As part of our comprehensive massage therapy certification program, Cohutta Healing Arts Institute School of Massage requires that students complete hands on training by providing massage therapy treatments to the public. Doing so builds confidence and skills for entering the field of massage.

One Massage School Student’s Experience with a Difficult Clinic Session

(Certain details have been edited or omitted to honor the privacy of both student and client.)

I had successfully finished my first quarter of student clinic with amazing session results and wonderful feedback from clients and was now well into my second clinic quarter Continue reading →

Client Connection

You hold the ability within you, as a licensed massage therapist, to bring more relaxation to the lives of others. You have the ability and skill to provide others with reduced pain and stress, better sleep, greater mobility and more.

The connection you have with your client may happen quickly, or it may take weeks, months or years to build. Yet, the connection between your hands, your knowledge and the client’s needs is always present. True client connection is in recognizing who you are as a therapist and Continue reading →

How Can a Massage Therapist provide Massage with Intention?

This is a 2 part series by Leslie Byrd LMT, CHAI graduate and contributing author to the CHAI Massage Blog. Click here to read Part 1.

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You’ve set your intentions for your massage session. Now how do you apply it?

• Grounding – Grounding (also sometimes referred to as “Earthing”) is a type of meditation, often in which the person stands barefoot or lays directly on the ground. Other aspects of grounding simply refer to centering or “mindfulness” in which a person focuses on nothing but their immediate surroundings. Grounding before or during a massage session may include Continue reading →

What does massaging with intention mean & why is important?

Massaging with intention, as opposed to just applying massage techniques, can mean the difference between a client relaxing and a client truly letting go and trusting their massage therapist. It can mean the difference between softening muscles and loosening muscle adhesions, and tension/stress/tightness just melting away. Intention within massage has the potential to bring with it a more positive energy and outlook for the session and the client. It means being totally present, aware, and focused, and it can bring a heightened level of client-centeredness to your sessions. Continue reading →

BODIES – The Exhibition. More than a field trip. A true learning experience.

In March a few of our (now graduated) students from the 2017-2018 Night Class had the opportunity to go on a field trip to the BODIES exhibit at Atlantic Station in Atlanta. Instructors from Cohutta Healing Arts accompanied the students to help them understand what they were seeing by pointing out Continue reading →

Massage School Graduating Night Class Says “Thanks” for the Encouragement & Support

It has been a full year for the “Zygomatics” of Cohutta Healing Arts Institute’s Massage School Night Class. They learned the difference between “gliding,” “kneading,” and other massage strokes and how/when to apply them. They reviewed the systems of the body, how they function and how Continue reading →

How Massage Therapy Students Learn to Help Others…

by Leslie Byrd LMT, CHAI graduate & contributing author to the CHAI Massage Blog.

Ask almost any massage therapy student why they want to become a professional licensed massage therapist, or what motivated them to enroll in massage certification courses, and you will inevitably hear most of them say: “to help people.”

But what does “helping people” mean? Continue reading →

A Chilling Experience…

With our recent wintry temperatures often reaching lows in the 20s and highs only in the mid 50-60s, it might boggle the mind that anyone would willingly dip their arm(s) into a bucket of freezing icy water. Recently, however, the Day Class at Cohutta Healing Arts Institute did just that, Continue reading →