Education
Arogsy University - Dallas - Presently Enrolled
Landmark Education, Dallas – 2006
Sterling Health Center – 2004 – 2005 (600 hours)
Sterling Health Center - Thailand – 2004 (40 hours)
Sterling Health Center – 2003 (200 hours)
Sterling Health Center – 2002 (300 hours)
Kay Windham - 2002-2004
University of California, Los Angeles -1988-1992
Certifications
Registered Massage Therapist (RMT) – Dallas, Texas
National Certification (NCTMB)
Certified Neuromuscular Therapist (NMT)
Certified in the Ancient Healing Art of Thailand (Thai Massage)
Certified Reiki Master/teacher
Bodywork Experience
Renewed Spirit - 2003 – Present
(Sole Proprietor) Medical massage practice focusing on acute to chronic myofascial pain and dysfunction. Medical techniques include neuromuscular “trigger point” and myofascial release. Primary wellness massage techniques are Swedish, deep tissue, lymphatic, Reiki, sports, and Thai.
When I graduated from massage school, I learned that Texas has the lowest amount of required hours needed to become a RMT. It is because of this that massage therapists from Texas are not allowed to practice in other states. I was very fortunate that my advanced training in neuromuscular therapy provided me with the extra three hundred hours needed in the required subject matter to become eligible for National Certification. This certification is recognized by many states and would allow me to travel and teach. On top of my neuromuscular studies, I spent about five months studying other healing modalities not taught in the Texas curriculum that were required knowledge for the National Exam. At first I was only doing this to get the certification, but in doing so I was able to expand my knowledge of holistic healing and create a better focus on which direction I wanted my practice to go. It was a difficult but very rewarding experience. I thank all of those who supported me during those very hectic and crazy months.
"National Certification sets standards for massage and bodywork practitioners. National Certification protects the client, the profession and employers by ensuring that individuals who obtain this credential have skills consistent with specific national standards and criteria. To become eligible for certification, practitioners must possess certain levels of education, experience and training, demonstrate mastery of core skills, abilities and knowledge, and pass a certification exam."
It's not just another acronym to put at the end of my name. Having a National Certification assures you that I am competent enough to meet their standards, which were created to protect you the same way as other medical and health-related certification practices. If anything it shows that I have completed more than the minimal amount of hands on training required for a Texas massage license.
For more information check out their web site at: www.ncbtmb.com
If you are a massage therapist in Texas, feel free to email me if you have any questions on what I had to study for the national exam. I truly believe it provides a greater understanding of our healing practice and opens new avenues you may have never considered.
About five years ago I began studying the healing arts of meditation, yoga, and Reiki. I also began to study Eastern and Western philosophies of the mind and body. The whole thing started out as a curiosity, something new that had a positive effect on my state of being. It was also a welcomed change from my life as a computer programmer. It wasn’t until I achieved my second degree in Reiki that I realized my life was transforming. I had no intention of becoming a healer when I began this journey, but I suddenly found myself on the path of one. I decided to become a Reiki master and teach the art to others so they could heal themselves.
In Texas, you have to have a massage license before you can touch another human being. So, I decided to get the license incase I decided to start my own Reiki practice. I really had no intention of becoming a professional massage therapist. But, to my surprise, I was very good at it. So good that my instructor asked me to continue my education in a new program that focused on Neuromuscular Therapy. As wonderful as my instructor was, she failed to mention that this would be equivalent to taking a seven month intensive medical massage program that basically taught me how to massage each individual muscle in the body, alignment techniques, theories, laws, the nervous system, the muscle system, lymphatic system, gate, muscle energy techniques, and much more. It was a lot of information. So much information that that I agreed to become a teacher’s assistant for the next three classes. On top of strengthening my own skills I have also had the privilege of helping several very talented therapist become competent neuromuscular therapists.
I traveled to Thailand in the fall of 2004 to study Thai massage with other therapists from Sterling Health Center. Shortly after I began studying more authors of eastern thought as well as more works by Alan Watts, a man of whom I owe a great deal of who I am today. After 3 years of having my own practice I found that a number of my clients were suffering from anxiety, depression, fear, anger, dependency, and other mental conditions and disorders that were affecting their physical body. It affected their muscle tone, skin texture, organ system, nervous system, weight, energy level, and other parts of their body which caused them a great deal of physical discomfort and illness. I realized that, to truly help my clients heal themselves I would have to address their mind as well as their body. The Thai people believe that we constantly strive for a balance between our mind, body, and spirit. The three are not separate from each other, and any imbalance in one affects the others. Because of this I, as of January 2006, have begun attending the Argosy School of Psychology and hope to receive a masters in counseling in the next two years.
It is my goal to be able to address my client’s illness on all levels, mind, body, and spirit. Because of this I don’t think I will ever be out of school as the more I learn the more I realize I need to learn more. Although, after graduate school I plan to take at least a six month break from any form of schooling and write a book.
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