Statement on Accreditation

Hello Prospective Massage Therapy Student!

We hope that you are pursuing your interest in researching local educational opportunities in the Massage Therapy field. We are posting this to clarify some information about our school that we feel is very important in order for you to make the best decision.

It has come to our attention that another local massage school has been spreading incorrect and confusing information, and we’re here to set the record straight. It is important to us that you choose the school that is the best match for your educational goals and your financial needs. We appreciate it when someone comes in having done their research, and we hope you have taken the time to visit the various schools available.


About Us:
The Oriental Healing Arts School is authorized by The Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education. This means that the State of Alaska puts our school through a rigorous and mandatory evaluation on a regular and on-going basis to ensure that we provide valid and effective vocational education.


We meet and exceed State standards on a regular basis, and have a good working relationship with the Postsecondary Education staff due to our professionalism and high standards.


Because the State has authorized our school, students are eligible to apply for state student loans. Many Native corporations also provide tuition assistance to our students, and we offer in-house financing options.


Our graduates are welcomed at City Hall when they apply for a license. No graduate of our school has ever been denied a license. As an added bonus, 91% of our graduates are currently working in the Massage Therapy field.

What exactly is accreditation and why does it matter?

Unlike Postsecondary Education Authorization, which we have, accreditation is not usually mandatory – it is voluntary. One of the main reasons that a school will choose to become accredited is that it allows students the ability to receive federal funding for tuition. This can be lucrative income to a school. It is also lucrative income to the accrediting agency who is paid by the school for their stamp of approval.


So yes, accredited schools are held to rigorous high standards, however the State of Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education also holds schools to rigorous high standards so that students are ensured a viable vocation.


The accrediting agencies spend a lot of money advertising the terms “accreditation” and “is your school accredited”. There is a degree of media hype to this, so do your homework on what this actually means to you before you blindly follow a term with a large advertising budget behind it.


The Oriental Healing Arts School of Massage Therapy is currently working with an Oriental Medicine and Acupuncture accreditation agency towards the goal of future accreditation. We are doing this because it is required for our acupuncture program, and we will do everything necessary to ensure the success of our graduates.


Massage Therapy Program Comparison:
Career Academy (Alaska Career College) offers a program that is 2 months shorter than ours and costs a little more, however you may qualify for federal funding on some or all of the tuition. Their program meets licensing requirements for basic therapeutic massage. Career Academy (Alaska Career College) also offers a large variety of vocations to choose from, and this is the main focus of their school – to provide you education that leads to a job in that field.

The Oriental Healing Arts School of Massage Therapy offers a 10-month program that costs a little less than Career Academy, and students may qualify for a state student loan or Native grant for some or all of the tuition. Our program exceeds state licensing requirements. The biggest difference is that we offer this education because we sincerely believe in Oriental medicine and natural methods of healing, and we want to move this specific information forward into our culture at large. Our instructors are passionate about this work and are also full-time professionals in the field.  We put our heart into our school and care deeply about the success of our students.


Our school also offers an abundance of related continuing education courses and programs so that a person can experience self-cultivation and growth on a very serious level not often seen in our Western culture. We treat our students like healers, and the courses that surround us show this – courses like:


Oriental Medicine Non-Needle Techniques: Auricular Therapy, Moxibustion,  Cupping, Gua Sha, Tuning Forks, Essential Oils, and Traditional Japanese Hot Stone Therapy


Medical QiGong Energy Healing

Tai Chi & QiGong for Personal Use or Certified Instructor

Tui Na Acupressure Massage

Thai Yoga Massage

Taoist Herbology

Taoist Five Element Nutrition


One thing we hear over and over again from professional massage therapists is “I WISH I had gone to your school!”

We are dedicated to the art of healing, walk our talk, and are here for the students meant to find us – those on a special path that needs to cross ours for reasons above and beyond all of us.


Bottom Line:

If you are satisfied being a basic massage therapist, are not interested in Oriental medicine, just want a job, or you need federal funds to pay for tuition, another school is your best choice. There are local options to receive a viable education and get licensed.

If you are passionate about healing, Oriental medicine, the powerful aspects of bodywork that go beyond “just massage”, and you must do this in your life, then The Oriental Healing Arts School of Massage Therapy is your best choice. You will receive a life-changing experience that is more deep and meaningful than you can imagine, it will be exactly what you were looking for - and you can get licensed.

Namaste,
The Oriental Healing Arts School of Massage Therapy

Is Herbal Medicine Influenced By Aliens?

What’s up with talking to plants? Does your plant ever talk to you? Do you answer it back? An amazing number of people are convinced that this is possible and happens all the time. I’m one of them. Almost all great herbalists and 100% of shaman know (i.e. have an internal understanding, belief, undeniable experience) that we communicate with plants.

Wow – interspecies mind vibes, kind of like Spock and the Vulcan Grip mind-meld. You connect with the other being and KNOW truth. Imagine the implications of this. It’s also the way numerous “abductees” experience communication with little grays and such.

I read a fascinating book, “Primary Perception – Biocommunication with Plants, Living Foods, and Human Cells” by Cleve Backster 2003. The author is associated with the invention of the Lie Detector Test and Men Who Stare at Goats (the real thing, not the movie). How cool is that? This guy hooked up a polygraph to plants and did all kinds of thought experiments to show that plants react to what we think! AND he used his research in the military. (Any comments from conspiracy theorists out there?)

Then you have the South American hallucinogenic herb Ayahuasca. This plant is ingested by Shamans to communicate with the Spirits, and also by patients of the shaman (shamen? What is the plural of shaman?) in order to have a healing vision. It’s now popular to travel to South America to go on an Ayahuasca journey. A common vision people report is seeing reptile-type humanoid beings that have something to do with the beginning of the world. (See “Tales of a Shaman’s Apprentice” by Mark J. Plotkin, Ph.D. 1993) Hmmmm…….

On a more conservative level, aromatherapy expert and scientist, Kurt Schnaubelt Ph.D., notes that when plants are introduced into our human body there seems to be a mechanism of communication that even shows intelligence on the part of the plant, as if it knows what needs to happen to help us. He goes on to explore the chemical makeup of essential oils and finds that at times there are compounds of “unknown origin” – we don’t know what they are. (See “Medical Aromatherapy, Healing With Essential Oils” by Kurt Schnaubelt 1999)

So we have plants communicating in our minds, being hooked up to electrodes and studied, associated with the military’s experimentation with LSD, lizard beings that may have started the world and humans, and unknown compounds turning up. I have to ask – is there alien influence going on here? I don’t know the answer to that, but I think its fun to consider the possibility.

Here’s what I do know. One of the best ways to learn about essential oils is to get to know the plant and the oil by talking to it and most importantly, LISTENING with your heart, to what it will tell you when you sincerely ask it. Another of my favorite authors and herbalists, Stephen Harrod Buhner, says “Anything will tell you its secret if you love it enough”.

Plants love to help us – it is their destiny to do this, and they have done a beautiful job of it for several million years now.

About a year ago I had a powerful recurring dream every night for a week. Basically, it was that there is a plant revolution going on now – it’s time – and they will speak loudly to those that can hear them. When I look at the state of our health care system, the greed that has placed “medicine” above human lives, and the mega bacteria we’ve created through our own mishandling of antibiotics, I know that there is an incredible force of nature that has our survival in mind and it’s reaching out. I’m listening. Are you?

Have an interesting plant communication story?  Comment and share it with us!

Learn tons of great information from my On-Line Essential Oils Course series, including exact methods of Plant Spirit Communication.

Herbal Recovery After Child Birth

A lot of women could use some herbal help recovering their strength after child birth.  The actual birth is the easy part.  After that is when you really go to work! 

Here's an e-mail I got from a new mom who was tired, overworked, and so busy she barely had time to cook for herself.  I did an Auricular Therapy (Ear Reflexology) treatment on her to help balance out her Earth energy and stimulate her appetite and Wei Qi.

"I feel so much better after the ear treatment. Eating feels normal and I'm cooking better.  Was wondering if you had some good crock pot recipes with or without herbs that could help build me up.  I'm looking for inspiration."

I LOVE cooking with herbs!!  Here's a great recipe I'll share.  It uses one of my favorite Chinese Herbs, Huang Jing (Rhizoma polygonati - Siberian solomon's seal).  This herb is also safe to ingest while breast feeding. 

NOTE OF CAUTION:  # 1 Taoist Principle is  EVERYTHING IN MODERATION.  Take it easy and eat a little bit at a time.  More is NOT better.

Here's my e-mailed response:

Try making a stew with the herb Huang Jing (Materia Medica chapter 12 - tonfies Qi, nourishes yin, strengthens the spleen & kidneys, moistens the lungs) and tastes great!


Sample Recipe: (all organic, of course)

2 potatoes, unpeeled, chopped
3 carrots, unpeeled, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 small piece of red meat, cut into small pieces (optional)
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth + additional water if needed
1 cup tomato sauce or 1 can diced tomatoes
9 grams Huang Jing
1 spoon quality sea salt
Other spices to taste but keep it mild

Put it all in a crock pot with the Huang Jing on top, in the liquid. Cook 4-6 hours. Remove the Huang Jing - it will now be softened so you can cut it into small pieces and re-add it to the stew. Add a little corn or tapioca starch to thicken the juice a little. (In a glass, mix 1 heaping spoon corn or tapioca starch with about 1/2 cup water. Stir well, then add to the crock pot and stir. The heat from the liquid broth will thicken with the starch so it's more like a light gravy.) Stir it all up and eat 1 serving each day until it's gone. Let yourself feel the strength that Huang Jing offers, and listen to what it teaches you.

Where to buy Huang Jing:  Stop by The Oriental Healing Arts Center if you're in Anchorage, or ask you local acupuncturist.  If there is a Chinatown near you it should be easily available.  I'm not sure about health food stores, but you could try.  This recipe uses the whole dried herb.  Powder or tincture forms may be available as a last resort.
 
WANT TO LEARN MORE?
We teach these classes at our school
Ancient Healing Secrets - 4 Week Intensive Introduction to Oriental Medicine
Taoist Five Element Nutrition
Taoist Herbology

Beets for Breakfast

Ahhh, a morning alone. If you’re a mom, you will appreciate the quiet luxury of this rare moment. Peering into the refrigerator for something that I like – rather than something we’ll all like – this morning is just for me. I see beautiful baby golden beets with lush green leaves, and thick whole wheat toast.

I pop on one of my favorite CD’s of all times – Eros by Chris Spheeris. Romantic Spanish/Mediterranean guitar to cook by. This day is starting out perfect!

1. Chop the beet green tops. Notice the bright green color and imagine how much my blood is going to love them.

2. Peel the beets and chop into small pieces. The topaz golden hue is like warm sunshine mixed with sunflowers and rich honey.

3. Warm the pan, then add some organic Olive Oil from this little farm in California plus a smidgen of butter because beets cooked in butter taste SOOOO GOOOOD.

4. When the oil is hot, add the beet tops and chopped beets. Stir it around and pop that thick whole grain bread into the toaster oven where it belongs.

5. After about 3-4 minutes, add a dash of red wine vinegar to the beets, sprinkling it on like spring rain. Stir everything around and turn off the heat.

6. When the crunchy toast is ready, put it on a plate, add the scrumptious beets and a dash of pepper, dance over to the table (you have to dance to Chris’s deeply emotional guitar music), and savor every bite.

Cynthia McMullen is the instructor of the Taoist Five Element Nutrition Class.  She loves to passionately enjoy her organic food!

Essential Oil Certification Course - Need Your Input!

As many of you know I have been working hard on putting together an Essential Oil Certification Course for our school. In the initial planning stage, I am asking for your feedback – input – ideas, from a student point of view, as to what is really important for you to get out of a course like this. I would also love your ideas for naming the course!

My main goal is to provide solid (and fun!) information in a well-organized manner, and make sure that students don't just read a book - they have to really use the oils and play with the information.  I want someone to be knowledgeable, confident, and effective when they complete the course.  This is what I want, but I want to know what YOU want also.

Here’s my general draft outline and course setup:

Length of course: 1 year (or 12 parts that must be completed within a 24-month period max)

Textbooks/required reading: To be determined, but will definantly include information by Kathryn Sharp and Kurt Schnaubelt

Class meets one day each month for 3-4 hours. Each class will be videotaped so that distance learning is an option.

In class, we will discuss the topic for that month, be given a reading assignment for the next month, and go over hands-on techniques.

For each month/topic, students will be responsible for:

• completing the reading assignment
• providing a written outline to demonstrate satisfactory understanding of the material
• purchasing assigned essential oils (approximately 4 per month) – there is no specific brand required. Students may use essential oils of their choice provided that they are of adequate quality.
• completing and documenting case study assignments using the essential oils

 12 Monthly Topics, with applications to adults and children:

1. Introduction, history, methods of extraction, general safety guidelines, connecting with the spirit of the plant

2. How to research each essential oil, variations of plant species, importance of where an oil is grown, basic chemistry – what it means and how to apply this information to acquire desired results

3. Topical methods of application, carrier oils

4. Diffusion methods

5. Internal/oral methods

6. Suppositories, dental care, using essential oils with pets

7. Making blends

8. Flower essences (I really want to include a section on this because so many people have asked for it.)

9. Hydrosols

10. Making beauty products

11. Boosting the immune system

12. Treating colds and flu

I am also looking at doing a future Advanced Certification specifically in Chinese Medical Aromatherapy, which will be much shorter in length, and will have the minimum pre-requisites of the following courses currently taught at our school. Basically, someone will need to have an understanding of Oriental medicine and herbs in order to understand and use the information in the Advanced Course:

• Essential Oil Certification (above)
• Theory of Oriental Medicine
• Meridians & Points
• Taoist Herbology
• Preferably, but not required: Acupressure & Meridian Massage Lab and/or Medical QiGong Practitioner
  
  UPDATE: The super popular Essential Oil Certification Class is now available On-Line. The Chinese Medical Aromatherapy classes are being taught live at Alaska Institute of Oriental Medicine and will be available on-line in the future.
  

Energetics of Smiling Heart QiGong

Turn To Accept the Moon Qi

Preparation: The focus of this Qigong form is to bring your heart into a state of happiness and gratitude. This promotes an experience of heart congruency which is an essential part of mind-body-spirit growth and harmonization.


1. Rippling Pond
Feel your heart center energy expand outwards. Lightly ripple your fingertips through the energy to create pond-like ripples, spreading your heart qi around.

2. Gathering Sunlight
Open your arms and imagine drawing the warmth of the sun directly into your heart, warming you and also making your heart feel warm to others.


3. Bending the Rainbow
Feel a ball of energy between your raised hands. As you stretch it, imagine that each finger has a rainbow color of energy. Try to maintain the feeling of qi connection between your hands. This exercise builds and refines sensitivity to feeling qi.


4. Bathe in Earth Energy
Gather yellow energy from the Earth. Draw it up through yourself, then surround yourself with it while circling back down. This exercise strengthens the primal connection between you and the Earth mother who provides everything you need to be nurtured and cared for.

5. Share Smiling Heart
As the front hand holds your heart qi, your back hand moves and pushes it, sending your heart qi out of your fingers like rays of the sun, to share with everyone.


6. Rowing on the Lake
Embody the feeling of being on vacation, the sun and sky are perfect, you are lazily rowing a boat on the lake, you haven’t a care in the world. Feeling this sense of ultimate relaxation at the same time you loosen your shoulder girdle lets your body release the most common area of tension (upper shoulders and neck) to let Yang qi from above flow into your body with ease.


7. Toss the Ball
You feel so happy and so good, if there is anything in your being (dan tian) that is negative or toxic, toss it to the wind – you don’t need it. It often helps to actually say in your mind what you are releasing, such as “I toss away pain. I toss away frustration. I toss away disease, etc.”


8. Push Palm
The push forward emphasizes stretching the heart meridian, and focuses on the Heart-7 (Shen Men, Spirit Gate) acupoint in the wrist area. The push/pull of the opposite arms stretches open the heart center.

9. Turn to Accept the Moon Qi
Imagine drawing the light of the moon into your raised hands, then drawing it down and placing it in your dan tian. This move is strongly Yin in nature, which helps to balance the overall Yang focus of the QiGong form.


10. Wave Hands Like Clouds
The legs are strong, solid, yin. The hands are light, airy, yang. This is a classic movement for harmonizing the Yin/Yang of the whole body.


11. Reaching Into Yin & Yang
12. Push the Ocean Wave
13. Fly Like a Dove
The first 2 of these movements together stimulate the Wood Element (Liver qi) through the free and easy flow, the physical stimulation of the liver meridian in the big toe and legs, and the focus of bringing the ocean wave hands up to the eyes. Wood feeds Fire, so the last movement – Fly Like a Dove – emphasizes very softly expanding and contracting the energy of the heart center.


14. Turtle Pokes Out Its Head
The extended hand is stretching the Small Intestine meridian, and you should feel it from your shoulder blade area to your hand. The legs are being strengthened in the pumping movement. Strong legs are very important to strong qi flow throughout the entire body.


15. Fly Like Wild Geese
Like wild geese, honor the Way of Nature, where everything happens exactly when it is supposed to. This is freedom.


16. Painting the World
Circling 3 times to the left honors the Yin energy of the 3 dan tians. Circling 3 times to the right honors the Yang energy of the 3 dan tians. The extended open hands stretch and tonify the Perciardium meridian.


17. Bouncing the Ball
The Green Dragon of the wood element is on the left side. The White Tiger of the metal element is on the right side. Both sides should be strong and stable to show balance between these 2 powerful energies.


18. Press Palms to Settle the Breath
Promotes connection and harmonization within the central meridian (Taiji Pole) which includes the lower dan tian, the heart center, and the 3rd eye. Settles the breath back to the dan tian, the foundation. Provides a sense of calming closure.


Always end your QiGong with several moments of silence and experience how you feel. Shaking all over or tapping your meridians at the end is appropriate to release any stagnant qi and obtain optimal flow.

See the video of Smiling Heart QiGong movements here: http://youtu.be/nJeb6FRwvns

If you are interested in QiGong, you may also like our DVD of Taoist Temple Seated QiGong, available at: http://www.akinstitute.com/store or watch it on YouTube  http://youtu.be/5xOrivB5tBQ

Please Help My Scraggly Bird!

Chicken Boo

My sister has 2 cockatiels.  Over the past 18 months, Chicken Boo had become itchy and was losing patches of feathers.  She went to several local vets who prescribed topical sprays, vitamin supplements, and made dietary suggestions.  None of this helped and Chicken Boo continued to get worse.  She was looking pretty scraggly and wasn't her normal vocal self.

This is often the point when my friends and family will ask, "Cynthia - can you help me?"  If you're human, of course I can help you!  If you're a bird, hmmmm......  I'll see what I can do.

I look at the poor scraggly bird, close my eyes, and breathe.  Meditation is so wonderful at clearing the mind and opening the door to Nothing, where the answers to Everything lie.

When finding the answer in the realm of Nothing, if I think it, that's not it.  I have to feel it.  First I feel it in my heart, then it hits my mind and I know it's right when I understand the feeling - not the logical details.  I want to mention that whenever I do this, I always research the logical details before moving forward.

So I felt in my heart "Sea Buckthorn Berry", a new essential oil I've recently been playing around with.  It's ingestible and packed with a huge number of vitamins, minerals, and other great things.  Looking at a picture, it's a beautiful orange berry - it makes me feel happy!  Yes!  This is what I want to use.  The essential oil I have is small organic farmed, pure & genuine, therapeutic quality.

I made up a very mild dosage: 
  1 oz. dropper bottle of filtered water
  several drops of vegetable glycerin as a preservative
  1 drop of Sea Buckthorn Berry essential oil
   Shake it 100 times

I had my sister add 1 drop of this highly diluted blend to the birds water each day, 6 days a week with 1 day off.  I figured it couldn't make the bird any worse than it already was.

Chicken Boo started to improve immediately.  Within 2 weeks she has full, lush feathers again, and is happily singing and hopping around all over the place!  She looks great.

I'll make sure she's stable, then we'll gradually decrease the dosage to find a good minimal maintenance dose.