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Body Brain Breath/Use Them, Don't Abuse Them: How to Keep Your Thumbs Happy
Buy for $36

  • $36

Use Them, Don't Abuse Them: How to Keep Your Thumbs Happy


2 CEs // NCBTMB-approved // money-back guarantee
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Take a Look

Here's a glimpse at what you'll find in this course. 

Happy Thumbs = Happy Therapist

In this moment of uncertainty, there is probably a lot about your massage work that is changing. 
Except for one thing: you are probably still using your thumbs too much. 
 
Let’s be honest. We massage therapists love our thumbs. Our clients love our thumbs. Our thumbs know lots of fancy tricks and do lots of deep work. But our thumbs also know tension and pain and injury and burnout. 
 
I have been teaching CE classes for more than a decade, and I created this course because students complain about their thumbs in almost every class I teach. 
 
  • Are you in pain? 
  • Have you already changed the modalities you use because your thumbs are injured? 
  • Are you just starting out but already getting that achy feeling? 
 
This course can help. 
 
I have identified the most common ways that we therapists misuse and overuse our thumbs while we work. There are lots of varieties, but they all stem from the same problem: using the muscles of the thumb and hand too much, and using the rest of your body too little. Here, I show you how to identify – without blame or judgment – the particular counterproductive habits that you have slipped into. 
 
And then I show you how to create new thumb habits. I offer you a way to retrain your body so that you can use your whole body – legs and hips and back – to create each stroke, which allows your thumbs to deliver all of those beautiful strokes without strain or pain. Imagine giving a detailed, focused, deep tissue massage, with as much thumb work as you want, without pain or strain! It is possible. 
 
I believe you can continue to do exactly the modalities that you most love, while also taking care of your body. Instead of giving up on your thumbs, or pushing through the pain until you injure yourself, I want to show you how to use your thumbs more effectively.
 
You can use your thumbs – and the rest of your body – in a way that is both smart and satisfying. You can make your client’s body happy, and your own body, too. 
 
Come join me. Because you can do the work you love without suffering for it. 

What You'll Get

To Read

Start Here!
    Manual
    • 51.3 MB

    To Watch

    Introduction // How to Take This Course
    • 4 mins
    • 120 MB
    Part One // Essential Elements
    • 20 mins
    • 613 MB
    Part Two (First Section) // Experiential—Notice Your Habits
    • 17 mins
    • 511 MB
    Part Two (Second Section) // Experiential—Change Your Habits
    • 21 mins
    • 622 MB
    Part Three // Experiential—Where We Get Into Trouble
    • 27 mins
    • 624 MB
    Part Four // Closing & Continuing
    • 12 mins
    • 338 MB

    To Get Those CEs!

    Test Prep—Read Me First
      Final Test—Online Version
        Final Test—To Download
        • 16.8 KB

        Testimonials

        David Lobenstine is an instructor's dream come true. He is exceptionally positive, full of individualized suggestions for students, and thoroughly prepared. His knowledge base is broad and detailed, and he knows how to acknowledge what he doesn't know. He is warm and personable, yet utterly professional in the classroom, and well-organized, succinct, and lively in his presentation. I count him as amongst the best in my teaching team.

        Carole Osborne, course developer and author, Pre- and Perinatal Massage Therapy; 2008 AMTA National Teacher of the Year

        An Improved You. Guaranteed.

        I believe in this work. And I want you to believe in it, too. So I'm offering this course risk-free. Try it out for 30 days. If you don't notice a difference in your work, or you aren't satisfied for any other reason, I'll refund the entire cost of the course. 

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        Come Learn With Me

        I graduated from Vassar College and the Swedish Institute, and have been massaging since 2004. I started teaching a few months after that. I develop continuing education courses that I teach in person and online. I have worked with thousands of massage therapists around the country.

        I can help you.

        If you aren't ready to work with me yet, sign up for my newsletter below. Or learn more about my live classes and read my published work here.

        I am also co-author of Pre- and Perinatal Massage Therapy (Third Edition) with Carole Osborne and Michele Kolakowski (Handspring Limited 2021), and a regular contributor to Massage & Bodywork.

        New York State LMT.
        Nationally Certified Massage Therapist.
        Approved Continuing Education Provider.
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