Rising Spirit Institute of Natural Health

Dear Friend,

Rising Spirit Institute of Natural Health was founded with a vision and a purpose. Our vision is to see massage therapy acknowledged and utilized to its' fullest by the mainstream health care establishment and the general public. Recent research has shown that massage can be a valuable adjunctive therapy for a variety of conditions ranging from premature babies to physically abused individuals to muscle tension headache sufferers. It is important to note that massage therapy is the only health care discipline that directly treats the muscles, tendons and ligaments, by manual (hands-on) methods.

Our purpose is to provide the scientific foundation, the technical training, and most importantly, the entrepreneurial skills that will prepare you for successful career as a Professional Massage Therapist that is personally satisfying and financially rewarding. You will be encouraged to develop your own vision of what a successful career means to you.

The profession of Massage Therapy is essentially young and rapidly experiencing tremendous growth and acceptance from a vast part of the nation's population. Statistics recently published in prominent medical journals have indicated a definite change in the consciousness of the American health care consumer. People are no longer content with the "Take two pills and see me in the morning" attitude. Americans are no longer willing to mask the symptoms through the use of drugs or cut out the body part that is ill. They are seeking alternatives. They are choosing natural alternatives that address the cause and not just the symptom. For many, the Medical Paradigm of "disease-care" rather than health care, utilizing drugs and surgery to treat the person, is in desperate need of revision.

We have determined that three things are needed to bring Massage Therapy into the mainstream of America's health care. First, massage therapists need to have an excellent knowledge of the musculoskeletal system. If we are to be recognized as the authority for muscle problems, then we must have precise and accurate knowledge of our anatomical focus, i.e., the muscles and bones. We accomplish this by incorporating all the senses through which we learn. You will view anatomical drawings and models, you will build the muscles in clay and attach to skeletal models, and finally, you will find and touch the muscles on your classmates.

Secondly, therapists need to have excellent massage skills. Our emphasis is in three essential massage techniques. Swedish massage is the flowing, relaxing, de-stressing type of massage that most people are familiar. When performed excellently, Swedish massage gives the client that wonderful "Oh, Wow!" experience of body/mind well being that they will return to you for time and again. Interestingly, Massage Therapy is the only health care profession that people will frequent without having a health complaint. They will come just to receive the benefits of Swedish massage.

When the client has complaints, such as, headaches, jaw pain, carpal tunnel, sciatica, neck and back pain, you can apply NeuroMuscular Therapy (NMT). NMT is a very specific form of clinical, therapeutic massage that treats the cause of muscle related conditions. When you are able to help your clients, then your clients will refer other people who have similar problems. NeuroMuscular Therapy is considered one of the signature courses of Rising Spirit Institute of Natural Health.

In order to assist our graduates in growing their massage practices we have become one of the first massage schools in the country to incorporate chair massage into our curriculum. Chair massage is fully portable, inexpensive to the client, with the client remaining fully clothed and in a seated position. All of these factors make this the most effective way to "reach out and touch" our marketplace.

The third component that is necessary to bring Massage Therapy into the mainstream is your ability to market yourself and educate the public as to what Massage Therapy is and how it can benefit them. We recognize that most people come to massage school to learn how to give a massage. There is an adage that you can give a person a fish to eat for a day or you can teach them how to fish so they can feed themselves for a lifetime. We know you will learn how to give an excellent massage; we are concerned with teaching you how to make a living by giving massage so you can become self-reliant. We want our graduates to succeed. We take very seriously our mission as a vocational school.

We have developed a program of study that will prepare the Massage Therapist for the health care needs of the 21st Century. Whether you choose to focus on clinical massage or relaxation massage, we offer you a level of scientific knowledge, massage skills, and business mastery whereby you can successfully participate in this "Wonder-Full" healing profession today and in the future.

Drs. Martha & Bruce Costello

If you are interested in any of our programs and would like to find out more, please Request Information.