The Ariana Institute for Wellness Education offers an outstanding resource for those interested in head, hand, and foot therapies, featuring topics that include Facial and Scalp Massage, Hand and Foot Massage, Reflexology, as well as Back, Neck, and Shoulder Massage. 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 and understanding of current massage therapists and introduce new, upcoming massage therapists to the world of massage and bodywork. To order your copies of the Ariana Institute’s Head, Hand, and Foot Massage Manual visit www.amazon.com/author/arianavincent.
This manual incorporates detailed protocol descriptions, high definition instructional photos, links to the Ariana Institute’s online instructional videos demonstrating a wide variety of techniques, marketing and practice building strategies, and resources for advanced learning to encourage a comprehensive understanding of head, hand, and foot therapy modalities that can be offered in a massage practice. The Ariana Institute’s therapy manual series has been over 16 years in the making and is a monumental achievement for the Ariana Institute. The Head, Hand, and Foot Massage Manual is a perfect source of deep study for massage therapists and those seeking to expand their understanding of head, hand, and foot therapies and further cultivate their practices!
Here is the foreword to the Ariana Institute’s Head, Hand, and Foot Massage Manual by Jon Sullivan, LMT, MTI.
I am delighted to write this introduction to the Ariana Institute’s Head, Hand and Foot Massage Manual. As a pioneer in the field of touch therapy, Ariana Vincent has added an excellent energy to this series of continuing education manuals. How thoughtful she is to include the head, hand and foot into a cohesive lesson.
Once again, the Ariana Institute has captured the essence of what it is to touch deeply and with skill. Complete with step-by-step protocol and rationale for treatment with special considerations, this manual reads more like a compendium than a cookbook. Seasoned veterans of touch therapy would do well to read this. Beginners in this field now have a jumpstart to solid building blocks of compassionate care thanks to the detailed instruction, demo slides, and tailored online videos that Ariana presents in her manuals. The technical expertise not withstanding, her frequent encouragements towards centering and mindfulness for the therapist shall surely serve to be a vivifying tonic to touch practitioners everywhere.
As a Licensed Massage Therapist and Certified Level Two Geriatric Massage Therapist, who spent many years working as a Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant in long-term, home health, clinics and hospitals, I have been aware of this burgeoning need for skilled touch for more than two decades. As a special lecturer at a massage school for more than 16 years, it was my job to speak to classes about special populations, specifically geriatric massage. As well, I found a cohort in quality education. Ariana Vincent has a big picture view that translates well for students of the art and science of massage looking to interface with our population at large.
In recent years, our American demographic has undergone serious change. News outlets have dubbed it “The Graying of America.” Allied health is impacted by the volume of clients and patients needing significant lifestyle support to maintain levels of wellness and independence among community members. This offers real challenges to service providers including practitioners in the field of massage therapy. Ariana Institute has developed excellent learning resources to help the massage community strengthen its collective efforts to ameliorate pain and discomfort for our customers with proven protocols.
Massage helps the body heal itself by promoting a wide range of metabolic changes such as increased blood flow, in addition to increased neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and dopamine, and decreased cortisol levels, resulting in systemic relaxation and decreased pain. Even our pharmaceuticals seem to have more side effects and off label uses than benefits. Our bodies can still demonstrate remarkable resiliency in bouncing back against extreme odds. Recovery from joint replacement surgeries or from blood borne pathogens can be accomplished when we work with the body’s systems to provide support to it’s vital organs.
Working with the body using techniques like a gentle pumping of the lymphatic system as detailed in this manual helps to generate anti stress hormones in the bloodstream. Since the skin, and its connected myofascial components, makes up the body’s largest organ system, it only makes sense to approach body care from the feet or hands. Our feet are our base of support that connects our heads to the world through a complex web of neuromuscular control which we must maintain. The normal function of our lives exposes our bodies to pressure up to 2000 psi, and the dehydration of the soft tissues.
In an effort to counteract the wear and tear that our bodies endure, skin-on-skin contact is a powerful electric healing component required for fascial mobilization, and slow movements are needed to gently rehydrate stiff joints with specific water able to penetrate the ground system of the body’s connective matrix. Also, whether practicing traditional acupressure, reflexology, or basic hand and foot massage techniques, the body will increase serotonin production and basic immune function. Recent research additionally shows that “natural killer cells” increase after just a brief moderate pressure series of strokes. A simple repetition of strokes at the nape of the neck promotes more blood flow and fluid balancing of the cranium in a migraine sufferer. With Ariana’s in-depth techniques and multi format learning tools the practitioner can learn to have quality protocols to address the client’s needs fully and provide an exceptional experience.
Since the need for our work continues to grow, an ever important aspect in the field of massage therapy is our clients’ accessibility to our services. As many first time massage clients enter our offices with considerable trepidation, we see the need for a more remedial approach to educate the uninitiated prior to getting a full body table experience. Receiving educated touch for the first time can be shocking, but sharing intimate space and information in a dimly lit treatment room isn’t for every age, or every body. Providing a gentle hand or foot massage can ameliorate much nervousness about what a new client may receive from more thorough bodywork. Hopefully, this book will find its way to many healthcare workers, first responders and touch enthusiasts who will further learn the comprehensive knowledge and care offered in Ariana’s detailed teaching manuals and accompanying videos.
This manual is a fitting addition to the Ariana Institute’s vast library of helpful how-to lessons for those seeking to blaze new trails of therapeutic discovery from a master in the discipline of doing things right. Thank you Ariana Institute for assuring quality and affordable education for our massage family!
The Ariana Institute’s video introduction to the Reflexology, Facial and Scalp Massage, Hand and Foot Massage, as well as Back, Neck and Shoulder Massage CE courses can be accessed below or 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 courses visit www.arianainstitute.com/ce-online/.
