Archive for the ‘Philosophy’ Category

Bioneers 2011

Tuesday, October 25th, 2011

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.

Tags:
Posted in Business Practices, Education, Philosophy, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Business, Regulations, Anatomy….. Not the fun stuff?

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

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.

Posted in Business Practices, Education, Philosophy, Regulation | No Comments »

Sustainable Education

Monday, November 2nd, 2009

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.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Business Practices, Education, Philosophy | No Comments »

The Art, the Science, and the Mysteries of Massage

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009

“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

Tags: , ,
Posted in Health Care, Philosophy, Techniques | 1 Comment »

If everyone had a massage everyday…..

Tuesday, August 12th, 2008

Imagine a world where massage was the norm. Where it was thought of as a normal part of everyones day.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Health Care, Philosophy | 1 Comment »