Archive for August, 2008

Recommended Reading for Massage Therapists

Sunday, August 24th, 2008

Here are some of my favorite books on a variety of massage therapy related subjects.

Textbooks.
Introduction to Massage Therapy by Mary Beth Braun
Mosby’s Fundamentals of Therapeutic Massage by Sandy Fritz
Milady’s Theory & Practice of Therapeutic Massage by Mark F. Beck
Basic Clinical Massage Therapy by James Clay & David Pounds

Pathology Books written specifically for Massage Therapists.
Massage Therapists Guide to Pathology by Ruth Werner
The Human Body in Health & Illness by Barbara Herlihy

Jobs Body by Deanne Juhan
A classic overview of the physiological effects of touch on the body.

The Way of Acupressure Jin Shen Do by Iona Teegarden
A wonderful in depth introduction to the powerful acupressure technique of Jin Shin Do. Contains numerous treatment patterns that can be learned from the book.

The Massage Book by George Downing
I first learned to do massage from this book prior to going to massage school over 30 years ago. Some of the information is outdated and inappropriate for the industry as it is today, but it has some of the best Esalen Massage strokes you will find anywhere and it conveys the sense of excitement and exploration that was present as Esalen Massage was being developed in the late 1960’s.

Business books for massage therapists.
Massage: A Career at your Fingertips by Martin Ashley
Year to a Successful Massage Therapy Practice by Laura Allen
Business Mastery by  Cherie Sohen-Moe

Save your Hands by Laurianne Greene

Pre and Perinatal Massage   by Carole Osborne-Sheets

Excellent Anatomy Books
Atlas of Human Anatomy by Frank Netter
Trail Guide to the Body by Andrew Biel

Ethics for Massage Therapists
The Educated Heart    by Nina  McIntosh
The Ethics of Touch by Ben Benjamin & Cherie Sohnen-Moe

Energy Healing
Hands of Light by Barbara Ann Brennan
Energy Healing - A Pathway to Inner Growth by Jim Gilkeson


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The Healer’s Predicament by Jim Gilkeson

Saturday, August 23rd, 2008

The discovery that you have healing gifts, along with the discovery that you suffer if you don’t find a way to express them, can be a rather lonely discovery. It can be hard to talk about, even to yourself. 

The path of the healer is not necessarily satisfied by any of the conventional roles mainstream society offers. This is particularly confusing if you sense that your healing gifts cannot be separated from your own inner growth or your spiritual path. 

Who’s a healer? The popular image of the “healer” is so inflated that it can sound unbearably immodest to claim to be one. When we use the word “healer” it seems to imply that some of us are healers, while the rest of us aren’t. But healing potential exists in each of us. It would be fair to say that this particular quality in a healer is not only a potential but is consciously developed, active and strong. First and foremost, it is important to recognize that it is not so much that the “healer” heals another person, but rather that he triggers the other person’s own self-healing potential.

Some people who understand that they have genuine healing qualities can get so puffed up in their image of themselves as healers that they need to undergo some kind of ego bypass operation before they are able to do anybody any good. Or they might go in the opposite direction and get caught up in false modesty, saying to themselves, “who am I to presume to be a healer?” When that happens, they end up neglecting gifts that they actually have. There is, therefore, a need to back off from the inflated, heroic images of the healer, while still doing something to help these qualities—it is not inappropriate to call them spiritual gifts—to express.

Healer Education
While some people glide serenely into the active expression of their gifts, others may find them an unwelcome burden in an already complicated life and view them as anything but a welcome gift. Those who are seriously drawn to spiritual development and healing are often sensitive people who have their hands full trying to marshal dimensions of life that most folks are not even aware of. Meanwhile, the most effective healers and spiritual adepts are those who have learned to manage themselves, sort out their spiritual gifts and dedicate themselves to service.

Learning to Manage the Tools of Your Trade
This brings us to the notion of using tools and practices to cultivate our healer qualities. Though the potential for healing may be present in all of us, its positive expression requires a parallel spiritual development. Without a deep respect for the spiritual links between ourselves and the infinite dimensions of life, what can and should be a comfort in our lives can be quite the opposite; our gift can turn on us and cause harm. For most healers, there comes a point in their lives when their growth stopped being exclusively personal and they began seeking ways to use their deeper qualities to benefit others.

For many years, I have been intensely interested in the education of healers. Many people with the gift of healing find themselves resisting this idea. I have heard healers say, “I’m afraid that if I get too structured, it will clog up my intuition” or “I’m afraid I’ll get too left-brained.” But healing requires both intuition and rational knowledge. Flying by the seat of your intuitive pants into someone’s energy system, though it can bring about fascinating results, often leaves both you and your treatment partners without any insight and without any long-term benefits. On the contrary, there is potential for long-term damage! There is something to be said for knowing something. Education allows intuition, understanding and respect for the powers of healing and its deeper dimensions to blend.

Structured learning and spontaneous intuition are not really at war with one another. Indeed, factual understanding creates a pole toward which intuition can move. The more truly differentiated our knowledge base and the more tools it has at its disposal, the greater the variety of our intuitive repertoire. The healer-in-training learns the names of things, develops skills, sensitivity, and a broad acquaintance with a number of fields of knowledge, from science to religion and art, from psychology to anatomy and physiology. 

The education of a healer consists of input from many different sources, traditional and the non-traditional. Traditional learning comes from all that has been handed down from past generations, and from the particular habits, lore and wisdom of our culture. Non-traditional learning comes from our own direct “fall down and go BOOM!” experience, as well as ecstatic states in which we transcend experience. One thing has become abundantly clear to me, however: healer education needs to provide, alongside factual knowledge, opportunities to gain direct, first-hand experience. Since we are so often working outside consensus reality we need to be able to draw from resources that we ourselves hold within us, and learn how to trust them.

excepted from “Energy Healing- A Pathway to Inner Growth” by Jim Gilkeson

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State by State Regulations to Practice Massage Therapy

Thursday, August 21st, 2008
Following are the current state by state laws, requirements, regulating organization and contact information to practice massage therapy in the US.
Massage law is continually changing, so please contact the local legislative organizations listed for each state for the most current information

ALABAMA 
Board of Massage Therapy
610 S. McDonough St.
Montgomery, AL 36104
Tel: 334-269-9990 Fax: 334-263-6115
Email: ALMTBD@aol.com
http://www.almtbd.state.al.us/
Requirement: 650hrs and NCETMB

ARIZONA 
Board of Massage Therapy
1400 West Washington, #230
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Tel: 602-542-8604  Fax: 602-542-3093
Email: info@massageboard.state.az.us
http://www.massageboard.az.gov/
Requirement:700 hours & NCETMB

ARKANSAS
State Board of Massage Therapy
P.O. Box 20739
Hot Springs, AR 71903
Tel: 501-520-0555
Email: info@arkansasmassagetherapy.com
http://www.arkansasmassagetherapy.com/
Requirement: 500 hrs and State Exam OR 500 hrs and NCETMB 

CALIFORNIA
Locally regulated city by city with requirements ranging from 100 to 500 hours

COLORADO
Legislation was passed requiring State Licensing June, 2008 and will go into effect early to mid 2009.
Requirement: 500 hours (Massage therapists practicing prior to the new law with at least 300 hours of training will have grandfathering considerations)

CONNECTICUT
Department of Public Health & Addiction Services
Massage Therapy Licensure
150 Washington Street 
Hartford, CT 06106
Tel: 860-509-7603
http://www.ct.gov/dph/cwp/view.asp?a=3121&q=389348
Requirement: 500 in-class hrs & NCETMB

DELAWARE 
Delaware Board of Massage & Bodywork-Cannon Building, #203
861 Silver Lake Blvd.
Dover, DE 19904
Tel: 302-744-4537  Fax: 302-739-2711
Email: Ashley.stewart@state.de.us
http://www.dpr.delaware.gov/boards/massagebodyworks/index.shtml
Lic Req:500 and NCETMB
Cert Req:  300 supervised class hrs

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 
Department of Health-Health Professional Licensing Administration
Board of Massage Therapy
825 North Capitol Street, NE, 2nd Floor
Washington, DC 20002
Tel: 202-724-4900, 877-374-1157
http://hpla.doh.dc.gov/hpla/cwp/view,A,1195,Q,488659,hplaNav,|30661|,.asp
Requirement:  500 hrs and NCETMB

FLORIDA 
Florida Department of Health-Medical Quality Assurance-Board of Massage Therapy
4052 Bald Cypress WayBin #C06
Tallahassee, FL 32399
Tel: 850-245-4161    Fax: 850-921-6184 
Email: MQA_MassageTherapy@doh.state.fl.us
http://www.doh.state.fl.us/mqa/massage/ma_lic_req.html
Requirement: 500hrs & NCETMB

GEORGIA 
Board Offices
Tel: 478-207-2440    fax: 478-207-1354
Application/Payment Address
PO Box 13446
Macon, GA 31208
http://sos.georgia.gov/plb/massage/
Requirement:  500 hours & NCE or MBLEx

HAWAII 
Dept. of Commerce & Consumer Affairs-State Board of Massage
P.O. Box 3469
1010 Richards Street
Honolulu, HI 96801
Tel: 808-587-3222
http://hawaii.gov/dcca/areas/pvl/boards/massage/
Requirement: 570 hrs and a written exam administered by the state. 

ILLINOIS
Department of Professional Regulations
320 W. Washington Street, 3rd Floor
Springfield, IL 62786
Tel: 217-782-8556
http://www.idfpr.com/dpr/who/masst.asp
Requirement:  500 hours & NCETMB

INDIANA 
Indiana passed a state certification law in 2007  
Go to the website  to find the most up-to-date information.
http://www.in.gov/pla/massage.htm

IOWA
Department of Public Health Massage Therapy Advisory Board 
Lucas State Office Building, 5th Floor 
321 East 12th Street 
Des Moines, IA 50319-0075
Tel: 515-281-6959   Fax: 515-281-3121
http://www.idph.state.ia.us/licensure/board_home.asp?board=mt
Requirement:500 hours and NCETMB or MBLEx

KENTUCKY 
Kentucky Board of Licensure for Massage Therapy
PO Box 1360
Frankfort, KY 40602
Tel: 502-564-3296   Fax: 502-696-1922
Requirement:600 hours & NCETMB
http://finance.ky.gov/ourcabinet/caboff/OAS/op/massth

LOUISIANA 
Louisiana Board of Massage Therapy
12022 Plank Road
Baton Rouge, LA 70811
Tel: 225-771-4090Fax: 225-771-4021
E-mail: admin@lsbmt.org
http://www.lsbmt.org/
Requirement:500 hrs - written (NCETMB) and oral exam

MAINE 
Department of Professional & Financial Regulation
Division of Licensing & Enforcement-Massage Therapist
35 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333 
Tel: 207-624-8613   Fax: 207-624-8637
http://www.maine.gov/pfr/professionallicensing/index.shtml
Requirement:  500hrs or NCETMB

MARYLAND
Board of Chiropractic Examiners
4201 Patterson Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21215-2299
Tel: 410-764-4738   Fax: 410-358-1879
http://www.mdmassage.org/
Requirement: 500hrs, 60 College credit hours and NCETMB

MASSACHUSETTS 
Board of Registration of Massage Therapy 
239 Causeway Street 
Boston, MA 02114 
Tel: 617-727-1747    Fax: 617-727-0139
Email: michael.a.hawley@state.ma.us
http://www.mass.gov
Requirement:500 hrs

MISSISSIPPI 
State Board of Massage
P.O. Box 12489
Jackson, MS 39326-2489
Tel: 601-856-6127   Fax: 601-853-0336
Email: director@msbmt.state.ms.us
http://www.msbmt.state.ms.us/
Requirement: 600 in class hrs, 100 hrs supervised clinic and NCETMB

MISSOURI 
Division of Professional Registration
Massage Therapy Board
P.O. Box 1335
Jefferson City, MO 65102
Tel: 573-522-6277  Fax: 573-751-0735 
http://pr.mo.gov/massage.asp
Requirement:   500hrs and NCETMB

NEBRASKA 
HHSR&L Credentialing Division -Massage Therapy Board
PO Box 94986
Lincoln, NE 68509-4986
Tel: 402-471-2115   Fax: 402-471-3577
http://www.hhs.state.ne.us/crl/mhcs/mass/massestab.htm
Requirement: 1000hrs and NCETMB

NEVADA 
Nevada Board of Massage Therapy
1755 E. Plumb Lane, Suite 252
Reno, NV 89502
Tel: 775-688-1888
nvmassagebd@state.nv.us
http://www.massagetherapy.nv.gov/
Requirement:  500 hours, NCETMB

NEW HAMPSHIRE 
New Hampshire Dept. of Health & Services
Licensing & Regulative Services
129 Pleasant Avenue
Concord, NH 03301
Tel: 603-271-5127
http://www.dhhs.state.nh.us/DHHS/LRS/ELIGIBILITY/massage-license.htm
Requirement: 750hrs, NCETMB and practical exam

NEW JERSEY 
Board of Nursing
124 Halsey St., 6th Floor
Newark, NJ 07102
Tel: 973-504-6430  Fax: 973-648-3481
http://www.state.nj.us/lps/ca/medical/nursing.htm
Requirement: 500hrs or NCETMB

NEW MEXICO 
State of New Mexico  Massage Therapy Board
P.O. Box 25101
Santa Fe, NM 87504
Tel: 505-476-4870   Fax: 505-476-4645
Email: massage.board@state.nm.us
http://www.rld.state.nm.us/Massage/index.html
Requirement: 650 hrs, jurisprudence exam and NCETMB or 300hrs education and 350hrs of qualifying experience, jurisprudence exam and NCETMB 

NEW YORK 
State Board of Massage Therapy
89 Washington Ave., 
Second Floor
Albany, NY 12234
Tel: 518-474-3817 ext. 270
Massage category is #27.
Email: opunit3@mail.nysed.gov
http://www.op.nysed.gov/mtlic.htm
Requirement:1000 hrs and exam

NORTH CAROLINA 
Board of Massage & Bodywork Therapy
P.O. Box 2539
Raleigh, NC 27602
Tel: 919-546-0050 Fax: 919-833-1059
admin@bmbt.org
http://www.bmbt.org
Requirement: 500 hrs at a Board approved school and NCETMB

NORTH DAKOTA 
State Board of Massage-Phil J. Reisenauer
P.O. Box 701
Dickinson, ND 58601
Tel: 701-872-4895
http://www.ndboardofmassage.com/
Requirement:750hrs, NCETMB and practical exams

OHIO 
State Medical Board-Massage Licensing Division
77 South High St., 17th Floor
Columbus, OH 43266-0315
Tel: 614-466-3934 Fax: 614-728-5946 
http://www.med.ohio.gov/MTsubwebindex.htm
Requirement:750 hrs with 12 month program, and state exam

OREGON 
Oregon Board of Massage Therapists
748 Hawthorne Ave NE
Salem, OR 97301
Tel: 503-365-8657  Fax: 503-385-4465
Requirement: 500hrs, NCETMB or MBLEx and practical exams

RHODE ISLAND
Office of Health Professional Regulation
3 Capitol Hill, Room 104
Providence, RI 02908-5097
Tel: 401-222-2827  Fax: 401-222-1272
http://www.health.ri.gov/hsr/professions/massage.php#Requirements
Requirement: 500hrs and NCETMB

SOUTH CAROLINA 
Division of Professional Licensing
110 Center View
P.O. Box 11329
Columbia, SC 29210
Tel: 803-896-4490   Fax: 803-896-4484 
http://www.llr.state.sc.us/POL/MassageTherapy/
Requirement: 500hrs & NCETMB or MBLEx

SOUTH DAKOTA 
South Dakota Massage Therapy Board
PO Box 1062
Sioux Falls, SD 57101
Tel: 605-271-7103
sdmtb.msp@midconetwork.com
http://doh.sd.gov/boards/Massage/
Requirement:500 hours, NCETMB or MBLEx, and CPR

TENNESSEE
Massage Licensure Board-Cordell Hull Bldg., First Floor
426 5th Avenue 
Nashville, TN 37247-1010
Tel: 615-532-3202, 800-778-4123
http://health.state.tn.us/Boards/Massage/index.htm
Requirement:500hrs and NCETMB or MBLEx

TEXAS 
Department of Health- Professional Licensing
Massage Therapy Program
1100 West 49th Street
Austin, TX 78756-3183
Tel: 512-834-6616   Fax: 512-834-6677
http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/massage/default.shtm
Requirement:500 hours and an approved exam 

UTAH 
Division of Occupational & Professional Licensing Board of Massage
160 East 300 South
Salt Lake City, UT 84145
Tel: 801-530-6628    Fax: 801-530-6511
http://www.dopl.utah.gov/licensing/massage_therapy.html
Requirement: 600 hours and NCETMB or MBLEx

VIRGINIA 
Department of Health Professions-Board of Nursing
6603 W. Broad St., Fifth Floor
Richmond, VA 23230-1717
Tel: 804-662-9909     Fax: 804-662-9943
Email: nursebd@dhpvirginia.gov
http://www.dhp.virginia.gov/Nursing/nursing_forms.htm
Requirement:  500hrs and maintain NCETMB certification

WASHINGTON 
Department of Health- Massage Program
PO Box 47867
Olympia, WA 98504-7868
Tel: 360-236-4700     Fax: 360-664-9077
Email: hpqa.csc@doh.wa.gov
https://fortress.wa.gov/doh/hpqa1/hps3/Massage_Therapy/default.htm
Requirement:  500hrs, written and practical NCETMB or MBLEx

WEST VIRGINIA 
Massage Therapy Licensure Board-Peoples Building
179 Summers Street- Suite 711
Charleston, WV 25301
Tel: 304-558-1060 or 800-871-7265    Fax: 304-558-1061 
http://www.wvmassage.org/
Requirement:  500hrs or NCETMB or MBLEx

WISCONSIN
Department of Regulation & Licensure
1400 E. Washington Avenue
PO Box 8935
Madison, WI 53708
Tel: 608-261-2390   fax: 608-267-0644
http://drl.wi.gov/prof/mass/def.htm
Requirement:  600hrs and NCETMB

 

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Anatomy as the Roots of Intuition-Article by Venus Elyse LAc

Thursday, August 14th, 2008

I have been teaching anatomy to massage therapists for about 10 years now.  Some people who get to know me are surprised by this fact.  Most people see me as a sensitive and intuitive person and not the “anatomy type.”  It is true I am a very sensitive person.  I love tapping into my intuition and enjoy empathic connections with my clients. However, I have never seen that as contrary to being the “anatomy type.”

I have always loved science and really enjoy learning about the body.  I have found over the years that my study of anatomy has actually vastly increased my ability to be intuitive.  When I first started on my journey as a healer I would often have impulses to go to one part of the body or another without knowing why.  I would usually follow those impulses, but would have a nagging little voice in my head that would say, “why are you doing that?”  If, my client asked me that same question, I would feel uncomfortable and either make something up or just let them know that I had an intuition.  Sometimes this would satisfy them and other times I would feel as if my confidence had been undermined in some way.  I wasn’t satisfied with that and these experiences fueled my thirst for understanding. 

As I learned more and teaching I felt my confidence grow as well as my desire to know and understand even more.  Learning is now a way of life for me and I know it will continue through all my years.  Now when I am drawn to an area of the body I can usually make sense of it somehow anatomically and physiologically.  If it still doesn’t quite make sense, I find myself resting easy in the part of myself that trusts that I know enough and I can confidently reassure my clients.  I also noticed that intuitions come more regularly and make more sense to me.  Most of the time I can easily explain the rational for my “intuitions” to my clients.  This helps to educate and empower my clients as well as increases both of our confidence in our work together.  

I have an image of the study of anatomy as the roots of a giant tree of intuition.  The deeper the roots go the farther out we can go/ grow.   Keep learning and growing and let your intuition soar!    
  

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