EDUCATION
Welcome to our learning center for personal and professional empowerment, creativity and healing. We offer classes for individuals, executives and employees and continuing education workshops for massage therapists and other holistic health practitioners. Please contact us or join our mailing list to see our current NYC/international course schedule or to schedule a class or speaking engagement for your organization.
Classes and Talks for the Public:
In a relaxing learning environment where you can meet and connect with interesting people, we offer classes on massage therapy, healing, reducing stress, moving into meaningful work, increasing creativity, and raising life quality in challenging times.
Beginning Massage Therapy Education:
If you are curious about entering a massage therapy career, Volcano Island is here to help. With nearly a decade of experience as a massage school director and educator, as well as a lifetime commitment to the evolution of our field, Ms. Chambers is dedicated to helping future massage therapists, especially New Yorkers, find the best certification programs. Call for free advice! You will receive more clarity on your career path and a friendly introduction to the best schools’ admissions staff. Attend one of our informative Career Nights to learn massage therapy career possibilities, educational options, and how to carve out a financial plan for opening this new door. Please call or email to learn the next date and RSVP.
Continuing Education for Licensed and Certified Massage Therapists:
If you are already a massage therapist or teacher and wish to bring more skills, clients or creativity to your practice, we offer transformative NCBTMB-approved continuing education workshops and resources for massage therapists worldwide. Our classes are based in New York City, an exciting location for a tax-deductible learning vacation. Inexpensive accommodations ($75 per night) are available for visiting students. We also teach workshops internationally, with our second home being San Francisco. Volcano Island Bodywork Experience is approved by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork as a continuing education Approved Provider (Provider Number: 450723-08).
NYC Calendar:
Click the course title or scroll further down for detailed course descriptions. For classes in other locations and for an updated list of our offerings, please sign up for our newsletter.
1. Massage Therapy Career Night: Presentation and Q & A (Open to the Public)
Ready to Explore a More Fulfilling Career? January 7 or 21, February 4 or 18, March 11 or 25, April 8 or 22, May 13 or 27, June 10 or 24, 2010 at 6:30 pm. Open to the Public. FREE!
2. Shamans and Medicine Societies: An Introduction to Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy (Open to the Public)
January 25, February 22, March 15, April 12, May 17 or June 21, 2010. 6:30 to 8:30 pm. 2 NCBTMB-approved CE hours for massage therapists.
Tuition: $20. Light refreshments are served.
3. Intro to Vibrational Sound Therapy: Tama-Do© (Open to the Public)
January 20, February 17, March 17, April 19, May 19, or June 16, 2010. 6:30 to 8:30 pm. 2 NCBTMB-approved CE hours for massage therapists.
Tuition: $20. Light refreshments are served.
4. The Bathtub Alchemist: Creating Therapeutic Baths for Yourself, Loved Ones & Clients (Open to the Public)
Offered twice monthly: January 13 or 27, February 10 or 24, March 10 or 24, April 7 or 21, May 12 or 26, or June 9 or 23, 2010 .6:30-8:30 pm. 2 NCBTMB-approved CEs for massage therapists.
Tuition: with materials fee included = $20. Shorter talks and soaking experiences available for workplace lunches, spa parties, showers, etc.
5. Transformative Bodywork in Practice (For Licensed or Certified Massage Therapists Only)
February 5-7, March 5-7, April 2-4, May 7-9, or June 4-6, 2010. Friday 10-9, Saturday 10-7, and Sunday 10-6. 25 NCBTMB-approved CE hours, including 6 Ethics hours (with 2 hours Roles and Boundaries).
Tuition = $445 if paid in full 21 days prior to class start, $520 after.
6. Creativity and Artful Practice: Professional Ethics for Massage Therapists (For Licensed or Certified Massage Therapists Only)
January 19, February 16, March 16, April 13, May 18, or June 15, 2010. 10 am to 5 pm. 6 NCBTMB-approved CE hours.
Tuition: $100 for 6 hour class, $70 for 4-hour morning class or $40 for 2-hour afternoon class.
7. Additional Continuing Education Courses for Massage Therapists (For Licensed or Certified Massage Therapists Only)
- Hands-on courses to add specialized modalities to therapists' practices
- Advanced anatomy, physiology & pathology courses to help therapists interpret the structure & function of the human body in their hands
- Client relations & ethics courses to increase comfort and trust
- Spiritually-conscious business & marketing workshops to help healthy practices thrive
- Teacher training workshops to allow more therapists to effectively bridge the gap between practitioner to qualified, self-directed teacher
Registration:
Please call 917-226-2526 or email Jena Chambers for more information or to register. Gift certificates are available for all classes. Enrollment is first-come, first-served.
Philosophy Throughout:
Volcano Island’s Learning Center emerges from a solid and dedicated foundation, to train and support agents of profound personal and cultural transformation. We see skilled and effective massage therapy as an act of social change, which you perhaps can only understand when you remember being deeply touched by someone. The process of giving, receiving and learning massage therapy is an education in personal empowerment, something we dearly need in a culture of "not enough." Volcano Island is dedicated to expand and support the potential, ripe for manifestation, within a number of therapeutic offerings and practitioners. When one person, with a strong foundation in anatomical and emotional intelligence, personal boundaries, and professional ethics, touches another, one who is ready and able to feel safe and surrender in this environment, time stops. The soul, at the seat of all physical and emotional suffering, begins to speak. This is personally empowering because it re-connects us to our inner wisdom, taking us to a place we can learn to return to on our own, and the therapeutic encounter happens without the exterior conveniences of pills, needles, words or machines. We serve as advocates and agents for the gifts that wait patiently to be given and received.
Testimonials:
"Thank you for the opportunity to expand my horizons yesterday. I came away from your seminar with some great ideas and the HOPE of returning to my practice sometime in the near future. It really was interesting to adjust my vision and also to hear things in two or three different ways . . . I believe your class will enable me to set better boundaries . . . I am now headed in a good direction thanks to you . .. Yesterday for me was quite different, and I really enjoyed the whole experience thoroughly." Suzin Buonaguro, LMT, Ballston Lake, NY. Sept. 2009
Course Details:
1. Massage Therapy Career Night: Presentation and Q & A
January 7 or 21, February 4 or 18, March 11 or 25, April 8 or 22, May 13 or 27, June 10 or 24, 2010at 6:30 pm. Open to the Public. FREE!
Ready to Explore a More Fulfilling Career?
Massage therapy is an art form that can inspire and feed you and your clients for a lifetime. The opportunity is right in front of you, even while the world seems to present blocks and limits on your creative spirit. Meanwhile, you know you have something special to offer in the realms of connection, hope and healing. Come to one of our informative, free Career Nights to learn about massage therapy career possibilities, educational options in New York, and how to carve out a financial plan for opening this new door.
Massage Therapy Career Benefits:
Meaningful, satisfying work. Provide pleasant and positive services. Connect with a wide range of people. Attain independence & self-sufficiency. Personal growth feeds/expands career. Mastery and learning for a lifetime. Many different career possibilities to suit your personality & interests.
Speaker and Facilitator:
Jena Chambers, the Owner of Volcano Island Bodywork Experience, brings you insight and perspective from all aspects of the massage therapy profession. Her career has been and continues to be dedicated to the evolution of massage education. She began her own massage career in San Francisco with a 730-hour certification (1997), which has now grown into 1500 hours of bodywork training, including massage therapy teacher training. She has practiced in a variety of settings, including a luxury hotel, racquetball club, day spa, and a private practice. From 2001-07, Ms. Chambers was Director of the Center for Massage & Natural Health, a vibrant massage therapy school and clinic in Asheville, NC. She then became an On-Site Evaluator for the Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation (COMTA), visiting and evaluating other massage schools. She maintains relationships with the best massage therapy schools and instructors across the country. Ms. Chambers has a BA from Duke University, is Nationally Certified in Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork, and teaches advanced continuing education workshops nationally (NCBTMB Approved Provider #450723-08).
2. Shamans and Medicine Societies: An Introduction to Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy
January 25, Feb. 22, March 15, April 12, May 17 or June 21, 2010. 6:30 to 8:30 pm. Open to the Public. 2 NCBTMB-approved CE hours for massage therapists.
Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy is a perceptual art based on deep heart listening that supports our ability to heal ourselves. There is a great deal of powerful information contained in that statement, which invites a deeper investigation and conversation as we move into the new "reality "of digital worlds and quantum philosophies. This form of bodywork requires no bells and whistles or outside technology and unfolds from the grounded relational field that is created when two people are truly present to each other. It can be used to realign structural dynamics in the body as well as reintegrate the mind body soul continuum by providing space for the person to reconnect to their own consciousness and vital life force. While some people fear the work and have condemned it as witch craft, others are determined to marry it to the scientific model so that it gains credence within the existing medical structure.
Melanie Hegge, LMT, RCST, is presenting and demonstrating this profound healing work and subject. She is interested in exploring the possibility that, while this craft stems from an ancient form of structural reintegration known as bone setting, it is also part of the new medicine that is gaining popular ground in this time of technology overload. How will those of us in the alternative healing and movement therapy communities begin to work together in order to create an integrated approach to teaching people, and most especially, our children how to be conscious in their bodies as we become more focused on non-human realities and devices? There are spiritual explorations as well as very practical implications to these questions.
Melanie Hegge, LMT, RCST brought her exceptional massage skills to luxury Manhattan spas before moving into successful private practice in 2007. While her Swedish and Deep Tissue capabilities are massive on their own, Melanie offers a specialty in Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy. In addition to studying with the Upledger Institute, she completed a 700 hour post graduate certification program in Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy taught by Roger Gilchrist, MA, RPP, RCST. Melanie participated in a Spiritual Healing retreat led by Rosita Arvigo in the rainforest of Belize and has also been trained in her version of the Mayan Abdominal and Uterine Massage technique. She received her Associate in Occupational Studies in Massage Therapy from the Swedish Institute College of Health Sciences in 2001 and was previously awarded a BA in Anthropology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Tuition:
$20. Light refreshments are served. Participants receive a 20% discount on their first session with Melanie. Sessions are available by contacting Jena Chambers at 917-226-2526.
3. Intro to Vibrational Sound Therapy: Tama-Do©
January 20, February 17, March 17, April 19, May 19, or June 16, 2010. 6:30 to 8:30 pm. Open to the Public. 2 NCBTMB-approved CE hours for massage therapists.
Kototama, the Science of Pure Sound:
Traced back to Celtic and Druidic tradition, this esoteric sound teaching has been transmitted secretly and orally within the Japanese culture for the last 2,000 years. Fabien Maman, the founding father of vibrational sound therapy (Websters’ Dictionary),has created his own precise toning techniques to rejuvenate internal organs; esoteric sound methods to awaken ancestral memories; pentatonic modes linked with each season; and the manipulation of musical modes to work on specific chakras and meridians. This wonderful healing technique uses elemental sounds, acoustic instruments and our voices, and is the basis for all the Tama-Do healing techniques. Each of the following techniques are grounded in the classical traditions of music, mathematics, astrology and Chinese medicine:
- Musical Spine (Tuning Forks and Color on the Bladder Meridian)
- 8 Qi Mo (Tuning Forks on the Extraordinary Meridians)
- Color Healing and Diagnosis (Using Tama-Do Rainbow Etheric Essences, Color Silks and Lights)
- Shu Points (Tuning Forks on Acupuncture Command Points and Diagnosis)
- T.E.P. (Touch technique with sound and color)
In this 2-hour presentation and demonstration, Karen will introduce you to this beautiful and multi-faceted healing art.
Karen Yanco, LMT, has received extensive training and certification in Tama Do©, is a licensed massage therapist, singer/percussionist, and creative healing artist. In practice since 1997, Karen is enthusiastic and highly creative, providing increasingly innovative healing therapies for the 21st Century. Originally trained at the Swedish Institute College of Health Sciences, and having performed over 25,000 massages in several spas, chiropractic offices, a physical therapy unit, and in private practice. Karen’s technique has evolved into a unique blend of Swedish, Shiatsu and the deep, long strokes of Hawaiian Lomi Lomi. She tailors the session to meet your specific needs, which may also include Deep Tissue, Sports, Thai stretching, Medical Massage, Reflexology and Prenatal Massage. She is certified in the ancient Hawaiian healing art of Lomi Lomi, a rhythmic, dance-like massage using palms, thumbs, knuckles and forearms to lovingly focus on finding and dispersing congested areas in your body. Karen also performs auric color healing, which can be a guided chakra realignment, or just a silent meditation. Her most recent creative endeavor, a soundtracked, rhythmic massage, which is a culmination of years of research and experimentation, is about to be unveiled. Stay tuned!
Tuition:
$20. Light refreshments are served. Participants receive a 20% discount on their first session with Karen. Sessions are available by contacting Jena Chambers at 917-226-2526.
4. The Bathtub Alchemist: Creating Therapeutic Baths for Yourself, Loved Ones & Clients
Offered twice monthly: January 13 or 27, February 10 or 24, March 10 or 24, April 7 or 21, May 12 or 26, or June 9 or 23, 2010. 6:30-8:30 pm. 2 NCBTMB-approved CEs for massage therapists
Steal yourself away in the middle of the work-week and discover a secret, private world of healing and inspiration. This class is inspired by my mother, historically one of the busiest schoolteachers/homemakers in the world. Occasionally, when I was upset or worried as a child, teen or even adult, she would bring me a simple foot bath, which had a calming and comforting effect far beyond the physiological effects of the warm water itself. This loving, nearly effortless gesture on her part made such an impression on me, I wish to share the extended possibilities with you, so you and the people you care about may enjoy the effects of warm water, simple therapeutic agents, and a moment to reflect, perhaps on how we can, with very little effort and expense, take much better care of ourselves and others.
Stress is expensive to our health and productivity, and simple homemade remedies, without great cost in prep time or supplies, are priceless and empowering. Therapeutic bath soaks are a powerful ally for relaxation, balancing, detoxification, treating various specific health/skin conditions, and creating a container for meditation, visualization and inspiration. Learn how to make these simple, natural bath remedies for yourself, loved ones and clients. Our class includes presentation, demonstration, and hands-on participatory creation of various soaks. While you learn in our relaxing, comfortable environment, you will experience a therapeutic foot or hand soak and meet and connect with interesting people. You will leave refreshed, inspired and well-educated, with samples to try at home or give to loved ones.
Your Instructor:
Jena Chambers is the Owner of Volcano Island Bodywork Experience. She has been a massage therapist since 1997, practicing, teaching and directing massage-related businesses in a variety of settings. Her background in creating therapeutic baths includes years of practice and experimentation, hydrotherapy training and personal study, living at and learning from various hot springs retreat centers and healing waters, and receiving an Aquatic Bodywork Certification from the School of Shiatsu and Massage. Ms. Chambers has a BA from Duke University and 1500 hours of bodywork training.
Tuition:
with materials fee included = $20. Shorter talks and soaking experiences available for workplace lunches, spa parties, showers, etc. Class gift certificates and classes on creating baths for specific health needs/intentions are available.
5. Transformative Bodywork in Practice
February 5-7, March 5-7, April 2-4, May 7-9, or June 4-6, 2010 Friday 10-9, Saturday 10-7, and Sunday 10-6. 25 NCBTMB-approved CE hours, including 6 Ethics hours (with 2 hours Roles and Boundaries)
Transformative bodywork is a practice of cultivating inner peace and full-bodied living through professional therapeutic touch. The carefully-trained therapist gently brings awareness to hidden causes of constriction in the body, often deeply-held emotional pain trapped in cellular memory and, left unattended and unreleased often for decades, holding a person back from fully experiencing and enjoying life’s possibilities. As therapists and clients become more clear on the transformative possibilities within this healing space, we grow increasingly capable of entering the depths to face, process and release subconscious patterns that otherwise keep our lives unfulfilled and frustrated. Both therapists and clients increasingly develop the capacity to let go more fully, with the eventual result of increased quality of life, clarity, articulation and fulfillment of our individual purpose. Every session is unique and spontaneously customized for each individual in that moment, providing an opportunity for learning and deepening self-empowerment skills for both therapist and client.
This class is advanced training for massage therapists who have already completed an entry-level certification program and wish to expand their practice and effectiveness with clients. It presents the key principles and theory of transformative bodywork, introduces specific bodywork modalities that utilize these principles and possibilities, emphasizes the value of body mechanics, alignment and movement meditations, and offers guidelines and support in transforming your business and marketing to embody these principles. Due to the importance of integrity and clear communication while offering transformative bodywork, the workshop includes six hours of professional ethics instruction, focusing on working with clients with emotional issues and trauma, as well as how and why to hold clear boundaries around sexuality. Because it is essential we learn to move with greater ease (so we can then spontaneously extend this to the client) we will integrate short movement meditations and creative dance practices. An important part of the workshop is a field trip to a 2-hour 5Rhythms® dynamic meditation/therapeutic dance class (included in your tuition fee).
Tuition:
$445 if paid in full 21 days prior to class start, $520 after. Lunch break is one hour each day.
6. Creativity and Artful Practice: Professional Ethics for Massage Therapists
January 19, February 16, March 16, April 13, May 18, or June 15, 2010. 10 am to 5 pm. 6 NCBTMB-approved CE hours
Our businesses, clients and selves need creativity and innovation more now than ever. Yet we have learned to shut down more and more in fear of failure, losing our jobs or place in line, and being rejected or not liked by some. There is no better or more necessary time to recharge our massage practice as an art form, tap into our own creative process, and bring forward what is unique and specialized about our work. This courageous, ethical step toward meaningful work is a service to ourselves, our clients, and our bank accounts. Our Creativity and Artful Practice workshop brings these realities to awareness, provides tools to integrate more creativity into your work, and gives you space and exercises to explore your own ideas, challenges and potential. The course uses the instructor’s personal career experience and research as a guide, but is very much alive with the individual questions, backgrounds and ideas of each class. We combine storytelling and presentation with discussion and activities to uncover and practice various routes to creativity and the return to meaningful work. In addition to stimulating introspection and deeper practice within the fruitful, life-affirming exploration of meaningful work, we provide the full ethics requirement for NCBTMB recertification.
Tuition:
You may choose one of several scheduling options to meet your needs: the full 6-hour class (offered at a discount) or one of the 4 or 2-hour building blocks (the 2-hour class focuses on Roles and Boundaries: NCBTMB Standard V). Tuition = $100 for 6 hour class, $70 for 4-hour morning class or $40 for 2-hour afternoon class. Lunch break is 2-3 pm.