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.
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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