These workshops are open to all:

• Introduction to Traditional Thai Yoga Massage
• Chi Kung and Meditation
• Introduction to Kinesiology
• Emotional Freedom Technique
• Quantum Leap, achieving your dreams

These workshops are only open to massage therapists:

• Sports Thai Massage
• Thai Foot Massage
• Massage in Pregnancy
• Deep Tissue Massage
• Common Back and Neck Conditions
• Soft Tissue Release
• Trigger Points (upper body)
• Trigger Points (lower body)
• Muscle Energy Technique
• First Aid
• Colon Massage
• Cranial Sacral Techniques

A day of moving with energy, getting in touch with our inner stillness, various types of meditation including breathing, visualising, sound and colour.

This one day workshop is perfect for anyone interested in moving and still meditation.

It will be a fun and relaxing day.

If you're a massage therapist it will help with being grounded, centred, posture and alignment. (Though you don't need to practise massage to attend. This workshop is open to everyone.)

What is Chi Kung?

Also known as Qigong which literally means 'energy work', it's a combination of various exercises or forms that help to cultivate and increase the body's flow of Chi (vital energy).

It is part of Traditional Chinese Medicine and has been around for thousands of years. As such, Chi Kung uses the same concept of the meridian system as acupuncture and shiatsu. These are said to be channels through which subtle energy flows.

Chi Kung forms are practised standing, moving, sitting and lying down, and they are easy to learn and practise. The aim is to develop and mobilise Chi in order to achieve balance and good health on all levels. Many people report feeling calmer, less stressed, physically stronger, having increased levels of energy and a greater sense of wellbeing.

Click here for more information about chi kung

This one day workshop will introduce you to the wonders of muscle testing. Together we will explore the language of Kinesiology and how it enables you to tap into imbalances of the body and correct them providing the body with exactly what it wants; be it nutritional support, relief of emotional stress, structural realignment, and/or energetic rebalancing.

Kinesiology allows you to access the many facets of the mind, body and spirit to promote and encourage the body to heal itself.

Here are some of the techniques we will learn and practice:
1. How to test a muscle.
2. Explore the various ways of correcting a muscle.
3. Testing the energy of the Central Meridian/Brain.
4. Testing the energy of the Stomach Meridian/Stomach.
5. Emotional Stress Release (ESR). A powerful technique that releases emotional stress from the body.
6. Introduction to Food Sensitivity Testing: Discover how certain foods can weaken the muscles in our body.
7. Dehydration Test: Learn how to test for systemic dehydration.
8. Protein test: Are we deficient in protein or does the body need help to digest it?
9. Balanced Affirmations: Affirmations can be a fantastic way to shift the mind?s negative thought patterns. We will learn how to discover the exact statement for your client.

Please note: This workshop is open to non-therapists too.

Tutor: Chandra Veasy, BSc, MEd, Kinesiologist

EFT is a simple and effective technique working with the body's meridians and acupuncture points to relieve 'pain' emotional and physical. This one day workshop will cover the basic tapping sequence, 'languaging', resolving 'self-sabotage' when present, how to release the emotional charge from past events such as grief, guilt and anger, overcoming food cravings, phobias, fears and anxieties and also how to use EFT to bring relief from physical conditions. This day will be informative and experiential. You will leave with a great technique that you can use immediately on yourself and to help your clients if appropriate. Course notes are provided.

Please note: This workshop is also open to non-therapists too.

Achieve your dreams

Join us on Quantum Leap: a one day investment in you, that will make a BIG difference.

Where are you now? Do you believe you can achieve whatever you want?

Perhaps change career, have a great relationship, have a slimmer body, be fitter, earn more money, write a book, learn to play a musical instrument, quit smoking, run your own business? Whatever your dream is, you can do it if you really want to

This workshop is about getting ’tools‘ that support your dreams. Using techniques from NLP (neurolinguistic programming), you will get really clear about what you want, challenge any beliefs you hold that will stop you, create positive well-formed outcomes, take immediate action and be able to change your plan if necessary and keep your dream. The tools taught in this workshop will be valuable for both professional and personal goals and will stay with you for a long time afterwards.

‘Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now!’ Goethe

Have you ever wished you were able to advise your clients on simple stretching routines?
Have you ever wanted to incorporate stretching into your massage sequence?

This one-day workshop helps you to do just this!
Focusing on the practical aspects of effective stretching.

A workbook is provided to accompany this workshop.

On this workshop you will learn:

• the difference between active and passive stretching
• why some stretches are ineffective and others are more effective
• how to stretch all of the major muscles of the body actively
• how to safely incorporate stretching into your practice
• to perform passive stretches on all major muscle groups of the body
• to demonstrate active stretches for all major muscle groups of the body
• how to devise safe and appropriate stretching programmes for your clients to do between massage treatments

You will learn to stretch:

• Lower limb muscles including:
      - calf muscles
      - hamstrings
      - quadriceps
      - hip flexors
      - hip adductors
      - tibialis anterior
      - gluteals
      - piriformis
      - toe flexors
• Upper limb muscles
      - shoulder
      - biceps
      - triceps
      - forearm and wrist flexors
      - forearm and wrist extensors
• Trunk muscles
      - pectorals
      - quadratus lumborum
      - rhomboids
      - latissimus dorsi
      - levator scapulae
      - upper fibres of trapezius
      - scalenes
      - spinal extensors

A one day workshop for massage therapists where you will learn some very effective cranial-sacral techniques to integrate into your massage treatments.

CST is a safe and gentle method of evaluating and enhancing the functioning of the craniosacral system. By working with the spine, the skull and its cranial sutures and fascia, the restrictions of nerve passages are said to be eased and the movement of cerebrospinal fluid through the spinal cord can be optimized, and misaligned bones are said to be restored to their proper position.

Learn some techniques to treat conditions such as stress, neck and back pain, migraines, TMJ Syndrome and chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia.

Do you want to feel confident when massaging pregnant clients?

Knowing how to massage a client who is pregnant is a great skill to have. It can be highly beneficial for the client and the baby, and rewarding for the therapist too.

On this one day workshop you will learn:

• Positions for massage during all stages of pregnancy;
• How to adapt your massage techniqes and learn new techniques suitable for pregnancy;
• How to massage with confidence;
• Safety and contraindications;
• Looking after your own posture/body; and
• Massage during labour.

Do clients want deeper massage work than you feel confident and competent to give?
Or are you a newly-qualified Massage Therapist needing some advanced skills?
On this workshop learn the necessary tools to develop your deep tissue massage skills.

The knowledge and skills gained will enable you work safely and effectively using a number of different techniques, and you'll be able to easily incorporate them into your own massage style. You will also learn how to vary your client?s positioning on the couch to allow you to access certain muscle groups even easier, making your treatments even more effective.

This is what's covered:

• Working deeper with reinforced fingers and thumbs
• Working deeper with forearms and elbows
• Focus will be on the back, neck, shoulders and gluteal area
• Client positioning: prone, supine and side-lying work
• How to use your couch for support to make your work easier
• Looking after yourself: couch height, proper body positioning and posture

The workshop is mostly practical with plenty of opportunity to practise, and a workbook is provided.

Would you like to know more about why clients get neck and back pain?

Would you like more skills for treating this area?

After revising the anatomy and physiology of the vertebral column you will learn to identify and explain the pathology of common back and neck conditions. You will then learn to apply and receive a variety of treatments for these conditions.

On this one day workshop you will learn:

• to identify essential anatomical landmarks for precise work
• understand and work with common postural imbalances such as excessive kyphosis, excessive lordosis and scoliosis
• learn how to examine and draw conclusions from a client with symptoms of sciatica and other nerve entrapments
• understand how breathing affects the neuro-musculo-skeletal system
• identify breathing pattern dysfunction (hyperventilation) and learn to apply and teach strategies for breathing retraining
• learn a range of advanced neuromuscular techniques, including muscle energy technique
• perform effective passive spinal stretches and demonstrate active spinal stretches

Soft tissue release (STR) is a technique used to apply stretches to specific parts of a muscle rather than to the whole muscle. If there are areas of scar tissue, adhesions or extra tightness within an otherwise healthy muscle, or if dealing with clients who are hyper flexible, STR can be performed to reach those particular fibres or small areas not ordinarily released through more general stretches. STR is a very useful tool that can be utilised independently or easily incorporated within your massage treatments to make them even more effective and the benefits longer lasting.

This is what's covered:

• The principle of STR and how to apply it to muscles effectively and safely
• When to use STR, and when not to
• How to use STR over clothes
• How to use STR within a massage treatment with oil
• Applying STR to major muscles (legs, arms, back, neck, chest, pelvic area)
• Applying STR with the client in prone, supine, side-lying and seated positions

The workshop is mostly practical with plenty of opportunity to practise, and a workbook is provided.

Myofascial trigger points are a common challenge to the body-work therapist. They are ubiquitous and troublesome, and produce referred pain patterns and other symptoms which we are frequently confronted with. They can be aggravated by the unsuspecting therapist yet easily treated using simple techniques with a basic understanding of their location, nature and behaviour.

This one day hands-on course will explore:

• the nature of trigger points;
• the behaviour of trigger points in terms of referred pain and other associated symptoms;
• common causes, predisposing and maintaining factors of trigger points;
• how to find trigger points;
• how to treat trigger points effectively and safely;
• selected common trigger points will be studied in detail; and
• you will then be able to consult the literature to approach other trigger points using the methods you have learnt.

This practical one day workshop focuses on Trigger Points on the Upper Body.

See also Trigger Points on the Lower Body

Are you a massage therapist, bodyworker or fitness instructor wanting some advanced skills?
Muscle Energy Technique (MET) is a method of stretching muscles and is widely used by Sports Massage Therapists and Fitness Instructors.

Clients perform an isometric muscle contraction which is then followed by either an active or passive stretch. The level of contraction is fairly low, so the technique is gentle yet hugely effective.

On this one day workshop you will learn to stretch the following muscles:

A. In supine

• hamstrings (active and passive)
• gluteals and piriformis (passive)
• hip adductors (passive without gracilis)
• hip adductors (passive with gracilis)
• deep hip rotators (traction)
• upper trapezius (unilaterally and bilaterally)
• lateral neck flexors
• latissimus dorsi and gleno-humeral adductors
• pectorals (unilaterally both with and without biceps brachii)
• medial rotators of the humerus
• lateral rotators of the humerus
• erector spinae

B. In prone

• calf (two variations)
• quadriceps
hip flexors

C. In sitting

• pectoralis major and anterior deltoid
• neck rotators (active only)
• lateral flexors of neck (passive)
• Neck extensors (active)
• erector spinae
• quadratus lumborum
• triceps

We will also practice other ways of stretching hip flexors and erector spinae.

A full workbook is provided.

Do you want to be able to assess the posture of your client?
Do you want to be able to identify which muscles are short and tight and which are lengthened and weak?
Did you know it is a myth that most clients have ?tight rhomboids??
Do you know why some shoulder pain is due to poor posture?
Would you like to know how to effectively treat round shoulders (kyphotic postures)?
Do you know how to identify tight hip flexors?
Want to know why they can give rise to low back pain?
Do you know why clients who stand with hyperextended knees can get patella pain?
Or the relationship between tight hamstrings and a lordotic lumbar region?
Or which clients have ?flatback? and why this might be painful?

On this one day workshop have these questions answered and also learn:

• methods for recording postural assessment
• how to assess a client's posture when viewing them posteriorly
• how to assess a client's posture when viewing them laterally
• how to identify a kyphotic posture
• how to identify hyperextended postures
• how positioning, exercise and stretching can help change postures

A full workbook is provided, including full postural assessment charts for recording information.

A one day Appointed Person's First Aid qualification suitable for complementary health practitioners covering emergency first aid training including: resuscitation, angina attacks, the unconscious casualty, fainting, choking, wounds, fits and burns. Certificate valid for 3 years.

This workshop is for you:

• If you need to have a valid certificate as part of your complementary therapy training or if you need to update your first aid qualification as a qualified therapist.

Myofascial trigger points are a common challenge to the body-work therapist. They are ubiquitous and troublesome, and produce referred pain patterns and other symptoms which we are frequently confronted with. They can be aggravated by the unsuspecting therapist yet easily treated using simple techniques with a basic understanding of their location, nature and behaviour.

This one day hands-on course will explore:

• the nature of trigger points;
• the behaviour of trigger points in terms of referred pain and other associated symptoms;
• common causes, predisposing and maintaining factors of trigger points;
• how to find trigger points;
• how to treat trigger points effectively and safely;
• selected common trigger points will be studied in detail; and
• you will then be able to consult the literature to approach other trigger points using the methods you have learnt.

This practical one day workshop focuses on Trigger Points on the Lower Body.

See also Trigger Points on the Upper Body

Join in a fun day of exploring the ancient and the scientific blend of Sports and Remedial massage with Traditional Thai Yoga Massage.

These techniques can be used to enhance your palpation and assessment skills. This course will introduce you to remedial sports massage techniques of Soft Tissue Release and Muscle Energy Techniques and how to apply them using Thai movements to create variety and movement during a treatment on and off the couch.

A one-day practical workshop which is open to massage therapists who would like to feel more confident massaging the abdomen. You'll learn massage techniques especially focussed on the intestines to aid optimal health. It will be beneficial particularly for clients with bloating and/or constipation and can help in the release of old emotional traumas.

Written handouts will be provided.