Ethical Massage Practitioner
A continuing education case study
by Darlene Morales

A long awaited dream of learning massage is becoming a reality for me over these next few colorful and crisp fall months. Along with fifteen other adventurous and courageous characters, I have begun a course offered by the Cleveland School of Massage, held at the Sophia Center, located on the Ursuline College University Campus. Why massage you ask? I believe this group came together from various paths and for a variety of reasons, all ultimately for a common goal. That goal is to bring relaxation, peace, health and harmony to others that we touch in our daily lives. The pace of our scheduled day has become a little out of control for many of us with the help of our PDA's, cell phones, voice mail, e-mail and junk mail that we have to sort through at the end of a given day. I came to this course for a way to achieve something more. A way to sort through the chaos, slow myself down, and maybe help a few others do the same. Who ever said this multi-tasking thing was a good idea anyway? At the end of this four month course we will be Ethical Massage Practitioners (EMP)s certified and trained in relaxation massage intended for stress reduction, that is non-medical massage. The utmost general effect or benefit of massage is to reduce stress, which we all can benefit from these days. Massage helps promote general relaxation and minimizes the negative physical, emotional, and mental stresses we encounter on a daily basis. Massage also increases circulation of the blood and lymph, helping to clear away waste products produced in our bodies. It aids in the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the tissues as well as decreases any swelling. Massage can relieve muscle spasms and pain from various physiological effects. The course also touches on Reflexology and Polarity in tandem with Ethical Massage. The goal, in short is to bring homeostasis or equilibrium to our bodies. Stress is continually fighting against us to disturb that balance. We can't give up. We can do something about it. And we are! The first half of the course on Saturday's from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. is spent in a class room setting going over the curriculum, anatomy and physiology of the body. The second half of the class is absolutely hands on. We practice and learn massage with and for each other. At the mid point of the course outside models, or volunteers will be brought in for a discounted cost to help with the learning process. Students of this class will move on to work for outside spas or as in many cases they will plan to work for themselves. The course includes a section on helping students move on to running their own businesses. If you are interested in more information on this subject, you can reach Jeff Kates, BA, LMT, Cleveland School of Massage, Director, at 330-405-1933. Peace, Darlene A. Morales Massage Student Top of Page Back to Careers and Education