The McKinnon Touch

Each year we offer massage services to the staff who put on Bioneers. Each year I am inspired and renewed with purpose by the amazing presentations and energy infused into the weekend. Our massage services were utilized more this year than any year prior! I think people are understanding how a little rejuvenation can permeate into all that they do!

I continue to appreciate the relevance of what we provide as massage education and how it is connected to the overall mission of the Bioneers. We graciously accept a position on the list of small organizations, as Paul Hawken has compiled, trying to create change within the community while maintaining an awareness of the environment and our ecological impact. Many people do not recognize that we, as small business owners, preserving a voice in our profession, maintaining a right to chose how we interact within the community, have a huge impact on the land we occupy, the people we serve, and the energy we create. Just by having an intention to honor each person as they begin a journey toward serving others through bodywork, we have a hugely different presence in the community than a company that is built on the ever so common and unsustainable model of growth. We measure success not by the Profit but by the way in which we see people reconnecting with themselves to offer service and healing to others.

WELCOME!!

We are now accepting international students at McKinnon. We have been approved to issue I-20 forms for M1 Visas for students wishing to study abroad for 3mo, 6mo, and 1 year. This was a long process and we are so excited to be able to say - yes, we can - when asked!

Already many graduates have given information helpful for resources to help travelers with housing and acclimating to the bay area!

Please tell your foreign friends and help enrich our community with diversity! For more information check out the link on our website which explains how to apply. www.mckinnonmassage.com

business, ethics, hygiene, regulations, insurance, liability, taxes….

while many people build a practice with minimal understanding of massage regulations, business sense or anatomy and physiology, those days are numbered. by the time I have explained the acronyms CAMTC, CMT, CMP, ABMP, AMTA, MBOK, IMSAC, NCE, MBLEx, FSMTB, BPPE, STRF…..
our allotted time has ended.

as i begin the process of revising the curriculum within the well established programs, i find myself spinning around the constant and predictable feedback from students. prior to enrollment, most people show interest in many modalities, hands on skills and technique. great, that is why we are here. well, one of the reasons. we are also very committed to providing people with the essential knowledge of building a practice, navigating the industries regulatory bodies, and the anatomy and pathology that is required to allow safe practice.

inevitably the story is different after the classes.  students feel the a&p should be required before the hands on and that more time for business would allow for a better foundation in how to get started.

after teaching a basic business class this past weekend, it was the same, the felt like it was half of what we needed. yet, when scheduled in as a longer course, people balk at the idea of signing up for a course that is not ‘teaching massage’. business and anatomy and regulations are a part of massage. they are becoming even more relevant as the CAMTC takes hold and more of the public gets informed, and misinformed, about what the field has to offer and how to go about being a part of it.

beginning in 2011, we will be adding more a&p, business and rich theoretical discussion to the curriculum. we won’t be headed toward Accreditation - standardized assembly line massage factories - but we will be making small and meaningful additions and tweaks to our already fantastic massage training programs. if you are feeling uninformed on the new regulations, or have not looked at your anatomy book since class, or need guidance getting a job, maybe a little more education is in order.

There is a new bill that may change how things are being done in terms of regulating massage - AB 1822.

If AB 1822 becomes law:

• After December 31, 2015, ALL massage therapists will again have to have local permits for EACH city in which they practice.
• Until then, background checks, fingerprinting, and other vetting for state-recognized certification would no longer be done by the CAMTC, but instead by local law enforcement where you live or work.
• You will be required to pay an additional fee to local law enforcement to fund these background checks, in addition to the fee paid to the CAMTC.
• Local law enforcement will have the power to order the CAMTC not to certify someone, based on the results of their own investigations.
• Cities or counties that do not already regulate non-certified massage therapists will have to do so.
• The door will be opened for “massage parlors” to find the local jurisdiction with the easiest vetting process and start calling their employees “CMTs”.

The process is still early on and we cannot predict where it will go. However, I think it is interesting that there is such a push to make changes already. Does this mean that CAMTC has not proven to measure up to everyone’s liking? In reading the proposed changes, I do not feel this is would be a step forward for the field. Nor do I see it as a way to close the gaps they are attempting to fill in terms of massage establishments that are not operating legitimately and applicants that maybe should not be approved to practice as a CMP or CMT. Maybe with the new highly paid CEO - we can rest assured this will all be settled with the best outcomes for folks who are legitamitely practicing massage here in California before new laws get passed. I encourage you to get involved and stay informed in the coming months. Here is a link to the Legislative Council’s Digest:

http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/asm/ab_1801-1850/ab_1822_bill_20100211_introduced.html

You can get involved by writing to the Business and Professions Comittee before the next hearing on April 20th. We will continue to post things as they happen. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or concerns that we may be able to help you with.

For those who are interested in green living and sustainability, those looking to spend money in wise and earth friendly ways, they often find themselves in a trap when it comes to education. Many educational pathways require a payment into the system, whether through financial dependency on the commercial banking industry, or teaching methods that are outdated and insufficient at breaking us out of the current paradigm of thinking. Our commitment to upholding green business values and maintaining certification through the Alameda Green Business program places us in a very unique position in being able to offer an education that is holistically green. Tuition is not going to pay CEO bonuses, financial assistance does not come from banking institutions, and the curriculum is not from a former paradigm of reinforcing domination over the natural world.

Massage and bodywork as a practice has inherent roots in a holistic, systems based understanding. People tend to explore bodywork as a profession out of a desire to help people, to be in a healing relationship. As people train in bodywork, they begin to understand how deep the work can be in transforming themselves, and their clients. That creating of space by an experienced practitioner/teacher for students to open and let themselves go into the experience of the work can take on much greater meaning and healing potential than can be gleaned from reading books about bodywork or being told about it by a non practicing teacher.

The art of teaching bodywork lies in the teachers’ connection to the work. Bell Hooks describes this engaged pedagogy: ‘The learning process comes easiest to those of us who teach who also believe that there is an aspect of our vocation that is sacred; who believe that our work is not merely to share information but to share in the intellectual and spiritual growth of our students. To teach in a manner that respects and cares for the souls of our students is essential if we are to provide the necessary conditions where learning can most deeply and intimately begin.” Much of what education has become is cookie cutter style curriculum fed to everyone in the same portions, and the depth and interconnectedness has been systematically distilled out in effort to quantify outcomes. Historically, learning has been the experience of living with elders, with masters of crafts, of hearing stories passed down from generation to generation, and spending time to understand the full scope of the implications of the craft and how it fits into a community, offering and developing a solid sense of place within the community by being able to have this craft to share. Since 1973 McKinnon has been committed to offering an education that is rooted in the philosophy of passing on the craft of bodywork by creating a space in which teachers and students can share that “intellectual and spiritual growth”, and in which we can “care for the souls of our students” so that they can, in turn, care for the souls of others. This is our commitment.

Title Acts control the names or titles massage therapists may use, but do not control who can do massage. Practice acts control both the names/titles for massage therapists, as well as controlling who can do massage. SB 731 is clearly a title act yet recent events show signs that local governments are turning to it as a mandate to practice. WIthout a definition of practice, this effort could prove to discredit all efforts thus far by various organizations to create a certification process that will elevate the profession. The intent of the law was to create a “voluntary certification for the massage therapy profession” as stated in SB 731. With the movement by local governments to require this standard it moves this from voluntary to mandated. Within the optional routes for certification, there remains many grey areas for currently practicing therapists and those practicing various modalities that without a definition cannot be exempted. It in no way benefits the profession to have SB 731 in its current form be the go to legislation for local governments. Particularly before the certification process has even begun. The Board of Directors of CAMTC and the staff they have hired may be prepared to handle a voluntary certification process for those who chose to become certified. What if they are not equipped with man power or finances to handle it moving to a requirement. Is this still in the best interest of the profession?

If you have been practicing massage in California, you will want to stay informed as regulations are determined for SB 731. Beginning in September of this year, the California Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC) will begin issuing voluntary Certificates for Massage Practitioners and Therapists in California. The Massage Practitioner will require 250 hours of training with 100 of that being in Anatomy & Physiology. At this level, there are several ways for grandfathering in with prior work experience and at least 100 hours of training. The Massage Therapist will require either 500 hours of training, in any modality massage related, or have passed a competency assessment examination that has been approved by the board. There will also be some allowances for people with out of state qualifications. While many efforts and good intentions have gone into the decades that brought this about, the real question remains – to see how it will all play out. The CAMTC is a non-governmental organization that will be issuing voluntary Certificates. The CAMTC Certification will legally supersede the local permitting regulations that are currently in place in local cities and counties. If you are currently permitted through your local government, you do not need to change anything. The CAMTC Certification does not however exempt you from getting a business license in each city that you do business. There are many questions that still remain within this new legislation and over the next few months many of these will be resolved. For example, which exams will be accepted as eligible for the Massage Therapist.

SB 731 is a Title Act, which means it will restrict the right of someone advertising themselves as a Certified Massage Practitioner or Therapist to those who are certified through the CAMTC. Even with this, you will not be state certified or licensed.

I am serving on the Credentials Committee for the CAMTC and making every effort to understand and communicate the details as they become available. We will be holding an informational meeting for therapists, students, employers and anyone interested in learning more about SB 731 and the CAMTC Certification June 30^th at 6pm, McKinnon BTC 2940 Webster St Oakland CA 94609 510-465-3488

Selena Lee

Director

I will be giving an informational update session on the progress of SB 731 on Monday May 4th from 6 - 7:30pm.
Free, drop - in
Come ask questions, hear how you can qualify for the two different tiers - Massage Practitioner and Therapist. And what it all means!
I am a member of the Credentials Committee and have been meeting in Sacramento to help sort out how this will all come together by September this year!

Selena

2940 Webster St Oakland CA 94609

510-465-3488

www.mckinnonmassage.com

“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is at the source of all true art and science.”
Albert Einstein

Bodywork is one of the great meeting grounds of art and science, and the human body, the human being, is one of the great mysteries of the universe.  For thousands of years, bodyworkers from every corner of the world have used their sense of touch to refine their understanding of the human body.  Whether we were shamans, witches, or physicians – healers of all kinds used their sense of touch to “look”, or to “listen” into the body.  Our incredibly sensitive knowing hands have given us insight to the bodymindspirit.  It is good to remember that most of what we “know” with our hands, as Mr. Einstein says, is the experience of the mysterious.
Science has endeavored to understand the human body by breaking down the whole into its respective parts and systems, progressing all the way into our molecular building blocks, into our DNA.  Many diseases that used to be common killers have been all but eradicated and surgeons have explored every part of the body and prolonged life with their interventions, yet the healing power of simple human touch is still a mystery to modern science.  Modern medicine also has an ancient history of practitioners who have been driven by the “experience of the mysterious.”  These different paths of “knowing”, of the physician and the bodyworker, have been diverging for some time now, particularly in the last hundred years.  It is time for them to come back together.
In the 21st century, the modern massage therapist stands in the great meeting ground between art and science.  We are surrounded by the ever-changing knowledge of modern medicine, by the ongoing succession of discoveries, many of which will disprove the prior theory or knowledge of that particular field of study.  We also work every day with that ancient art of “knowing” – touch.  Through touch we bring the life force, the inner healing power of another human being to bear on the stresses and dysfunctions of the body.  We learn the knowledge of all the systems, the science of the body, and then proceed to work with the whole person, with the bodymindspirit.  We are bridging the gap between art and science and we should remember that our roots in the art of healing are very deep.  The fact that the bodywork may be mysterious to the world of science does not diminish it.  We should always hold a prominent space in the field of the healing arts.
The possibilities that are open to the modern massage therapist are seemingly endless and more people are discovering the benefits of bodywork every day.  It is a time that is full of potential.  Each of us will have to decide for ourselves how we are going to balance art and science, how we will relate to our experience of the mysterious.  No matter how far we journey into the science of bodywork, it is wise to understand and trust the things we can never know about the incredible complexity of each individual human body, each individual human being.
“Wisdom is knowing what you don’t know.”            -Chuang Tzu
Carl Johns, Director, McKinnon Body Therapy Center

Although craniosacral therapy can stand alone as a full practice, there are also many ways that craniosacral work can be used by therapists who practice multiple modalities. First and foremost, the work teaches you deep sensing skills for understanding the subtle nuances of the body. Change comes from within and often happens in small increments. The more we are able to sense the body’s movement toward health, the better we understand the result of our work. The development of palpation skills is a life-long practice for a massage therapist and in that regard, this work can inform all the areas of your practice. There will also be times in your practice when a subtle modality will be most appropriate for conditions that may contraindicate other forms of bodywork that could over-stimulate. Patient, subtle listening work can be very effective around acute or chronic injuries. A wide palate of touch skills used appropriately will bring excellent results with a wide variety of client issues. This class gives you some basic insight into the principals of osteopathic bodywork, a detailed understanding of the anatomy of the craniosacral system, assessment skills, and protocols for working with various condition. We  explore biomechanical and biodynamic work - working with the physical and energetic body, and we combine craniosacral work with other modalities.