For professional massage therapists and bodyworkers, it may help to view continuing education as the hub of a wheel, with many spokes that go in different directions. In this way, you should be able to get a broader perspective on the rich array of continuing education options available to today’s touch therapist.
Of course, the hub of the continuing education wheel will always be knowledge. Massage therapists and bodyworkers take continuing education courses in order to gain new knowledge and advance existing knowledge on all kinds of topics. In addition to securing new and helpful information, continuing education classes often serve to allow professional touch therapists to renew and maintain their licenses for practice, via continuing education credits.
Now that we have identified the hub of the massage continuing education wheel, we can begin to look at the spokes. One section of these hypothetical spokes deals with hands-on techniques and modalities. These spokes represent all the continuing education classes that cover the actual tactile skills involved in being a professional massage therapist or bodyworker.
For example, there are continuing education classes out there on modalities ranging from myofascial release to infant massage, with many more in between. In addition to the wide array of continuing education classes on specific touch techniques, there also are a whole host of continuing education courses that allow students to learn more advanced skills within each modality.
Another section of spokes on the imaginary wheel of continuing education would be those courses dedicated to improving the business side of a massage therapy or bodywork practice. These would be continuing education classes that do not involve hands-on learning or touch techniques, but instead deal with such topics as marketing, accounting, creating a Web presence, learning how to give presentations about your services and so on.
Yet another selection of spokes on the continuing education wheel deals more with the individual practitioner, with topics that aim to improve the whole person, so he or she may better serve his or her clients. For example, you may choose to take a continuing education class on body mechanics for massage therapists.
Even though you most likely learned about body mechanics during massage school, taking a refresher continuing education class can be a great way to tune up and get back on track if you have been feeling sore and drained. With better body mechanics, the practitioner can feel better and have more energy, which translates to offering a better service to each client.co
Besides these spokes that deal with the various topics of continuing education classes, there are also the spokes that pertain to the ways in which massage therapists and bodyworkers may choose to take their continuing education courses. For instance, there are continuing education classes that are offered online, as well as those that take place in a traditional classroom. Then, there also are continuing education seminars that happen in resort destinations, such as on cruise ships or hotels by the beach.