Tag: AMTA

Continuing Education, Massage & Bodywork, Tapestry Life Resource

Incorporating Lomi Lomi into Massage Sessions

Suzanne Hollifield-Eller

I just returned from the AMTA-NC conference in Cary, NC, and spent two days learning techniques of Hawaiian Lomi Lomi massage from Brenda L. Griffith.

orchid at Daniel Stowe Botanical GardensIt was an amazing two days, not only because I got to network with other massage therapists, which is one of the benefits of belonging to AMTA, but because the techniques I learned easily incorporate themselves into my massage protocol. In fact, I’ve used some piece of what I learned in every massage that I’ve given over the last week.

Griffith, who is a former AMTA national president, studied with Aunty Margaret Machado in Hawaii in 1994 and 1995, and has taught classes in Lomi Lomi all over the United States. We spent most of the two days actually giving or receiving the work. The Lomi Lomi strokes are long and fluid and have been said to resemble a dance because the therapist moves her whole body to apply rather deep and yet soothing pressure through gravity and leverage.

Lomi Lomi is intuitive work. At the beginning of the session, the therapist sets her intention to help the client receive the greatest benefit and allow his/her body to balance and heal. Then using rhythmic, fluid motions with the forearms and the fleshy parts of the hands rather than relying on fingers and thumbs, the therapist uses long, full-body strokes to release blocked energy and tissues. Lomi Lomi feels wonderful to recieve, and as a therpist, I thouroughly enjoy giving the massage to others. It is almost as relaxing to give a Lomi Lomi massage as to receive one.

“Touch the body with a loving touch.
If your hands are gentle and loving,
Your patient will feel the sincerity of your heart.
His soul will reach out to yours,
And the Lord’s healing will flow through you both.”
~Aunty Margaret

Some of you will remember that a few years ago, I took a class in Huna from Angela Sherrill. Huna is the philosophy that underpins Lomi Lomi. Huna teaches that everything in the universe seeks harmony and love. Is it any surpise that one of the alternate names for Lomi Lomi is “loving hands massage”?  With long, continuous, flowing strokes over the client’s body, Lomi Lomi’s goal is to nurture the client and help him/her relax and simply be. What could be more loving?

Each of my clients who has experienced Lomi Lomi since I returned from Cary has loved it. Two of the regulars commented, “That’s new, isn’t it? I like it.”

For that reason alone, I appreciate the work. Moreover, I really like the emphasis on resonating with the client from the beginning to the end of the massage and relying on my intuitive sense of what the client needs to tell me what to do next. I also like the gentleness of the work and its profound ablility affect the tissues deeply without causing pain. Finally, I like that it follows the philosophy of Huna, which emphasizes love, tolerance, acceptance, respect, and compassion for all beings; Huna has an energy work component that I’ve been using for some time now.

This week I am planning to do my first full Lomi Lomi massage since the class rather than just incorporting pieces of it into the massages I am already giving. I’ll switch from cream to oil, and I’ll try to use most of the techniques I learned. I am looking forward to that. However, I am sure I’ll continue to use parts of Lomi Lomi, just as my teacher Brenda L. Griffith does, in nearly every massage I give.

Massage & Bodywork

Join Your Professional Organization

Suzanne Hollifield-Eller

I attended the AMTA-NC Conference (American Massage Therapy Association) in Hickory over the past weekend. It was a wonderful experience. I took some wonderful continuing education— one on Deep Tissue Made Easy taught by Eric Stephenson was especially good— made some new friends and visited with old ones, and met some vendors with whom I’ll probably continue to do business.

Before I became a massage therapist, I was a teacher. I have always belonged to my professional organizations, and I find it hard to understand when others don’t. The reason I most often hear is that the professional groups are too expensive. However, I would counter that it is more expensive not to join. I certainly get direct personal value for my money, and I have a voice on a state and national level that I wouldn’t have otherwise.

For example, this first of two AMTA-NC Conferences this year cost me $200, which was $100 less than for attendees who were not AMTA members. For that I got 15 hours of usable continuing education. I went to the AMTA volunteer luncheon, so I ate one meal free, and the night before I went to the AMTA social that had heavy hors d’oeuvres and let that be my dinner. During both these meals, I interacted with other AMTA massage therapists and felt the kind of cameraderie that comes from being with people who share the same passion. The conference was held in my town, so I didn’t have to get a motel room. The fall 2009 Conference was in a nearby city, and again I drove. The next one will be in Cary, which will mean I have to find a place to stay, but those two nights won’t be too much extra considering I will have gotten 45 hours of continuing education for about $600, networked with other MTs who may send me referrals, and met teachers, vendors and MTs who can give me usable ideas that I can apply to my business now. As a member, I can also go to any of the district continuing education offerings in the state and learn other techniques for a reasonable cost. I can even check out videos of different modalities from the AMTA-NC library for free and further expand my knowledge base.

On a state and national level, the AMTA supports me by lobbying for legislation that maintains the integrity of massage therapists as professionals and balances the amount of regulation between what keeps us safe and reputable and what limits our ability to do our jobs. So far, I have no grievances with how this is being done or with how I am being informed of what is happening. I am glad someone is fighting for me.

There are other benefits I get from AMTA that are similar to the ones I get as a retired member of NCAE (North Carolina Association of Educators) and NEA (National Education Association). These include liability insurance, other insurance offers (particularly important for MTs as they are offer group rates for people who are very often self-employed), discounts on products and services, and legislative updates.

As a retired educator, I was recently elected vice president of the Catawba County Retired School Personnel. My job will be mostly to find programs for our meetings. CCRSP is the local unit of the North Carolina Retired School Personnel and is connected to the NCAE and the NEA, both of which I was a member from the time I took my first teaching position in 1973.

For my entire teaching career, NCAE fought for higher salaries, lower class sizes, a research-based curriculum model, and better conditions for students and teachers. I never minded paying my dues, and during the best years, I worked in schools that had a 100% membership. That simple fact gave us more clout with the local adminstration and school board, the state legislature, and Congress. Sadly, many teachers in the schools currently do not belong to NCAE/NEA. I see many of the reforms for which we fought by going to Raleigh, marching, and speaking directly to legislators falling like a house of cards. I have no doubt that those who stand together are stronger than those who stand apart.

That said, I’d like to encourage you to join your professional organizations, no matter what your profession. It is my experience that these organizations try to self-regulate the profession in ways that maintain the integrity of the members and to keep unnecessary legislation from doing for us what we should be doing for ourselves. Likewise, it provides a network of other professionals enabling us to learn from each other and support each other. Finally, it give us a voice that comes from the very people who are most affected by regulations and who understand and care about the professions they love. That seems a bargain to me.