Expanding your Communication

Posted on May 20, 2012 by JackieWoods.org : Contining Education

Did you ever have the feeling you were speaking a different language than your client? Well, that’s probably because you were. Even though we are in an English speaking country, we all perceive the world in different ways. It is through those perceptions that we develop our style of communication. For example, some people are emotional thinkers. For an emotional person the feelings are the subject of a conversation. Other people are more mental in their thinking. These people look for the facts and information being offered in a conversation. If you were to put two people with these different kinds of communication together in a therapy setting, you could have miscommunication and frustration for both people.

The emotional communicator would be expressing only the information that had any emotional charge for them. If that did not cover all the details of the situation (which it likely wouldn’t) the mental thinker would be left with no real point of connection in the conversation. For them, it would be like reading every other word in a book rather than the whole sentence. The emotional person wouldn’t feel connected because the feelings they were communicating would not have been shared by both people.

After more than 30 years of working with massage therapists, couples and students, Jackie Woods has discovered that there are four types of thinking styles—spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical. While each one of the communicating styles is very different, they each correlate with a part of us internally. That means that we are naturally equipped to learn how to communicate in each of the four languages. What this means for you as a massage therapist is that you have the opportunity to expand your communication abilities to cover all clients you work with and expand to new ones. Imagine that you were able to learn three additional foreign languages. What would that do for your business and your ability to provide care for a larger population?

Communication is vital to any therapeutic environment. Excellent communication skills create an opening for strong connections with your clients. As with all of our classes at JackieWoods.org however, these tools don’t stop there. When you expand your communication with others, you are expanding and developing all four parts of you. It is through this expansion that you have the opportunity to live an empowered and extraordinary life.

Posted in Massage Therapy CEU Issues

NCBTMB ANNOUNCES BOARD CERTIFICATION CREDENTIAL

Posted on April 2, 2012 by JackieWoods.org : Contining Education

A Slate of New Programs Aimed at Elevating the Profession is Set to Roll Out Over the Next 12 Months

The National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (NCBTMB) announced this month a 12-month plan that will improve the quality and usefulness of all of its products and communications including a new certification credential, new technology, and improved tools and support. The nonprofit organization is completely revamping all areas of operation to ensure that the support is in place to elevate standards for the profession.

“Every point where NCB and the profession intersect will be significantly upgraded— from improved credentials and school outreach to improved review of instructors and technology,” said Mike Williams, NCBTMB CEO. “All of these changes are designed to enhance the ability of therapists interested in excelling in their profession to reach their potential.”

The massage industry is at an interesting crossroads. There are therapists practicing under stringent standards similar to other health care providers, and then there is illegal and fraudulent activity undermining all of our efforts. Williams believes the best way to establish greater credibility for therapists is by raising standards. Over the course of the next 12 months, NCBTMB will launch the following:

  • Board Certification Credential
  • Online Career Management System
  • Continuing Education program
  • Online Education Resource

View the entire Press Release here

Posted in Licensing, Massage Therapy CEU Issues

How do you stay clear in your massage practice?

Posted on March 19, 2012 by JackieWoods.org : Contining Education

Most massage therapists learn a basic understanding in massage school about how to to keep themselves clear while giving a massage. They understand that their personal issues must be left “at the door,” and while they should be compassionate to their clients, they understand that they can’t take their clients’ issues home with them.

However, here at JackieWoods.org continuing education, we teach that there is much more to learn about yourself and your clients in order to maintain your health and honor the therapeutic environment with your clients. To maintain a healthy and clear space, you first need to become aware of all parts of you, beginning with your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual bodies or chakras. Once you become in tune with these chakras, you will begin to learn how they are impacted by your environment and your clients.

Jackie Woods teaches in her home-study CEU class Clearing Techniques, that in order to stay “clear” you must keep your chakra system healthy and cleansed. You learn how negative energies build up around you, and you gain tools in clearing them out. You also learn the importance of including the heart, the source of healing, in your personal and professional life. This requires daily awareness and conscious living. We support massage therapists in gaining tools and awareness in doing just that. Our homestudy CEU courses give you the support you need to empower who you are for extraordinary living.

Posted in Massage Therapy CEU Issues

Maintaining Balance in your Massage Therapy Practice

Posted on February 27, 2012 by JackieWoods.org : Contining Education

Have you ever come home tired from a day’s work? While everyone certainly has days where they get tired, coming home tired every day might be a sign that you need more balance with your clients. Massage therapists tend to be giving people who often focus mostly on how they can support their clients best. While that focus is important, it’s equally important for the therapist to maintain his/her balance both in time, financial exchange and energy. Jackie Woods writes in her book, Journey to Ultimate Spirituality,  “Balance only happens when the exchange of gifts, or energies, takes place.”  Learning how to give and receive energetically in your sessions in a balanced way is vital in maintaining your health and the health of your practice.

Our home-study CEU course, Balance, teaches you how to identify the qualities you are bringing to your practice and what your clients are bringing. It teaches you how to maintain a balanced exchange so that you meet where your clients are, and knowthe “size” of  the energy they are bringing. By doing this, both you and your client are energized by the giving and receiving cycle that happens through balanced exchange.

Posted in Growing your Massage Therapy Practice, Massage Therapy CEU Issues Tagged ,

Maintain a Thriving Massage Practice During Economic Down Times

Posted on February 11, 2012 by JackieWoods.org : Contining Education

We talk to many massage therapists every day here at jackiewoods.org. One of the biggest concerns over the last few years has been how to keep their practice thriving in the midst of a national economic downturn. Most people think that you have to ride out the hard times and just wait for it to get better. While it is certainly necessary to stay in balance at all times, here at jackiewoods.org continuing education, we teach that you have more power over your business flow than you may realize. In fact, you have everything inside of you to create the market you need and your business thriving in any kind of economic environment.

Learning to focus on the qualities that you express in your practice not only improves your skills as a practitioner, it also increases your business flow and brings you more fulfillment in your work. New Business Paradigm, a home-study CEU course, teaches you how to discover those qualities and maintain that focus. You learn how the laws of universal flow work in business and how you actually create your market from the qualities that you express. Times change, clients change and the economy changes. We can’t alter those things. However we can create a new paradigm that allows us and our business to change and thrive with it.

Posted in Growing your Massage Therapy Practice

Maryland State Massage License Renewal Deadline Oct 31,2012

Posted on January 16, 2012 by JackieWoods.org : Contining Education

Calling all Maryland massage therapists! The deadline for state recertification is coming up this year. The renewal date is October 31, 2012.

Massage therapy license requirements vary from state to state and the regulations constantly change. As of 2011 Maryland requires massage therapists to complete 24 CE hours every 2 years for license renewal and all 24 hours can be earned via distance learning. 3 hours must include ethics, and 3 hours must include communicable diseases (including HIV/AIDS). TheMaryland massage board automatically approves continuing education credits for any course approved by the NCBTMB.

Posted in Licensing, Massage Therapy CEU Issues

How Emotions Affect Your Health

Posted on January 16, 2012 by JackieWoods.org : Contining Education

 It’s common knowledge now that emotions play a significant role in your physical well being. I am sure, as massage therapists, you experience this on a daily basis. Here at jackiewoods.org, we teach that your emotional health is vital for a healthy body and mind. In fact, every tension in your body is, at its root, an “uncleared” emotion. As therapists, it is essential that you have a healthy relationship between your physical and emotional self. This is not only for your own health but also so that you are better able to support your clients in clearing the emotions that arise when you are working with them in session.

Jackie Woods teaches in her online class Dealing with Emotions that the purpose of emotions is to support you in expanding the heart of who you are. Each emotion you have is a sign post telling you that you are ready to claim more of who you are or what you already have and are manifesting in your life. Emotions are powerful tools to support you in your journey and in living a vibrant and healthy life. For support in learning how to increase your emotional health and your clients, join us for our online continuing education class, Dealing with Emotions.

For course information, visit our Dealing with Emotions course page

Posted in Massage Therapy CEU Issues