Thai Massage Class..................................

As promised (better late than never) here is the final installment of my trip to Chicago.

The class consisted mostly of massage therapist, and while I had not really thought about who might be in the class, this fact is not really surprising is it? What also shouldn't surprise me, but does every time is how quickly everyone bonded and became a working group. When you are doing and receiving bodywork it is hard not to connect with one another. The instructor helped this along by having everyone pick a new partner each time we broke to practice. This "forced" out of the comfort zone of sticking with the same new buddy quickly and fostered comfort with all.

In case any of you teach bodywork the other thing that I found to be a fabulous learning tool was what the instructor called "practicing flow." He would demonstrate a technique on one person, get a second volunteer and demonstrate it again (which is great with bodywork since we are not a people of one size and shape) and once we had learned three or four techniques, he had us practice them flowing from one to the next in sequence without actually taking the time to do the bodywork. Unbelievably by the end of eighteen hours every person in the class was able to complete a full hour massage from memory, flowing from one move to the next leaving the recipient feeling as relaxed as an overcooked noodle.

There was huge emphasis placed on proper body mechanics so this technique is beneficial to both the therapist and the client. Again, for those of you that do massage, you know how hard it can be on your body, especially your wrists and hands. The way the class was taught the therapist positions themselves so they are using their body weight to provide the pressure rather than their muscles and joints. I went first in getting a massage. When it was over I could hardly bring myself to move off the mat and had no idea how I was going to give a massage, let alone get up and drive four hours home. After I finished giving a massage I felt revived and full of energy. Amazing!

Had I sat down and wrote out how I wanted the entire weekend to go, I could never had come up with as wonderful a plan as what unfolded. Going into the weekend with the wonder and excitement of what I was going to receive opened me to receiving blessings beyond belief. I am changed for the better after last weekend, and who could ask for more than that from a continuing education class. Getting the needed CEUs was just the icing on the cake.