Workshop Description

National Certification continuing education credits awarded:
Susan Koenig is approved by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB) as a Continuing Education Provider. Provider Number: 284829-00-00

Location:	National Holistic Institute, 5900 Hollis Street, Emeryville, CA
Cost:	$225.00 (Note: Space is limited. Registration is on a first come first serve basis).
To Register:	Click on the link above to register on-line. For more information call National Holistic Institute, (510) 547-6442.
What to Bring:	Sheets and 3 pillow cases or towels; lotion or oil; (NHI will provide tables, pillows without covers & blankets); Handouts provided.
What to Wear:	Clothes you can move in freely and change in and out of easily.

• Think creatively about what Deep Tissue massage really is and how to satisfy your clients.
• Apply fresh, new Deep Tissue techniques including the side-lying position for working with ribs, obliques, and posterior trunk.
• Add ease & fun to your Deep Tissue massage with joint movement in combination with approximation, sensory-motor learning, and revisiting an array of friction strokes.
• Learn how to prepare and soften muscles in a dynamic way to access deeper layers.

Most Massage Therapists have learned to use long, basic Deep Tissue strokes using the forearm/fist for muscle groups like the erector spinae, hamstrings, quadriceps, leg & arm muscles. This represents a good basic introduction to Deep Tissue work.

What we have noticed and experienced is that Massage Therapists take this work and create a routine they get "stuck in." Many also lose the connection between proper body mechanics and the ability to feel and access the deeper layers of muscle tissue.

Consequently the Massage Therapist starts pressing harder & harder, sometimes damaging and bruising their client's tissues, and injuring not only their clients, but themselves. At this point, the work really starts to become ineffective and counterproductive.

Our goal in this workshop is to not only have you work with more ease and comfort, but also to teach you how to work in areas that you did not cover in foundational Deep Tissue classes.

• How many of you work with the ribs? You will learn how to work with chest, ribs, sternum and their relationship not only for freeing the chest area, but also helping to free the muscles of the ribs all the way around the body and into the thoracic spine.
• Learn how to "unglue" the scapula using unique techniques on the Serratus anterior, Latissimus dorsi, Trapezius, Rhomboids and many parts of the back and spine.
• Learn how to assist the brain function of full body movement by releasing - guess what? The obliques!
  
  These muscles are crucial for allowing the brain to efficiently organize full body movement through our center of gravity and differentiating movement between the thoracic and pelvic areas.
• Practice great techniques for helping your clients experience ease of movement in their daily activities--whether for athletics or getting in and out of bed.

Join us for a stimulating and fascinating adventure that combines deep tissue and other somatic techniques for an effective and deeply satisfying massage experience.

Susan Koenig:

Susan has been practicing massage therapy since 1976 and Hanna Somatic Education since 1990.

She is on the Training Team in the Hanna Somatic Education Certification Program through the Novato Institute for Somatic Research & Training and is a former instructor and Academic Director at the National Holistic Institute in Emeryville, California.

Melissa Wheeler:

Melissa has been practicing massage since 1990 and has been an instructor at the National Holistic Institute for 14 years where she is currently the Science Team Leader.

Her experience as a sports massage therapist, working in a physical therapy clinic, extensive anatomy training and studying advance Deep Tissue massage has lead her to this partnership with longtime colleague, Susan Koenig.