Abram's Creek Lodge & Family Campground

The Basics of Swedish Massage

February 6 - 7 and separately, March 13 - 14, 2010

Massage Classes meet on Saturday 1:00pm to 4:00pm, Sunday 10:00am to 1:00pm

Fees:  $150 per person or $250 per 2 persons.

6 hours of Hands-On Training, Lodging and Organic Vegetarian Meals included:

 

·         Hands-On Training:  3 hours of hands on training on Saturday and 3 hours Sunday. 

 

·         Lodging included:  – Friday and Saturday nights --- private room / shared room / cabins, all based on total number of participants.  Lodging includes all sheets/ blankets / comforters / pillows/ towels/ meals.

 

·         6 Organic, Vegetarian Meals included:  Friday night dinner, Saturday breakfast/lunch/dinner and Sunday breakfast and lunch, all included.  We encourage participants to bring a favorite dish, snack, hors d'œuvre, or appetizer to share with our classmates if you like (meat dishes okay also).   Added finger food is always nice to have available throughout the day.  Wine is also acceptable.

 

Pre-Registration / Deposit Required:

Please e-mail to register ASAP. Classes are limited to first 12 enrollees (minimum 6 required to hold class).

e-mail Vince at:  vlombardi20003@msn.com

 

A $75 deposit is required to register for the class – call 703-328-1840 to use your Visa/MC

(fully refundable should the class be cancelled)

You can also mail a check to (please confirm availablity first):
Abram's Creek Campground
RR 1 Box 118
Elk Garden, WV 26717

 

Massage Workshop Description:

A 2 day intensive full body Swedish massage course for singles, couples, old friends & future friends. Learn basic Swedish massage techniques to give a great 1-hour massage. No partner needed. We will help to pair you up for the day and recommend that you partner up with a different partner both Saturday and Sunday (if you choose).

A good introductory massage course to "test the waters" to see if professional massage therapy would be a good career for you or just to have fun learning good massage techniques to share with friends and family.

This fun and informative 6 hour class includes 3 hours of hands on massage per day with group smorgasbord style meals before and after.

You will learn over the course of 2 days:

·         the first hour of the course each day will involved learning the basics of Swedish massage for most body areas.  Then the second and third hours daily will involve an instructor guided, hands on exchange of a 1-hour massage with your partner (if you don’t come with one, we’ll pair you up with one).

·         a basic back / shoulders / neck / and gluts routine

·         to massage the hands / arms / and neck

·         to massage the feet and legs

·         to massage the chest, abdominal area, and learn joint Range of Motion (ROM) and stretching

·         to massage scalp and face and more neck and shoulder work

 

What to Bring:

·         Bring loose shorts (under shorts okay) or a sarong to wear while you are being massaged.

·         Also bring a set of twin or full-size sheets with pillow cover for face rest.

·         We will be administering the massage workshop with our partners on comforters on the floor (provided).

·         Please also bring your favorite massage cream, oil or lotion.

 

 

Course Instruction by Vince Lombardi

cell: 703-328-1840 / Lodge House: 304-446-5383

e-mail: vlombardi2003@msn.com

 

About Vince:

Vince Lombardi is the founder and owner of Abram’s Creek Lodge and Family Campground near Mt. Storm, WV.  After working as a professional graduate level engineer for 11 years, Vince turned to massage therapy and eventually to managing a campground and retreat as a change of life more suited to his passions.  Vince has been a practicing massage therapist (full time) for 9 years now and once  held a faculty position at the Virginia Learning Institute School of Massage Therapy in Falls Church, VA where he taught the entire 500-hour professional massage therapy certification course (both hands on (practical) and anatomy and physiology) in 2003. He left VLI to pursue teaching his own classes and to better serve his clients with extended hours.

Vince is a Certified, Licensed, and Insured Massage Therapist in both Virginia and in West Virginia, having completed 500 hours of accredited Massage Therapy School training and having passed the National Certification Exam for Massage Therapy (NCTMB).  Vince's massage specialties include Swedish massage, Deep Tissue, Trigger Point Therapy, Eslan massage & seated chair massage. 

The venue for the massage workshop is the Abram’s Creek Lodge House – a 6 bedroom, 5 bath, big stream waterfront stone home with 2 fireplaces (one wood stove, one pellet stove), great front and back covered porches, large eat in kitchen and dining room, high speed internet terminals and wi-fi on site, and dozens of acres of big stream waterfront wilderness in the Potomac Highlands region (Appalachian Highlands) of West Virginia.  Just 3 hours from the DC metro area, 2 hours from Pittsburgh, it’t definitely worth the drive no matter which season. 

For more about Vince:  http://www.affordablemassage.com/about_vince.html 

 

Some Course Notes:

 

Definition of Swedish Massage:

Swedish massage is the therapeutic application of effleurage, petrissage, friction, tapotement and vibration with pressure strokes directed towards the heart to assist in venus blood flow return and lymphatic drainage.  Utilizing these 5 strokes, the muscles are toned (through elongation and compression of muscle tissue) and cleansed of metabolic wastes, toxins and acids.  

Swedish massage, through pressure strokes directed towards the heart, aids in venus blood flow -- the waste laden, CO-2 rich, Oxygen and nutrient poor blood – the blood is assisted in it’s return trip to the heart and lungs for oxygen and nutrient replenishing as well as for waste disposal through the kidneys, liver...  Further Swedish massage assists in lymphatic drainage by helping to bring the waste materials, dead cells, and diseased cells and debris into the lymph for destruction and removal by the immune system.

 

5 Swedish Massage Strokes:

·         Effleurage (gliding, stroking, compression, knuckling…)

·         Petrissage (also called kneading)

·         Friction (circular, deep, compression…)

·         Tapotement (percussion, hacking, cupping, slapping…)

·         Vibration

 

Definition of a knot:

The garbage and the matter of which knots are made are essentially metabolic wastes, lactic and pyruvic acid build-up and other toxins that get trapped in the layers of muscles in your body and solidify or calcify, often near tendon muscle attachment points.  Similar to eddies that form in a current such as a stream or river when water flows around a rock and debris gets trapped behind the rock, the eddies in your muscles are formed by the way in which you move your body on a daily basis and from repetitive motions (i.e. mousing, keyboard use, driving a car…). You may simply not be doing exercises and stretches that allow blood flow to properly "wash out" these metabolic waste build-ups. Massage, particularly when applied deep enough to affect all layers of muscle (superficial, medial, and deep), can cause the needed pressure and friction to break up and allow blood flow (the current) to carry off the waste to your lymphatic system where it is then disposed of properly through your kidneys upon drinking lots of fluids after the massage session.

Moving your body in new ways and stretching or Yoga can also move blood flow through your tissues in ways that will better clear out metabolic wastes and help to keep knots from forming – but massage can ultimately clear away most knots as well – even the stubborn type that often form in the lower back which are often marble sized and lipid (fat) rich as well.

 

Always Check in with your partner

• Before beginning massage, Check for contraindications to massage (see handout)
• Check to see if your partner has any current injuries, rashes, cuts, bruises, illnesses, sprains, strains, old breaks that badly healed… see “client intake form”.  These areas should be avoided during massage.

·         Know what medical conditions your partner suffers from… heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes… and perhaps work lighter to compensate or check with their doctor before massaging.

 

 

Body Mechanics
Back straight

Knees bent

Shoulders drooped and relaxed

Hands relaxed and not stiff

 

• Maintain a continuous rhythm and slow pace
• When doing deeper friction work, especially need to maintain a slow pace so as not to hurt your partner
• Deeper work should always come after lighter effleurage and petrissage strokes have been applied to loosen and warm up muscles