AMTA Alabama Annual Convention – August 6 & 7th, 2011

For everyone who has been waiting for the schedule for the rescheduled AMTA Alabama Convention, here it is!

Where: Holiday Inn, Decatur, AL
When: August 6th & 7th, 2011

What:
Saturday, August 6th, 8-12 – Professional Ethics for the Massage Therapist (4 CEUs)
Saturday, August 6th, 2-6 – Energy Systems in Massage (4 CEUs)
Sunday, August 7th, 8-12 and 2-4 – Fascial Unwinding for the Shoulder (4 CEUs)

As before, if you are an AMTA member you pay only $30. If you’re not an AMTA member you pay $30 plus $15 per CEU hour for a maximum of $200.

Register now if you want to go. Class sizes are limited. Contact Greg Howie at g36@aol.com or 205 746-7454 for more information.

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Calling All Alabama Traveller Certificate Holders

The last day of my participation in the Alabama Traveller discount certificates aired June 13th. Up to this point I’ve been quite liberal about accepting certificates even if they’re expired.

I’m giving fair warning though, I will be honoring all Alabama Traveller certificates that schedule before July 31st. After that date, I will no longer honor these certificates.

Please call now if you are holding a certificate.

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AMTA – Alabama Chapter State Convention – Rescheduled

THe AMTA – Alabama Chapter State Convention has been rescheduled to August 6th and 7th, 2011. Location is the same as before, the Holiday Inn in Decatur, AL.

I’ll list the CEUs to be offered as soon as I get my newsletter. I am assuming they will be different.

Also as before $30 for admission and as many CEUs as you can get in those two days for AMTA-AL members.

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Because I Was Frustrated

Because I was frustrated with the recent cancellation of another CEU class I wanted to take I started a Facebook group called, “Massage CEU Central”. I intend for it to be a place to bring massage therapists and CEU providers together in a centralized location.

I will be posting there regularly about CEU opportunities I’ve found that folks may be interested in. I hope that members of the group will also be posting what they’re finding or looking for or for the CEU providers what they’re planning on providing.

The URL on Facebook is here. Go request to Join this new group. I’d love to see you there.

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Bamboo Fusion Here I Come!


Well, it’s official. I filled out the form, sent it in and if all goes well I’ll be in Kennesaw, Georgia next month to learn Bamboo Fusion massage.

I am so excited. Of course, the last two classes I’ve signed up for have canceled. So… get on over to the Bamboo Fusion website and sign up for the June class. I’m willing to share accommodations and I don’t bite.

I can’t wait. Right now warm bamboo sounds really luxurious. Sigh…

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How To Become a Volunteer

If you’re in the state of Alabama and want to volunteer to help with the tornado recovery efforts it’s pretty simple. Dial 2-1-1. This number takes you to an automated line where you answer a few questions and state your areas of expertise and what you’re interested in doing to volunteer. I would recommend thinking about what you want to say before you call so you don’t get surprised with it. Also knowing what you’re going to say before hand will give you a better chance of actually getting a callback. I called last week and have yet to get a callback from them so just keep that in mind.

If you’re outside of the state, but still close by (or in the state) you can sign up at WAFF 48 news Volunteer-a-Thon.

If you’re outside of the state and too far away to drive here for a weekend of “bending your back” donate to your local Red Cross or Feeding America.

I hope to get a callback from the volunteer-a-thon soon. I pledged 8 hours of service, but really hope that I get assigned somewhere that I can do more than that. I hope they call soon because now that my house is back in order and my niece is on the mend I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and get dirty helping the neighbors get back on their feet.

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AMTA-AL State Convention – Canceled

Hi All,

Thanks for dropping by. The state convention has been canceled due to continuing power issues and damage from the numerous tornadoes that went through our area Wednesday.

Please pray for all the families affected in this area. Many of us suffered property damage as well as that most precious commodity, family members. My family didn’t escape this tragedy. My niece lost her fiance Wednesday evening and is still in ICU awaiting surgery to fix a crushed pelvis. My brother, his wife, and mother-in-law also suffered lesser injuries. I will be heading out to the Wellington, AL /Calhoun County area tomorrow with a massage table to work on family members and those strangers who come by to lend a hand with cleanup and try to offer them some comfort through touch therapy.

I’ll post information on when the convention is to be rescheduled as soon as I have it.

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Elbow Trouble

Back in the fall I started having some trouble with my elbows. Self-diagnosing, as I am prone to do, I decided I had tendonitis in both. I’m not sure that’s what it was / is as I still have not been to a doctor opting instead for self-treatment with a tennis ball, BioFreeze and a lot of poking and prodding.

While on vacation last week I was finally able to slow down enough to go get a massage. The therapist I found is in Gulf Shores, AL. Her name is Melissa Millson and she is fantastic! If you ever get down in that area give her a call.

She did some things to my forearms that I’d never experienced before and I’m happy to report that for about a week, I’ve been largely pain free. Unfortunately, this morning I woke to that familiar pain in the left elbow. So this morning was spent trying to remember all the things I did yesterday that might have irritated the forearm and the elbow. I didn’t have much luck with that tack. My days are pretty busy.

Anyway, I wanted to tell you a bit about what she did to my forearms that seemed to help so much. It’s called Bamboo Fusion and warm bamboo pieces are used to warm and massage muscles at a deep level.

I’d never had a bamboo-assisted massage and as far as I can tell she only used the bamboo on my forearms and calves, but wow was it ever worth it. I’ve known about Bamboo Fusion for several years and it’s been on the list of CEUs I’d like to take, but mostly I had relegated it down the list of things to do later.

But since I had such a lovely experience with Melissa (and my Body Reading class got canceled) I’ve done a little research and there’s a very good possibility that I’ll be taking a Bamboo Fusion class in June. I have made initial contacts with an instructor and am waiting for a response.

Why Bamboo Fusion? Well, mainly because it’s luxurious and effective deep tissue through a hands-on application. I find myself with clients who can’t experience Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy or Ashi-Thai because they’ve had recent surgeries, but who still need deep work. I’m only comfortable and capable of delivering so much with my hands. I rely on my feet for the really deep stuff. So when a regular client has, say, a hysterectomy, but is accustomed to my feet and the accompanying deep, luxurious massage, they’re not happy with my hands-on techniques. They still want the deep massage. Bamboo Fusion promises to help me deliver what they’re wanting. It’s certainly not a barefoot massage, but it apparently goes deeper than what I can deliver from the floor.

Thus, I’ll be traveling in June if all works out for that. Unless the instructor writes back and says she’ll come to me! Now that would be ideal.

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