
Upcoming Workshops
Education Destinations is committed to providing safe workshop experiences, and especially during this Covid-19 pandemic. Here’s how we’ll work together to safeguard our health and wellness:
- We’ll all mask up while in our meeting room, including hands-on table time.
- Education Destinations will provide air filtration and sanitizer.
- Massage tables will be spaced as far apart as possible.
- Further instructions and prescreening protocols will occur prior to each workshop.
- Participants will bring their own sets of linens and supplies with no sharing.
- These are hands-on workshops, but we will keep contact to a minimum as we can.
If you have any concerns about attending the workshop, please let me know. This is a general list of actions we will follow. Changes to these may occur as needed. We will refund your registration fees in full if we cancel any workshops or if you are under quarantine at the time of your workshop.
Unknot the Upper Back (8 CEs)
Do you have clients with upper back pain, stiffness, or fatigue? Become the “go-to” massage therapist by improving your quality of touch and observation.
Massage Techniques for the Anterior Shoulder, Chest and Neck (8CEs) 8am-5pm
Instructor: Dale Wheeler, LMT
So many of our daily activities require us to lean forward with our arms and hands out front: computer work, driving, gaming, giving massage. All of this forward-shifted activity results in shortened, tight muscles in our anterior chest, shoulders and neck, and stretched, fatigued muscles in our upper back and posterior neck. By releasing and lengthening these shortened muscles, we can more effectively alleviate our clients’ back and neck discomfort and create better postural balance. Find out more details below.
Massage Techniques for the Low Back (8 CEs)
Instructor: Dale Wheeler, LMT
Build your skills to be a low back expert! Your current and future clients need your help. Knowing where and how to work will result in better client outcomes.
Interactive and Hands-on Workshops
How many of us have clients with upper back pain, stiffness, or fatigue? All of us, ourselves included! Become the “go-to” massage therapist by improving your quality of touch and observation. In this workshop, we’ll address:
- The role of poor posture and stress.
- Postural assessment and correction.
- Specific muscles, including trapezius, rhomboids, levator scapulae and many of the small but important muscles found here.
- Much of the workshop will be hands-on, utilizing fascia and trigger point therapies.
- What to bring: Massage table with bolster, table linens & blanket, face rest and cover, three pillows with cases, and lotion/oil.
Do your clients ever have these complaints?
- “Wow, I really have a nasty headache.”
- “My neck is stiff this morning. Feels like I slept wrong.”
- “Lately, my jaw feels sore and tight.”
- “Things have been so intense on my work project. My head needs some relaxation!”
Set yourself apart by going beyond the usual quick scalp and neck rub, and become the expert in
alleviating these conditions. We’ll carefully explore the anatomical structures of the head and neck,
focusing on trigger point patterns and fascial lines of tension. These techniques will help you develop an
intuitive touch, enabling you to “see” with your fingertips.
Additionally, we’ll review some of the causes of head and neck pain, and how to educate our clients to
minimize recurrence.
What to bring: Massage table with bolster, table linens & blanket, face rest & cover, 3 pillows & cases,
lotion/oil, pen and paper.
- Almost 80% of Americans will have back problems sometime in their adult lives.
- 54% of people who suffer from low back pain spend most of their workdays sitting.
- Nearly 30% of Americans experienced low back pain in the last 3 months.
Build your skills to be a low back expert! Your current and future clients need your help. Knowing where and how to work will result in better client outcomes.
In this hands-on workshop, we will:
- Approach low back conditions with myofascial, deep tissue, and trigger point techniques
- Position clients in supine, prone, and sidelying positions to maximize the effectiveness of your techniques and improve client comfort
- Use simple tests to identify stressed muscles and postural imbalances
- Determine when to proceed with massage and when to refer to medical professionals
- Sharpen up your body mechanics so YOU won’t become a low back pain sufferer!
Join us and help your clients feel better faster.
In this workshop we will practice a variety of myofascial, deep tissue and stretching techniques with our clients in supine and side-lying positions. Muscles of focus include pectoralis major and minor, intercostals, serratus anterior, subclavius, sternocleidomastoid and anterior scalenes.
We all believe we provide great massage experiences for each of our clients, right? But do we really?
And how can we be sure? How do we know what our clients really want from each massage experience,
even if they can’t articulate it? In this hands-on workshop we will practice massage techniques and communication skills:
Listening and communicating, before, during, and after bodywork
- Can we help our clients express what they want?
- How do we eliminate barriers to an ideal massage?
- Are we providing a space and experience that promotes restoration and wellness?
Flexibly applying your skills, intuitively following client’s lead
- Move beyond your “one-size-fits-all” routine
- Learn to see and listen with your fingertips
- Adjust your pace and intensity for purposeful touch
Following these principles will help you connect more deeply with your clients, widen your client base,
and energize your approach.
What to bring: Massage table with face rest and bolster, linens, oil/lotion.
Continuing Education for Massage Professionals
At Education Destinations, we believe continuing education should be more than quick-hit online courses and easy tests. We will travel to your group, provide an engaging hands-on environment that allows you to learn and practice the latest techniques, and offer opportunities to interact with your peers. We want to share our passion for massage therapy by working side-by-side with massage students and therapists. The courses are small, intimate and offer techniques that blend easily with traditional Swedish or therapeutic massage routines. And every workshop emphasizes improved body mechanics, giving massage therapists the skills to minimize wear and tear on their bodies.
Dale Wheeler
Dale Wheeler is a massage therapist and licensed provider of continuing education. Dale combined his love of teaching with a passion for travel and started Education Destinations in 2006. He utilizes his unique combination of 20 years of massage skills and business knowledge to teach and mentor other massage therapists seeking professional success.
Dale teaches a variety of courses for therapists and non-professionals. An engaging and enthusiastic instructor, he consistently receives high marks from students. Dale maintains his skills through his private practice, The Massage Professionals, Inc., providing chair and table massage in Kansas City and Lawrence, Kansas.