Program Details

The 100 hour Massage Intensive

The 5 Day Advanced Bodywork Training

The 6 Day Body - Mind - Spirit Intensive

The 15 Day Massage Workshop Facilitator Retreat

 

Touching from the Heart - The 100 hour Massage Intensive

 

The 100 hour Touching from the Heart Massage intensive is a residential workshop. Participants are encouraged to stay at the facility during the workshop with the other program participants, even if they live close by. Past participants have told us, and we can confirm: staying for the duration of the training is what makes the experience deeply meaningful and transformational. It is what distinguishes our program from many others.

We feel that the time together is priceless: being in community with other students and staff; taking time away from your busy life just for you to grow in yourself; diving into the beautiful heart-opening environment.

It is for these reasons that we have created this residential intensive. There is a personal day about halfway through the workshop on which there is no class. We invite you to relax, explore the local attractions and allow time to integrate your experience.

This retreat is about having fun and celebrating life. It is about waking up to a world that is alive and mysterious. It is about inquiry and exploration. The experience of the heart is what we seek before seeking perfection of the technique.

We encourage you to look at this as a once-in-a-lifetime experience and opportunity to invest in yourself, in your personal development, in your needs. Having done that, we feel you will return with even more love, energy, and clarity .Touching from the Heart massage workshops are designed as an intensive, training participants to perform an amazing professional therapeutic massage by the end of a 100 hour workshop. At the core, this workshop teaches a graceful and effective massage routine composed of a natural flow of different techniques and strokes taken from a variety of well-known massage modalities such as Trager, Acupressure, Lomilomi, Swedish, Esalen and other practices. The massage sequence is very flexible, can and should be altered, enhanced, reduced and repeated to suit the needs of the giver and receiver. No previous experience is required to attend this workshop.

The Touching from the Heart massage sequence has been applied and refined over many years by massage therapist and yoga teacher Nicolay at renowned spas and in his private practice. Because this training emphasizes a hands-on approach, students learn these movements effortlessly on the deepest level - much like riding a bike - and are guaranteed to be able to apply it.

The training is consciously held in a retreat environment and enhanced with experiences that help uncover everyone's ability to touch from a place of stillness and joy. Appropriate movement through yoga, exercises in being present, fun and play, music, sharing and practice make this retreat a life-changing experience.

Whether you want to find out if massage therapy is your profession of choice while laying a solid foundation or you feel like sharing this gift with friends, family and loved ones - the Touching from the Heart workshop will give you the skills and insight you need.

Join us soon on one of our retreats

Inherent Wisdom

Massage and Bodywork is a skill not only reserved for professionals. It is a life-skill that for thousands of years has enhanced the joy of life and facilitated healing. The English word massage is derived from the Arabic word "mass'h", which means to press gently. 2,700 B.C.: The famous Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine, recommends "breathing exercises, massage of skin and flesh, and exercises of hands and feet".

Maybe you would like to be able to give loved ones or friends a relaxing massage or you might want to prepare yourself to work professionally in the massage field? For either intention Touching from the Heart workshops will provide you with the experience and uncover the skills you will need.If you already are a professional body-worker you will enjoy opening up to a deeper level, learning new techniques and sharing the nurturing environment of giving and receiving - allowing yourself to become re-inspired. The core of this workshop is a non-sexual elegantly flowing eclectic full-body therapeutic massage routine incorporating beneficial strokes from a multitude of styles ranging from acupressure through Esalen and Swedish to shiatsu. The routine is taught emphasizing a hands-on learning approach.

During the course you will develop the physical skills, technical expertise and correct body mechanics working with your whole body to give an expert massage.

By the end of the 100 hour Touching from the Heart Massage Therapy Intensive you will be able to give an amazing professional massage.

Skillful touch can be easily learned. What makes skillful touch profound, is when it is initiated in the heart. What appears challenging is to release the accumulated conditioned responses that have blocked our access to our inherent heart wisdom. The foundation for shifting accumulated patterns is the ability to be unconditionally present moment to moment, free of judgments and projections. We can re-condition ourselves in spite of years of emotional and physical patterning by tapping into the moment. Our body can be the tool that allows us to be fully present.

We all inherently posses the capacity to let go of mental activity by being fully in the present where thoughts of the past and the future are absent. We can uncover the unconditional nature of the present moment it if so inclined. This is where true heart-consciousness resides. The Touching from the Heart Massage Intensive was created out of the desire to share the profound experience of therapeutic touch from a place of intentional heart awareness. It is our objective to reveal and encourage your essence and develop your ability to touch others.

"I just completed his cosmically charged 100 hour Touching from the Heart massage intensive. It was an awesome bodywork experience" - Dennis

To register for an upcoming workshop click here.

The Course

Learn and experience how to give and receive a professional full-body, therapeutic massage.

At the end of the 100 hour intensive you will be able to:

Give a professional massage incorporating a variety of techniques

Assess indications and contra-indications for massage

Understand basic anatomy and kinesiology

Touching from the Heart is far more than just learning a technique. It is an invitation to discover the larger context of Being consciously with yourself and another person. It is about waking up to who you really are and communicating from this place. The curriculum is complimented by sessions on communication, human anatomy 101 and kinesiology. The workshop emphasizes being fully present with your mind, body, emotions and breath at all times and approaching the body with loving-kindness.

Touching from the Heart is a combination of the most effective strokes used in modalities such as Hawaiian Lomilomi, Shiatsu, Rebalancing, Acupressure, Deep Tissue, energy work and many other techniques. The strokes are orchestrated into a graceful flow encouraging deep relaxation and release on many levels. At the end of the 100 hour workshop you will have the ability to perform a full massage using the Touching from the Heart Massage sequence. The intentional setting provides a focused experience and a safe learning environment. Yoga and movement are integral part of the workshop for those who wish to participate. Healthy meals, a relaxed atmosphere and time for personal integration and sharing set the tone for an exceptionally rewarding experience.

"We look forward to a day when massage has become a universally endorsed part of our everyday life."

Unique Introductions during the 100 hour Touching from the Heart Massage Intensive

As part of the curriculum we would like to introduce you to modalities we feel compliment the Touching from the Heart Massage routine.

Aquatic Bodywork

Where available, aquatic bodywork is integrated as part of Touching from the Heart where we introduce students to basic Aquatic Bodywork theory and practice. Aquatic Bodywork has arisen in recent years in many forms such as WatsuÆ, Aqua-balancing, Wassertanzen and Aqua-Veechi and is quickly becoming a widely accepted modality. Aquatic bodywork is done in body-temperature water and features a unique level of work unlike table work. The holding support that accompanies most forms initiates a level of trust that is reminiscent of the parental unconditional care we might or might not have experienced. Warm water is an ideal medium for gentle, subtle stretching. The support takes weight off the vertebrae and allows the spine to freely undulate. The Aquatic Bodywork experience is an invaluable inspiration for table massage bringing the grace and flow of moving in the water into the stream of uninterrupted massage-strokes.

Hot Stone Massage

TFTH also includes an introduction to Hot Stone Massage. Hot lava stones can facilitate a deep release of muscle tension and rejuvenating flow of energy without external pressure. When placed with care and guidance the fire-element inherent in lava stones can enhance the therapeutic result of any massage.

Hawaiian Lomilomi

For centuries the ancient art of Hawaiian Lomilomi massage has been used as a powerful tool for transformation. The strokes are long and flowing, using the whole body to do the massage, giving the feeling of many hands on the body at once. Lomilomi is a life-long study. Many versions exist as they were based in families and passed on within the "ohana" (extended family). More than a technique it is a state of mind and an approach that encompasses body, mind and spirit. The actual massage technique is only a part of the healing process used by the Kahuna that includes for example "Pule" (prayer), Ho'okupu (offering) and "Ho'opono pono" (realigning with true Spirit). We introduce certain strokes as part of the Touching from the Heart routine as well advanced technique.

The 5 Day Advanced Bodywork Training

Taking bodywork to the next level, this training approaches advanced therapy in three dimensions. Advanced massage, spa and aquatic bodywork techniques are introduced, body centered communication and methods of deep rapport are practiced and self-inquiry is taken to a deeper level. Based on the experience that you can only take those you work as deep as you have taken yourself, elements such as breathwork, meditation, hypnotherapy and NLP are combined with advanced massage and aquatic bodywork skills to facilitate a deepening both on the level of self knowing as well as skills.

The advanced class will also introduce additional basic but effective spa treatments to enhance the overall client experience such as wraps and exfoliating scrubs. We will learn the basic ingredients of such treatments and their applications. These applications can greatly enhance your practice giving you a chance to find respite from physically more demanding massage techniques while offering your clients a wider spectrum of services. The curriculum includes yoga and movement as well as meditation and is hands-on while rejuvenating to the participants body, mind and spirit. This multi-dimensional approach will energize your creativity and offer you content to expand your practice. As in all Touching from the Heart classes we emphasize a hands-on approach.
This training is suitable for experienced bodyworkers and graduates of the 11- Day Touching from the Heart Workshop.

The 6 Body - Mind - Spirit Intensive

This workshop will focus on developing a deep connection with who we really are underneath layers of ancient conditioning. Unveiling the brilliant Self as a vehicle of healing. As we go deeper into Inquiry we find a place in ourselves that is a vast container of that wants to be used to be in service.

The 15 Day Massage Workshop Facilitator Training

During this teacher training, the focus will be on holding the space for the 100 hour Massage Intensive to unfold. You can take someone only as deep as you are yourself and the emphasis will be on deepening your understanding and appreciation of human nature and the dynamics of interaction. Prerequisite is a working knowledge of the Touching from the Heart massage routine and experience as a bodyworker. Dates and location: TBA . Please inquire if you are interested in this workshop

We would like to invite you to join us for one of our Touching from the Heart Massage intensives.

To register for an upcoming workshop click here.

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