The Ariana Institute’s Head, Hand, and Foot Massage Manual is part of a series of massage manuals that are designed to help deepen the knowledge of current massage therapists and introduce new massage therapists to the world of massage and bodywork.The Head, Hand, and Foot Massage Manual features topics that are also available as NCBTMB approved online CE courses through the Ariana Institute at www.arianainstitute.com/ce-online/, including:
- Facial and Scalp Massage
- Reflexology for the Hands, Feet and Ears
- Neck, Hand and Foot Massage
- Back, Neck and Shoulder Massage
This manual incorporates detailed protocols, photos, links to online videos, marketing strategies, personal stories, and resources to encourage a comprehensive understanding of head, hand, and foot massage therapy modalities beneficial for your massage practice.
Here’s a personal story about facial and scalp massage featured in the Head, Hand, and Foot Massage Manual.
LUMINOUS TOUCH
There are few things more soothing than an awesome facial and scalp massage. Clients from the very young to the elderly all enjoy the soothing touch of a facial and scalp massage.
My first experience with professional facial care began at Barton Creek Resort and Country Club Spa in Austin, Texas. More than 16 years ago, I began my first spa job there. Prior to that, I specialized in medical massage, so this change to the world of beauty and stress–relief was a part of new journey for me as I maintained my private practice. We had half a dozen incredibly talented estheticians on staff who loved learning about new techniques and new products. One day, the spa supervisor invited the massage therapists to join the estheticians in an esthetics class offered by Cassandra Pouget, who was a representative for Matis Paris, an elegant and professional skin care brand. She lit a fire in me that burns brightly to this day. She discussed and demonstrated cleansing, toning, exfoliating, masking, misting, hydrating, and applying sunscreen. The fragrances of her product line were all delightful and her touch was angelic. That bit of serendipity when the spa supervisor invited me to participate in Cassandra’s class opened the doors for me to begin offering facial massage with products in my private practice and to begin teaching facial massage techniques in the Ariana Institute continuing education classes.
I continued my facial massage education by participating in facial massage classes with Maria Solis and also with Dr. Julia Busching, a naturopathic doctor and esthetician from Germany who taught facial massage and facial acupressure. Later in my career, I studied Ayurvedic facial massage with David Washburn and Mark Nasrallah at the Crossing Wellness Spa in Austin.
At The Crossings Wellness Spa I learned Ayurvedic scalp massage as part of a ShiroDhara treatment, where warm herbalized organic sesame oil is streamed through the hair and scalp from a ShiroDhara pot suspended over the client’s head and then the oil is massaged into the hair and scalp. I loved offering the ShiroDhara treatment so much that during my time at The Crossings I was known as the “ShiroDhara Queen.” Years after the Crossings closed, I began teaching Ayurvedic massage techniques in the Ariana Institute continuing education classes.
Subsequently, while working at another spa in Austin years later, I taught the other therapists and estheticians how to perform scalp massage. One of my friends, Carol, who was an esthetician at the spa, asked me to develop a written scalp massage protocol and demonstrate a good scalp massage, so I did that for her in order to give her a good academic reference for her own therapy development. I also demonstrated the scalp massage technique on her mother while she observed. Finally, I offered Carol a scalp massage so she could experience the treatment for herself.
Once I felt that my facial training and practical experiences were sufficient, I began designing and developing a facial and scalp massage class for massage therapists. The Texas Department of State Health Services, Massage Therapy Division, approved the course and within a few years the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork also approved the course. It was a glorious day when I received both state and national approval to offer a massage therapy continuing education class so I could teach facial and scalp massage for CE credit. Hundreds of students have participated in the Ariana Institute’s Facial and Scalp Massage courses, Ayurvedic Massage courses, and Headache and Allergy Relief Courses. Even more individuals have received facial and scalp massage in my private massage therapy practice.
I am grateful for the day that the gates opened to health, beauty, stress reduction, and nurturing touch through the vehicle of facial and scalp massage. I thank each and every person in my path who taught me, received from me, encouraged me, and blessed me with a myriad of opportunities to offer and receive facial and scalp massage treatments. I love it when my skin feels luminous and when I am able to help another person also experiences that luminosity.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR – ARIANA VINCENT, LMT, MTI, BCTMB
Ariana Vincent was awarded the 2015 CE Provider of the Year Award by the Alliance for Massage Therapy Education. She is the CEO of the Ariana Institute and a Nationally Certified Massage Therapy Instructor whose classes are accepted throughout the United States. Ariana is also a Massage Therapy Hall of Fame Honoree and author of the Ariana Institute’s therapy manual series available on Amazon.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
To read the foreword of the Head, Hand, and Foot Massage Manual, visit https://arianainstitute.com/the-ariana-institutes-head-hand-and-foot-massage-manual-and-ce-courses-2/.
The Ariana Institute’s video introduction courses that feature facials massage, which include the Facial and Scalp Massage course; Headache and Allergy Relief Massage course; and Lymphatic Massage for the Face, Head and Neck course can be accessed on the Ariana Institute’s YouTube Channel at www.youtube.com/user/ArianaInstitute.
To order your copies of the Ariana Institute’s Head, Hand, and Foot Massage Manual, visit www.amazon.com/author/arianavincent.
For additional information about the Ariana Institute and to register for online continuing education and MTI courses visit www.arianainstitute.com/ce-online/.
