Teaching Method

How do we teach?

• We follow the practices and teaching methods which our teachers used during our own training. These methods have passed the test of time, and they are being used by many massage schools throughout the world.

• Our students will be divided into pairs, which will rotate on a daily basis. They will practice as massage therapists and they will also practice as receivers. Our students are comprised of individuals of various age groups and therefore their body types differ, along with their individual needs in soft tissue manipulation. This gives us the flexibility to be able to simulate the training process and bring it as close as possible to real life.

• Our 6-day seminars are short in duration (30 hours), but they are very rich in content; furthermore the groups are limited to 2-4 persons. This allows us to have at least one instructor next to each practicing student. By this way, we can effortless follow up on their progress and intervene when it's necessary.

• Our daily class-schedule is divided into two parts (2.5 hours duration for each). During the first half, 2 of our students will act as massage therapists and the rest will play the "role" of the client-receiver. By this way, we ensure that all of them will receive as much massage possible and therefore will benefit from the actual therapy. They will be able to feel the effects of the massage techniques on their own body. What can be closer to real life than this?

• Our aim is to develop our student's skills in a natural and effortless way. Every day that goes by, our students will develop their skills from within and all of the necessary steps in order to achieve perfection will eventually emerge effortless. All they will need is time to practice and plenty of patience and devotion.

• The way we see it, massage has not much to do with physical strength. Massage is a combination of techniques which in most cases derive from pure observation, practice and common sense. The correct body posture, the right angle, the precise pressure, the focused observation, the ability and the patience to listen with your eyes and hands, is what makes the difference. This allows some to succeed, while others who see massage as another way to make an additional income, still struggle and waste their time with "mediocrities".

• We constantly say to our students that "massage starts from our feet". Of course they look at us with surprise when we first mention this.

Later on they understand what we mean by this, and they recognize that a correct body posture and a firm grip on the floor is what guarantees that everything else will just fall in its place. The result just speaks for itself. A slight change in angle, a minimal rotation towards the left or the right, a little bit more or less force can surely make the difference. One must experiment, practice and never hesitate to doubt, to persist and to imagine.

• If massage is practiced correctly it can benefit both, the receiver and the therapist as well. In Traditional Thai massage for example (where cooperation between the two is a must), the therapist benefits tremendously from the massage session. In other forms of massage, like body oil massage for example (e.g. Swedish massage), the therapist receives a mild "workout" during the session as well. It's easy now to imagine, how massage therapists can complete many complex and long lasting treatments in one single day.

 

Why don't we offer short weekend courses?

• We sincerely believe that the ideal way to learn the "art" of massage is when the training process has a constant and uninterrupted flow. Without long periods of interruptions and endless, weekday (back to reality) breaks.

• As a "money generating" practice, this would benefit any massage school greatly, BUT we choose to follow the difficult (and "honest") path instead. The period of time which lies between two weekends can cause "blackouts" and therefore, it is for granted that every day that goes by, will be more of an obstacle than a convenience.

• We wish for our students to be successful professionals when they leave us and search for a suitable career opportunity. We know what we are doing and we know what we are talking about. We've seen our work in action and we have seen the results. We wish to teach you based on the same principles, proven methods and practices with which we have also learned.

• As our students, you will definitely receive a return on your investment in no time. You will leave from us with "tools" that will guarantee a successful career. You will learn unique modalities, ready to practice. Nothing confusing, nothing pointless, nothing unecessary. You will know how to assess your clients, how to proceed with your treatments, where to start from and where to end your session. Perhaps this seems obvious to you, but unfortunately for some instructors, these "details" are not worth their attention.