Kizuna Bodywork Deep Tissue Class 1: Full Description

upcoming dates: Sept. 23-26, 2010
duration: 4 days
location: Akigawa, Japan (near Tokyo)
teacher: Les May

Use the enrollment form to reserve your place in the class.

Brief Summary

This is the first in a series of three Kizuna Bodywork Deep Tissue classes in which you will study techniques for safely and effectively providing your clients with deep pressure. The Kizuna Bodywork system includes no techniques requiring use of the hands, fingers, or thumbs to provide strong pressure. Instead it relies exclusively on the arms and elbows so you can avoid causing yourself the fatigue, pain, and injury most massage therapists experience. You will begin working deeply on nearly the entire length of the body right from this first class in the series. You will also practice combining deeper and lighter strokes in a flowing manner.

Overview

Whether or not it is the focus of your work as a practitioner, you are likely to find deep tissue massage to be an important and unavoidable subject in the massage profession which you will benefit from being trained to deal with. Many employers prefer to hire those who are skilled in deep tissue work, and clients often feel they only get relief from the discomfort of muscular tension when they receive strong pressure. In fact the most common request most practitioners hear from clients during a massage is to press harder.

Yet massage education programs seldom prepare students adequately for these realities of the massage profession. Many students complete massage school without having received much training in deep tissue massage and so are likely to be unable to meet clients' needs and to hurt themselves when trying to provide strong pressure. Those who do receive deep tissue training usually learn conventional techniques, many of which rely on the hands and fingers as deep tissue massage tools. They frequently hurt their forearms, wrists, hands, fingers, and thumbs doing these techniques and then blame themselves when it is really the techniques' reliance on relatively vulnerable tools that is the problem. It is primarily for these reasons that massage therapy has one of the highest injury and attrition rates of all professional fields, with many students experiencing pain and injury before even completing their basic massage education or finding a job in the field.

To protect students and practitioners and prepare them for the realities of the massage profession, Kizuna Bodywork offers a series of three deep tissue classes in which you will study a variety of techniques for safely and effectively providing your clients with strong pressure. While deep tissue massage is commonly thought to be relatively difficult, tiring, and likely to result in pain and injury to massage practitioners, it can be remarkably easy, relaxing, and enjoyable for you once you have gained the skills and understandings this series of classes provides.

In this class you will learn Kizuna Bodywork's unique techniques for using the forearms and elbows to do work that is as effective and pleasurable as massage with the hands. This will greatly reduce demands on your hands, wrists, fingers, and thumbs so you can avoid the pain and injury most massage therapists suffer from. If you are already an experienced therapist in another style of massage, these Kizuna Bodywork techniques can transform the way you do massage. And if you're one of the majority of massage therapists who has suffered pain and injury from doing conventional techniques, this Kizuna Bodywork class can give you tools with which to get started doing the work you love again while allowing your body to rest and heal.

But Kizuna Bodywork is much more than these innovative massage techniques and methods. It is also a process of awakening your natural capacity to feel more deeply and express yourself, to touch others with compassion, to connect with nature and notice what it has to teach you about movement and energy, to be more aware of your own body and able to move more freely, and to allow your creativity to flow. In this class you will explore this process of inner awakening through free-form dance, observing nature, and partner yoga, in addition to massage practice. The deepening of connection with yourself and others that you cultivate through these diverse activities will bring depth to your massage, give your techniques the effortless beauty of a dance, and give you the power to promote healing and change not only in the physical body but also in the lives of the people you touch as well as your own.

This class is one part of a three-class series. It fulfills part of the requirements to achieve Advanced Certification as a Professional Practitioner of Kizuna Bodywork. It is an ideal continuing education class for experienced students and professionals who wish to enhance their massage and explore new techniques and approaches to bodywork. Practitioners of oil massage styles other than Kizuna Bodywork are also welcome to enroll. Experience studying or professionally practicing massage is recommended before enrolling in this class. Although it is not required, it is also recommended you first take Kizuna Bodywork Advanced Class 1 before participating in this class so the advanced techniques with which the deep tissue techniques will be blended will already be familiar.

Details of Concepts and Curricula

Each part in the series of three Deep Tissue Classes immerses you in the study of high-level technical massage skills and methods while deepening your understanding and application of the key themes of Kizuna Bodywork. Six fundamental principles of Kizuna Bodywork Deep Tissue underly the content of these classes:

  1. Deep tissue massage is generally best done with a different set of methods, techniques, and tools than lighter massage is conventionally done with.
    Kizuna Bodywork includes no techniques requiring use of the hands, fingers, or thumbs to provide strong pressure. Instead we use various surfaces of the forearm and the elbow which, with training, can be used with great precision to achieve a wide range of pressure relatively easily with a far lower risk of pain and injury to the practitioner.

  2. Learning which postures are relatively safe and which are potentially straining is a key to avoiding injuring oneself when doing deep tissue massage.
    It is particularly important for practitioners who regularly use their arms and elbows in deep tissue work to study proper shoulder alignment so as to avoid stressing any part of the shoulder joint. This includes maintaining a natural angle between the arm and the body and avoiding excessively rotating the shoulder or allowing it to rise toward the ear.

  3. It is very important to communicate effectively to find the appropriate level of pressure for each individual client in order to maximize their pleasure and satisfaction as well as to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of your work.
    Understanding clients' nonverbal cues and practicing verbal communication which elicits precise and useful answers from clients about their perceptions of pressure allow you to adjust your technique to provide the optimal level of depth.

  4. The practitioner can easily adjust the depth of pressure to suit the client using three key factors, time, tools, and techniques.
    Rather than overworking ourselves by using muscular strength to generate force, in Kizuna Bodywork we use efficient and easy ways of achieving depth. This approach includes using different surfaces of the arm or elbow which offer different levels of precision and penetrating power, learning precise anatomical locations where lighter pressure feels deeper to clients, relying on body weight as the source of force, and using body positioning to increase leverage. Achieving depth can also be as simple as increasing the time spent massaging a specific area of the body so techniques can gradually sink in deeper as the client's muscles warm up and relax.

  5. Deep tissue techniques are best enjoyed by most clients when integrated into a massage that includes a wide variety of pressure and emphasizes slow, graceful movement.
    Fluidly blending deep tissue techniques with soothing techniques of moderate pressure provides an experience for the client that is both therapeutic and relaxing. One of Kizuna Bodywork's distinctive approaches to achieving this is for the practitioner to simultaneously perform a deep technique with one arm and a lighter technique with the other in continuous patterns of complex flowing motion that look and feel like a dance.

  6. The most profound touch is that which reaches lovingly not only into the depths of the body but also the heart.
    Cultivating one's natural ability to touch others with compassion is as important as developing excellent technical skills and is central to the study of deep tissue massage in Kizuna Bodywork. Even when working with considerable force, the Kizuna Bodywork practitioner focuses on holding loving intentions in their awareness. This imparts to even the deepest massage a nurturing gentleness that is often felt by both the client and practitioner to be the most beautiful and fulfilling aspect of the work. Having the need for deep relief from tension and pain as well as the need for genuinely caring, sensitive touch met at the same time can be a particularly powerful healing experience for clients.

A Comprehensive System

Techniques will be introduced in this class for working with each body part for which customers typically request deep tissue work, such as the back, shoulders, hips, neck, and legs. This approach allows you to begin working deeply on nearly the entire length of the body right from the first class in the Kizuna Bodywork Deep Tissue series. Over the series of three classes you will gradually acquire a comprehensive set of skills with which you will be able to address the deep tissue massage needs of nearly every client, including in areas where deep work is less commonly requested such as the chest, arms, hands, ankles, and feet.

Exploring Connection

The practice of Kizuna Dance, moving spontaneously and expressively according to feelings and inspiration, will play an important part in your learning process in Kizuna Bodywork Deep Tissue Class. You will find in Kizuna Dance opportunities to develop the body awareness and the capacity to move freely and gracefully that are needed to perform massage techniques in a flowing manner, maintain healthy posture, and avoid injury.

You will also gain inspiration for developing your own unique style of flowing and deep massage by spending time outdoors observing nature, allowing your creativity to be fed by the shapes, movements, and interactions of earth, water, wind, and living things. Through exploration together in nature we will develop our capacity to be our own teachers and to connect with the sources of love, wisdom, and creative energy within ourselves, each other, and our world.

Kizuna Bodywork Deep Tissue Class is thus an opportunity to practice both caring for others and fostering your own health and development on many levels of your being. It is designed to be an effective alternative massage education experience as well as a joyful, heartwarming time of connecting deeply with yourself, with the beauty of our world, and with other people.

Format

In each class the teacher will demonstrate and explain several techniques and concepts in detail. Students will then practice with a partner, sometimes following along while observing the teacher give the demonstration again and other times practicing on their own while receiving one-on-one instruction from the teacher.

Part of this course is set aside for students to request instruction about any specific problems or situations they have encountered while doing massage work whether these are technical, professional, or personal issues.

Classes will also include outdoor walks in nature and movement exercises like partner yoga and free-form dance which help students learn about the themes, body postures, and movements of Kizuna Bodywork.

The teacher mostly speaks English, so lessons will be presented in Japanese by a skilled interpreter.

Who This Class Is For

Kizuna Bodywork Deep Tissue Class 1 is appropriate for experienced students and professional practitioners, including:

  • Kizuna Bodywork therapists who have completed the Basic Certification Program and want to gain advanced skills and credentials
  • massage practitioners who already studied a different massage style and who want to explore new techniques and concepts in bodywork
  • injured massage practitioners who want to learn alternative techniques with which they can do effective and beautiful massage while allowing their injuries to heal
  • experienced non-professionals who want to learn massage to share with family and friends for personal enjoyment and who do not need a professional certificate
  • massage practitioners who already took this class and want to review, improve their technique with the help of expert teachers, enjoy the rich experience of Kizuna Bodywork Class again, and connect with their peers in the community of bodyworkers

Students who are not residents of Japan who can understand either the Japanese or English languages are also welcome to enroll.

Teacher

Kizuna Bodywork Deep Tissue Class 1 will be led by Les May. Les is the founder of Kizuna Bodywork. He teaches massage in Japan and in the San Francisco Bay Area. Les has worked at Esalen Institute since 2001 and has taught movement classes and baby massage classes there. He is also a member of the Esalen Massage Crew and the editor and producer of the Deep Bodywork DVD series.

Location and Accommodations

Kizuna Bodywork Deep Tissue Class 1 will be held near Tokyo in the small town of Akigawa in a quiet, beautiful setting where there are mountains, forests, rivers, and natural hot springs. This setting is similar to the environment in America where Kizuna Bodywork was developed. All classes will be held at Sankei, a spacious and attractive educational center with both modern and traditional features. Lodging and meals for students will also be provided there. When you enroll you will have the opportunity to request vegan meals (free of animal-sourced ingredients) or standard meals. Sleeping rooms will be shared with other students, and men and women will be in separate rooms. During free time we will have the opportunity to enjoy nature in Akigawa and relax together at nearby hot springs.

Dates

  • Deep Tissue Class 1: September 23-26, 2010
  • Deep Tissue Classes 2 and 3: 2011 (details to be announced)

Note: Advanced Class 1 will be held Sept. 18-21 and Baby Massage Class will be held Sept. 22, just before Deep Tissue Class 1. If you attend at least two of these three classes you receive a discount on your tuition.

Schedule

There will be a total of 25 hours of class over four days plus free time for practice, rest, going to hot springs, and other activities outside class.

Day 1 of class:

  • 9:45am: students taking the train arrive at Musashi-Itsukaichi station
  • 10am: ride bus together from Musashi-Itsukaichi station to Sankei
  • 10:30am - 12:45pm: introduction and class
  • 1 - 2:30pm: lunch and free time
  • 2:30 - 6pm: class
  • 6:15 - 7:30pm: dinner
  • evening: free time

Days 2, and 3 of class:

  • 8 - 9:30am: breakfast and free time
  • 9:30am - 12:45pm: class
  • 1 - 2:30pm: lunch and free time
  • 2:30 - 6pm: class
  • 6:15 - 7:30pm: dinner
  • evening: free time

Day 4 of class:

  • 8 - 9:30am: breakfast and free time
  • 9:30am - 12:45pm: class
  • 1 - 2pm: lunch and free time
  • 2 - 4:30pm: class and conclusion
  • 5pm: ride bus together to Musashi-Itsukaichi station

Prices

The base price of the class is 129,000 yen, lodging and all meals included (3 nights, 4 days). Of this price, 100,000 yen is the tuition and 29,000 yen is the lodging and meals fee.

All class materials fees are included in the tuition. Tuition does not cover transportation and admission to a hot spring, so please be prepared to pay the small fees for this optional activity if you wish to participate.

Discounts

If you enroll in both Deep Tissue Class 1 and Advanced Class 1 and pay tuition for both classes before the start date of the first class, you receive a discount of 20,000 yen off the total tuition for 2 classes. You also receive a 5,000 yen discount off tuition for Baby Massage Class if you attend it in addition to either Advanced Class 1 or Deep Tissue Class 1 or both.

You can substantially reduce your class fees by enrolling early, enrolling in multiple classes, and referring friends who also enroll. For details please review the discounts we offer.

How to Enroll and Pay for Classes

There are three steps to class enrollment and payment:

  • As early as possible please use our website enrollment form to send us your name and other information and indicate which class(es) you will attend. Although you can still enroll later, please enroll by July 12 if possible so we can confirm our reservation for the approximate number of guest rooms we expect to need.
  • As early as possible please pay a deposit equal to the total lodging and meals fees for all your classes (29,000 yen per 4-day class and 8500 yen per 1-day class) to confirm your enrollment.
  • Please pay the tuition for each class (minus any discounts you can use) in person on the first day of class.

It is also acceptable for you to send the deposit and tuition as one payment rather than first paying a deposit and later paying the tuition.

Multiple Class Enrollment

If you enroll in more than one class, once you have paid your deposit for all your classes, please pay your tuition (minus any discounts you can use) for the first class by 30 days before its start date. You then have two options for paying the tuition of your other classes:

  • You may pay the tuition for all your classes before the start date of the first class. In this case you would receive the discount we offer for enrolling in multiple classes.
  • You may wait after the start date of the first class and pay the tuition for your other classes by 30 days before their individual start dates. In this case you would not receive the discount we offer for enrolling in multiple classes.

Late Enrollment

If you wish to enroll less than 30 days before the start date of a class you may contact us any time to see if there are still places available and make special arrangements to enroll and pay your fees.

How to Send Payment

If paying in Japanese yen please pay your deposits through our partner web shop, Mother's Free Spirit, and then pay your tuition in person on the first day of class.

If paying by check or money order in US dollars, please send funds to Kizuna Bodywork founder Les May at the following destination:

Kizuna Bodywork
c/o Les May
PO Box 181
Big Sur, CA 93920
USA

Contact Us for Help

If you have any problems with the enrollment process or any questions about the amount due, how to calculate your discounts, or how to send payment, please contact us.

Enrollment Cancellations

If you notify us you wish to cancel your enrollment 30 days prior to the day the class begins or earlier, any deposit or fees paid will be refunded, less a 10000 yen cancellation fee. If you cancel later than 30 days prior to the day the class begins, your deposit and fees will not be refunded.

Advanced Certification Program

This class is part of the Kizuna Bodywork Advanced Certification Program, a course of study designed to provide professional massage practitioners with expert-level Kizuna Bodywork skills. When you enroll in this class you have the option to simultaneously enroll in Deep Tissue Classes 1, 2, and 3 to receive a substantial discount on your tuition.

FAQ

Q: What should I bring to class?
A: Please bring a set of massage linens including a sheet and a towel. Also please bring shoes suitable for casual walking outdoors and comfortable, loose clothes appropriate for massage and movement activities including partner yoga and dancing. These should be clothes you don't mind getting oily since it can be hard to clean oil stains out of some clothes.

Q: When will you hold the other classes that fulfill the Advanced Certification Program requirements?
A: We will hold more of these classes in 2011. Please use the form at the top right of this page to join our mailing list so we can contact you when we determine the dates of our future classes.

Please also see the main Kizuna Bodywork FAQ. If you have any other questions please contact us.