Jim Spears's Blog (12)

What do you get if you cross massage, acupressure, and yoga?  The wonderful system of Thai massage.  Want more clients?  Then offer Thai massage, learn in Thailand this September.  http://www.ihsociety.com

From Oct 7 - 23, 2010 the Integrative Healing Society will be hosting a tour to China for massage professionals to learn tuina and acupressure. The event will be held in Hangzhou, China and has been coordinated with Zhejiang Chinese Medical University. The program includes 30 hours of clinical training and 20 hours of lectures on how to use tuina for a variety of conditions. For more information visit…

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Learn Acupressure and Tuina In China

The Integrative Healing Society is offering a study abroad program to China from Oct. 3 - 27, 2010. The program is open to massage therapist wanting to learn more about Chinese massage and bodywork, and includes 2…

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For anyone needing information on building a practice, running a business, or marketing, check out this site. They have a ton of useful information. Massage Marketing

One of the most important pieces of building a successful massage practice is to connect with your clients in a way that builds trust, comfort, and healing. Creating an atmosphere of trust and healing requires that we be good listeners both in the literal sense, as well as with our hands. This starts with the first encounter and is crucial to develop during the first session.



Rather then rushing into the first massage, I suggest taking between 30-45 minutes to do a consultation with… Continue

Having a website is one of the most effective external marketing methods that one can use in developing a massage practice. Marketing online offers several advantages over other forms of advertising. These include:



1. Low Cost - The annual cost of developing and maintaining a website can be as low as $250. Compare this to other forms of advertising such as running ads in phonebooks, local papers, and magazines. Print ads will often run over $100 a month.



2. Volume of People… Continue

7 Ways to Build a Massage Practice



1. Get Known by the Public. Reaching out with helping hands to the public is one sure fire way to build a massage practice. This can occur in a variety of ways such as attending health fairs, and giving massages at summer festivals and local health food stores. I have used all of these methods in the past, and it was common for me to get 3-5 new customers each time I did this.



2. Give Some Freebies. Offering freebies is a great way to get… Continue

My last few blogs have been describing acupressure points on the feet, and how starting with a brief foot massage can be a powerful way to help a client relax before moving into the main massage. I recommend that anyone joining our tours to China to learn acupressure, or Thailand to study Thai massage, study the points I blog about as they are major points located on the meridians. To learn more about our study abroad opportunities in Asia visit… Continue

In one of my last posts I talked about the benefits of the acupressure point KI 1, which is located on the bottom of the foot. In that post I mentioned it has the function of helping with insomnia, and just yesterday I was able to help someone who has difficulty sleeping. Within minutes of starting the massage at KI 1 the client was asleep, WOW, what a surprise to both of us. Even after 11 years of doing this work I am still amazed at how fast points work.



As part of a series of… Continue

SInce spending a year in Thailand, and learning Thai massage, it has become more apparent to me how beneficial it can be to start a massage at the feet. This has a "grounding effect," and since so many of us live in our heads, and not our bodies; starting a massage at the feet has an almost immediate effect of calming a person.



Let's review the location and functions of one of the primary points on the feet, Kidney 1.



This point is located on the sole of the foot, between… Continue

Anyone out there practicing either acupressure or Thai massage? I have been doing acupressure and tuina for many years, but only recently started learning Thai massage. I have a lot of influence from the Chinese systems, and its interesting to compare how Thai massage works with the meridians versus the traditional Chinese styles. Overall I would have to say that the Chinese tend to emphasize massaging the symptomatic areas, whereas the Thai focus on the whole meridian system. Any ideas on when… Continue

I've been living in Thailand for 1 year now, and have learned some truly amazing massage techniques. Before moving here I lived in China, and have studied acupressure, tuina, and acupuncture. I have practiced acupuncture for 11 years but since moving to Thailand I have taken more interest in massage.

Yippie, today I'm going to take the first step in producing a short video clip on Thai massage. Been waiting a while to do this.