Options abound in the realm of continuing education for professional massage therapists and bodyworks. While having plenty of continuing education classes to choose from can certainly be considered a good thing, the sheer number of options can sometimes make it hard for a practitioner to pick just one for his or her next continuing education experience. Here, we outline a few tips for narrowing down those choices and making the most of the time and money you invest in continuing education.
Before we dive into those guidelines, it makes sense to address the fact that a large number of massage therapists and bodyworkers may be working in places where there are requirements around the type of continuing education classes you must take, such as approved topics, providers and so on. For these practitioners, earning the continuing education credits necessary to maintain one’s license or continue with one’s employment means taking these requirements into account, first and foremost, when enrolling in continuing education classes.
However, once any mandated continuing education credits have been earned, the arena opens up once again, and the individual practitioner has all those options to choose from in terms of continuing education. So, be sure to meet any continuing education requirements that may apply to massage therapists and bodyworkers in your state or region or to practitioners in certain professional organizations or employment situations. After you have checked those boxes, though, start taking a look at what continuing education classes you elect to take on your own.
This is where a few guidelines for narrowing down the choices can come in handy, as the array of continuing education classes available to today’s massage therapists and bodyworkers can be somewhat overwhelming. As you peruse the options, you will find continuing education courses on topics ranging from acupressure and stone massage to body mechanics and marketing, with a whole host of others in between.
To come up with some of the best possible continuing education classes for you and your practice, it pays to start by checking in with yourself. This means paying attention when you notice an aspect of your working life that could use improvement, whether it be your ability to assist clients with lower back pain or simply your accounting skills. Use this information to guide you on your search for the most beneficial continuing education class.
If you find yourself feeling drained and achy at the end of day a little too often, pay attention to this fact and consider whether a continuing education class that could refresh and expand your knowledge about body mechanics might be the best fit for you. If you keep running across information about Thai yoga massage and feeling intrigued by the topic, try to go get a session or just do a bit more research to see if you might enjoy a continuing education class that could give you a basic start on the modality.
As far as learning new or more advanced techniques via continuing education classes, one of the wonderful things about learning this way is you can take one class at a time and pursue the new skill on your own schedule.