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Why Breathing is so Important During Massage

2015-04-03T22:44:20-04:00April 3rd, 2015|

Deep breathing supports and enhances the goals of massage therapy as taught in massage training school. Often called abdominal breathing or belly breathing, deep breathing promotes blood flow, increases the effectiveness of the lymphatic system, and supports organ detoxification. Moreover, abdominal breathing lowers your heart rate and blood pressure, and can be used at any time to decrease stress and tension. Deep breathing promotes physical relaxation, the goal of every massage client.

Implementing Deep Breathing into Massage Therapy

Teaching and modeling deep breathing for massage clients can benefit them on and off the table, potentially leading to a life of less pain and […]

Massage Therapy Modalities: Trigger Point Therapy

2015-03-27T21:45:14-04:00March 27th, 2015|

Muscle pain is one of the most common medical complaints, whether it’s chronic low back pain, or sore muscles from working in the garden. In fact, according to a recent AMTA survey, 30% of respondents have used massage therapy for pain relief. When working with clients who experience pain, it’s helpful to have many different strategies for helping them recover. Trigger point work is often an effective way of decreasing or eliminating pain. Our massage school in Portland, Oregon offers trigger point therapy as an elective course in our 800-hour massage therapy program. In this blog, we’re introducing […]

East West College Hosts the AMTA-OR Conference

2015-03-17T21:44:06-04:00March 17th, 2015|

Our northwest massage school is proud to have hosted this year’s American Massage Therapy Association of Oregon conference! On April 24th and 25th, licensed massage therapists from across the state attended the AMTA-OR conference to earn message therapy continuing education credits, and to polish their skills. An East West College instructor contributed to the conference by facilitating a session on spa modalities.

The American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) is the nation’s largest non-profit organization serving massage schools, massage therapists, and massage students. Among the many roles that the AMTA serves, the organization promotes massage to the general public; lobbies for just massage […]

Benefits of Prenatal Massage

2015-02-27T19:47:52-05:00February 27th, 2015|

After earning a massage therapist certification or license, how does a massage therapist go about creating a strong practice? Specializing in a certain niche can guarantee more work, both from private clients and from massage businesses. Prenatal massage is an enjoyable and fruitful specialization. Prenatal clients are happy to spend time nurturing themselves. And may spas pay LMTs more if they have additional prenatal massage training beyond a basic massage therapy license. When working with prenatal clients, massage therapists should emphasize the many benefits of prenatal massage.

Prenatal massages do more than just relax the a pregnant woman’s aching muscles Given the […]

Sports Massage: Tips for Landing a Gig with a Professional Sports Team

2015-02-06T19:39:55-05:00February 6th, 2015|

Molly Verschinegel, of Northwest Sports Massage, is an experienced LMT specializing in Portland-area sports massage for teams and individuals. We asked her to provide insight into how sports massage therapy enthusiasts can land a job working with a professional sports team. Her first response was to alert LMTs that such jobs are scarce, for several reasons.

First, many athletes and organizations are accustomed to receiving massage on a volunteer basis. They may expect therapists to provide free massage as a way to beef up their LMT resumes. She reflects, “Working at an event or with […]

Funding your Massage Therapy Education through Financial Aid and Scholarships

2021-09-14T09:44:30-04:00January 25th, 2015|

When it comes to financing your massage therapist schooling, it pays to be prompt. Get the financial aid ball rolling early, to prevent headaches later on. In today’s post, we’re reviewing several funding avenues for attending accredited massage schools such as East West College. Read on to learn how to apply for financial aid.

Financial Aid Process for East West College of the Healing Arts

  1. Complete a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). The first step when seeking financial aid is to fill out a FAFSA. Before filling out a FAFSA, you will need to apply for your student aid […]

Massage Therapy Continuing Education: Online or In Person?

2014-08-14T16:26:16-04:00August 14th, 2014|

Given Oregon’s continuing education requirements for massage license renewal, all active massage therapists must regularly add to their professional knowledge. As a leading massage therapy school in Oregon, East West College offers continuing massage therapist schooling for alumni and non-alumni alike. Our continuing education (CE) courses are offered in person, on our NE Portland campus. However, many Oregon LMTs complete their CE hours through online courses. Today we’re comparing the advantages of in-person vs. online courses for massage therapy continuing education.

Advantages of In-Person Continuing Education for Massage Therapy

—Support and Accountability. When facing a room full of fellow learners, people are […]

Criminal Background Checks: Required for Massage Licensure in Most States

2014-07-07T16:17:13-04:00July 7th, 2014|

Massage standards vary significantly from state to state. Massage schools in Michigan face different standards than those in our home state of Oregon. As of March of 2014, twenty-six states required fingerprinting and background checks for massage licensure or certification. On July 1st, Florida joined this group, passing a law to set up fingerprinting for massage therapists. Today we’re taking a look at which states require criminal background checks.

Our home state of Oregon requires fingerprints for first-time licensure applicants, but it does not currently require additional rounds of fingerprinting for renewals. The exception is coming back from inactive status—then the state […]

How to choose Continuing Education Courses to Build your LMT Business

2014-06-16T11:51:18-04:00June 16th, 2014|

When it comes to selecting continuing education for massage therapy, different therapists have different goals. Some take CE classes simply because they must to renew their license. (Here in Oregon, the state board of massage therapists requires 25 hours of continuing education at the time of license renewal.) Others enjoy the support and camaraderie of learning with other LMTs. Today we’re examining a third motivation for massage therapy continuing education: Building your massage business.

For those with stable positions in spas, hospitals, or chiropractic offices, managers will likely recommend CE classes that will suit the position. Therefore, freelance massage therapists with […]

Anatomy & Physiology: The Backbone of a Strong Massage Program

2014-06-12T11:49:18-04:00June 12th, 2014|

If you’re shopping west coast massage schools, we recommend checking out each institution’s anatomy and physiology classes. These courses are the backbone of any strong massage certification program. Together, Anatomy and Physiology inform therapists on how the body is structured (anatomy), and how it functions (physiology). When working as a massage therapist, Anatomy and Physiology is a must-have. Otherwise you can’t have a good map of the body, nor an understanding of how different parts work together.

One reason why we’re consistently chosen as the best massage school in Oregon—and one of the top schools in the nation—is that our anatomy and […]

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