By Chelsea Brazil, Admissions Representative
Last week I was sitting at my desk when one of our bodywork instructors, Paolo Pellecer, came by saying “I need a body; I need a body for a massage.” Immediately I jumped up saying “Pick me, pick me!” I knew Paolo was the instructor for the Thai massage class and I had been dying to try another Thai massage since my first experience with it back in November. After a quick change into some yoga pants, I was ready for my first full Thai massage.
So what exactly is a Thai massage? It was developed in Thailand over 2,000 years ago. It is a system of massage that is often performed on the floor and features assisted stretching moves. The client stays fully clothed during the massage, preferably in clothes that are comfortable and allow for movement. There are no oils or creams used traditional Thai massage.
The session consists of rhythmic pressure applied by the therapist, as well as positioning of the client in different yoga-like poses. These massages last longer than your typical Swedish-rooted session: 90 minutes or more! Clients typically feel results that last for days after receiving a Thai massage.
My experience with it was wonderful. The student started performing the movements of Thai, and I immediately started to relax. Paolo guided the students through each movement, walking around as he dictated the protocol of the massage. It was actually quite informative to hear the verbal instructions being given as I was receiving the massage. My body was manipulated into different poses. I was asked to change lying positions, and it really was unlike any other bodywork I had ever received before.
Not being very a flexible person, some of the moves felt very odd, but I definitely felt the effects of the massage immediately after. I was relaxed, but still felt rejuvenated. I also felt immensely less tense. My shoulders were more relaxed and my body just felt light and serene. I encourage you all to go out and experience the refreshing and rejuvenating effects of a traditional Thai massage.
To find out more about Thai Massage and the Holistic Health Practitioner certifiate program, download the FREE guide below!
by Jessica Muto, Director of Student Services and author of the blog Shiny Mess.
Do you make time for the Whole You?
These days, most of us sprint from the moment we wake up 'til the moment we go to sleep. We’re swamped with the needs and wants of other people, whether those people are our boss, our kids, our friends, or perfect strangers. By the time we’ve dealt with deadlines, emergencies, road rage, and dinner, we’re too exhausted to do anything but flop into bed.
While this story might be an exaggeration of your life, you can probably relate to the stretched-out, beat-up, pulled-apart feeling such a day would create.
At such times it can be difficult to remember who we really are, as whole people. We’re not just employees, or just parents, or just students. We are all of these things, all 
at the same time. It’s important that we respect our various sides, and it’s important we find ways to balance the pulls on each part.
When you’re at work, you focus with all you are on tackling and successfully completing each task. When you’re at school, you’re straining your nerves and sinew to pay attention and really understand the material. And when you’re at home you’re busy making sure dinner is ready and then clean up after, that the kids are bathed, and that you’re all in bed by a decent time (at least, I hope that’s what you’re doing…)
Taking a few minutes each day to think through these different aspects of yourself will help you maintain that mystical aspiration: balance. It can be difficult to take time to quiet the thoughts spinning in your mind long enough to make decisions and have great ideas, but there are ways. I’ve been trying to learn and practice various strategies for prioritizing my day, tapping into my whole potential, and giving balance to my diverse sides.
One way to practice this that I particularly enjoy is massage. I love getting a massage: being able to completely relax my body and mind, , and take the time to follow the trails of my thoughts is an experience like no other.
Even WebMD recommends massage therapy for health and well-being. Some types of massage are less “relaxing,” (i.e. deep tissue) but even with that, the discipline of lying still while someone else takes care of the knots and strains your daily life has caused in your muscles is a great way to think about who you are as a whole person, and how the different sides of you can work together.
If you haven’t had a massage lately, it might be time. Your Whole You needs it.
Want to learn more about Mueller College's massage therapy program? Click below to find out more:
Blog post by Chelsea Brail, Admissions Advisor
One of the many perks of working at Mueller College it getting to learn about all the different types of body work. Before starting here I had very little knowledge of all the different types of massage. I’d had a few swedish massages and a few reflexology massages but that was the extent of my experience. As I started learning more and more about the different types of massage, the more intrigued I became. I wanted to know more, I wanted to physically experience these different types of body work.
As I began to expand my knowledge on the different modalities, I still was a little unsure of exactly what Shiatsu, Tui Na, or Thai massage was. Reading about them or hearing about them could only tell me so much. Obviously the best was to truly understand what they are would be to experience them myself. I went down for my first massage at the Wellness Center and had an advanced student practice several of these massage techniques on me. It was highly informative to actually FEEL these techniques being done to me, not to mention extremely relaxing.
The second time I went down to the wellness center, my experience was completely different. I had two students greet me and let me know that they would both be working on me, a tandem massage they called it.
So what is a tandem massage you ask?
Simply put, it is two therapists working in unison on one person. At first I was a bit intimidated to have two male students massaging me. They explained to me that one would be working my upper body, while the other would be working my lower. After they left the room, I began to think about what a heavenly experience it was going to be to have not two hands working on me, but four.
When they came back in they explained to me that a tandem massage can sometimes make people disoriented, and to let them know if I started feeling that way. As they began to work on me, I slipped into a deep relaxation. I felt a calmness I had not experienced from a massage before. I was able to truly clear my mind and focus on nothing more than what was happening to me in that very moment.
Tandem massage is also known as four hands massage, yin yang massage or mirror massage. There are two different kinds of tandem massage. Mirror massage has the therapists are working in exact unison with each other. The other is asynchronous massage, which is what I had. The therapists are working together, but are most likely working on different parts of the body. Some of the benefits of a tandem massage include better healing efficiency. You can choose to go with an hour long tandem for extra satisfaction and relaxation, or have a full body massage done in as little as 30 minutes. It’s hard for us to focus our attention on both therapists at once, so we tend to focus on the one which feels better, which causes us to fall into a deeper state of relaxation.
Tandem massage is something I would definitely recommend everyone try at least once. Maybe you won’t like it at all, or maybe you will love it like I did. Either way, give it a try. Treat yourself. You will be pleasantly surprised at the level of relaxation your mind and body can reach.
http://www.power-therapeutic-massage.com/tandem-massage.html .
http://books.google.com/books?id=Dgk1rqEJBkYC&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=what+are+the+benefits+of+a+tandem+massage&source=bl&ots=yqZhBuYPkE&sig=e7hNKrM2BE1fVMdJ3hyWyGGiDPg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=slV3UKerNfKO2QWzuIFw&ved=0CCIQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=what%20are%20the%20benefits%20of%20a%20tandem%20massage&f=false
For more information on the Mueller College Wellness Center (and to experience an incredible tandem massage), visit the link here:
Blog post by Linda Ealy, Lead Instructor for Mueller College Bodywork Program
Bodywork has become a mainstream method of a health and fitness regime. It seems wherever you go, you can find a booth or a facility for massage therapy, foot reflexology, or chair massage. Most people today have experienced the benefits of some form of bodywork.
So how do you know what is best for you?
Modalities available range from Swedish Massage, Thai Massage, Shiatsu and Tui-Na (Asian Modalities) Deep Tissue Massage, Neuromuscular Therapy, as well as energy work ranging from Reiki, Cranial Sacral or Touch for Health. It gives them an opportunity to see and feel what their body responds to, and how their body feels to them the next day. People have an opportunity today to experience various kinds of western and eastern modalities at many facilities, but one in particular.
That one facility is the Mueller College Wellness Center; our students offer many of these modalities in one massage session.
Which one is right for you?
The students have learned various techniques throughout their training as an HHP – Holistic Health Practitioner, or as an MT- Massage Therapist. Through practice, they have learned to combine these techniques in a massage that is created for what your body needs to respond. When your body releases its tension, circulation and relaxation result, allowing the body to return to a comfortable state.
The end result is the same.
You will be more relaxed, you can breathe easier, you will have more energy, you may have more flexibility and more range of motion, and you may even feel more light-hearted. All of these are positive results, in a fun and relaxing experience. It is so easy and so available today, to find a therapist, and enjoy the positive results that follow!
It's finals week, and all our teachers are wrapping up their courses for this session. Yesterday, in fact, was the last day of the session for our popular deep tissue massage class, taught by the one and only Crystal Richardson, HHP. Loved by all her students past and present, Crystal has flourished at Mueller College for years.
Her speciality, as stated above, is deep tissue massage (one of my personal FAVORITES!) It primarily focuses on realigning deeper layers of muscles and connective tissue. Spas all over the world pinpoint deep tissue as one of their most popular massages and most beneficial for their clients (some even being Olympic athletes!)
Here's Crystal to tell you more about herself and her profession...
Learn more about our HHP program below and how you can take one of Crystal's classes. You won't regret it. 
This month's instructor spotlight showcases one of Mueller's very own graduates, Louie Taylor. Louie brings a constant flow of positivity, an infinite plethora of knowledge, and a smiling face every single day to class. Loved by the students and staff, Louie lives his life to the fullest, and makes everyone strive to do the same.
Louie has taught everything from Career Development to Marketing, Advertising and Promotions, and currently teaches the Chair Massage class which is a student favorite. I hear and see proof of that everyday as they are constantly laughing and, while exhibiting the skills they are learning, have huge smiles on their faces.
Here is Louie to tell you a bit more about himself...
Post by Karen Brohard, Admission Representative
You’re sore. It’s been a long week and your muscles just don’t seem to bounce back the way they used to. After taking what seems like a bottle and half of ibuprofen a week (or “Vitamin I”, as we athletes like to call it), it’s time to try something new to get those muscles moving again. If this sounds like an all too familiar ‘day in the life’ for you, then I have a new and exciting alternative to your pill popping: Thai Massage.
Also known, as the lazy man’s yoga, Thai Massage utilizes a mixture of acupressure and yoga style movements. Thai Massage was invented some 2,500 years ago in Thailand by monks who needed more range of motion for their meditation practices. Believed to be invented by Shivago Komarpaj, the physician of Buddha himself, these techniques are still relevant today and can be used to help everyday people in their everyday lives. This massage modality is performed on a large mat or cushion placed on the floor while the client is completely clothed in loose and comfortable exercise wear. Your massage therapist will use their entire body- including hands, legs and feet- to manipulate your body into different poses and stretches. (These positions require your therapist to get quite up close and personal with you, so if close proximities with your therapist make you uncomfortable than a different style of massage may be a better fit.)
Thai Massage has many health benefits that go hand in hand with its relaxing and energizing properties. Some of these benefits include:
- Relief of muscle and joint tension
- Improves blood circulation
- Increases flexibility
- Centers the mind and body
- Reduction of physical and mental stress
- Tones the body
- Improves posture.
Sounds like a good deal, right? Not only is Thai a good massage for just about anyone, certain types of individuals may benefit even more. Athletes, office workers, people on their feet all day, and even many pregnant women can see a change in their health with this new style of massage (Those who are pregnant should consult their physician before participating).
So after your next long week in the office, schedule a Thai massage to melt away all the stress and tension accumulated from weekly reports and piggy back rides with the kids. Maybe this time you’ll put down the bottle (of Advil) for good.