Category Archives for: Mind-Body

Exploring the Path of a Massage Therapy Instructor

December 20, 2016 by Ariana Vincent, CEO of the Ariana Institute

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Choosing Your Path

There are myriad ways you can configure your career as an MTI. You can work part-time or full-time, you can use your experiences as an MTI as a stepping-stone to another career, you can focus on being an MTI as a second career, you can blend teaching with your current vibrant massage therapy practice, or you can supplement your retirement income by becoming an MTI. There are opportunities to work as an independent massage therapy instructor, like I do, you can work as an instructor at an established massage therapy school, and/or you can work for a nationwide company that provides massage therapy classes throughout the U.S.

Once you have been approved as an MTI and you have your MTI license and any other licenses and certifications you may need in order to teach, focus on setting goals for each of the massage therapy courses you wish to teach. Then choose the content and format that will make each course work for you and your students. If you choose a career as an independent MTI, you can utilize the information you gain in your MTI course to begin designing the content of your course notebook and structure. Remember to avoid using other people’s copyrighted material without permission and acknowledgment. If you choose to work as a MTI in a massage school environment, the school administrators will typically provide course notebooks and supporting media for the classroom. You should also think about how you will use technology in the classroom. Practice teaching your newly designed massage course to colleagues and friends and ask for feedback. It is not only an excellent idea to practice teaching, it is a NCBTMB requirement, as stated on their website, “Before submitting an application to NCBTMB for approval, you must have taught the course at least one time within the last year to a group of five or more participants. You must provide the participants with an evaluation requesting feedback on the course, instruction and material.” You could even videotape yourself practice teaching so you can study the pros and cons of your teaching style. An additional way to learn to teach would be to partner with another instructor during the beginning of your career or to serve as an assistant in a classroom.

Teach what you truly love and what you are qualified to teach. Think about how good it feels to have a positive influence in the lives of those around you. Create a structure for your classes in an environment that participants will enjoy. Utilize the information and resources presented in your MTI course material to create the ideal classroom environment. Make sure the classroom is well lit, properly ventilated, clean, comfortable, and that there are appropriate restroom facilities. Decide whether or not you are going to provide massage tables. Make sure to have a balanced percentage of hands-on experiential training and cognitive information. My preferred balance is 80% experiential and 20% cognitive.

Once you have developed your course material, if you are an independent MTI,, focus on setting prices, registering participants, and preparing rosters and certificates of attendance. Set up a spreadsheet to track your income and expenses on a daily basis so you can carefully monitor your progress. It is also important to remember that the first three to five years of any business, including massage therapy education, are building years as you lay the foundation for your ongoing success. Keep the appropriate tax records for the IRS. Also maintain student records, rosters and course evaluations for NCBTMB and your state massage board. Please be sure to comply with all of your state board rules and regulations.

Develop marketing strategies by taking some marketing classes, reading books that offer tips for successful marketing and utilizing the services of mentors and consultants. The Ariana Institute’s MTI course includes information on marketing your courses as an independent MTI; however, not all MTI courses provide this component in their curriculum. Next, determine what marketing techniques work best for your business and budget. Think of ways to develop compelling descriptive titles for your courses to capture the attention of your students. Believe that you can be successful and surround yourself with competent people who support you in achieving your goals and dreams.

We will next explore ways of finding and creating opportunities to advance your career as an MTI.

Opportunities For Massage Instructors

Search engines come in handy for researching opportunities for massage therapy instructors. If you want to work at a massage school, simply search the name of the city where you want to teach and then enter “massage school” and find out the name of the director of the school and contact that person to see if there are any positions available for MTIs. You could also offer to teach one-time continuing education classes in your area of specialty as well as seeing about becoming a part of the part-time or full-time faculty. Create a proposal for the CE classes you want to teach at the schools and submit it to the school administrators along with your resume and cover letter. Go to events and CE classes at the schools where you are interested in teaching so that you become known in their environment.

If you are interested in teaching for a national massage company that hires instructors, you could do some online research for names and contact information and then follow-up to see if they are hiring. You could take some courses offered by that company and talk to the instructor to see what his or her teaching experiences with that company have been like.

Another approach to utilizing your MTI certification would be to establish yourself as an independent MTI and CE provider. Design and develop your own course curriculum and market your class to the local community. Once you have achieved your desired level of success, consider expanding your market.

You can develop name recognition by offering to teach classes for local massage groups, such as massage Meetups and local AMTA chapters. On a larger scale, you can submit proposals for state and national conventions, for example, AMTA national conventions and The World Massage Festival.

Consider writing a book on the massage technique that you want to teach. This can help you market yourself as an educator. This can be done for every course, or bundle of courses that you offer.

In today’s technological world, another good marketing avenue is to create instructional videos for your courses and (1) publish them on the web, (2) send them to prospective students, (3) place them on your website, (4) include the URLs for these videos in the books that you publish, and (5) include the URLs in your course notebooks.

Resources for Advanced Information

The Ariana Institute’s Massage Therapy Instructor Course

https://www.arianainstitute.com/ce-online/#mti

ABMP Instructor Resource Programs

http://www.abmp.com/instructors/ http://www.abmp.com/instructors/instructor_development.php

AFMTE’s Educational Resources for Massage Therapy Teachers

http://www.afmte.org/teacher-education-resources/

AFMTE’s National Teacher Education Standards Project (NTESP)

http://www.afmte.org/education/tesp-core-competencies/

Coursera Instructional Methods in Health Professions Education

https://www.coursera.org/course/instructmethodshpe

Educational Training Solutions

http://www.educationtrainingsolutions.com/about-us/

ELAP (Entry Level Analysis Project)

http://www.elapmassage.org/

Florida Board of Massage Therapy Education Programs Page

http://floridasmassagetherapy.gov/education-and-training-programs/

NCBTMB Information for Continuing Education Providers

http://www.ncbtmb.org/continuing-education-providers/continuing-education-providers#general

NCBTMB New York Approved CE Sponsor

http://www.ncbtmb.org/continuing-education-providers/ncbtmb-approved-new-york-ce-sponsor

Now that we have explored many options on the MTI path, I’ll leave you with a few thoughts and insights. One of the most important things you can do is to impart the knowledge and wisdom that you have gained over the years. Teaching can be a rewarding and enriching process that benefits the teacher, the student and the recipients of massage. Take time to look inside and see what you can do to let your light shine and manifest your dreams into reality. As Nelson Mandela shared so eloquently, What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.

The information above includes excerpts for an article “Positive Influence: Become a Massage Therapy Instructor,” by Ariana Vincent, originally published in the June 2015 issue of MASSAGE Magazine.

Visit the Ariana Instiute’s website to learn about opportunities and courses for future Massage Therapy Instructors at https://www.arianainstitute.com/ce-online/#mti!

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The Immeasurable Reiki Path

March 28, 2016 by Ariana Vincent, CEO of the Ariana Institute

The Ariana Institute’s Mind-Body Therapy Manual is part of a series of massage manuals that are designed to help deepen the knowledge of current massage therapists and introduce new massage therapists to the world of massage and bodywork.

The Mind-Body Therapy Manual features topics that are also available as NCBTMB approved online CE courses through the Ariana Institute at www.arianainstitute.com/ce-online/, including:

Soothing PTSD and Trauma
Reiki Level One
Reiki Level Two
Reiki Level Three (Master/Teacher Level)

This manual incorporates detailed protocols, photos, links to online videos, marketing strategies, personal stories, and resources to encourage a comprehensive understanding of mind-body therapy modalities beneficial for your massage practice and your personal well-being.

Here’s a personal story about Reiki featured in the Mind-Body Therapy Manual.

THE IMMEASURABLE REIKI PATH

Reiki comes to people in myriad ways; some experiences begin in a seemingly subtle way and then expand to a profound place in our lives. That was certainly the case for me.

I began traveling on the path of Reiki many years ago when I was part of a meditation group in Austin. One of my fellow–meditators, Sherry, introduced me to the benefits and protocols of Reiki. We talked about how the Reiki symbols can be used as a centering technique to help still the mind and stay steady in a fast–paced world. I was immediately attracted to the seemingly simple and noninvasive modality.

In addition to our conversations, Sherry offered to give a Reiki session to me. That became a pivotal turning point in my life. I felt peaceful, relaxed, and centered during and after the session. Upon further reflection, I noted that I felt significantly transformed by the experience. The racing thoughts, or as we called them in our meditation classes, the “jumping monkeys,” were stilled and calm; it became easier to be focused in the present moment instead of feeling distracted by a constant litany of thoughts that drew me away from living a focused life. I was so impressed that I very quickly made a decision to study Reiki in order to deepen my knowledge and begin sharing this wonderful modality with others.

I was offered an opportunity to study Reiki Level One, Reiki Level Two, and Reiki Level Three (Master/Teacher) with Denise, a wonderful woman from Wimberley. She took me under her wing and included me in her Reiki classes. I was going through a very challenging time in my life and was just about as far from centered as I had ever been. Learning about Dr. Mikao Usui’s Reiki lineage brought comfort and focus to my life. I was very grateful.

Little did I know at the time that I would eventually utilize my Reiki Level Three training with Denise to become a Reiki instructor and begin offering courses for others. Not only did I offer Reiki treatments, either as an independent modality, or in conjunction with other treatments, after several years of practicing I also began researching Reiki for the development of my Reiki course notebooks. It was a very profound time of growth and expansion for me. I learned to approach the world with more of a calm mind and a more peaceful and mindful consciousness.

Especially meaningful ways of utilizing Reiki are for clients who are suffering from PTSD and prefer a light touch or prefer to have the therapist’s hand hovering a few inches above the body, and for oncology clients who benefit from energetic holding over certain areas of the body where touch would not be indicated. The beauty of Reiki is that it is non–invasive and it can be offered anywhere, with the client fully clothed, or it can be offered in conjunction with other modalities including deep tissue therapy, Swedish massage, prenatal massage, and facial massage, to name a few.

It is with gratitude that I continue on the Reiki path, teaching and practicing, and observing the Reiki principles in my daily life. The experience of being introduced to Reiki has been profound and transforming. I love the seemingly subtle nature of Reiki and the dynamic changes that I have experienced and have witnessed occurring in my clients and students.

As J. Krishnamurti so beautifully shared, “When the mind is no longer seeking, no longer breeding conflict through its wants and cravings, when it is silent with understanding, only then can the immeasurable come into being.” It is through focus on my Reiki path that the immeasurable has come into being and chaos has been replaced with peace.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR – ARIANA VINCENT, LMT, MTI, BCTMB

Ariana Vincent is a Reiki Master Teacher and CEO of the Ariana Institute. She was awarded the 2015 CE Provider of the Year Award by the Alliance for Massage Therapy Education. She is a Nationally Certified Massage Therapy Instructor whose classes are accepted throughout the United States. Ariana is also a Massage Therapy Hall of Fame Honoree and author of the Ariana Institute’s therapy manual series available on Amazon.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

To read the foreword of the Mind-Body Therapy Manual, visit https://www.arianainstitute.com/the-ariana-institutes-mind-body-therapy-manual-and-ce-courses/.

The Ariana Institute’s video introduction to the Soothing PTSD and Trauma, Reiki Level One, Level Two, as well as Level Three (Master/Teacher) CE courses can be accessed on the Ariana Institute’s YouTube Channel at www.youtube.com/user/ArianaInstitute.

To order your copies of the Ariana Institute’s Mind-Body Therapy Manual, visit www.amazon.com/author/arianavincent.

For additional information about the Ariana Institute and to register for online continuing education and MTI courses visit www.arianainstitute.com/ce-online/.

Ariana Vincent, LMT, MTI, NCTMB

Post–Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Trauma Release Therapy

December 14, 2015 by Ariana Vincent, CEO of the Ariana Institute

The Mind-Body Therapy Manual features topics that are also available as NCBTMB approved online CE courses through the Ariana Institute at www.arianainstitute.com/ce-online/, including:

Soothing PTSD and Trauma
Reiki Level One
Reiki Level Two
Reiki Level Three (Master/Teacher Level)

Here’s a personal story about PTSD and trauma featured in the Mind-Body Therapy Manual.

POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) AND TRAUMA RELEASE THERAPY

My most significant influencers in this area of specialization include Rick Levinson, LCSW, and Peter A. Levine, Ph.D. It is through the knowledge I gained from these individuals over the years that I deepened my understanding of the importance of coupling somatic modalities with qualified psychological guidance when focusing on the reduction of the symptoms of trauma and the management of PTSD.

Several years ago, there were a series of wildfires in Central Texas that devastated the landscape and caused several of my clients to lose their property and everything they owned. One of my clients lost her beautiful two–story home, a cottage on her land where her son lived and her pottery studio. Another client lost her home, her pottery studio, her yoga studio and her massage studio. They each grieved the loss in different ways. Fortunately, they both had excellent support networks to help them through those troubled times. I am grateful to have been a part of their resource team.

I was honored to be able to offer massage therapy sessions to these two women after the loss of their homes, businesses, and landscapes. I appreciated being able to make a meaningful difference in their lives at a time of regrouping, centering, and restoring balance.

Massage, whatever the modality, is typically harmonizing and balancing, and it helps to draw individuals back to their core. This seems to be especially true for my two clients who experienced a sudden and unexpected whirlwind of energy around their very peaceful, creative and serene country lives. When they came for their massage sessions, both women expressed their gratitude for being in my treatment room, which they called a “sanctuary” and an “oasis” in their otherwise topsy–turvy lives.

One of the women wrote later in a Christmas letter to me, “As the year draws to a close, it is fitting to write you, who helped us recover from the fire, and to assure you that we are at peace and settling into our new life. We are far from finished; everywhere we look we see our next task on this burned–out earth, but life is resiliently returning and there is magical beauty emerging within the dramatic changes that fire has wrought. The act of consciously embracing what ‘is,’ no matter how unthinkable, opens up a deep reservoir of faith and strength that provides a surprising lightness of being. Incredibly, we have been blessed every step of the way with help and support from our friends. Right now it is a time to quietly pull inward, allow the tight layers of stress to unwind, and let the creative process complete the healing.”

Her letter is a testimony to the resilient nature of the human spirit. When I received the letter, I was even more grateful, in a very humble way, to have been a part of her process of recovery by offering massage therapy to her during a time when she was restoring her life to balance.

Many of my clients inspire me and shine a light on the path that I’ve chosen as a lifelong career. I am grateful that I had the courage to say “yes” to the challenge of becoming educated about trauma and healing. I am also appreciative of the inner healing that has occurred as a result of my focus on helping facilitate the healing of traumatic issues. I can now serve from a more centered and grounded perspective

I am grateful for the knowledge I gained while learning to offer massage for survivors of PTSD and trauma, especially as I was designing the Ariana Institute’s Soothing PTSD and Trauma course.

I developed the Soothing PTSD and Trauma course to increase massage therapists’ knowledge regarding working compassionately and effectively with the effects of trauma in their practices. Topics addressed in the course include finding a personal comfort zone, self care, maintaining appropriate boundaries, establishing trust, centering and grounding skills, effective communication skills, and honoring your scope of practice.

Diving into the world of PTSD and trauma from a therapeutic perspective has enriched my life and has provided yet another avenue for being of service to the world as a professional massage therapist and massage therapy instructor. To those of you who read the PTSD and Trauma section of the Ariana Institute’s Mind-Body Manual, I honor you, am grateful for your interest in soothing trauma, and I appreciate your presence in the healing community.

As Franklin D. Roosevelt so aptly stated, “If civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships – the ability of all peoples, of all kinds, to live together, in the same world at peace.” By offering survivors of PTSD and trauma an environment where they can restore themselves to balance and reconnect with that core of peace within, massage therapists are helping their clients heal and rediscover their true essence. I am grateful for the influence of Rick Levinson and Peter Levine in guiding me along the path of helping people recover from traumatic events and restore their lives and their bodies to homeostasis.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR – ARIANA VINCENT, LMT, MTI, BCTMB

Ariana Vincent was awarded the 2015 CE Provider of the Year Award by the Alliance for Massage Therapy Education. She is a Nationally Certified Massage Therapy Instructor whose classes are accepted throughout the United States. Ariana is also a Massage Therapy Hall of Fame Honoree and author of the Ariana Institute’s therapy manual series available on Amazon.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

To read the foreword of the Mind-Body Therapy Manual, visit https://www.arianainstitute.com/blog/the-ariana-institutes-mind-body-therapy-manual-and-ce-courses/.

To order your copies of the Ariana Institute’s Mind-Body Therapy Manual, visit www.amazon.com/author/arianavincent.

For additional information about the Ariana Institute and to register for online continuing education and MTI courses visit www.arianainstitute.com/ce-online/.

Ariana Vincent, LMT, MTI, NCTMB

The Ariana Institute’s Mind-Body Therapy Manual and CE Courses

September 08, 2015 by Ariana Vincent, CEO of the Ariana Institute

The Ariana Institute for Wellness Education offers an outstanding resource for those interested in mind-body therapies, featuring topics that include Reiki, Meditation, Mindfulness, and Soothing PTSD and Trauma.

The Ariana Institute’s Mind-Body Therapy Manual is part of a series of massage manuals that are designed to help deepen the knowledge and understanding of current massage therapists and introduce new, upcoming massage therapists to the world of massage and bodywork. To order your copies of the Ariana Institute’s Mind-Body Therapy Manual visit www.amazon.com/author/arianavincent.

This manual incorporates detailed protocol descriptions, high definition instructional photos, links to the Ariana Institute’s online instructional videos demonstrating a wide variety of techniques, marketing and practice building strategies, and resources for advanced learning to encourage a comprehensive understanding of mind-body modalities that can be offered in a massage practice.

The Ariana Institute’s therapy manual series has been over 16 years in the making and is a monumental achievement for the Ariana Institute. The Mind-Body Therapy Manual is a perfect source of deep study for massage therapists and those seeking to expand their understanding of mind-body therapies and further cultivate their practices!

Here is the foreword to the Ariana Institute’s Mind-Body Therapy Manual by Manu Verma, Independent Health, Wellness and Fitness Professional.

The manifestations of the mode of goodness are experienced when all the gates of the body are illuminated by knowledge. – Bhagavad Gita 14.11

When I attended my very first Vipassana meditation retreat in 1998, almost 15 years ago, I still remember listening to founder Mr. Goenka talk about how every time we get angry, every time we refuse to say what we feel, every time we resent something, we put a knot in our spine, and over time the spine becomes fully knotted. He said that practicing Vipassana is therefore a process of undoing the knots, one at a time. This made a very profound impression on me and to this day I am still reminded of it every time I study, practice and teach yoga. Every pose I teach helps people undo their spine one knot at a time. It’s good to see how that wisdom, which probably was limited to so few people in the Vipassana hall at that time, has made its way out into thousands of contemporary yoga studios across the country.

The mind-body is a sacred garment for the indwelling spirit. In stress of daily living it can suffer a good deal of wear and tear. Excessive pressure to survive, raise the kids, the toll the demands of work take on our relationships, the physical neglect, illnesses the constant fear of impending old age and death leaves most of us traumatized. No wonder, that in the very first section of this book Ariana addresses helping healthcare practitioners deal with the victims and survivors of trauma. The guidelines she provides are extensive and center around one single purpose: to bring oneself or one’s client in the present moment so as to be able to re-live in our present body.

The following sections deal with the traditional healing through Reiki. In the Sadhana Pada of the Yoga Sutras, Lord Patanjali says, “The pains that are yet to come can be and are to be avoided.” If I had to apply this philosophy to everyday life, I would say that it is a lot easier to stay healthy than to recover from illness. And staying healthy can be very spiritual discipline in itself, since one can serve God in the heart so much more effectively with a body that is healthy than with a body that is sick. Giving and receiving Reiki can be extremely therapeutic. When one invokes the symbols of Reiki, one is literally inviting the mercy and blessings of God.

This book is intended primarily for massage therapists who are looking to go deeper with their studies through continuing education. And for them, this book is a gold mine – it not only discusses the therapies but also delves into the ethics, protocols and self-care tips. It explains “energy transference,” which often gets lost in other books that are simply a collection of techniques. It guides you through the business aspects of setting up a successful massage therapy practice, and having worked for myself for a decade or so, I find this section to be very relevant and important. It is this business acumen that transforms a talented artist into a successful talented artist.

Having lived in yoga ashrams, learning and teaching for the last 15 years or so, I have developed a genuine appreciation for teachings and writings that are authentic to the source; where the only sole purpose of the author is to explain philosophical concepts as intended originally by sages and saints, instead of trying to push one’s own agenda in an attempt to garner respect and gather a following. Books written in the former way have a truly transformative power. I am pleased to say that Ariana’s Mind Body Therapy Manual belongs to this category, with a genuine intent, bonafide techniques and credits given where due. What impresses me is the thoughtful insight Ariana has provided, and the time it must have taken her to compile it. Having known her for years now and having witnessed how much of a perfectionist she is, this must have been a monumental task, one that only a person who loves the art so dearly could have completed so well.

This is the kind of book that I would always keep handy and refer to very often. And every time I do I know I will find something new, or read what I have read before but realize a new meaning or application. The pages will get creased over time, have stains of tea or coffee and the binding will probably come apart as I make copies of pages to share with friends. And after years, when I decide that it’s time to get a new copy, I’m sure Amazon will have kept it perennially in stock, ready to ship!

The Ariana Institute’s video introduction to the Reiki, PTSD and Trauma Relief, Meditation, and Mindfulness CE courses can be accessed below or on the Ariana Institute’s YouTube Channel at www.youtube.com/user/ArianaInstitute.

To order your copies of the Ariana Institute’s Mind-Body Therapy Manual visit www.amazon.com/author/arianavincent.

For additional information about the Ariana Institute and to register for online continuing education courses visit www.arianainstitute.com/ce-online/.