When it comes to making a choice for a massage home-study course, there are a lot of options. It can be overwhelming if you don’t know what you’re precisely looking for in expanding your knowledge of massage, so it’s good to ask yourself a few questions before clicking that “buy” button.
- What do you want to gain from the course?
A quick check of websites of your national or state licensing bodies can tell you if the courses you select are acceptable for continuing education credits.
- Why do you want to take a home-study course?
By taking the time to evaluate the needs of your current clientele, you can choose more wisely in what is best for you. If you are looking to expand into a niche market and gain new clients, you can opt for one of many online courses. If you want to expand your practice and gain knowledge in a new field of massage therapy, what are your interests?
If your interests lie in helping pregnant mothers, check out a course on pregnancy and prenatal massage. In those courses you can learn acupressure and reflexology techniques, proper body positioning, anatomical, physiological and emotional progression, appropriate practices and types of massage oils to use during treatments.
Or, if you like working with athletes, you can take a course in sports massage or sports taping. Through sports massage, you can learn a blend of Swedish and Shiatsu massage, or techniques like lymphatic massage, trigger-point work, compression massage and cross-fiber massage techniques, which all apply to athletic injuries.
Keep in mind that massage techniques aren’t the only home-study courses available. There various business management, ethics and marketing courses to grow your practice and hone your business skills.