Myoskeletal Techniques derived from more than 36 years in clinical practice for correcting conditions such as sciatica, rotator cuff, rib pain, neck cricks, migraines, and more.

For building and maintaining a successful practice, our communication skills matter just as much as our hands-on techniques. This presentation explores two of the most common problems in practitioner-client conversations: mind-reads and predictions. We all communicate in these ways from time to time, often with the best of intentions, but often to the detriment of our relationship with our clients. You’ll learn how to recognize when you fall into these communication traps and will discover strategies for steering each conversation in a more productive direction.

You can make blends of essential oils to improve your massage session outcomes. It’s been proven by research. But how do you get a combination of essential oils to smell good, demonstrate therapeutic effect, enhance outcomes, and not be so strong as to cause adverse reactions? Is it really possible to create formulas that influence emotions or change behavioral patterns? Is there a blend that can speak directly to the spirit? In this class, you’ll discover the answers to these questions and learn practical skills to create essential oil synergies with physiological, psychological, and spiritual effects.

This presentation covers the reasons you should consider adding essential oils to your massage therapy treatments. Aromatic oils can greatly enhance a massage treatment and can help in treating common issues such as stress and anxiety, pain from chronic conditions or injury, and hormonal challenges. Learn which oils are important for various conditions, how to integrate them into your treatments, and how to add to your income stream through retail sales.

Aromatherapy is the art and science of healing body, mind, and spirit with natural plant essences called essential oils. Aromatic plants hold meanings, developed over time, from the qualities assigned to them from cultures around the world. Learn about using essential oils for common conditions, and explore the spiritual meanings of plants.

As health-care professionals we have made a professional promise to our clients and to society to behave ethically. But how can we keep this promise to society if we are not educated and informed in ethics? This course on ethics education focuses on several key questions that ethics educators need to consider and address, including: What should ethics education really be about? What are some of the basic concepts, distinctions, and principles we need to teach in ethics education? What is the relationship between law and ethics? How can we motivate, as opposed to merely inform, our students to behave ethically and to make their personal and professional integrity an important part of their ethical development? Finally, what should the future of ethics education look like? What are some of our next professional growth steps?

This workshop summarizes how to set healthy boundaries with clients and how to use your therapeutic presence in an ethical manner. Healthy boundaries are critical for the discernment of ethical and nonethical feelings, tendencies, and behaviors in the treatment room. The skills of full-body presence develop and enhance somatic and boundary awareness and provide the tools necessary to be grounded and energetically full. This course contains the theoretical framework of how permeable, semipermeable, and rigid boundaries are necessary for dealing ethically with the intimacy of the therapeutic connection in bodywork. All of these skills enable you to establish and maintain ethical professional relationships.

Upper extremity overuse disorders are seen in almost epidemic levels in our health-care system. Massage therapists can play a key role in proper identification and treatment of these disorders. In this course we'll explore biomechanical factors, assessment strategies, and treatment methods for numerous upper extremity overuse conditions.

Learning takes place through all of the senses, thus the learning process is more effective when you incorporate a variety of sensory experiences into your curriculum. Join us as we explore how to develop and implement experiential learning activities, and brainstorm tips for encouraging participation.

Enjoy taking exquisite care of yourself as you befriend your body’s intelligence and grow your kinesphere’s potential. Experience the magic of movement as we explore medical qigong, yoga therapy, and Thai yoga for self-care. Combine the power of your presence with globally inspired healing moves that expand your positivity and feelings of aliveness! These fun healing moves generate opportunities for everyone to cultivate greater joy and moving possibilities. Follow along and discover that, as Moshe Feldenkrais says, “There is no limit to the improvement of movement.”

It seems like almost everyone is on Facebook. The media is touting it as the greatest way to promote your business ever. But how do you do that, especially as a massage professional? Eric Brown cuts through the hype and gives you the simple truth behind using Facebook to grow your practice, from managing your privacy to turning your Facebook friends into paying clients. Whether you are just thinking of setting up your account or are an experienced Facebook junkie, you’ll come away with valuable tips you can put into action today.

Europe has been a hot spot for innovation in reflexology, and in 1988, Facial Reflex Therapy, also called Facial Reflexology, was born. However, the roots of this work date back many centuries and are based on a wide variety of traditions and practices. Using knowledge of anatomy and physiology, this technique combines ancient and modern therapies with the potential to balance the individual on all levels, physically and psychologically. Join us for a look at this unique approach, which is an excellent supplement to traditional hand and foot reflexology.

Learn about the latest developments and insights from the international field of fascia research relevant for massage therapists. Gain knowledge of the new definition of fascia and learn the four types of mechanoreceptors: Golgi, Paccini, Ruffini, and interstitial endings. Discover what kind of touch triggers which receptors and physiological responses. Hear about recent insights into fascia, including fascia as a pain generator and nociceptive innervation of fascia. This course holds particular relevance for low-back pain and offers practical suggestions on application.

Fascial Stretch Therapy (FST) is a system of assessment and treatment that encourages the therapist to move in a continuous, gentle, dance-like motion, using their whole body-mind in a process that quickly and effectively removes restrictions to movement and restores function. It’s a great approach for therapists that have worn out their body and hands working from mostly static positions. In this presentation you’ll learn a variety of hands-on techniques that you can try on your clients and see the fast, effective results yourself. Learn to assess and treat tissue as it moves. Use FST either alone or integrated with massage for better results.

Beyond Swedish massage, reflexology may be one of the most widely recognized massage modalities around the world, with a long tradition in most cultures. Join an exceptional panel of reflexology experts from top international associations to learn about the birth of modern reflexology, gain insights on how reflexology is practiced around the world, and find out about the latest trends and happenings in various countries.

This presentation is a must for all therapists wishing to understand fibromyalgia and chronic myofascial pain syndrome. Learn the differences between the two commonly confused conditions as we review the unique aspects and symptomology of each syndrome. You'll find out about the latest research in this area and learn specific treatment protocols for working with each condition, as well as how to identify and treat those with the "double whammy."

Many massage professionals struggle to fill their practice. It's a shame that these talented professionals have so much to offer, but just don't have clients coming to see them for help. If that's you, watch this presentation for a list of proven practice-building techniques with a simple, no-nonsense, step-by-step plan to turn things around and help you build the practice of your dreams.

What does the research say about massage therapy and pain? Wouldn’t it be great if someone would put together all the high-quality studies to come up with some credible conclusions? It’s been done! In 2014 the Massage Therapy Foundation began the process of creating the largest systematic review of research about massage therapy for pain and function ever conducted. In this presentation you’ll get an overview of these comprehensive reports, with information on how to access them, what they mean, and how to apply the articles and associated databases for client outcomes and professional networking.

Clients who use computers present an ongoing clinical challenge as they continuously strain the same areas. This presentation will give you the information and skills you need to help these sedentary clients. You'll learn how to create effortless upright posture for your clients and teach them how to work on their own trouble areas so you can save your hands.

Did you follow your passion into a massage career, only to find yourself stumped about how to actually build a successful practice? Rebecca de Azevedo Overson struggled for eight years, making costly mistakes, getting deeper in debt, perpetually wondering what she was doing wrong . . . until she eventually quit. When she came back, she built a successful six-figure massage practice almost overnight—without hunting down clients one by one. In this class, you’ll discover the five vital shifts she made to turn her business around, and you’ll learn techniques and strategies that she used in order to turn your own practice into a soul-fulfilling business.

Take the guesswork out of what you really need to do to take your practice from "survival thinking" to "thriving thinking." You will learn the five steps and the strategy behind each so you understand how they fit into your business model, that will then allow you to grow your solo or small practice in order to generate a high five- or six-figure income. You'll see a clear path to every therapist's ultimate goal: making a difference in people's lives while having fun in your practice.

Bodywork in its many forms may be part of a holistic approach for those diagnosed with chronic disorders. However, the value of these therapies lies, at least in part, on the way we deliver the therapy rather than any intrinsic properties of that modality. This presentation will explore the etiology and pathogenesis of chronic disorders and will provide you with an overview of strategies aimed at reversing chronic degenerative and inflammatory processes. Based on his own personal experience with a range of bodywork modalities during his own recovery from Parkinson's disease, along with broad clinical experience treating thousands of people diagnosed with chronic neuro, autoimmune, and infectious disorders, and extensive study of cell biology and other disciplines, John Coleman will reveal the best way to deliver bodywork to assist the healing pathway of fragile, frightened, and frustrated people.

Is research relevant to your daily practice? Does it help you serve your massage clients more effectively? In this presentation, you’ll be presented with three client cases. Then, you’ll join us on a mission. We’ll use online resources to find relevant research articles for each case, pick the strongest research articles, and then explore how these research findings may be immediately applied to your three clients. Then, you get to return a verdict: did your exploration of the research help improve your treatment and get a better client result or not?

Massage therapists are increasingly aware of the theoretical importance of research to the profession, but many of us struggle to understand how to apply research findings for our clients and businesses. This one-hour conversation with former Massage Therapy Foundation president Dr. Jerrilyn Cambron and past president Ruth Werner will provide insights about how you can use research findings to improve client outcomes, build relationships with other health-care providers, and even broaden the evidence base for your profession.

Healthy boundaries are critical for massage practice. They allow us to identify the line between ethical and nonethical feelings, and tendencies and behaviors in the treatment room, and help us create an environment where we can establish and maintain ethical professional relationships. In this presentation, we’ll look at the skill of “full-body presence” as a way to develop and enhance boundary awareness and as a way to help you feel more grounded and energetically full. We’ll explore theoretical frameworks around boundaries and discuss the permeable, semi-permeable and rigid boundaries necessary for dealing ethically with the intimacy of the therapeutic connection that’s intrinsic to bodywork.

In this practical presentation on the subject of ethics and massage, we’ll look at the stories of four massage therapists who found themselves in situations where they’ve been faced with unsettling dilemmas. What would you do if you found yourself in their shoes? In the battle of you against yourself, will you make the right ethical decision?

Functional Fascial Taping can decrease pain and increase range of motion, to encourage muscle firing and normal movement patterns. The technique has a unique objective assessment procedure and tape application to modify pain and provide tension/load at rest, active increased load (client self-administered treatment), and frequent alterations in load with movement with activity. This noninvasive treatment encourages practitioners' treatments to "hold" for longer and to rehabilitate in a pain-free environment.

When clients pursue treatment, they often say they want to do “x” again, which is usually some sort of functional movement such as gardening or playing a sport. But hands-on work alone is sometimes not enough to restore healthy, functional movement. This presentation teaches you the basic principles of how to incorporate targeted, functional movement into your session. Find out how to use these strategies to release stubborn muscles, retrain dysfunctional movement patterns, and get your clients moving again.

New research continues to accumulate in the world of manual therapy. Has our approach to soft-tissue therapy kept up with the times? Join international speaker Dr. Andreo Spina as he introduces you to the Functional Range Release soft-tissue management system. This system is forged out of the current knowledge regarding soft-tissue mechanics and cellular histology. Tune into this presentation to find out if the current research discussed causes you to question your personal approach to the treatment of soft-tissue lesions.

In this presentation, you’ll learn some basic concepts around fascia and its manipulation. We’ll explore the scientific research behind a soft-tissue treatment called Functional Range Release and you’ll discover how to get a temporary reduction in the stretch reflex to assist your client in achieving greater range of motion. This course is the first in a series of two courses.

This presentation expands on the Part 1 presentation by Dr. John Saratsiotis, who discussed the scientific basis behind the creation of this new system of soft-tissue treatment. This course introduces you to the Functional Range Release, a soft-tissue treatment and rehabilitation management system. Utilizing the trademarked Tissue Tension Technique and "P.A.I.L's" (Progressive Angular Isometric Loading), Functional Range Release soft-tissue management expands on the basic tenets of myofascial-release treatments by simultaneously assessing, expanding, and strengthening the patient’s functional range of motion. An introduction to the system is offered demonstrating the applications of the technique to various soft-tissue structures, as well as the application of P.A.I.L’s, which forms an integral part of the treatment system. The introduction of the technique is followed by a series of case presentations taking you through the assessment technique, treatment application, and rehabilitation process involved in Functional Range Release. This course is the second in a series of two courses.

Do you ever look out at the students in your classroom and wonder, “Why are they acting this way?” Chances are you’ve got multiple generations at play in your classroom, all with distinct attitudes, behaviors, expectations, habits, and motivations. Learn to understand and appreciate each generation’s strengths and weaknesses and develop effective teaching methods to motivate and communicate with each group.

Release the breath and allow your client to breathe more fully with ease by incorporating diaphragmatic and rib release into your treatments. Follow Angie Dubis in this special video presentation as she leads you through a comprehensive approach to addressing the muscles of respiration and gently mobilizing the involved joints.

Learn how to make all the marketing you do even more effective with social media. This class will uncover the differences between traditional marketing and social media marketing; give a clear structure for using social media marketing; and provide step-by-step plans/tools needed for creating three specific promotions for the holiday season. In short, this class will teach you how to grow your business, make more money, increase your professional network, and market yourself and/or your business effectively and more affordably with social media.

Be a fly on the wall for this candid interview with famed osteopath Leon Chaitow, one of the organizers of the International Fascial Congress and author of over 60 books on health and manual medicine. We'll discuss recent scientific finds in the area of massage and physical medicine and look at how the application of those findings can help therapists become more effective at addressing the root of their clients pain. We'll also explore the latest developments in neuromuscular therapy, look at the odd relationship between massage and pelvic pain, and raise the question as to whether there is still value in the old-fashioned back rub.

Why do we see so many of the same postural patterns in clients that come into our offices with chronic back pain? Is it a structural or functional problem? And what exactly is causing the pain? Muscles? Ligaments? Joints? Or fascia? Join renowned musculoskeletal expert Erik Dalton as we explore the fascinating world of compensatory patterns and reflexogenic pain. And discover a simple formula for localizing the source of your client's problem so you can help them get out of pain in a hurry.

Hop on board for a fascinating tour of traditional massage around the world. We’ll make stops in each of the seven continents, visiting Brazil, Kenya, Bali, Hungary, Australia, and more. Learn about the various forms of traditional massage and healing that have been practiced for thousands of years and discover how they can be integrated into your massage or spa practice.

Many people claim to be doing "deep" work, but are often affecting tissue quite superficially. In this presentation, Thomas Myers synthesizes the elements of depth out of his 35 years in practice and over 20 years teaching. Hear stories about Ida Rolf, Moshe Feldenkrais, Milton Trager, Buckminster Fuller, Emilie Conrad, Judith Aston, and other teachers Myers had the opportunity to study with. Learn about the various approaches to "depth" offered by myofascial work, cranial osteopathy, visceral work, and movement approaches. Discover the "star of depth"—five nodal points where the practitioner can deepen their contact with the client to make lasting change to the underlying patterns that generate surface strain and pain.

Of course, you’re a model of ethical behavior! Or are you? Because we generally view ourselves as good people, we don’t always take the time to view our behaviors through the critical lens of ethical behavior. As a result, we may not recognize the small things we do that cause our clients to feel discomfort or mistrust. And these little things affect not only our own business, but also those of other therapists. Engage in a little personal exploration in this interactive presentation that focuses on creating positive therapeutic relationships so that you can create higher levels of client trust and loyalty, better treatment outcomes, and more referrals.

We are all good people, but what happens when we examine ourselves through the critical lens of ethical behavior. Engage in a little personal exploration in Part 2 of this interactive presentation in which we delve deeper into the codes of conduct that seem at times to be unfairly imposed on us by regulatory bodies. Why do these codes exist and what do they even mean? And how do we reconcile adherence to regulations when they oftentimes seem at odds with our core beliefs?

Many massage practitioners provide care based on the time and labor intensive model they learned in school. This model limits our capacity to provide care, induces repetitive strain over time, and limits our ability to generate sufficient means for ourselves and our families. But what if we could challenge and reengineer the well-accepted model to provide better care, for even more patients/clients in a day while reducing stress and strain and improving our income potential? Sounds preposterous? Join Don Dillon as we think beyond the self-imposed box and explore at least 10 non- or low-hands-on complementary activities massage practitioners can engage in.

Our minds and bodies are made to last a lifetime, but only if used in accord with its design and function. Learning what that design and function consists of is vital in achieving truly healthy longevity. In this class, you’ll discover that not only can you lead a healthy, vibrant life well into the ages of 80, 90, 100, and beyond, but that it can become some of the best years of your life. You’ll learn that factors determining longevity are largely predictable and you’ll learn practical self-care concepts around these factors to enhance your personal longevity.

David Kent teaches this course with passion after suffering from debilitating headaches and chronic neck pain for over 20 years and is today pain-free. He will show how to design customized treatment plans and educate your headache sufferers using posture analysis and trigger point charts. The techniques you learn can be used immediately. Join Kent for this engaging and information-packed seminar.

This fun and engaging presentation will provide the newest information on public health issues and communicable diseases that massage therapists need to have on their radar. From herpes to hepatitis to flu, with several stops in between, including HIV/AIDS, we'll take a close look at some of the contagious conditions we might encounter and how to protect ourselves and our clients from disease transmission. Don't miss this chance to get up to speed on the latest in public health with Pathology Queen Ruth Werner.

Hyperkyphosis is often the root issue in neck, spine, sacroiliac, and shoulder problems, yet there is no real way to measure spinal curvature beyond an informal visual assessment. Every professional has learned to "read the body" for postural cues to some degree, but posture is extremely subjective and is usually hiding true bony alignment. By learning to utilize a few simple objective markers, you will be able to uncover the true alignment buried beneath the surface and will better understand why your client’s pain continues despite ongoing treatment.

Research has shown that massage practitioners have a high risk of developing musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) due to the physical demands of their work. MSDs and their symptoms can have both short and long-term effects on a therapist’s ability to maintain their normal workload, advance in their career and, in some cases, even remain in their profession. Yet injury is not inevitable; in fact, there is a great deal that massage therapists can do to prevent these injuries from occurring, and to lessen the impact of injury on their careers if it does occur despite their best efforts. Since multiple factors are involved in causing injury, a successful prevention strategy must be holistic and multifaceted, combining a number of tactics to address all potential causes. In this course, participants will gain awareness of the risk factors for injury in their work and how to reduce their exposure to those risk factors using the principles of ergonomics.

Gain a deeper understanding of muscles as Dr. Marc Ellis explores the various sensory receptors that lie within our muscles and flood our central nervous system in a sea of sensation. You will learn how massage stimulates these various receptors and how that affects the development of our brains. You'll be surprised to find out how simple sensation impacts our thought processes and affects our thinking, comprehension, and memory.

Explore how basic product ingredients affect the viscosity and glide of various lubricants and how this impacts your body mechanics. Find out how to choose “ergonomic” lubricants that better serve you and your clients. Learn how you can modify your approach in the use of specific types of massage products. You’ll go away from this presentation with a refreshed ergonomic awareness and knowledge on how to choose the optimal lubricant for specific situations, body types, and techniques.

Do you ever feel like a victim of a drive-by healing? That’s when clients drive by for a session or two. Then, they leave and you have no idea if you’ll ever hear from them again. It’s frustrating, right? Because you know there’s so much more you can do to help. In this eye-opening presentation, you’ll discover the simple steps to create packages that inspire your clients to commit to their healing so they get the relief they need and so you get the consistent income you deserve.

Webinars are a powerful educational and marketing tool, but only if you know how to do them right. If you’re wondering how you can create online presentations that wow your audience, then join Roger Courville, author of The Virtual Presenter's Handbook and an expert on the human factors of web conferencing, who presents some practical ways to jump-start your success when planning, designing, and delivering powerful webinar presentations. You’ll learn what webinar attendees want in an online presentation; the three worst mistakes in online presentations, and how to avoid them; and four webinar tactics that are critical to delivering an engaging online experience.

Medical professionals often confuse two very common conditions: thoracic outlet and carpal tunnel syndrome. The diagnosis is inaccurate because almost every client who suffers from either of these conditions has nerves that are chronically compressed in multiple areas between the brain, spinal cord, neck, shoulder, arm, and hand. In this dynamic multimedia presentation, James Waslaski shares his unique approach to cervical, shoulder, and arm work to eliminate the multiple nerve crush phenomenon that occurs in both of these conditions and will outline how you can get the best results possible for these clients.

This class is for therapists who are skilled at getting brilliant clinical results, but have failed or struggled at making their business work as well as they know it can. Big massage companies want you to work for pennies and this class will show you that you don’t have to do that. This class is for you if you’ve ever thought about throwing in the towel and getting a "real" job, or if you're tired of making OK money but are exhausted and burned out. By looking at your business in a completely new way and making some important shifts, you can turn your business into a wildly successful practice that satisfies your soul, and fills your heart and your bank account.

Today, it’s easy to share stories about your practice through social media, whether that’s Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. However, don’t ignore the incredible potential of local print and broadcast media, like newspapers, magazines, radio, and TV. These media outlets are always looking for great business, human interest, and health and wellness stories to share, and they want to hear from you. In this practical presentation, you’ll learn how simple it is to share your expertise, get noticed by the people who matter, become “almost famous,” and get more clients through your door through both online and offline media.

In this intense business-building presentation, you'll be handed a step-by-step blueprint that will multiply the amount of money your clients are spending with you in your massage practice. You'll understand the keys to radically increasing the profitability of every client transaction, as well as the lifetime value of your average massage client. By the end of this presentation, you'll have the tools, skills, and knowledge necessary to increase your practice revenue and personal income.

Is your practice growing by baby steps? Or maybe even dwindling? If so, it’s time for a healthy dose of energy and passion. Fortunately, life gives us natural reset points to select inspiring new goals. But if you think they follow the cycles of nature, think again. Here you’ll learn the secrets marketing experts have known for ages: how to use the seasons of human nature to empower your practice, so that you can fulfill your innermost calling as a successful and generous therapist.

YouTube is the world’s third most popular site and arguably the second largest search engine after Google. A video you produce is 30 times more likely to show up on a first page Google search than any page on your website and is by far the easiest way to get found online. Join the Massage Nerd, Ryan Hoyme, and discover just how easy and inexpensive it is to use video to improve your online visibility and grow your massage practice.

Discover why your presence is such an important factor in successfully navigating through the challenging environment of the current economy and learn why steadiness as well as heightened clarity are essential in self-care. Suzanne Scurlock-Durana will lead you through an experiential guided exploration that will help you drop into your bones, into your steadiness, and into a state of greater clarity and resourcefulness.

Join an expert panel—including Stephanie Beck, Irene Diamond, Don Dillon, Drew Freedman and David Kent—to learn best practices to gain new clients. Topics include creating goodwill by giving back to your community, picturing your success, daily deals, social media, and enhancing current client relationships.

Palpation is a fundamental skill for a massage therapist. When this vital skill is mastered, it allows students to learn their modality skills with confidence and ease and makes the instructor’s job easier. In this presentation, educators will learn the importance of palpation in the classroom and beyond, how to present unique ideas for teaching palpatory anatomy to students using different learning styles, Trail Guide to the Body tools and technology, and how to use this presentation as a platform for participants to share the exercises or resources that have been successful for them in palpation education.

Massage therapists and bodyworkers are great learners. This is clear when you look at the impressive and sometimes overwhelming amount of continuing education available, both in person and online. With all the choices for learning, how do you choose wisely? What will best serve you, your passion, your practice, and your clients? And how do you chart a path of ongoing mastery that gives lasting professional and personal fulfillment? Join Til Luchau and Anne Williams as they guide you through these questions, and help you see learning, passion, and mastery in a new way. Using simple self-assessment methods, experiential exercises, and powerful inquiry, this engaging webinar will give you critical skills on your path of professional mastery.

Join us as we explore creative new ways to market your practice as well as retool some of your current techniques. Oftentimes, all that’s needed to elevate the effectiveness of a marketing strategy is just a slight shift in approach. We will examine how to make those shifts and identify the top 10 tips to generate buzz.

Like construction scaffolding—which is erected when a new building is started and removed when the building is complete—instructional scaffolding is temporary. It is used to help students understand important concepts, make connections between concepts, learn new practical skills, or combine a number of concepts and practical skills into an integrated skill. Instructional scaffolding helps us move students from where they are now to the next level of skills, knowledge, and ability. This session will discuss different methods instructors can use to ensure instructional clarity by building the right type of scaffolding for massage students.

Gil Hedley presents and discusses the foundations of integral anatomy, supporting this unique perspective using images from the dissection laboratory. Every bodyworker touches the whole body and the whole person, but very few have seen what they are touching under the skin. This presentation offers an anatomical perspective coherent with the experience of massage therapists and other bodyworkers who have felt the whole body and the continuity of layers, but have never seen them presented in anatomy books, which tend to emphasize regions and the rendering of discreet anatomical "parts." In this presentation, you can see the whole, and experience the transformative power of that perspective.

Many health-care professionals understand how to perform the individual techniques taught in manual therapy courses but they have a difficult time knowing which techniques to use, when to use them, and how to integrate them during a treatment session. This presentation will focus on evaluation and treatment principles and causes of somatic dysfunction, and will focus on four key questions: How do I decide which part of the body to start my treatment on? How do I decide which techniques to use: muscle, fascial, joint, or fluids? How do I decide which part of the body to go to next? How do I decide when the treatment is over? In the video portion of the presentation, you will learn about applying the evaluation and treatment principles learned in a treatment session. Muscle Energy Techniques, Positional Release Therapy, Osteoarticular Techniques, and Fluid Drainage Techniques will be demonstrated.

Performing deeper work can often leave us exhausted and in pain, rather than invigorated and ready to do the things we love to do in our free time. In this presentation, you’ll discover an effective approach for performing deeper intent work without harming the client or yourself. You’ll learn to bring the four intelligences—mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual/creative—into your massage approach. We’ll explore the therapeutic relationship and the research behind its importance, as well as important findings about the science of pain. You’ll get valuable takeaways, whether you are new to the profession or have been practicing for years.

The principal focus of the Third International Fascia Research Congress is the presentation of the latest and best scientific research findings on the human fascia in all its forms and functions. Join and watch the highlights from the Congress that have a particular relevance for your massage practice.

Explore the fascinating world of Cranioacral Therapy, where connective tissue meets the brain and spinal cord. Discover how to help alleviate dysfunction in a broad range of conditions, such as brain and spinal cord injury, posttraumatic stress disorder, developmental delays, chronic pain, and autism. Join Tad Wanveer as he shares his extensive clinical experience to see how light touch can have a profound and lasting therapeutic effect.

Fascial Manipulation is a manual therapy method that was developed by Luigi Stecco, an Italian researcher and physiotherapist. It focuses on the fascia, in particular the deep muscular fascia, including the epimysium and the retinacula, and it examines the myofascial system as a three-dimensional continuum. You’ll walk away from this presentation with a biomechanical model that will assist you in determining the role of fascia in the musculoskeletal disorders you see in your clients. You’ll not only have a better understanding of the fascia's role in musculoskeletal pain, but will discover the clinical implications that will direct your hands-on work.

Many clients continue to have pain after regular massage treatments even when they are consistent with doing their self-care exercises. This lack of results is not because of the things they are not doing to help themselves, but rather the little things they are doing every day that aggravates their condition, like the way they sit, stand, walk, and sleep. Foundational Movement Therapy aims to make clients more conscious of these foundational movements and provides simple protocols to help these movements become more biomechanically efficient and thereby reduce the physical stresses that are contributing to their pain.

Learn about the benefits of kinesiology taping with Drew Freedman, owner of The Boston Bodyworker and Let’s Get Clinical. Professional athletes like 3-time gold medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings and 7-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong swear by the benefits of this tape. You will learn taping concepts that are immediately applicable in your current practice that will allow you to enhance the results of your bodywork. In addition to learning about this remarkable new taping method, you will also learn how to market and integrate this technique into your practice.

Many of our clients (and many of us!) suffer from nerve compression and irritation syndromes. Nerve mobilization uses the length, elasticity, and irritability of the nervous system to guide hands-on treatment. This can be very helpful in cases of obvious nerve problems such as carpal tunnel syndrome or sciatica, but can also be surprisingly effective in situations that are less obviously neutrally related. Join massage therapist Doug Alexander as he explains how nerves can give rise to symptoms and how to evaluate them. Alexander then goes on to show how the nerve mobilization framework guides treatment.

Children require tactile stimulation in order to fully develop their body, mind, and spirit. While massage therapy is beneficial, children have very different physical, emotional, and developmental needs than those of adults, and it's vitally important to understand those unique needs. In this entertaining presentation, you'll learn not just how important massage is for children, but also how to use touch therapy to interact with children using age-appropriate activities, storytelling, songs, and rhymes that provide appropriate stimulation opportunities.

This engaging presentation is about more than just anatomy of the fascia and its relationship to the muscle tissue. You’ll learn unique methods of fascial assessment, including postural somatic awareness, an important subjective evaluation tool that adds insights into your clients’ needs, allowing you to tune in with how they present physically and providing you with better information for structuring your treatments. We’ll also explore myofascial palpation using a simple hands-on exercise to help you understand the feel of the myofascial membrane.

You’ve likely seen Olympic athletes at the 2016 games covered in brightly colored tape. It’s kinesiology tape and it’s an innovative and effective modality that you can easily integrate with your current treatment approaches. In this presentation you’ll see demonstrations of how the tape is applied and will discover how this tape improves your clinical outcomes, helps with client compliance, and enhances your practice.

Far-reaching marketing can be helpful in creating awareness for your business, but statistics consistently show that 80 percent of your clients will come from within a short distance of your practice. How do you focus your marketing efforts to your local area and avoid wasting resources on prospects outside your “trading area” that are unlikely to ever set foot inside your office? Find out in this engaging presentation, where you’ll learn how to target your local area to attract new clients, partner with other local businesses for referrals, and cement loyalty with your existing clients.

Kinesiology taping is a method of treatment that is being used more and more in the massage arena. New research has concluded that the application of kinesiology tape reduces pain in clients with chronic low-back pain. Join Drew Freedman and Rick Garbowski from Learn2Tape as they discuss the proper use of kinesiology tape and show you effective applications that will enhance your clinical outcomes in the treatment of low-back pain.

There are more career choices for massage therapists today than ever before—day spas, medical offices, massage clinics, sports clubs, and more. But competition for jobs is tough. To get your foot in the door you need to pass your interview with flying colors. There's no one better suited to teach you how to plan and prepare for your interview than the world's largest employer of massage therapists. Join CG Funk of Massage Envy as she shares strategies and tips on resume and cover letter development and outlines invaluable interview skills.

In ths presentation you will learn about the latest developments and insights from the international field of fascia research relevant for massage therapists. Gain knowledge of the new definition of fascia and learn the four types of mechanoreceptors: Golgi, Paccini, Ruffini, and interstitial endings. We will discuss what kind of touch triggers which receptors and physiological responses. Hear about recent insights into fascia, including fascia as a pain generator and nociceptive innervation of fascia. This course holds particular relevance for low-back pain and offers practical suggestions on application.

Optimal positioning of the head, pelvis, and spinal cord enhances nerve impulses and reflexes traveling to and from the brain. By manually leveling the head on the neck and balancing the spinal column on a horizontal sacral base, Dalton’s Myoskeletal Alignment Techniques (MAT) aim to normalize electrical activity and reduce protective muscle guarding. Join Erik for this visually stimulating and technique-centered presentation. Get your clients moving better and hurting less!

Are you having issues getting to the source of a client’s pain problem? Referred pain from ligaments is something most therapists know nothing about and can be a typically overlooked source of pain. Like trigger points, ligaments often refer in predictable pain patterns. With the right knowledge, you can trace the pain to its source and eliminate it. Learn about this fascinating development in massage and hear about case studies with dramatic results through ligamentous articular strain techniques.

In this class Robert Libbey will review some of the current research supporting ligamentous articular strain techniques and discuss why you should think about peripheral joint injuries as much more than just musculoskeletal injuries. You will learn three strategic ligamentous articular strain techniques for the ankle and lower leg you can immediately add to your practice. You’ll also learn simple strategies to get your patients walking better and to improve their kinesthetic balance. Libbey will demonstrate three taping techniques for the ankle and lower leg to continue the neuroplastic changes we attain with manual therapy.

Lomilomi is an ancient healing art that is more than technique. It requires years of study with a kahuna, including learning about herbal medicine and other modalities to best facilitate one's healing process. Today, lomilomi is taught around the world as a form of massage. However, the process that one must go through if trained more traditionally requires a commitment to oneself on one's path of healing. In this presentation we will explore the history of lomilomi and you will gain an understanding of the various tools and techniques one might learn from different lineages.

Even if clearly visible on X-rays and MRIs, disk pathologies are usually only coincidental to low-back pain. In fact, in about 80 percent of all cases, these structural changes do not seem to play any causative role in the client’s back pain at all. In this intriguing presentation, you’ll discover the limitations of current imaging techniques to diagnose the cause of low-back pain. You learn about the multilayered lumbodorsal fascia, its innervation, and what current research says about the role of microtearing and inflammation in causing pain. Lastly, you’ll get clinical treatment suggestions for working effectively to solve the low-back pain puzzle.

Join Dr. Chikly as he shares some of the concepts behind what makes his signature modality, lymph drainage therapy (LDT), so effective. LDT works with the specific rhythm of lymph (as described by scientific research) and the specific depth and direction of the lymph flow in the skin, mucosa, muscles, viscera, and bones. As the developer of LDT, Dr. Chikly will explain why his work takes lymphatic drainage beyond traditional applications with the unique application of lymphatic mapping and other key techniques such as lympho-fascia release (LFR), which allows the simultaneous release in restrictions of the fascia and fluid body.

Join David Doubblestein for a fascinating look at the lymphatic system. By looking at manual lymphatic mapping, Doubblestein will unveil the seeming mystery behind how pathologies are corrected by switching and rerouting the lymph fluid. You’ll gain a deeper understanding of the lymph system and will learn the exact mechanisms of how manual lymphatic techniques stimulate the lymphatic system.

Whitney Lowe is a massage education pioneer at the forefront of massage continuing education and development. Lowe continues to forge ahead toward the unlimited opportunities that exist with innovations in educational technology and theory. He is also widely known for his expertise in assessment and massage therapy treatment approaches for chronic pain and injury conditions. His contributions to the massage field are wide-ranging and include extensive research, teaching, clinical work, consulting, participation in national boards and committees, and publication in several pivotal articles in Massage & Bodywork magazine. In this behind-the-scenes session, Lowe shares with former Massage & Bodywork magazine Editor-in-Chief Leslie Young the evolution of his ideas, the questions that keep him curious, and the formative moments in his life and career.

What happens when you expand your desire to help others through touch beyond your paying clients? Join our panel of therapists as they share the captivating stories of how they took their passion for massage and the power of touch to the next level with volunteer work. Prepare to be inspired!

In the past 10 years, the massage landscape has changed dramatically. Private clinical practice used to be the only option for massage therapists coming into the field, but with the tremendous growth of the spa industry and the development of franchises, employment is becoming a viable alternative. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Is the private practice model headed for extinction? What’s it really like working as an employee? We’ll examine these questions and more in this engaging interview.

You became a massage therapist because you care about people and want to make a difference in their lives through massage. How do you market that quality? How do you win a client’s trust, establish a therapeutic relationship, and keep them wanting to come see you? The first instant that you meet a client face to face is your best opportunity to tell a client what they need to know—that you are trustworthy and competent. Your skills will affect your success, but your massage can never be experienced if you don’t get clients in your door and keep them coming to see you. In this class we will discuss ways to market yourself so that what you do and who you are can be experienced and enjoyed.  

With massage therapy going mainstream around the world more clients are seeking out massage for treatment of complicated health concerns. In this course, Werner will discuss massage and pathology in the context of working with clients who are not perfectly healthy, whose bodies may not have the capacity to keep up with the kinds of changes some types of bodywork bring about, where we can run the risk of doing more harm than good. The presentation includes a discussion of some of the most important pathologies you need to know about for the safety of you and your clients.

This presentation will provide an overview of the current utilization of massage therapy in hospitals, study results from one academic medical center, and a review of how massage therapy is being incorporated into this medical center's clinical practice.

Join some of the top women business mentors as they team up to help you banish the pain of practice poverty. These four short TED-type presentations are guaranteed to get you fired up and provide you with powerful and practical ideas for transforming your practice. Presentations include "How To Get More Doctor Referrals" with Irene Diamond, "End the Struggle for Cash And Clients" with Fia-Lynn Crandall, "The Massage Money Machine" with Karen Evelyn, and "Banishing Lone Wolf Syndrome" with Melanie Hayden.

In this presentation you will learn about the cup as a bodywork tool. Contrary to popular belief, using cups for bodywork often involves an "active cup," or one that moves and has purpose. We will discuss "intentuition," a knowledge-derived blend of intention and intuition that drives the intuitive process as a therapist works with the cups. The presentation includes comparison of traditional cupping therapies and current approaches to bodywork using cups. Shannon will address the concepts of "the fluid body," congestion, "solid bloat," and the applications of cupping therapies to these common conditions. This presentation is a great introduction to cupping.

Working with people in a therapeutic environment can be extremely rewarding. But sometimes clients can create unnecessary drama that makes your job more difficult. This drama, like all drama, creates negative emotions or outcomes, draining resources of time, money, and harmonious relationships. Learn how to eliminate the stress of drama in your life in this highly engaging presentation, where we will delve into five pillars of a “drama-free” practice and how to apply the pillars for your own success in your professional and personal life.

In this presentation by Russian medical massage expert Boris Prilutsky, you'll get a comprehensive overview of the mechanisms behind whiplash injuries from both sports injuries and motor vehicle accidents. You'll understand what happens in the tissue and become aware of the secondary effects that occur as a result of these traumatic injuries. Lastly, you'll learn a comprehensive approach to treatment that addresses muscle and fascial elements, trigger points, and tissue edema. 

Any teacher will tell you that it is becoming increasingly difficult to garner and hold students’ attention. Challenges include inability to settle down and concentrate, aggression, social exclusion, and general anxiety. Peer massage, which began in Sweden 20 years ago, has proven to reduce aggression and bullying and increase social inclusion. Watch this fascinating documentary produced by Thea Blair and see how massage is used in one UK school to bring students to a place of calm, focus, and friendliness.

The "practice" of massage and the "business" of massage are two sides of the same coin. Both need equal attention if you want a thriving practice that touches the lives of people in your community. Don’t ignore the business side of your practice! In this presentation, you’ll discover that business can be fun and interesting. Our expert panel features Stephanie Beck (social media), Felicia Brown (management and marketing), Lori Koop (business development and accounting), Cherie Sohnen-Moe (retail and transaction optimization), and Dr. Dennis Buckley (client acquisition), who will share essential information to inspire you and help you create the practice of your dreams.

Join us for a fascinating interview with one of the true pioneers in our profession. Benny Vaughn pioneered sports massage in the US and is known for his work with American Olympic teams. For over 30 years, this AMC Lifetime Achievement Award winner has inspired thousands of massage therapists. Many of today’s leading educators regard Vaughn as their mentor. Join Whitney Lowe, who leads this candid and personal interview, as he sits down and discovers what keeps Vaughn excited and motivated about massage and the future of the profession, even after three decades of service.

Discover how you can evaluate your environment and your approach to massage to make your treatments more effective with less strain on your body. You’ll learn how to better stock your technique “toolbox” as we take a fresh look at massage techniques with an emphasis on body mechanics and posture. In this video presentation, you will see demonstrations of body-saving principles and learn dozens of specific tips and tricks for making your massage easier. In particular, you’ll get a unique look at the side-lying position, which allows you to access the client’s body in ways you normally can't in standard prone and supine positions.

Stephanie Beck of Bon Vital will share her expertise and knowledge in the area of massage products. She will explain why there is a range in price of consumable products like oil, cremes, lotions, and gels, and how to save money without having to just choose low-cost products. In this informative presentation, you will learn the differences between the different massage products, why each are important, why there are so many on the market, how they affect cost per treatment, what modalities work best with each product, and how this knowledge can impact your business.

Cancer survivors are a growing population in the massage industry. In this presentation, we will explore the world of cancer, including its possible causes and progression, current medical treatments and side effects, and how to modify massage to best serve your clients with cancer. Massage and cancer research studies will also be examined.

In this presentation, Solien-Wolfe will review retailing reality, which includes advantages and disadvantages of retailing, the 3 C’s of effective sales, ethical retailing products (taught by special guest Cherie Sohnen-Moe), and 10 tips on retailing.

Parkinson’s disease affects about 1.5 million people in the US. Alzheimer's disease is even more common, affecting over 5 million people in the US, and 10 percent of those over 60. If you work with an older population, it’s likely you’ll encounter these disorders. In this class, we’ll examine the recent research into massage for people who live with these diseases. You’ll discover how to apply that information to our clients’ benefit and will find out how massage therapists can help fill in some of the research gaps for these populations.

Although we think of it as fibrous tissue, fascia is primarily composed of a fluid, jelly-like substance called ground substance. Find out from the world's foremost fascial researcher and cofounder of the International Fascial Congress what really happens to fascia during your massage. It may forever change the way you think about your hands-on work.

In this presentation you’ll learn theoretical concepts and see a hands-on demonstration of Russian medical massage in cases of postsurgical rehabilitation. You’ll learn about the management of postsurgical lymphedemas, fascia release and mobilization, muscle mobilization, scar tissue management, stimulation of diffusion process, trigger point therapy, and post isometric relaxation technique. You’ll also find out about the neuromatrix theory and how it applies to cases of postsurgical rehabilitation.

Did you know that humans are the only creatures that engage in any kind of commerce, transactions, or trading? You could say, then, that money is part of what makes us human. Yet, we're still pretty mixed up about the clash between commerce and health. Designed to go beyond overly simple, right/wrong answers, this webinar will stimulate your own thinking, clarity, and effectiveness. Using real case scenarios submitted by actual practitioners, Til Luchau will weave a mind-expanding exploration of questions such as: "Does commerce help or hurt the effectiveness of healing?" "How do you communicate the value of what you do?" and "What's the 'right' price for your work?"

Join Thomas Myers as he presents a whole new perspective on the human body. Anatomy Trains Myofascial Meridians is a unique new map of the fascial connections through the muscles that leads to new understanding of the connectivity in the body, and directly to new therapeutic strategies, especially for long-standing compensatory patterns in client stance and movement.

Fascia is famous. Growing numbers of conferences, scholarly studies, magazine articles, exercise systems, and self-help books are dedicated to the new science of fascia, influencing chiropractic, acupuncture, osteopathy, sports conditioning, yoga, and of course, massage and manual therapy. But how does fascia actually change? Not the way we thought it did. Join Til Luchau as he presents a concise model for working with fascia, informed by the latest fascial research and the long lineage of fascial practitioners that includes Andrew Taylor Still, Ida Rolf, and more. You'll see the theory in practice as Til demonstrates techniques that exemplify different fascial approaches.

When a rib hurts, is it “out?” When a rib doesn’t move (like after texting in a bent-over position for too long), what is actually happening? And whatever the answers, what can we do to help when ribs hurt or feel stuck? Join popular presenter Til Luchau as he demonstrates several effective hands-on myofascial techniques for the ribs and rib cage.

Healthy fascia makes for healthy movement. A significant aspect of our work is working with fascia that has become damaged through injury, repetitive movement, or neurophysiological effects. We often use words like "tightness," "stiffness," or "contracture" to describe the state of unhealthy fascia, but what do these terms really mean, and are we using them accurately? Does distinguishing these different states change our treatment approach or make our treatment any more effective? Find the answers in this engaging discussion as we delve into these conditions on a histological, anatomical, and clinical level.

This presentation will explain how trigger points form and how they create pain. You will be introduced to the concept of referred pain and learn how to find where the pain originates from. Gain an understanding of treatment techniques and the need to help clients correct perpetuating factors such as ergonomics, nutrition, sleep problems, and posture issues.

Myofascial units are the building blocks of myofascial sequences. By understanding the anatomical connections between muscles and deep fascia we can interpret the adaptive changes that occur in our patients and enhance our manual therapy skills in the treatment of musculoskeletal pain. Fascia densifies in response to strain, stress, and injury and, due to fascia's basal tensioning, dysfunction spreads in definable directions. Consequential limited motion and pain can be interpreted through the analysis of movement tests that indicate which myofascial units are not functioning correctly.

This is not your usual presentation on oncology massage. Although you’ll see video demonstrations and learn basic cancer pathology, treatment options, side effects, and how these side effects impact the level of touch we offer our clients, we’ll also delve into the world of emotions that impact the client, care provider, and, of course, you as the therapist. We will explore ways we can compassionately communicate with these clients from first diagnosis to cancer-free. You’ll discover how you can be more grounded in this work using breathing exercises, imagery, humor, color therapy, and other self-care exercises.

Learning to assess all the joints of the body, including the spine and pelvis, is simply learning living anatomy. Truly comprehensive assessment skills enable massage therapists to put the knowledge base they learned at school into practice. Through enhanced assessment skills therapists will learn how to apply anatomy and pathology knowledge into understanding how the body functions and how it becomes dysfunctional. To do this, the therapist has to see the state of individual joints and tissues, while also seeing how all of these work together as a whole.

In this presentation you will learn to incorporate various massage methods to achieve common physiological outcomes such as pain management, stress management, physical performance, improved sleep, and more. The shift from a modality focus such as Swedish massage, deep-tissue massage, or reflexology is explained in terms of applying a variety of mechanical forces to achieve a desired outcome.

Integrated manual therapy brings together the work of leading therapists to eliminate the cause of complicated pain conditions, rather than treating just the clinical symptoms. This presentation will bridge the gap between massage therapy, athletic training, physical therapy, osteopathic medicine, chiropractic, and personal training. This dynamic multimedia presentation will take you inside the human body to simplify the treatment of complicated musculoskeletal pain conditions, with frozen shoulders and hips used to illustrate the concepts. You will learn the critical importance of understanding ascending and descending syndromes and how to assess and eliminate multiple nerve crush phenomenon.

As massage therapists, we understand the importance of combining massage, movement, and mindful awareness into our treatment sessions. Now learn to apply them to your self-care practices. Three experts from each field—massage, movement, and mindful awareness—provide simple tools for preventing and treating pain. Diana Thompson demonstrates dry brushing to decrease inflammation of the hands, wrists, neck, and shoulders; Nancy Haller teaches movement practices to enhance ease and grace around the table; and Carolyn McManus guides you through mindful meditative awareness to calm your nervous system and give you tools for transitioning between sessions.

The focus of palliative care is improving the quality of your client’s life at any stage of illness by alleviating the discomfort, symptoms, and stress associated with the client’s condition. Palliative care is unique in that you are often working as part of a team and not in the isolation of your treatment room. In these short TED-type presentations, you’ll get insights from some of the top experts in palliative care and learn how you can make this type of work part of your practice. Presentations include "Serving Hospice—Do You Have What it Takes?" with Ann Catlin, "Massage for the Wheelchair Client" with Sharon Puszko, "A Perfectly Peaceful Combination: Massage and Essential Oils for Hospice Patients" with Lisa Browder, and "The Role and Benefits of Massage in Palliative Care" with Rudi Pauli.

This presentation focuses on using muscle palpation as an assessment tool to more effectively work with clients clinically/orthopedically. The thrust of the presentation is how to reason through muscle palpation, using a set of clear and straight-forward guidelines, instead of having to memorize the palpation protocol for every muscle.

Imagine getting through a conversation without the use of speech—the key cornerstone of communication. Now imagine getting through a session without palpation—the essential building block of bodywork. All students deserve to be equipped with confident hands-on skills that can isolate structures and develop palpatory experiences. Instructors also need to have effective, systematic, and engaging learning tools for their classes. In this presentation, both groups will gain valuable insight about this underlying skill.

To a child who has been hospitalized, or diagnosed with a debilitating medical condition, their symptoms are often accompanied by pain, anxiety, loneliness, and fear. So it only makes sense that health-care staff and medical facilities are looking to pediatric massage as treatment for some of these symptoms. Research has shown that massage therapy can ease symptoms associated with pediatric medical conditions. During this presentation, learn who may perform pediatric massage, how to become trained in this area, the many benefits associated with this modality, and the research that has reinforced these benefits.

The impact of child abuse and trauma is far greater than its immediate effects. These experiences can shape a child’s development and have consequences that last for years beyond the actual event. Research shows that the physical, psychological, and behavioral consequences of child abuse and neglect impact not just the child and family, but the community as a whole. With appropriate safe and effective interventions, we can provide children with compassion, nurturing, and tools to ease the effects of trauma.

Discover the joys of massaging children with the world’s foremost expert Tina Allen, who has set up massage programs for infants and children in hospitals and orphanages around the world. Together, you’ll explore research and learn pediatric massage's range of benefits. More importantly, you’ll discover how to apply those findings to your practice, including how to make quick connections with infants and kids, and communicate clearly through touch. We’ll take a particularly close look at infant massage and massage for children with Autism spectrum disorders, cerebral palsy, and trauma.This course includes the documentary film, "Outreach in Japan 2011."

The interdisciplinary field of fascia research is dynamic. Insights from past research have contributed to a new understanding of musculoskeletal dynamics in which fascia plays a more active and versatile role than previously assumed. The latest research has some fascinating implications for massage therapists. Join the co-founder of the International Fascial Congress for a lively exploration of the most recent developments and the practical applications for your massage practice.

This presentation will review a structural and multidisciplinary approach for treating low-back pain, sciatica, bulging discs, SI joint dysfunction, and complicated knee conditions. Learn cutting edge research on myofascial pain, scar-tissue mobilization, trigger points, and joint pain. Modalities used will be functional assessment, myofascial release, NMT, joint capsule work, myoskeletal alignment, active isolated stretching, and strengthening protocols, specific to each clinical condition. After pelvic stabilization, we will address the following knee conditions: patella femoral pain, patella tendinosis, chondromalacia, IT band friction syndrome, fixated posterior fibular head pain, abnormal knee rotation, medial and lateral collateral ligament sprains, medial and lateral meniscus tears, ACL and PCL sprains, popliteal pain, hamstring strains, and plantaris strains. Learn to bring all of the muscle groups that affect the hip and knee into balance prior to treating the clinical symptoms.

This presentation addresses the clinical approach to assessment, treatment, and rehabilitation of the lumbar spine, hip, and pelvis, with a specific focus on hip pain, hip capsule problems, hip replacements, sciatica, and compensatory knee pain. James Waslaski, who underwent hip replacement himself, shares his pre- and postsurgical rehabilitation process for hip replacement that had him walking within days of surgery. You’ll enjoy the 3D functional anatomy and human dissection models to support his multidisciplinary approach for assessment, treatment, and specific self-care of each condition.

Many new and different approaches to muscle therapy occur that may not otherwise be achievable by way of exploration, development, and use of the positioning methods of the BodyCushion. This tool can offer positioning for subjects that is therapeutic. Learn about effective positioning methods for the neck, shoulders, arms, back, and hips, and aspects of adjustability to meet differing frame requirements. Tom Owens will touch on positioning for pregnancy massage and give us some background into the development of this treatment tool that is used throughout the healing arts.

In this presentation, renowned educator Erik Dalton addresses the relationship of posture, pain, and performance. Derived from his textbooks and over three decades in private practice, Dalton will discuss postural research and the practical application of myoskeletal alignment techniques, and will offer applicable treatment strategies for clients presenting with occipital headaches, dowager’s hump and arm pain, clicking jaws, sciatica, rotator cuff impingement, and functional scoliosis, as well as cycling, golf, and gym-junkie sports injuries.

To prevent injuries and burnout and increase the odds for a long and successful career, it's essential for all massage therapists to develop and implement a proactive self-care strategy. In this presentation, you’ll learn a practical, three-prong approach to self-care.

Learn a contrast treatment protocol for cervical sprains and strains. This dynamic protocol addresses the trapezius, splenius capitis, splenius cervicis, levator scapulae, and suboccipital muscles.

Are you looking for another source of revenue for your practice? Have you considered making products available to your clielnts, but are just not sure how to do it? Have you ever wondered how you can offer and promote products that are truly aligned with your own wellness philosophy? Join Lynda Solien-Wolfe  as she opens the door to a powerful passive revenue stream for your practice and shares 10 tips that will help make retailing products in your massage practice a breeze.

Whether you are a new therapist or have been practicing for years, quickly and cost-effectively getting new clients in the door is always a priority. Stop spinning your wheels and start getting results from your marketing efforts. Join four highly regarded massage business experts in this roundtable presentation as they share innovative strategies you can implement immediately to bring a stream of clients through your door and catapult your practice to a new level of success. Each panelist will share their unique approach, one of which is bound to resonate strongly with your personal practice.

In today's world, we all need full access to our inner and outer resources in order to survive and thrive with the daily demands we face. This presentation introduces the six body wisdom areas, the body myths that keep us from accessing these areas, and a process for allowing the deep wisdom of the body to inform and help us navigate our living, working, healing, and relating in the world. Coming to respect and listen to this body wisdom as the ground of our knowing helps us rediscover our innate spirituality and to develop our emotional intelligence.  

Increasingly, massage therapy is viewed as a health-care modality, both by legislation and by consumers. As health-care providers, massage therapists are expected to chart all patient visits, regardless of the type of therapy provided. That said, wellness sessions and curative sessions require different styles of charting. In this presentation, you will learn how to document all patient sessions, including a variety of record-keeping styles to meet the specific needs of your individual massage sessions, including SOAP notes, functional outcomes reporting, and wellness charting. This presentation is perfect for massage educators, massage students, and professionals alike.

While much of the attention with regard to back pain is focused on the lumbar spine, thoracic restrictions are common and often overlooked. Restrictions in the musculature of the thoracic spine may present as local pain, but they are just as likely to be an overlooked cause of lumbar or cervical discomfort. Many of the problems in the thoracic spine are readily affected by targeted soft-tissue approaches.

In this presentation, Dr. Glenn Hymel speaks about the Massage Therapy Foundation’s new online scientific research journal: the International Journal of Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (IJTMB). The anticipated outcomes of this session for participants include a basic familiarity with the nature and mission of the IJTMB, knowledge of how to access and use the publication, and a motivation to become engaged with the journal as a regular reader and possibly as a contributing author.

Do you think scientific research is boring or incomprehensible? Does the thought of reading, hearing, or learning about research make you want to run the other way? Well, this class is for you! There is an explosion of research into massage therapy and exciting findings are being announced all the time. This accessible and stimulating class will demystify scientific massage research and reveal how “doing a little research” will improve your therapeutic effectiveness and success with your clients. Find out what research can do for you and how to get the answers you want.

Treatment room conflict can easily erode trust and destroy the therapeutic relationships. Ethical dilemmas lie at the heart of therapeutic conflict and represent some of the most challenging aspects of clinical care. This workshop explores common causes for treatment room conflict and provides a reflective framework for solving ethical dilemmas that can be a potential source of harm for both therapists and clients. Discover how your responses as a therapist can make bad situations worse for clients and learn about your role in creating an environment for positive communication.

By selling clients the right products, you help them reduce their stress and improve their health. Join Cherie Sohnen-Moe as she shares ideas to help you ethically sell retail products and grow them into an integrated revenue stream for your practice. Explore how to choose products that are aligned with your own wellness philosophy, how to display and package merchandise for sale, and how to creatively sell products when you do outcalls. Whether you are a sole practitioner or run a clinic, you’ll gather ideas to implement immediately.

Full- and partial-body exfoliations are a great way to add a few easy treatments and increased revenue to your practice without having to invest in expensive equipment or a huge array of products. Spend an hour learning how to scrub, polish, and glow your clients with spa expert Felicia Brown.

Filling your practice is the number one concern for most massage professionals. Join five of the top massage business experts in this roundtable discussion where you'll discover some of the top strategies for getting new clients into your practice and for turning them into loyal, raving fans.

Myofascial trigger points are a frequently overlooked and often misunderstood source of pain. Join us for this presentation where you’ll get the important information you need to effectively identify and treat trigger points. You’ll discover how trigger points refer pain in consistent patterns and how you can develop your trigger point detective skills to reveal the real culprits behind your client's pain. You’ll learn effective methods for treating trigger points in the context of your existing practice and come to understand the wide range of perpetuating factors that you'll need to address in order to banish trigger points and get long-lasting results.

This presentation integrates the latest developments in posturo-movement science with clinical practice relevant to massage therapists as they assist clients with back pain. Learn to read somatic clues to identify common patterns of response to altered function in the posturo-movement system resulting from imbalanced activity between the superficial and deep muscles of the back.

Every year, therapists get injured and leave the profession, leading many to believe that a full-time massage career is not sustainable. But in this engaging discussion, we’ll challenge that notion and help you to see yourself as a massage athlete. As with athletic longevity, it all starts with how you think about self-care, action planning, and discipline. You really can stay in the profession for as long as you like, but only if you do the things necessary to take care of yourself in an effective self-care program, just like a successful athlete.

This self-care class looks beyond body mechanics to the body’s design for movement to clear pain and tension patterns in your body. Come discover how you can apply simple movement and mindful touch to clear the kinetic chain often involved in a common area of pain and restrictions for manual therapists: the neck. Take away specific techniques to use between client appointments to reset your muscular tension and balance, as well as to share with clients for home use.

There is no more impactful way to grow your practice than through strategic storytelling. Great leaders, writers, teachers, and coaches recognize that human connection trumps facts and figures every time. In this presentation, you’ll discover how to meld stories with data-based information in a variety of ways to powerfully influence and engage prospective clients and inspire them to use your services.

There is a logical, sequential treatment order that gives you strong and effective outcomes. Your clients will be more mobile, flexible, and strong, and have reduced pain consistently with your treatment. Listen in and discover a structured and effective way to treat conditions, including lower back pain, neck pain, and unstable core.

Have you ever had a client with a difficult pain problem that you just couldn't seem to resolve? The truth is that these unsolvable pain issues can often be solved, but they just need a different approach. Myoskeletal Alignment Techniques (MAT) takes techniques from some of the top minds in physical medicine and provides a holistic and integrative approach you can bring into the massage room. Follow along with Erik Dalton as he demonstrates the unconventional, but highly effective MAT approach on a real client with a real pain problem.

Spa services are the fastest growing segment of the profession. The objective of this presentation is to equip the therapist with the knowledge and hands-on instruction, so that they may incorporate spa treatments into their existing practice and menu of services.

This presentation includes a brief review of the client boundaries expected in the therapeutic relationship, then moves on to how the practitioner maintaining their own professional boundaries is directly related to cultivating prosperity.

To be more effective, it’s time to flip your treatment approach and start with your clients in a supine position rather than prone. Take a drive with Paula Nutting down the anterior side of the human super highway to discover flexion traffic congestion, which stops the natural flow of muscle movement and creates traffic jams in postural muscles. You’ll learn how to address flexion pile ups so that the posterior extensors and phasic muscles can cruise happily along. You will learn to use the tools of muscle testing, Chapman's reflex stimulation, muscle energy techniques, and joint mobilization to get the body back on the road.

When creating their marketing strategies, massage therapists often overlook the fact that our most ancient and fundamental tool of communication—storytelling—still holds tremendous power as a marketing tool. Learn the fundamentals of creating emotionally resonant stories around key social messages and how to effectively disseminate those stories using technology.

There is a common misconception that financial success and integrity cannot exist side by side. But, in fact, nothing could be further from the truth. In this engaging discussion, you'll discover how you can have the financial success you desire while maintaining your integrity. We'll examine questions like why so many massage professionals feel conflicted and struggle to survive in practice. You'll learn how you need to be much more than just a practitioner and how you can succeed without resorting to hustling and inauthentic marketing techniques.

Working in sports massage can be extremely rewarding, but challenging if you don't understand the necessary steps to success. Robert Granter will give you the essential knowledge and skills required that were garnered in his 24-year career in managing teams for the Olympic and Commonwealth games, successful professional sporting clubs, sports medicine practices, and The Victorian Institute of Sport. You'll learn tips on building your practice, massaging efficiency to deliver the depth athletes want, and working with elite sporting teams, as well as team traveling tips and gaining respect from other health professionals.

Muscles and other soft tissue that act in the same direction and function similarly are known as synergists. In this presentation, we’ll look at the biomechanics of the spine and extremities. You’ll discover the importance of recognizing and treating possible synergist dysfunction in order to provide your clients with effective and long-lasting results. In particular, we’ll examine the Functional Range Release Techniques soft-tissue management system in the assessment and treatment of synergist dysfunction. You’ll see a demonstration of Functional Range Release Techniques, including specific examples that demonstrate how you can look beyond the symptoms and treat in a more functional, synergistic, and holistic manner.

Learn how to enhance back mobility, stability, and ease with Thai massage. Inspired by ancient healing systems and evolved for modern times, these techniques relieve low-back, SI joint, and hip pain. Experience the "yes breath," the first expression of human movement seen in utero, and apply Thai yoga therapy to remedy common aches, pains, and postural distortions resulting from excessive sitting, sedentary lifestyles, or injuries. We specifically target the psoas, adductors, quads, hamstrings, QL, erectors, deep six, and glutes, as well as the SI joint, L4-L5, and sciatic nerve impingements. Have fun as you practice to safely stretch and release restrictions along fascial and energetic meridians to improve clients’ sense of ease in their low back.

Dynamically move your client's body using diverse tools like the feet with minimal effort and maximum results. The table Thai therapies we will explore help relieve shoulder, arm, and wrist pain, restore muscle balance, and increase flexibility and range of motion. Experience how bringing the body through a 3D-session inspires greater ease and movement for you and your clients.

Science teachers in massage and bodywork schools often find that their task is especially daunting: how can we engage and excite students whose primary interests are most likely not to be in the direction we must lead them? In this presentation, we identify and analyze obstacles, and discuss strategies to overcome them. We will list some appropriate goals and standards for a pathology curriculum; we will identify obstacles to making science classes work well for massage therapy students; and we will identify strategies to improve effectiveness.

The past several years have seen an explosion of high-level research into various aspects of massage therapy and bodywork. Yet most massage therapists don’t have the skills to actively analyze and evaluate a typical research article, much less participate in a project or take a leadership role in asking an important research question. This class focuses on increasing research literacy competence and confidence among all types of massage school faculty. We will provide strategies that will weave research literacy into already-existing massage education programs; we will provide examples of information that are currently available and relevant to students and teachers; and we will explore how teachers and students can apply findings to their hands-on work.

This presentation into manual therapy research is designed to help you expand your knowledge about the effects of touch on the human body. From infants to burn patients to cancer survivors, everyone has a story to tell about how a good massage helped them cope with their problems, aches, and pains. Most importantly, we will explore the current research into aspects of touch and manual therapies—from energy work to rehabilitation.

In recent years, the integration of instructional technology into K–12 and postsecondary education has received significant attention. Teachers need to understand the ways these new tools can make a meaningful difference in student learning. Will an instructor website really help students prepare for next week's exam? Will they pay more attention to lectures if the classroom has a smart board? What ancillaries are available with textbooks, and how can they integrate with curriculum? Can Facebook facilitate successful student learning outcomes? Respected educators Whitney Lowe, Til Luchau, and Susan Salvo share their best recommendations for what technology to use and how to use it.

Based on new myofascial pain studies presented at Harvard Medical School and tendinitis versus tendinosis research dating back to 1946, participants will learn techniques that will change the way they approach adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder and hip. These structurally-oriented techniques offer pain-free multi-modality methods for achieving immediate and permanent relief from complex disorders of the shoulder and hip capsules. You will learn the critical importance of combining science, intuition, visualizaion, compassion, and intention to facilitate healing in clients who have been given little hope for pain-free living.

Our bodies are designed to move. Unfortunately, in this age of technology, we’re sedentary for most of our day, sitting in front of a TV or monitor, driving our vehicles, or constantly staring down at our handheld devices. Our bodies are incredibly inefficient at maintaining these static positions and our muscles are forced to work in ways they were never meant to. As a result, neck and back pain are pandemic. In this class, you'll discover the importance of movement for self-care and learn effective exercises to increase your clients' body awareness and turn their "achy and tired" into "pain-free and energized."

If you’re a school owner or massage educator, find out why my teleseminars are a fast, easy, and economical way to enhance your marketing efforts and increase your income. Learn to repeatedly develop world-class teleseminars that sell; discover nine teleseminar styles that can motivate and persuade listeners to take action to accelerate your sales; learn five battle-tested teleseminar tactics to build a highly responsive online list; find out the six no-nonsense ways to inspire and influence more registrants to show-up on calls; uncover three hassle-free ways to create content-rich info products; and encounter a sure-fire way to create residual streams of income via your own teleseminar series and other live events.

Linda Tellington-Jones, PhD, demonstrates basic Tellington Touch that affects the behavior of dogs and cats. Common dog issues such as timidity, hyperactivity, aging, resistence to touch and grooming, and fear of loud noises and thunder will be addressed. Touch on specific areas such as mouth, ears, tail, and paws will be demonstrated, along with an explanation of how these affect the body at a cellular level and promote physical and emotional well-being. Linda Tellington-Jones will also show touch that changes the behavior in cats who bite, are feral, are afraid of strangers, or are unwilling lap cats.

Free your fascia, clear your mind, and calm your heart with Thai reflexology. In this video presentation, you'll discover how bamboo sticks are used as a tool in Thai reflexology to address a myriad of clients' concerns. Learn how to resolve plantar fasciitis, chronic ankle instability, and knee and low-back pain, while saving your hands, thumbs, and wrists from overuse by incorporating this simple tool. You'll also find out how the Thai meridians, therapy points, and foot stretches expand and integrate mind-body-heart-spirit synergy.

Thai herbal ball therapy is highly effective, exotic, and cutting-edge while being centuries old. Learn to incorporate this modality into your practice , at low cost, with the purchase of a simple vegetable steamer. After describing which herbs are used in the herbal balls, this class will focus on safety and basic maneuvers, then offer a step-by-step protocol for seamlessly integrating the herbal balls into a luxurious and deeply therapeutic treatment, just like the ones offered at top spas.

Learn to perform Thai reflexology for the hands, feet, and face. Since these three areas house the highest proportion of sensory neurons, we have designed a 30-minute protocol to stretch, relax, and tonify clients’ physical and psychological well-being.

Thai stem herbal massage is a treatment that incorporates Thai herbal compresses with elements of Swedish relaxation massage, lomi lomi, and Thai massage. With this modality, the client benefits from deep, penetrating, moist heat and the natural oils of the herbs. In this special video presentation, you'll see a complete demonstration of this unique technique, which can be done as a standalone treatment or incorporated into your massage or other spa services. It's an intensive, relaxing, and detoxifying treatment that's easy to perform and will enhance your clients’ experience.

The bamboo-fusion technique is an innovative way to provide Swedish or deep-tissue massage using bamboo tools. The technique was created to minimize strain on your body. Because the bamboo can be easily heated, it also provides a deep soothing heat. It is effortless to perform, you’ll save wear and tear on your hands, and clients will love it. This presentation will explain the origin of bamboo-fusion and will demonstrate the various bamboo tools and how they are used in performing the massage.

Barefoot massage? It's not a foot rub; it's a form of bodywork where the practitioner uses their feet and gravity to deliver the massage. Different styles of barefoot massage have existed for hundreds of years. It’s an organic form of touch, rich in history and tradition and very effective for applying the deep pressure your clients always ask for. In this presentation, you’ll discover a very specific style of barefoot massage: Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy, which is a Western application of barefoot massage that uses deep compression and effleurage strokes applied while the practitioner holds onto bars overhead for support and balance. You’ll get a thorough overview of this unique modality and learn benefits, uses, and contraindications.

This presentation provides a practical understanding and definition of chakras. Each of the seven chakras will be addressed to explain its specific location in the body; its impact on mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health; and its unique contribution toward a fully functioning physical/spiritual life. Specific examples will be given to demonstrate how dysfunctions in the mind, body, and spirit contribute to such things as armoring, chronic disease, imbalance, depression, immune system disorders, and even physical injury. This presentation will benefit both you and your clients!

The more we are fully conscious of our mind/body and intentions, the more powerfully we can facilitate another’s ability to heal and transform. In this presentation, you will learn about the mind-body connection and the principles and practices of forming and holding an intention, and get an introduction to practices that deepen your self-awareness to engage others more effectively to empower the healer within.

Stephanie Beck of Bon Vital will share her expertise and knowledge in the area of massage products. She will explain why there is a range in price of consumable products like oil, cremes, lotions, and gels, and how to save money without having to just choose low-cost products. In this informative presentation, you will learn the differences between the different massage products, why each are important, why there are so many on the market, how they affect cost per treatment, what modalities work best with each product, and how this knowledge can impact your business.

Compelling marketing strategies, dynamic admissions practices, a seasoned teaching staff, a solid curriculum, an effective retention strategy, a community outreach program, and many other factors determine your school’s level of success. This informative session explores benchmarks, proven methods, and new ideas to help your school thrive.

Every massage school has a distinctive culture. It develops organically through the beliefs and behaviors of everyone at the school, from administrators and staff to instructors and students. However, culture can also be shaped and cultivated. Creating a strong campus culture means a more enjoyable school experience, higher levels of motivation for staff and students, and a stronger, more stable organization, as the school becomes a tightly knit community of engaged participants. What’s your role as a student? An instructor? An administrator? This presentation sets the stage for offline activities that involve everyone at your school and put you in the driver’s seat in creating a positive, thriving campus culture.

Boundaries are one of the most important dimensions in the ongoing practice of massage therapy and bodywork. Issues involving boundaries are among the most frequently discussed topics by professionals in practice and are also often an area of concern for new and potential clients. This presentation will help you define and maintain all the important types of boundaries that can protect both clients and therapists from entering into unacceptable or gray areas of practice.

A cookie-cutter model may work well for baking, but the one-size-fits-all approach falls short when it comes to understanding human function and dysfunction. In this fascinating presentation, renowned educator Erik Dalton explores the work of some of the pioneers in manual therapy, including Judith Aston, Serge Gracovetsky, Gil Hedley, Jerry Hesch, Kai Hodeck, Robert Irvin, Craig Liebenson, Til Luchau, Aaron Mattes, Divo Müller, Thomas Myers, Aline Newton, Art Riggs, Robert Schleip, James Waslaski, and Adjo Zorn. Dalton will examine the "guts" of their work and how massage therapists and movement therapists can immediately benefit from this work.

While we're certainly obligated to honor the boundaries of the client, we need to remember to honor our own in the interest of having a successful and enjoyable career. In this presentation, you'll discover that maintaining clear boundaries is vital to your prosperity and your peace of mind. We'll explore seven misconceptions about boundaries and learn not only to recognize potentially troublesome situations, but how to deal with them with integrity. Lastly we'll look at the need for policies and procedures, even for a lone practitioner, and how you can develop your own.

Based on The Educated Heart by Nina McIntosh, this class picks up where most other ethics classes drop the ball. While most ethics classes tend to focus on the boundaries of the client—and those will of course be discussed—the boundaries of the therapist are just as important. Careful maintenance of your own boundaries is often the difference in being truly prosperous and successful and just getting by.

Most massage professionals start their own practice to gain a more balanced life with more money and more freedom. Many, however, have been blinded by the EMyth, or Entrepreneurial Myth—the fatal assumption that if they understand the technical work of the business they can successfully run a business that does that kind of technical work. In this presentation, participants will shift their thinking to see themselves as true entrepreneurs with a newfound sense of control as well as a higher level of happiness and achievement—in their business and their life!

Do you ever wonder if there are legal or ethical considerations for charting your massage sessions? Are there different considerations for online charting? What do I need to know about HIPAA and charting? Is SOAP charting mandatory or on its way out? Do you chart for billing but not for cash clients? What are the guidelines for charging more for billing? Is there anything wrong with using Groupon? Are there legal or ethical considerations for selling vitamins? Join Diana Thompson, author of Hands Heal: Communication, Documentation and Insurance Billing for Manual Therapists, and explore the ethics of charting.

Our clients who are dealing with cancer or other life-threatening illnesses, as well as their caregivers, require that we pay special attention to not only our actual hands-on practice of massage therapy, but also to our professional standards. Our Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice provide a safe healing environment for every client, but you’ll discover how vitally important this is when working with people who are in a fragile and compromised state of health.

Recent research has revealed various exciting levels at which the connective tissue matrix changes—locally and globally—in response to massage and manipulation, exercise training, and healing. In this presentation, Robert Schleip and Thomas Myers review research findings and point the way to how massage therapists and soft-tissue workers can best take advantage of the properties of the fascial webbing. This presentation explores new concepts in fascial elasticity, how the ligaments are dynamically connected to the muscles, how fascia remodels to meet the demands placed on it by training and injury, and new information about fascial pain and its relief.

At the end of a long day of giving massage, a practitioner should have enough energy to do the things they love in their free time. Using too much energy in your practice can make this difficult. In this special video presentation you’ll learn ways to transform the way you approach massage and bodywork. Beyond mere stances and posture, you will learn five keys to optimizing your therapeutic touch while avoiding injury and burnout—conserving your resources for a balanced life.

The Forearm Dance method improves outcomes for both client and practitioner. By learning to use only the forearm as your tool, you will prevent excess tension, energy waste, and likelihood of pain and injury, and also prolong your career as a massage practitioner. Learn strokes using only the forearm and specific body mechanics to build strength, flexibility, balance, and endurance while you work.

This presentation focuses on the importance of pediatric massage and gives participants information on who may perform pediatric massage, how to become trained in this area, applications for pediatric massage, the many benefits associated with this modality, and research that has reinforced these benefits. Learn the importance of including parents in these sessions with young clients.

We increasingly hear the words "green" and "socially conscious" applied to all types of businesses. Learn the truth about the green consumer and how to follow the "Way of the Radical Business" in order to develop a practice that not only reflects your innermost values, but is also financially successful. This presentation is audio only.

Most clients seek massage therapy for relaxation rather than pain reduction and muscle soreness. However, the client in pain returns for more massage therapy sooner and more frequently than the healthy client. Master the tools for transforming occasional clients into steady repeat clientele through education on the benefits of massage, setting personalized goals, and charting meaningful results. Learn to clarify the needs of each individual client, deliver client-centered care, and track measurable outcomes to ensure client satisfaction and a healthy practice.

Massage therapy is work of the heart. It’s our heart that called us to massage and it’s the heart that guides and sustains us through our careers. Often though, our heart realization is lost in our careers as our focus shifts to the more mundane elements of running a practice. It’s difficult to balance honoring the heart with the practicalities of your work, but in this presentation you’ll discover effective tools for making the journey as we explore a road map for moving you and your practice to a deeper, healthier, and more rewarding place.

In school you were taught what to do once the client comes to your office. However, there was little information on how to ethically and morally bring them into your practice and what to do to build a strong trusting relationship that keeps them coming back. Learn how to evaluate your practice for leaks, identify the holes in your practice, and build an ethical, thriving practice. 

The purpose of choosing specific target markets is to make your practice more enjoyable, simplify your marketing, and increase the success of your promotional endeavors. Join us as we explore how to choose a target market, how to analyze that market, and how to use that information to develop a stellar marketing plan!

Tiffany Field, director of the Touch Research Institute, will discuss findings from massage research done at the University of Miami. She'll examine the effects of massage on a wide range of conditions from back pain and fibromyalgia to asthma and job stress. You will discover some of the underlying mechanisms that make massage so effective in the treatment of a wide range of pathologies and find out how current research can be directly applied to your daily practice.

Diana Thompson discusses the role of the Massage Therapy Foundation and the contributions that it and massage therapists are making in the community. You will learn how students and practitioners can participate in research case report contests and hear the latest trends and findings in current research. Sheila Wang explores the kind of research that will be necessary to support the inclusion of massage therapy in standard medical practice in hospitals and discusses the unique factors involved in carrying out massage therapy research in a pediatric hospital setting.

Gain a unique historical perspective of the massage industry with some of the earliest pioneers, including Thomas Myers, Erik Dalton, Leon Chaitow, Judith Aston, and Deane Juhan. Although massage has been around since the beginning of time, the industry as we know it today in North America really only started to blossom in the 1970s. This presentation will provide you with a deeper appreciation of the rapid evolution of the industry since that time as we talk with influential practitioners involved in the renaissance. They’ll share their personal perspectives, stories and experiences of working with icons like Ida Rolf, Milton Trager, and Moshe Feldenkrais.

Participating in a peer mentorship circle is a great opportunity to increase the vitality and excellence of your massage practice in a fun and inspiring way. This proven model of peer mentoring creates a supportive and nonjudgmental environment where sharing personal and professional joys and challenges can help you increase the success of your practice. In this workshop you will learn and practice methods to create your own successful peer mentorship circle where the experience and expertise of your fellow practitioners will keep you informed, inspired, and excited about your massage practice.

Learn to give Colleen Chausse's "Million Dollar Foot Massage" protocol in this engaging and informative course.

Most massage practitioners have heard of animal massage, but few are aware of the growing opportunities to practice in this area of massage. As a specialist in the areas of performance and rehabilitation massage of animals, Lola Michelin will shed light on the many ways advanced techniques mastered in the human field have direct applications in the animal realm. Go on a tour of documented case studies that include show horses, shelter animals, and even giraffes and monkeys.

When you look at the human body through the lens of physics you have the unique opportunity to view the body in a new light: as a dynamic, three-dimensional structure of levers and pulleys, actions and reactions. Knowing the basic principles of physics outlined in this presentation, you will discover a practical way to examine your clients' posture in an objective way and explain not only how they came to have the pain issues they have, but also how to resolve them.

The placebo effect is more than sugar pills—it's a phenomenon that is present in virtually every medical encounter. Join Brian Fulton as he helps you understand this healing phenomenon and, more specifically, how the placebo effect impacts your practice as a massage professional. You’ll be surprised to learn the various factors that affect treatment outcomes, both in a positive and a negative manner, that are completely unrelated to your hands-on skills. And you’ll be introduced to some interesting ethical questions that are raised once you realize your power to control the placebo effect.

Discover how to use email marketing to cultivate and nurture your relationship with your current prospects and customers—and turn them into repeat and loyal customers. This course contains an introduction to the fundamentals of email marketing and best practices to support the growth of your business.

The massage industry, in an effort to separate itself from associations with the sex trade, has become increasingly focused on aligning more strongly with a medical model. However, surveys and clinical experience show that most people still get massage primarily for relaxation. In this presentation, you’ll learn about the importance of relaxation massage for your clients. We’ll delve into the science of relaxation and find out from research the exact elements that make a massage extremely relaxing. The findings may surprise you.

The feet are the foundation of the body. Overpronation, especially of only one foot, can cause a chain reaction negatively affecting posture, alignment, function, and movement of the entire body. In this presentation you will learn how to quickly identify this syndrome and how to correlate it to knee pain, low-back pain, lumbar disk injuries, neck pain, and even scoliosis.

The psoas is a true celebrity. In terms of the attention it gets, and the claims made for it, the psoas has superstar status. Like other famous stars, the life story of the psoas is a mixture of fact and fiction, where speculation, mystery, hyperbole, and controversy have blended with the psoas’s truly special qualities, eccentricities, and abilities. Join Til Luchau as he explores the mysteries and myths surrounding the psoas. You’ll learn reasons to work (and not work) the psoas, direct and indirect techniques for noninvasive work with the psoas, and crucial safety considerations.

While massage therapy research is growing, many therapists do not see the relevance of research insights to daily practice in the massage therapy clinic. In this presentation, you’ll discover how research insights can help us attain better client outcomes, grow our practice, and communicate effectively with other health-care providers.

Massage therapy has long been speculated to enhance circulation, stimulate healing, and reduce pain, but does it really accomplish this? Is there evidence to support these claims? What does the research say? Join Nina Cherie as she takes a hard look at recent research and gives you a more accurate picture about the role of massage in blood circulation, pain relief, and the overall recovery process.

How many of your clients complain of neck issues? Join popular presenter Til Luchau as he demonstrates several effective hands-on myofascial techniques for the scalenes, cervical facet joints, and other key structures of the deep neck, and walks us through two chapters from the recently released second volume of his bestselling Advanced Myofascial Techniques textbook. Get the optional ebook that includes two sneak peek chapters to Volume II, as well as a mini-manual, webinar anatomy slides, and note organizer with additional back-pain techniques.

Are you ready to refresh your MT practice? Would you like more pregnant women, postsurgical patients, or elders in your practice? In this highly practical presentation, you’ll learn the benefits and possibilities of side-lying positioning. You’ll discover how to best relax, stabilize, and drape your client on their side. Carol will review body mechanics that make side-lying work easier on you and explore how to improve access to and increase mobilization of the pelvis, pectoral girdle, and spine. Lastly, get inspired by the stories of therapists who are expanding their practices by featuring side-lying positioning options.

Integrating orthopedic assessment skills into your clinical work is an excellent way to build your practice and enhance your success with your clients. Join Whitney Lowe for an engaging discussion of the crucial importance of orthopedic assessment and how to build it into your practice. The discussion will focus on using specific orthopedic assessment skills and will be augmented by video presentation of those assessment methods at the end of the talk.

Chair massage has always been the baby of the massage profession. It's cute. It's fun to have around. But it's hard to take seriously. But as you'll find out in this engaging presentation, chair massage has the ability to transform our profession. And while some therapists say it's too hard on your body, you'll discover how effortless chair massage can be when using the seven principles of effective body use. Lastly, you'll learn how chair massage can be extremely profitable, as a retail service, in the corporate market, and as a powerful way to bring new clients into your massage therapy practice.

How many times have you been in a session and spotted something that didn’t look quite right? Were you able to explain your concerns in an educated and confident manner while staying within your scope of practice? In the United States, the most common form of cancer is skin cancer and the survival rate for patients whose melanoma is detected early is over 97 percent. This workshop will teach the massage therapist to scan the skin, educate your client, and refer to a qualified dermatologist.

Make your business stand out from the rest by paying attention to the details. Learn best practices from the finest spas that you can incorporate into your everyday business without spending a fortune, from setting up your treatment rooms to what your staff should be saying. Create the WOW factor and keep them coming back for more.

Pain is the number-one reason for seeking bodywork. At least 78 percent of the adult population will experience a tension headache at some point during their lives. Reflexology is clinically proven to relieve pain, including the nagging pain headaches cause. Learn how reflexology provides quick, precise, detailed assessments to identify causes of pain in the head, neck, shoulders, and back. View and learn reflexology techniques to ease discomfort and pain, either alone or along with massage.

Want to feel more comfortable and confident when working with burns and surgical scars? Join us as we explore a multidisciplinary approach to scars that includes myofascial assessment, passive and active stretching, muscle energy techniques, hydrotherapy, and self-care. We'll take a particularly close look at tissue repair and regeneration and how this impacts your massage treatment.

With so many of your clients presenting with headaches, it’s always great to have a full toolbox of techniques and products to improve the effectiveness of your treatments. Learn some new approaches to headache treatment and view Matthews's hands-on demo, where she outlines techniques designed to relieve stress and tension. The focus will be on the head, neck, shoulders, and upper back.

Day spas have become the number-one employers of massage therapists in many countries. Gain a clear understanding of what is expected of you as a massage therapist to create the perfect atmosphere and give result-oriented treatments for day spa clients. This presentation will teach you how to negotiate a contract and show how a career path in the spa industry may be an alternative or stepping stone to your own private practice.

Discover specific and actionable strategies to ensure your practice stays busy and prosperous in this engaging round table discussion. Just like the three R’s you learned in school, there are three R’s for successfully increasing your practice income: maximizing recruitment, return visits, and revenue from each treatment. This strategy is applicable whether you have your own practice or are working for someone else.

In this session, noted massage educators and practitioners Laura Allen, Erin Murphy, and Eric Brown give you their best advice for navigating successfully through your education, the credentialing process, and taking your first steps in the profession.

Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders can cause pain in your jaw joint and in the muscles that control jaw movement. Whether TMJ dysfunction is a primary issue or the symptom of broader postural issues, knowing how to effectively access the "mandibular sling" is a valuable part of a massage therapist’s toolbox. In this presentation, you’ll learn treatment principles for TMJ dysfunction and discover how to work intraorally to help your clients with this all-too-common condition.

Toe reading has its roots in the study of reflexology and is based on the theory that your body holographically records the story of your life. The position and shape of the toes say a lot about you. By observing them, you will know a great deal about a person’s past and the experiences they have lived through. This introductory session will help you understand the modality and how you may choose to expand what you offer to your clients.

Learning about the application of topical analgesics gives today's massage therapist another tool for helping their clients with residual pain after completing their massage. They are easy to apply and add another dimension of effective pain relief to use in a massage therapy session. This presentation teaches you what topical analgesics are and will answer all your questions about the why, when, and how to use them.

Working with trauma can be extremely rewarding and provide unique opportunities as well as challenges to your practice. Touch of Relief is a grassroots effort to bring the benefits of massage to those who have experienced trauma and who wouldn't normally have access, including wounded veterans and their families, domestic violence survivors and their children, and natural disaster victims. Learn ways to get involved in your community and create meaningful partnerships with nonprofit organizations and regional and national agencies.

Discover how caregiver massage can supplement and support your professional massage when working with cancer patients. Tracy Walton reveals the findings of a study where researchers looked at the ways simple massage techniques may make a positive impact on the lives of people with cancer. She discusses how teaching caregivers to provide massage can ease their fears of doing harm and enhance their relationship while providing potential relief for the patients.

At a one-of-a-kind massage school in Kathmandu, Nepal, “untouchables” from the lowest level of society have been given new lives in the most unexpected of ways—through touch. In 2000, Rob Buckly opened Nepal’s first massage school for "untouchables" called Himalayan Healers. The students who train there radically shift their lives. And their touch, once shunned, becomes a blessing. Join us for an uplifting and inspirational presentation where Steve Capellini showcases Buckley's work and highlights several of his students and how their lives have been affected.

Anxiety and depression are at record high levels. Fortunately, the positive effects of massage on these mood disorders is well documented and consistently supported by research. In this presentation, you’ll learn about the various types of depression and anxiety disorders. In addition to reviewing some of the pathophysiology and contributing factors to mental health and mood-related conditions, you’ll find out about conventional treatment options and how massage therapy can have the most positive impact for clients who live with these challenges.

Massage is the original healing art and every culture around the world has its own tradition of bodywork. In these short TED Talk-type presentations, you’ll learn about several ancient bodywork traditions. Presentations include "Exploring Lomilomi" with Leslie (Suzi) Ko, "The Art of Indian Head Massage" with Debbie Boehlen, and "How to Enhance Your Massage Skills with Thai Massage" with Sukha Wong.

In this presentation, Don MacFarland explores the expanding importance of bodywork across the blossoming field of human potentiality and how a postural structure supports and actually creates a behavior. You will learn how touch can be used to change the effect our past perceptive experiences have on our physiology, chemistry, and behavior, and how bodywork is a natural and essential partner with any technique of therapeutic transformation.

Most female dogs are spayed and many dogs have abdominal surgery. These animals are in need of the services of a canine bodyworker. In this presentation, Susan Sutcliffe introduces you to some basic techniques you can do to help canine clients. Finding clients when they need you is invaluable, and Sutcliffe shares her knowledge on where and how to reach them.

Debbie Roberts shares with you the principles of using the ATM system (Assessment, Treatment, and Muscle stabilization) as it pertains to sports that involve rotational movements like golf, baseball, and tennis. You’ll learn to recognize common injuries acquired during these rotational sports and how those injuries occur. You’ll also discover how to use a movement screen and how to examine body movement joint by joint to make your treatments more effective.

Bonnie Prudden discusses the discovery, indications, and benefits of myotherapy in the treatment of myofascial trigger points. In a myotherapy session, the client's body is checked for areas of potentially active trigger points, highly irritable spots that remain in the muscle after it has been damaged. Although Bonnie Prudden Myotherapy has its origins in the medical discipline of trigger point injection therapy pioneered by Janet Travell, M.D., and therapeutic exercise and immediate mobilization developed by Dr. Hans Kraus, it is noninvasive and very teachable, which has encouraged its wide usage.

This presentation is audio only.

Own your role as a massage therapist as you learn practical strategies for leveraging local media to communicate your passion for healing, health, and happiness. You’ll also discover how to communicate with doctors and other health-care professionals in order to help build credibility and profits. Get the skills you need to educate, empower, and inspire people in your community and beyond while boosting your bottom line. 

How many times do you treat clients with recurring muscle pain and trigger points only to find they return with the same complaints? What can you do to make a difference? You can make a significant impact on the quality of life of your clients with chronic pain when you understand the signs and symptoms of fibromyalgia and myofascial pain syndrome. In this presentation, you’ll find out how you can distinguish these seemingly similar conditions, and you’ll also discover the most effective techniques to manage these conditions based on current research.

As therapists, we recognize the prevalence of postural distortion and pain patterns associated with computer use. Our practices are full of clients seeking relief from habitual job functions where computer use is required, coupled with hours of surfing the web. In this presentation, you will learn some techniques on unwinding the cumulative effects of elevated shoulders, kyphotic spinal curvature, medial rotation of the humerus, and forward-head posture.

For millions of people, chronic neck pain is a serious and frequently debilitating problem. Often conventional treatments are of limited help, with medication providing only temporary relief. In this presentation, Dr. Ben Benjamin will discuss the single most common cause of cervical pain: central ligament sprains (including whiplash injuries). You'll learn about the relevant anatomy, assessment tests, and effective treatment techniques that can reduce, prevent, and eliminate severe and chronic neck pain.

Thermotherapy is a therapeutic treatment using the application of heat. You’ll develop a new appreciation for heat in its many forms: Dry and moist heat applications, as well as warm soaks. Find out how thermotherapy can be used for a wide range of conditions from local infections and tight muscles to chronic pain and peripheral vascular disorders. And discover how a simple application of heat can improve your clients lives, as well as your profits, as Matthew Howe shares the secrets used by successful spas to add luxury, tranquility, and the therapeutic benefits of thermotherapy.

In Thailand, bodywork is utilized medicinally as a highly regarded indulgence to remedy the prominent social ailments, such as emotional stress and physical inertia. Thai yoga massage (Nuad bo'rarn) is a sacred art of healing, which is socially revered as a medical folk art. It is commonly reported to revitalize and balance cerebral (emotional) and somatic (physical) ailments. Join world-renowned instructor Michael Buck in this presentation as he reveals the essence of this ancient method of healing to inspire the soul and tranquilize the body.

The visceral system relies on the interconnected synchronicity between the motions of all the organs and structures of the body. At optimal health, this harmonious relationship remains stable despite the body's endless varieties of motion. But when one organ cannot move in harmony with its viscera due to abnormal tone, adhesions, or displacement, it works against the body's other organs and muscular, membranous, fascial, and osseous structures. This disharmony creates fixed, abnormal points of tension that the body is forced to move around. And that chronic irritation, in turn, paves the way for postural distortion, neuromuscular dysfunction, and disease processes. In this presentation, Jean Anne Zollars shares with you the basics of visceral manipulation, including its theories, concepts, and principles. You will learn when it is appropriate to use this method in your massage practice and gain further knowledge through examples from case studies.

We use oils, lotions, and gels all the time without necessarily thinking about how it affects our body use. However, using the wrong product can really compromise your body mechanics and cause undue stress to your joints and muscles. Connect the dots and see how thickness of a lubricant combined with its glide determines your level of control and ease of your work. Learn how to choose exactly the right kind of lubricant to make your work as effective as possible and save your body.

Join this team of marketing experts to learn several strategies for successful web marketing. Presentations include "From Blogging to Bodies: No-Nonsense Blogging to Get Clients on Your Table" with Allissa Haines, "Stand Out from the Crowd with Email Marketing" with Ann Ross, "Get Found on Google with Video Marketing" with Ryan Hoyme, and "Online Reputation Management—Don’t Do This!" with Laura Allen.

Information from consumer reports and employer surveys can tell us a lot about what clients want and need from massage therapists. However, hearing feedback directly from clients gives us a new perspective. Brian Halterman and Cindy Williams share interesting consumer perspectives and interview clients to get the comments they don't share with their massage therapists. This session asks us to take a hard look at the environments we create for clients, our session plans, client education programs, and other methods we might use to enhance consumer views of massage therapy and improve the marketplace for ourselves and future generations of therapists. 

Massage schools do a great job of ensuring academic rigor, regulatory orientation, and the technical/hands-on skills required in practice. Yet, insufficient support exists in the profession to make the leap from the safe, controlled limits of the classroom into the massage body politic and the competitive marketplace. In this presentation, Don Dillon explores the concepts he wished he'd learned early on and the common nonsense that perpetuates and pollutes massage practice today.

For most massage therapists, the thought of helping another person is at the core of our work. In this engaging presentation, you’ll learn about opportunities for international volunteer work and what you should know before you go. Unfortunately, the internet is flooded with many scams and volunteer programs that cause more harm than help in the communities they work with. You'll discover how to ensure you choose a responsible and quality program that truly benefits the local communities in which you work and that makes a lasting impact.

What’s more important: professional liability insurance or general liability insurance? Or do you need both? Did you know that a massage therapist can become a victim and need to have protection from the public? You will get the facts and actual claims examples of therapists being dragged through the mud by a client. This presentation is an informative and educational overview on liability insurance, presented in layperson's terms. You will learn what every therapist should know about liability insurance and how it can work for you.

Running injuries are the lifeblood of many massage practices. They are great for business, but we hate to see our clients in such pain. Recent scientific research reveals some new findings on the cause of ITB friction syndrome. How can you best help runners avoid or recover from these injuries when they occur? Join us for this presentation where you'll discover what is really happening in the knee and why most conventional approaches fail to succeed.

Who cares about client education? Your clients do! But only if logically and emotionally delivered in a way that connects with them. Every day you educate your clients: in the effects and benefits of massage, about their own bodies, in self-care techniques, and about general health and wellness. But is your message sinking in? Do you find yourself saying, “If only this client would ..."? In this presentation, you’ll discover what works and doesn’t work in client education. You’ll learn that client education is as important as any hands-on skill and how getting it right not only improves client outcomes and client satisfaction, but makes all the difference between a surviving practice and a thriving one.

How many clients do not return after their first massage and never tell you why? How many potential clients opt not to book because of frustrations when trying to make an appointment? How many clients walk through your doors feeling uninformed and anxious? This presentation will feature a discussion on market research on the expectations of spa clients, from the first call to the moment they exit the spa following the treatment. This presentation will address the elements that clients mention most often as enhancing or detracting from their massage experience. You will learn why clients choose one spa experience over another and various quality assurance tools that you can apply to track and positively infulance clients' experiences, including client surveys, individual supervision, group discussion and staff meetings, mystery shopping, and more. Jessica Zike will explain how to create a quality matrix that can be used to test spa staff members and provide objective criteria to aid in growth and improvement.

The body changes drastically in pregnancy, and it is important to understand the changes to know how best to massage the client. In this presentation, we’ll look at some key changes in pregnancy and how we need to work with these to offer effective care, including abdominal work.

You've likely heard the terms “evidence-based practice" or “evidence-informed practice” thrown around like hot potatoes as the massage profession increasingly works to integrate into mainstream health care and demonstrate that it relies on evidence for clinical decision-making. But what is an evidence-based practice? And exactly what does this mean for you in your daily massage practice? You'll get the answers in this presentation with Massage Therapy Foundation representatives Ruth Werner and Jerrilyn Cambron.

Whiplash can be made better or made worse with hands-on bodywork. Join Advanced-Trainings faculty member and Certified Advanced Rolfer Til Luchau as he presents ways to safely and effectively work with this complicated, but common injury pattern. This engaging presentation will expand and deepen your skills. You’ll gain a clear framework for understanding the structural and neurological effects of whiplash, as well as practical tips and specific suggestions for hands-on approaches that can be incorporated into your existing work right away.

Case reports are the base of the research pyramid and the place where every therapist who is interested in research can contribute to the profession. In this presentation, you'll learn what a case report is, how to write one, and discover how you can get your own case report published in a peer-reviewed journal. It's not as hard or intimidating as you might imagine. 

Does the idea of retailing and the income it can represent appeal to you, but the thought of “selling” stops you in your tracks? Learn how to effectively retail product and merchandise that is beneficial to your client while never being pushy or over the top. Learn all the best and most effective low-pressure techniques in retailing to add black ink to your bottom line. Learn to merchandise your product assortment so that it appears noninvasive in your treatment room. Get pointers on great retail products that consistently sell providing alternate streams of income and positive cash flow. Learn how to provide these valuable products to your clients in a manner that reflects your core principles and values.