Welcome to our Massage School information area.  Here you can read about the programs we offer by using the links on the left.

About Our Facilities And Curriculum:

The school itself is small, but very adequate. We limit the class size to 14 students. Classes are kept small for the purpose of individual attention and instruction. The school facilities provides a perfect atmosphere for learning, and features excellence in hands-on techniques.

The curriculum consists of an in-depth approach to anatomy and physiology, accompanied by massage and bodywork theory and its practical applications. The school emphasizes an integration of different modalities according to the clients needs, so that the whole person can be therapeutically affected.

We endeavor to keep the surroundings pleasant and conducive to learning.

Course Descriptions:

Basic Massage Therapy

This is a 180-hour Basic Massage course offered to the beginning students who wish to become Massage Therapists.

The course outline covers the following items:

The Human Body including:
	Anatomy
	Physiology
	Pathology
	Medical Terminology
	Kinesiology
Business Practices and Ethics
Massage History, Techniques, and Practices
	Basic Swedish Massage
	Techniques from other Modalities
	Reflexology
Clinical Documented Massage Sessions

This course is taught through many media. It includes lectures and group discussions, scientific experiments and demonstrations, guest speakers, video and other teaching aids, computer software programs, and plenty of practice with massage techniques.  A library is provided for students who wish to do research.

The students are closely supervised as they practice the basic massage strokes with partners. Near the end of the course, each student has established a full body massage sequence that can be tailored to the needs of their clients. Students will learn to use various bodywork modalities so that they can adjust their techniques to the therapeutic problems they encounter.  This class requires five hours to be spent in documented massage sessions outside of class.

This class will be offered evenings in the winter, spring, and fall.  It will meet from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  The summer class will be offered between the hours of 12 noon and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

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Advanced Therapeutic Massage

This 120-hour class is designed for the massage therapist already in the field. The objective of the class is to help the current massage practitioners to remain competent in today's market.  Especially important, it makes valuable training available in this local area.  Most advanced courses are taught only in the large cities.  Many of the costs involved in taking these advanced courses in other areas can be avoided by taking classes here.  This advanced therapeutic massage class will review and expand upon the basic therapeutic approaches to  soft tissue therapy in reducing pain, normalizing range of motion, improving quality of movement, and restoring normal function.

The course outline covers the following items:

Advanced Swedish Massage

Deep Tissue massage

Sports massage

Hydrotherapy

Aromatherapy

Essential Oils Therapy

Magnet Therapy

Acupressure

Healing Stone massage

Clients With Special Needs

Clinical Documentation of Massage Sessions

Prerequisite to taking this advanced course, the student must have had at least 100 hours of credit in massage therapy practice, having obtained certification of completion as a massage therapist.  The applicant may be required to take an entrance exam if there is a question as to their foundation to handle the class.  Upon successful completion of the 120-hour advance class, the student will receive a certificate of completion for 120 hours of Advanced Therapeutic Massage.

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Advanced Therapeutic Bodywork

This is a 120-hour class in bodywork, offered to the advanced student who has completed a basic massage course with a minimum of 100 hours, containing anatomy and physiology and massage practice.  An applicant may be required to take an entrance exam if there is a question as to their foundation to handle this class.

The course outline covers the following bodywork modalities.

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Foot Reflexology Course

This is a 120-hour certification course in Foot Reflexology, offered to the advanced student who has completed a basic massage course with a minimum of 100 hours, containing anatomy and physiology and massage practice.  An applicant may be required to take an entrance exam if there is a question as to their foundation to handle this class.

Foot reflexology is a science that deals with the principle that there are reflex areas that correspond with the muscles, organs, and glands.  In fact, these reflex points will activate every part of the body.  There are approximately 7,200 reflex points in just one foot alone.  Working these reflexes will relax tension and stress by improving the nerve and blood supply, thus helping the body to balance itself.

The 120-hour course outline for Foot Reflexology covers the following items:

Background and Orientation to Foot Reflexology
	History of Reflexology
	How and why it works
	Benefits and contraindications
	Terms Used
Anatomy and Physiology of the body as related to their locations on the feet
	Understanding the body systems
	Treating specific ailments and disorders in each of the systems
Techniques to work on the systems
	Developing a treatment sequence
	Clinical Documentation of Reflexology sessions

This class will help current massage therapists to enhance their massage practice by developing an alternative to working directly on the overly sensitive part of the body.  It allows for treating specific ailments in the body.  It minimizes preparation time due to very little shedding of clothing or use of linens

There will be some written papers required.  Students will be taught to keep records on their reflexology treatments on clients.  The practical evaluation will be on-going and will include working on the instructor toward the end of the class. A final written test must be passed at a score of 70% or better.

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Therapeutic Chair Massage

Chair massage is a course for the massage therapist who wants to perform a 15-minute massage in an ergonomically designed chair, with the client fully clothed, using no oil.  Chair massage is also known as "seated massage."

Prerequisite:

Basic Massage Therapy course, with a minimum of 100 hours in anatomy and physiology, and methods and practice in massage.

Objective: 

To develop a basic massage chair routine that will give a client a therapeutically effective massage in approximately a 15-minute time period.

Credit for Class:

A certificate will be issued verifying 65 hours of credit in chair massage. The class includes methods instruction, practicum, and client documentation. Attendance needs to be constant, and the student must demonstrate that skills have been mastered.

Required Materials:

A syllabus will be supplied to each student. Students should come prepared to take notes. Students must have their own chair.

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Chair Massage Seminar

This 18 hour weekend seminar is for those who wish to learn a new modality or who wish to brush up on their chair massage techniques. Students will receive a syllabus and the school will provide the massage chairs. A certificate of attendance will be issued at the end of the seminar if attendance is constant.

Prerequisite:

Basic Massage Therapy course, with a minimum of 100 hours in anatomy and physiology, and methods and practice in massage.

Objective: 

To develop a basic massage chair routine that will give a client a therapeutically effective massage in approximately a 15-minute time period.

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Essential Oils Seminar

This 12 hour continuing education weekend seminar is for those who wish to learn a new modality.  Essential Oils and Aromatherapy are now being shown scientifically to have physical benefits.  During this seminar you will explore these benefits and learn the proper practical application for the client.  A certificate of attendance will be issued verifying 12 hours of instruction has been successfully completed to those who have demonstrated proficiency in the methods demonstrated and whose attendance has been consistent.

Prerequisite:

Basic Massage Therapy course, with a minimum of 100 hours in anatomy and physiology, and methods and practice in massage.

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Alternate Payment Plans:

The principal amount of the tuition is to be paid in two payments, during the first half of the class, and the second the last half of the class. These payments are adjusted so that the student is not obligated for more than one-half of the total charge for the class before the chronological midpoint of the class. These payments may further be broken down so that there are four payments. The schedule for these payments will be made clear on the Enrollment Agreement for each class.

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Enrollment Requirements:

The minimum age for entry into the school is eighteen. Prospective students must have sufficient educational experience and reading ability to be able to do the learning involved. Physically they must be able to perform the tasks required of a massage therapist.

Prior to enrollment, interested persons are required to make an appointment for an interview with the Director, or his representative. Subject matter is reviewed, and prospective students see the campus. Questions are answered. An entrance test will be given. We want to be sure we can meet the needs of each student. We do not provide English as a Second Language.

If, after consultation and testing, prospective students do not appear to be able to handle the training, or the work afterward, they will be advised not to take the class.

Acceptance into the class does not guarantee passing. During this past year no student completing the class and taking the final test has failed, and all have passed with more than adequate scores on the written exam. They have also shown themselves to perform very well in practical demonstrations of the skills involved.

Written tests are given over most of the materials prior to the final examination. Students are able to determine where they need to apply their emphasis in study. They will receive a syllabus of materials that are to be learned. There are regular reading and study assignments in a text on massage, which include information on the human body. In a class that meets only slightly more than three months, it is not possible to give a complete background in anatomy and physiology, and in all of the other subjects that need to be covered. Students will be told what is to be expected. It is then their responsibility to develop a system of study and follow it. Instructors will be of as much help as can reasonably be expected.

We encourage you to visit the school and discuss any questions that you may have. Particularly, it is important that we consider your educational and occupational plans. Entering the study program involves a personal commitment, and should be carefully considered as to the effect on the individual, their family, and their finances. The school does not have financial aids available at present, government or otherwise, to provide grants, or to help pay for educational fees.

We will be glad to discuss with you the various possibilities for employment, but we are unable to supply employment services. From information acquired in the last couple of years, a little over half of the students going through the program have been gainfully employed in the massage business. Some that take the class take it with the intention of helping a family member who needs the treatments. Some are gainfully employed otherwise and are not ready to change to massage as yet. The use of massage therapists is increasing in the offices of chiropractors, physical therapists, nursing homes, and various other varieties of alternate care offices. Many massage therapists set up their own business offices, either alone or in conjunction with other massage therapists. It must be realized that it will cost money to set up and maintain a massage business. The overhead must be kept low in order to realize a profit. This will be discussed in the massage therapy certification class.

If you intend to leave this area to work as a massage therapist, or to set up a massage business of your own, you need to inquire as to the licensing or certification requirements in other areas. Requirements in other areas vary. You may have to complete further work to be licensed or certified in another area.

We intend to offer further advanced courses and workshops in the future. This will make it possible to improve your skills and to come closer to meeting requirements in other areas. These will be announced as they become available and their use is approved by the State.

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The Massage School Approval Disclosure:

New Life Institute of Massage Therapy has been approved to operate on a permanent basis by the Bureau of Private Postsecondary Education. All private postsecondary institutions must comply with the New Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education Reform Act, effective January 1, 1998, (California Education Code, Title 3, Division 10, Part 59, Chapter 7).

Bureau approval is certification that an institution meets minimum statutory standards for integrity, financial responsibility, and educational quality, including the offering of instruction by qualified faculty and/or instructors.

Bureau approval is granted only after a visit to the school has been conducted by a group of their representatives. It involves a guarantee of consumer protection with legislated tuition refund formulas, and student recovery funds available should an institution breach its contract with the students. The process promotes institutional compliance and improvement in quality outcomes for the students.

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