About The Meridian School of Massage & Natural Therapies
About Meridian Professional Training in Massage

Meridian Professional Training in Massage is a young, dedicated organisation with the goal of bringing educational excellence to those seeking knowledge in complementary health, operating in both Birmingham and Devon. (click here to Meet Our Tutors)

Meridian is managed and directed by Lorraine Horton. She qualified in Massage Therapy at the London School of Holistic Massage in 1992; in Reflexology in 1998; in Manual Lymphatic Drainage and Combined Decongestive Therapy in 2003 and obtained her Adult Learners Teaching Certificate in 2001.

massage training in Devon and Birmingham

Lorraine is an active and experienced practitioner who has developed a passion for sharing her knowledge. She has taught in adult education, is a Reiki teacher and runs her own, well-established complementary health practice in Birmingham and Devon. She is also employed for part of her time by the Health Service.

Prior to becoming a full-time therapist and teacher, Lorraine managed a Civil Rights Project for learning disabled people; issues of equality continue to be important and underpin her teaching. Lorraine is a member of the Training Committee of the Massage Training Institute, London, a professional organisation of holistic massage schools.

“l am fascinated with the human body and its many possibilities. Training professionally was a natural progression of this fascination. It is clear that there is so much about us that cannot be explained on the physical, mental or emotional levels alone - my interest in subtle energies grew - and this is an integral part of my therapies. I continue to explore and study these areas with excitement and passion.

“It is this passion and love of bodywork that I bring to my teaching. I am very excited about the possibility of supporting others to further explore this for themselves and am privileged to witness their own personal growth and development. “ - Lorraine

Our Approach and Philosophy

At Meridian we are passionate about massage and we want to share this with you in our Diploma course because we really believe it can seriously support us in so many ways. Holistic Massage Practitioners have a deep fascination with the human body and its endless potential at all levels - physical, mental, spiritual, psychological. We work on the basis that nurturing, respectful touch is fundamental to all of us and want to make it as accessible to as many people as we can. If you are too and enjoy working from your heart as well as your head, you may be interested in learning the art and science of Holistic Massage. It offers a unique path for your individual creativity and personal growth - and can be a fascinating journey - as well as an extremely satisfying career. Read more about our approach

Holistic Massage applications are as varied as life itself - from the physical pain of tight, tense muscles and other aches and pains - to the deeper emotional level where it can help us to find release from past and present - supporting us to explore our own bodies and feelings, and our reactions.

We are all different - different bodies, responses, experiences and backgrounds - that's what makes being a Massage Practitioner both exciting and an enormous privilege. It's probably the most honest communication we can have with each other - skin on skin. Furthermore, the skilful holistic massage practitioner understands the body's structure, function and malfunction, knows how to explore the effects on a particular client and how then to intelligently determine which massage techniques and approach best meet their needs. This non-routine massage ranges from soft to very deep tissue work, joint mobilisation, stretches and stillness. This is not a course which will teach you to perform a sequence of strokes, eg three effleurage here, three petrissage strokes there - then repeat - it will teach you to provide a client centred massage, intelligently and creatively applying the strokes to meet the needs of each individual client - afterall, as mentioned above, we are all different - so 3 effleurages in the same area of the body, at the same stage in the massage for everyone does not make sense to us.

These techniques and knowledge, together with a practitioner who has a high level of self awareness and can create a safe, sensitive space for the client to 'just be' makes for an excellent therapeutic massage. We encourage and develop reflective practice so that your own personal agenda does not interrupt your therapeutic relationship with clients - your own personal development as a member of the learning team is important to us and we support this to happen.

We also believe that the best way for the practitioner to provide this level of support - is if they too are supported with techniques that look after themselves - so we teach you how to avoid over-use of hands/joints and using movement and effective body weight behind your strokes when massaging - this prolongs your career and makes your massage a beautiful dance.

Teaching is supportive, sharing and highly student-centred. We all learn differently as well, so we use a variety of teaching techniques and approaches as well as making it a fun and enjoyable time on all of our courses!

DIVERSITY AND EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY: Meridian is keen that applicants from many different backgrounds and lifestyles form the group of students for any of our courses. Our Learning Contract for students on the Diploma course is very clear about respecting and celebrating difference and diversity. In relation to the Diploma course, you need to be able physically to perform the massage techniques as listed in the syllabus. Men and women are welcome for all courses, unless they are advertised specifically as Men's or Women's Groups.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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