AMTA

2015 AMTA-AL Spring Convention Time!

ConventionOrBust2It’s that time of year again and I’ll be headed to Birmingham on Thursday for the 2015 AMTA-AL Spring Convention!

This year’s convention is hosting Doug Nelson of Precision Neuromuscular Therapy and I am very excited about adding some new techniques to my toolbox. I’ll also be running for 1st Vice President and Delegate again so keep a good thought for me Saturday around lunchtime. I’ll be giving my speech(es) and hopefully keeping my positions.

So…

Harvest Moon Massage Therapy will be closed beginning Thursday, April 23rd and will re-open Monday, April 27th. If you’d like to schedule an appointment while I’m away, please visit my StyleSeat online booking system or call and leave a message. I’ll get back to you on Monday.

Sharon Bryant Harvest Moon Massage is Decatur, Alabama’s Only Master Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapist!

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2014 AMTA National Convention or the Time I Met Dr. Oz!

The 2014 AMTA National Convention in Denver was a whirlwind of friends, classes, parties, meetings, debates, dinners, and overall awesomeness (sorry, Roxanne)!

There was so much to it, I think it would just be best if I let you take your time with a picture gallery. Don’t miss the captions, they tell parts of the story too.

 

And in addition to all of that I managed to get myself on camera and they used part of my interview in both AMTA National Convention videos from this year!

Hope you enjoyed my little scrapbook of 2014 AMTA National Convention in Denver!

For more on the Denver convention and how all my Ashi instructors participated you can head on over to the Bodywork Buddy Blog.

Sharon Bryant Harvest Moon Massage is Decatur, Alabama’s Ashiatsu Deepfeet Bar Therapist!

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2014 AMTA National Convention – It’s Almost Time!

HOD 2013
Floor of the 2013 AMTA House of Delegates

Many of you may remember that I took off for Ft. Worth last September to serve as an Alabama chapter delegate for American Massage Therapy Association. Well, those delegate positions are two year terms so I’m getting ready to run off to Denver next week.

I know you’re wondering why I do this. After all, I have to leave my lovely clients and the income that they so generously give to me. I do it because of the position statements that AMTA House of Delegates will be voting on this year.

Position statements can affect the entire profession of massage, massage education and consumers of massage. And I think this year’s crop of position statements run the gamut. We’ll be debating and voting on position statements that deal with portability of massage credentials across state lines, how massage affects health and wellness, and whether massage is helpful for the rehabilitation of burn scars.

One would assume that all these are good things and I would agree in principal, but when you’re representing not only a state chapter, but a national organization all the i’s must be dotted and t’s crossed. So these position statements may or may not be adopted. But never fear, there are lots of position statements that have already been adopted. If you’re interested, they’re over here. Leave a message if you have an opinion or observation about the position statements. I’d love to talk with you about them.

Anyway, last minute preparations are under way and I wanted to let you know that Harvest Moon Massage Therapy will close Friday, September 12th @ 3:30pm and will resume normal hours Friday, September 26th. Email and voicemail returns will be very slow during this time period. If you would like to schedule, please use online scheduling through StyleSeat.

Why so long? Because I’ve never been to Colorado before and I’m taking a few days after the convention ends to see the sights and have a walkabout in the mountains. I also hope to experience several sets of Ashi feet on my back while I’m there. Colorado being the home of Ruthie Hardee, the developer of the Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy method I practice, there should be lots of Ashi feet available.

It’s going to be an interesting trip and I’m taking the BIG suitcase this time. TSA may be very surprised when they see how I’m going to stuff a hula hoop and a yoga mat in there. I hope they don’t try to take anything out!

Sharon Bryant Harvest Moon Massage is Decatur, Alabama’s Only Ashi-Thai Therapist!

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CVOP – A Funny Word

So recently I was chosen by the AMTA Alabama Chapter to represent Alabama at the 2014 AMTA Chapter Volunteer Orientation Program. The part about Orientation is really funny to me since I’ve been volunteering with the Alabama Chapter for over two years now and am currently holding down a board position as well as chairing their membership committee and website/social media committee. One would assume that I don’t need no stinking orientating, but not true… I learned so much at this conference. About the American Massage Therapy Association and a lot of leadership stuff which sounds dry and boring, but I assure you it was not. I made a boatload of new friends who I hope to see in September at AMTA National Convention. We had field trips during this conference which was nice. Of course, I think if you put a bunch of massage therapists in a room for three days and told them to sit still there would be a riot. We had several planned outings and got to see much of the city of Chicago and Evanston. It’s hard to put into words all the stuff that happened on this trip so basically I’m not even going to try. I’m just going to leave you with some pictures of the highlights of my time there. Enjoy!

Peace y’all!

Sharon Bryant Harvest Moon Massage is Decatur, Alabama’s Exclusive Ashi-Thai Therapist!

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2014 AMTA-Alabama Spring Convention

"Harvest Moon Massage Therapy"Being an education junkie, I have always been interested in quality, local Continuing Education for massage. And while I’ve never really been a joiner, I found a home with AMTA and our local Alabama chapter.

I have been so taken with the group of folks who are leading the chapter now that I decided to join them last year and ran for a position on the Board of Directors. It’s been almost a year now and due to some resignations on the board I was recently appointed to the 1st Vice President position. It makes me nervous, but at the same time I am happy and a little proud to be helping steer this great, local organization.

The spring convention is less than two weeks away and I’m so excited about it. This year we are hosting Susan Salvo. You can read more about her over here. She recently received a wonderful award from the Massage Therapy community celebrating her lifetime contributions to the profession.

She will be teaching 16 CE hours over the weekend of May 2 through 4. The rates are very affordable. AMTA-AL chapter will also have a free luncheon available on May 3rd during which we will have our annual member meeting and elections. There are several board positions up for election as well as alternate delegate positions open. We will also have a Massage Mingle which is open (and free) to all massage therapists and guests on Saturday evening.

The full schedule and registration information can be found on the AMTA-AL Chapter website.

I hope you can make it!

Sharon Bryant Harvest Moon Massage is Decatur, Alabama’s Only Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapist!

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Upcoming Events at Harvest Moon Massage Therapy

List

So I was just looking at my calendar and trying to figure out how to get all of this information out to my public. I figured the easiest way (for me) would be to list it all out for you. You know how I like a good list, so here goes. Hope to see you at some of these events!

February 22nd – Jake for King!

As many of you know I am heavily involved in the Carnegie Carnival as a member of the Crewe O’ Ye Crooked Goat. This year we have nominated the fine and wonderful Jake Reed for next year’s Carnival King. We are sponsoring a fund raiser and silent auction to help Jake win. Come on out and party with the pirates!

February 22nd & 23rd – MLD Certification Finals

Unfortunately I won’t be at the Pirate Party and Fundraiser because I’ll be in Birmingham completing my Manual Lymph Drainage certification course. I am regretting missing the party, but am so excited about finally earning my certification for MLD!

March 1st – Mardi Gras Parade!

Arrrrr… long live Crewe O’ Ye Crooked Goat! If you are anywhere in north Alabama, you really should come see the spectacle! We are defending our first place parade trophy this year and we hear the competition is outdoing themselves. Of course, they haven’t seen our float yet. ARrrrrr!!!

March 14th -16th – AMTA Alabama Board Retreat

Including the word “retreat” is probably the biggest misnomer in history here. It’s really just a two and a half -day long meeting for the Board of Directors to strategize and plan the upcoming year’s activities. Can you say, sore rear end?

March 22nd – Grand Opening Celebration!

The Grand Opening Celebration for our beautiful, new space! We’ll have hors d’ oeuvres and some kind of beverage for you as you see the new place, meet and visit with all our providers. Tiny gifts and maybe even a door prize or two may be involved.

April 5th – Partner Massage Class

The very first Partner Massage Class will be held at Harvest Moon Massage Therapy & Reflexology. RSVP today as space is limited and I expect this class to fill quickly!

So that concludes the list of upcoming activities. In the meantime I’m taking appointments and working to get all the finishing details into the new space. We are still looking for someone to rent our third room. So if you know someone, now would be a great time to let them know we have a lovely space for them to rent. The sooner we get a third, the better.

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My First AMTA National Convention!

So 2013 AMTA National Convention was so jam packed with meetings and classes I think the best way to tell it is with pictures. Just click on one of the pictures below and the captions will tell you the story of my very first AMTA National Convention adventure. Enjoy!

Sharon Bryant Harvest Moon Massage is Decatur, Alabama’s Exclusive Provider of Barefoot Bar Massage!

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NMTAW 2013 – Wrapping it Up!

I just wanted to get this out there before I forgot!

The Pool Doctors in Decatur, AL were kind enough to let me come to their business October 25th and set up to provide free massage for their employees and customers. I think there were 6 takers in the short time I was there. We had a lot of fun and plan on doing it again next year. Be ready!

Oh, and I still have to tell you what happened at AMTA National Convention in September, I haven’t forgotten it’s just been crazy busy!

This weekend I’ll be in Madison all weekend for the Foundations for Manual Lymph Drainage training that is being hosted by AMTA-AL. Interested in some affordable massage CEUs? Click here for more info on how AMTA-AL is bringing them to you!

Sharon Bryant Harvest Moon Massage is Decatur, Alabama’s Exclusive Provider of Ashi-Thai Massage!

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Raising Awareness One Foot at a Time

Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy
Ashi Portables
In celebration of National Massage Therapy Awareness Week, I’ll be hauling out the portables and setting up at Pool Doctors in Decatur, AL.So if you’re curious about the barefoot massage thing come on out to see me on October 25th from 2pm – 5pm at the Pool Doctors (1207 Central Pkwy SW, Decatur, AL)

You can watch for a few minutes and then hop on the table for a free sample!

Hope to see you there!

Sharon Bryant Harvest Moon Massage is Decatur, Alabama’s Exclusive Provider of Barefoot Massage!

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AMTA National Convention 2013 – It’s September Already?

Let’s Get in The Way Back Machine

A while back I wrote here about going to AMTA-Alabama Chapter Annual Convention where I was teaching a Facebook class. That all went very well and I’m not sure why I didn’t write a followup on it. There was a lot of news to share following that meeting and I probably meant to write, but life got in the way and well, here it is September and I’m just getting around to it.

The reason I’m finally getting around to letting you know what happened in May is because it affects September. So… here goes…

Way back in May at that AMTA-Alabama Chapter Annual Convention I ran for Board of Director’s Member at Large Position 1. I won unopposed (still surprised). For giggles I also threw my hat in the ring for a delegate position. There was no way I was going to get the delegate position because I am a newer volunteer and there are lots of others who have been around and doing way longer than I have. Well, shocker of all shockers, I won a delegate seat.

Delegate for what?

You may be thinking right about now, “Delegate for what?” Delegate to the AMTA National Convention in Ft. Worth, TX, next week, GULP!

Surely they’re not paying for us to show up and look pretty

I don’t know what I thought a delegate was to do. I ran mostly so I could learn what that part of the process was all about and get a (mostly) all-expense paid trip to AMTA National Convention.

I’ve already taken some online training and am doing my best to keep up with the Google Group for the House of Delegates, but I am drinking from the fire hose. Apparently a delegate’s job is to evaluate position statements and associated research brought forth by members then vote on the position statements to steer the position of the entire AMTA on the massage profession. Who knew it was going to be such an awesome undertaking?

So this week starts the final prep of paperwork and collecting AMTA-Alabama member votes for the different position statements and hoping that I’ve looked at all the right studies. I’m self-conscious about my research evaluation skills as I am pretty sure that Sociological Stats class I took in 1990 has been completely purged from my brain. The only thing I remember about that class is bell curves and a Chinese international student who got to pick her name (Stephanie) when she came to the U.S.

There is more Delegate training to be had when I arrive in Ft. Worth. I’ll be paying close attention as I really don’t want to mess this up.

Surprise! More Classes!

After the House of Delegates meetings are complete I’ll have an all-access pass to the convention. I plan on taking a class with the very well-known James Waslaski and an instructor I do not know for Thai Massage on the Table. I hope to come back with lots of new tools. I’ve been invited to a secret Ashi-sister party where something I’ve been wanting to try for a very long time might be available (this is a teaser 🙂 you’ll have to come back later to find out what it is if it actually pans out).

My goal after the convention is to actually update all you lovely readers on the happenings and highlights of AMTA National Convention 2013. I’ll probably have to sleep for a couple of days before anything will make sense. The schedule is somewhat INSANE! But I do want to get that done before next year’s convention rolls around because, yep, you guessed it, Delegate terms are for two years!

If you want to follow my trip to the convention, I’ll be posting over on the Harvest Moon Massage Therapy Facebook Page, the AMTA-Alabama Chapter Facebook Page, the AMTA-Alabama Facebook Group and if all goes well on Twitter @SharonB013 while I’m gone. If I have an extra moment I may figure out if it’s possible to do some mobile blogging as well.

Sharon Bryant Harvest Moon Massage is Decatur, Alabama’s Exclusive Provider of Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy!

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