Continuing Education

A new twist on an ancient modality, cupping is no longer only for chinese medical practitioners. In the hands of a massage therapist, cupping can melt away superficial fascial tension, release trigger points without stress on practitioner thumbs and joints, and move lymph effortlessly. This class offers an introduction to active cupping techniques that will allow you to achieve great results with minimal time and effort. Cups will be provided, and available for purchase in class. If you have a set already, please bring them.

Jessica Masters,LMT, is a graduate of Ashland Institute of Massage (2010). Jessica also holds a certification in Medical Massage, where she was first introduced to cups in 2014. She is the owner of Masters Medical Massage in Ashland, OR. Jessica has a passion for teaching and sharing her excitement about this incredibly effective modality.

. Register

We all want to be heard and understood! Our clients certainly do, and keeping communication clear and effective can be a challenge of its own. Join Joanne to learn some simple techniques that will help you discover the healing power of empathic listening—for both your professional and personal lives. We will also address your real-life experiences, and you’ll take home fresh ideas and techniques for expressing yourself cleanly and clearly. This course meets the 4 hour Ethics/Communication requirement for Oregon LMT license renewal.

Joanne Lescher, CT, s a certified trainer in nonviolent communication. As an experienced mediator and group facilitator, she equips people to dialogue with each other more effectively. Renowned for her warmth, empathy, and humor, Joanne teaches practical skills that clients can immediately exercise in their practices and lives. Her reputation has been affectionately summarized as an “ability to tame lions”.

. Register

Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy is a clothed modality that works deeply and gently, helping relieve stress and forward natural healing throughout the body. It is has been shown to be helpful for anxiety, chronic issues, injury healing, and trauma recovery. Students will become familiar with craniosacral system anatomy and practice techniques for both general and specific areas of the body. This course is also an introduction to perceptual shifts and practitioner skills which are useful in practicing any modality. Students will learn specific techniques for supporting nervous system settling. They will come away with a deeper understanding of the important role the practitioner plays in supporting the natural expression of Health. This Intro is a CEU course in itself. After attending this class, students can choose to apply to take the 2-year BCST Foundation Training continuing with Module 2, June 9-12, 2022.

Robyn-Michele Jones, CMT, RCST® is an approved teacher of Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy and director of the Intrinsic Touch Institute. She has studied and practiced many modalities since 1983. She is particularly drawn to the fluid interface between the energetic and the physical as is practiced in Myofascial Release and BCST. Absolutely excited by all there is to learn and share, Robyn Michele delights in bringing variety to the experiential and didactic pieces in the classroom. Her teaching style is clear, collaborative, and engaging.

Vileena Purpuri, RCST®, has been offering bodywork sessions for over 25 years. She began her study of craniosacral therapy in 1997 and received her approved teacher status in BCST in 2019. In addition, she has been a Rosen Method Bodywork practitioner since 2004. Having studied and assisted with many different teachers, and especially inspired through deepening in Stillness and the Heart, she is passionate to pass on what she has received. She looks to Mother Nature as one of her greatest teachers of this work and life.

. Register

Learn Advanced Myofascial Techniques that dramatically improve your ability to work with common types of head, sinus and eye pain, common headaches, migraines, cluster headaches, and more.
The Advanced Myofascial Techniques series presents practicing somatic therapists and qualified students with advanced and little-known myofascial techniques which can be easily incorporated into existing personal styles. Drawing on a wide range of disciplines, the focus is on unusual, interesting, and fresh approaches that will both expand technique repertoire and inspire creativity and innovation. Potential topics include:
– Specific techniques for common structural and functional complaints
– Relieving pain, restoring lost function, and getting lasting results
– Utilizing both active and passive movement to enhance effectiveness
– Precision in working with specific tissue types and body layers
– Combining indirect or subtle work with deep or direct work
– Tracking subtle psychophysiological and nervous system responses
– Ways to work sensitively, safely, and comfortably at very deep levels

Laureen Sutton, LMT, CAMT II is co-owner/director and an instructor at AIM as well as an instructor for Til Luchau’s Advanced-Trainings.com. She feels fortunate to be able to combine her passion for teaching with a style of bodywork which emphasizes proprioceptive awareness, movement, and a collaborative approach to working with clients. Laureen’s private practice utilizes Advanced Myofascial Techniques and deep presence to help clients with unusual situations. Laureen combines clarity of presentation with a relaxed and engaging teaching style in the classroom.

. Register

Learn highly effective Advanced Myofascial Techniques for reducing pain and balancing neck function. Dramatically improve your ability to work with fixations, whiplash, migraines, jaw issues, and more.
The Advanced Myofascial Techniques series presents practicing somatic therapists and qualified students with advanced and little-known myofascial techniques which can be easily incorporated into existing personal styles. Drawing on a wide range of disciplines, the focus is on unusual, interesting, and fresh approaches that will both expand technique repertoire and inspire creativity and innovation. Potential topics include:

– Specific techniques for common structural and functional complaints
– Relieving pain, restoring lost function, and getting lasting results
– Utilizing both active and passive movement to enhance effectiveness
– Precision in working with specific tissue types and body layers
– Combining indirect or subtle work with deep or direct work
– Tracking subtle psychophysiological and nervous system responses
– Ways to work sensitively, safely, and comfortably at very deep levels

Laureen Sutton, LMT, CAMT II is co-owner/director and an instructor at AIM as well as an instructor for Til Luchau’s Advanced-Trainings.com. She feels fortunate to be able to combine her passion for teaching with a style of bodywork which emphasizes proprioceptive awareness, movement, and a collaborative approach to working with clients. Laureen’s private practice utilizes Advanced Myofascial Techniques and deep presence to help clients with unusual situations. Laureen combines clarity of presentation with a relaxed and engaging teaching style in the classroom.

. Register

In this class, you will learn hands-on skills for working with regions of the body that hold stress that often comes as the result of forceful events and injury. These gentle, non-forcing techniques allow the body to unwind according to its own natural intelligence and self-correcting mechanisms. Major topics of the workshop are:
– unwinding legs and feet, arms and hands, head and neck;
– releasing held energy from within the body;
– understanding the potential for working with trauma.

Jim Gilkeson, CST, has taught energy healing for 35 years. A former Harbin Hot Springs bodywork therapist, Jim has written two books on energy healing: A Pilgrim in Your Body: Energy Healing and Spiritual Process and Energy Healing: A Pathway to Inner Growth. His gentle soul and quiet wisdom permeate his teachings, and bring a sweet magnetism to his presence in the classroom.

. Register

Dare to go where few therapists go – the muscles of the anterior neck. Chronic neck pain often involves the anterior muscles of the cervical spine, but therapists usually focus treatment on the posterior muscles, missing out on crucial aspects of therapeutic treatment. We will explore this territory and learn how to skillfully apply therapeutic touch in order to release tension and trigger points in these anterior cervical muscles, changing the perception of the anterior neck being a hands-off area.
Muscles we will cover in this class: Supra- and Infra- Hyoids, Rectus Capitis Anterior and Lateralis, Longus Capitis and Longus Colli, Digastric, Scalenes, and Sternocleidomastoid.

Josheph Micketti, LMT, NMT, s a 1985 graduate of Boulder School of Massage Therapy. He spent four years on the teaching staff of Neuromuscular Therapy, St. John Method. Joseph has been a foundational piece of the AIM curriculum since 1994. His massage practice is based on injury rehabilitation and pain reversal using deep tissue techniques. Joseph and his wife, Janie Chandler, co-own Advanced Myotherapy in Ashland.

. Register

According to the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, approximately 70% of the population has endured one traumatic event in their lifetime. This theory & discussion-based class is intended for massage therapists and bodyworkers wanting to learn how to help ease the burden of trauma for their clients. We will explore the types of trauma, how it may manifest in the mind & body, the primary principles of Trauma-Informed Care, communication cues, establishing safety, co-creating empowerment, scope of practice and more. Students will have the ample opportunity to interact with each other and in small groups throughout the course.

Christa M. Rodriguez, LMT, is a 2006 Ashland Institute of Massage alumna and is the school’s Massage Foundations instructor. Presently, Christa is serving her second term on the Oregon Board of Massage Therapists. Since 2012, Christa has taught several continuing education courses on topics such as business development, insurance billing, ethics, & communication.  Her teaching style is dynamic, passionate, & collaborative – she knows how to make tough topics engaging! Christa’s client-centered, integrative massage practice is based in Medford, OR.

. Register

Active Isolated Stretching (AIS) is a dynamic technique that stretches muscles, tendons, and fascia specific to anatomical planes of movement. It remodels the body using gentle, rhythmic movements that avoid triggering the myotactic reflex, which causes a contraction in the tissues being stretched. Utilizing the principles developed by Aaron Mattes, this unique stretching modality restores joint mobility, reduces muscular/fascial tension, changes neurology and improves circulation. Repeated, active muscle contractions along with gentle stretches create a venous/lymphatic pump, decreasing inflammation and combating disease. Using this system of pain free movements, the body is retrained and balance is restored to the joint.

         In this basic level class students will learn to identify the physiology behind AIS and how it can be applied to promote recovery from injury and support the natural healing process in the body. We will use ROM and palpation to evaluate the quality of movement and muscles before and after treatment, as well as determining when it is safe to perform stretching and which stretches to apply. This course will address working with scoliosis, disc conditions, spondylo/retrolisthesis as well as hardware considerations and post-op rehabilitation.

Joshua Morton, LMT, MAISS, MMLT is Co-owner/Master Instructor with AIS Northwest, LLC. Joshua has extensive training with Aaron Mattes, the creator of Active Isolated Stretching, and over 20 years teaching. Joshua is one of the leading AIS practitioners and instructors internationally. Joshua offers students in-depth experience and expertise in a supportive learning environment.

. Register

Gua Sha is a wonderful modality that can relax muscles, release fascial tension, and bring circulation to tense areas.  It can be integrated into most massages and brings great results to most clients. In Gua Sha, the massage therapist uses a round-edged tool to pressure and scrape skin. Gua Sha can address tight muscle fibers or areas of congestion or tension and help to release them effectively.

Please bring a GuaSha tool of your choosing to the class as well as a massage gel to use. There will be a few Gua Sha tools for sale (cash only) during the course.

Tina Smith, LMT, 

. Register

Ortho-Bionomy® is a registered trademark of the Society of Ortho-Bionomy International, Inc. and is used with permission.
Jim Berns, Registered Ortho-Bionomy® Advanced Instructor, has taught internationally for over forty years. He is coauthor of Ortho-Bionomy: A Practical Manual. Jim was trained by osteopath Arthur Lincoln Pauls, D.O., the founder of Ortho-Bionomy. A certified massage therapist since 1979, he was named 2013 Educator of the Year by the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA). Jim brings to his teaching detailed information, a compassionate heart, and a unique sense of humor.
Melissa Malm, LMT, Registered Ortho-Bionomy® Instructor, has been a student and practitioner of massage and bodywork since 1997. She studied in the Bay Area both at the National Holistic Institute in Emeryville and the Acupressure Institute in Berkeley. In 2007, Melissa discovered Ortho-Bionomy and realized she had found her bodywork “home.” She is an Advanced Practitioner and in 2020 became a Registered Instructor of Ortho-Bionomy.

. Register