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National Holistic Institute in the News

The Orange County Register Logo

“O.C. massage schools meet kneads for cheap”
OCRegister.com
By Courtney Perkes
December 19, 2012

Massages were an occasional splurge for me until I discovered no-frills massage schools could work out my tension at a fraction of the $100-plus cost at a spa.

I do miss the white, fluffy robes and lavender-infused candles, but for $20 an hour, I’ve happily learned to tune out distractions and relax on the cheap. Not only does massage feel good, but medical studies have shown benefits, including relief of stress and pain, a boost in immunity and control of blood pressure. For me, it’s the best remedy for too many hours spent in front of a computer screen. I’ve visited two Orange County massage schools where students in training will loosen my tight muscle fibers in a semi-private setting. Understandably, there are some trade-offs for the low price.

I really like the National Holistic Institute, which opened this year in Santa Ana, not far from John Wayne Airport. Read more…

Press Democrat Logo

“Petaluma police seek new rules on massage businesses”
PressDemocrat.com
By Lori A. Carter
December 7, 2012

Massage therapists in Petaluma may have wondered what decade they were in following discussion of a proposed ordinance regulating their profession.

Police Chief Pat Williams presented the proposed new ordinance to the City Council this week, noting that occasional investigations have exposed prostitution operations masquerading as legitimate massage businesses.

But massage therapists and business operators – who note their profession is now a widely accepted health care treatment, not a sexual act – object to what they say are outdated notions and inaccurate assumptions in the proposed ordinance. Read more…

Massage Today Logo

“National Holistic Institute Opening New Campus in Santa Ana (Orange County), CA”
MassageToday.com
June 20, 2012

The National Holistic Institute (NHI), which is California’s largest massage therapy school based in Emeryville with additional campuses in Petaluma, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose, and Studio City, opened its newest campus in Santa Ana (Orange County), CA on May 15. Read more…

Alternative and Complimentary Therapies Volume 17 Cover

“Therapeutic Massage: Significant Advancements in the Field”
Alternative and Complimentary Therapies – Volume 17, Number 6
By Jane Hart, MD
December 27, 2011

Innovative health care professionals, consumer interest, and proven clinical benefit have led to significant advancements in the field of therapeutic massage, and, as a result, massage therapy services are increasingly integrated into hospitals’ patient services. Learn more…

MASSAGEmag.com Logo

“National Holistic Institute Announced as Massage Therapy School of the Year”
MASSAGEmag.com (Online Magazine)
Jan 9, 2012

The World Massage Festival is pleased to announce the National Holistic Institute in California has been named as the 2012 Massage Therapy School of the Year.

Carol Carpenter began the massage therapy institute in a house on College Avenue in Oakland and it grew steadily. The National Holistic Institute became accredited, the first massage school in California to do so. Learn more…

Chicago Tribune Logo

“Face massage: How to give yourself a face massage”
Chicago Tribune
By Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz
October 5, 2011

A common plight of the “office athlete” &emdash; whose sport entails sitting for hours staring at a computer &emdash; is facial pain brought on by long bouts of reading, screen glare and teeth-grinding. Left unchecked, facial pain can produce sinus and tension headaches, toothaches, blurred vision and the pressure-cooker feeling that your head might explode, said Cynthia Ribeiro, president-elect of the American Massage Therapy Association and an instructor at the National Holistic Institute, a massage school in California. Read more…

The Sacramento Bee Logo

“Massage firms to aid aching area economy: Therapy a growth industry amid slump”
The Sacramento Bee
By Mark Glover
February 27, 2011

The massage therapy industry is helping provide a healing touch to the area’s ailing economy…

Next month, the Emeryville-based National Holistic Institute will welcome the first classes at its new sacramento campus at 1610 Arden Way. NHI, Clifornia’a largest massage therapy school with six campuses, expects 100 students this year and 150 by early 2012. Read More…

Press Democrat Logo

“No downturn at Petaluma massage school”
PressDemocrat.com
By Lori A. Carter
February 23, 2011

While many other businesses have barely hung on or even gone under during the recession, Petaluma’s National Holistic Institute is in the midst of an unprecedented growth spurt.

Since opening in Petaluma in 2005, the Oakland-based school has launched four other campuses, including its newest one in Sacramento.

“It’s been a phenomenal time for us during this recession,” said Tiahna Skye, the manager in Petaluma. “We’re finally coming into our own.” Read more…

San Francisco Business Times

“National Holistic Institute expands to Sacramento”
San Francisco Business Times
By Steven E.F. Brown
December 15, 2010

Emeryville massage therapy school National Holistic Institute Inc. is opening a campus in Sacramento.

Berkeley resident Evan Clontz, who graduated from NHI in November, praised the school’s curriculum for its breadth.

“It’s really hard work to do well, so having a huge faculty and an all encompassing program was really great. You were exposed to a lot of styles,” said Clontz, who studied four hours a day, five days a week during her 10 month training at the Emeryville campus. Read more…

Sacramento Business Journal Logo

“Massage therapy school coming to Arden”
Sacramento Business Journal
By Kelly Johnson
December 15, 2010

A California operator of massage therapy schools is expanding to Sacramento.

National Holistic Institute will operate its school and a massage therapy clinic from 5,500 square feet at 1610 Arden Way.

Interest in massage training is increasing due to high unemployment and reports showing that massage therapy is one of the state’s 50 fastest-growing professions, with job openings expected to increase 26 percent by 2016 statewide, according to the California Economic Development Department. Learn more…

AMTA Logo

“National Holistic Institute Advanced Program Developer and Instructor Cynthia Ribeiro announced as president-elect of the American Massage Therapy Association”
American Massage Therapy Association
By Ron Precht
December 14, 2010

The American Massage Therapy Association® (AMTA®) announced the results of its 2010 national election, conducted electronically among its Professional members. Cynthia Ribeiro of California was elected President-Elect. She will serve in that position from March 1, 2011 through February 29, 2012 when she will assume the position of President. Learn more…

KGO-TV Logo

“Massages offer more benefits than just relaxation”
KGO-TV(the ABC affiliate for the San Francisco Bay Area)
By Carolyn Johnson
December 7, 2010

Almost anyone who goes for a massage expects to feel better, relaxed and rejuvenated. Now new research suggests there’s a scientific reason for that — massages may actually change the body’s chemistry.

For two dozen students learning to give professional massages at a Bay Area school, the dialogue is anything but laid back. At the National Holistic Institute in Emeryville, instructors are going over techniques that some researchers now believe could potentially benefit patients with health issues beyond soreness or muscle injuries.

“Everyone who’s had a massage knows they feel fantastic when they get off the table, but this really puts it in medical terms,” Tim Veitzer from the National Holistic Institute said. Learn and watch more…

Massage Magazine December 2010 Cover

“NHI Instructor and Teaching Training Coordinator Melissa Wheeler wins the 2010 Teacher of the Year Award from the American Massage Therapy Association”
Massage Magazine
By Karen Menehan
December 2010 Issue

When Melissa Wheeler graduated from the National Holistic Institute in 1991, she was quickly recruited by the school’s founder to be a faculty member. Today, Wheeler oversees the training of 40 teachers across five campuses, is a member of the school’s education council and helped develop 450 hours of our advanced curriculum.

Wheeler’s many and varied accomplishments led to her being awarded the American Massage Therapy Associations 2010 Jerom Perlinski Teacher of the Year. Learn more…

The Mercury News Logo

“Get a massage, give to Haiti relief”
The Mercury News
January 26, 2010

The National Holistic Institute will donate all proceeds from massages given Thursday at their Emeryville and San Francisco campuses to a Haiti relief fund.

The institute is a training school for massage therapists. The cost for a 50-minute massage is $35.

Contra Costa Times Logo

“Tissue Stimulus: Emeryville massage school growing as demand soars”
Contra Costa Times
May 23, 2009

Even in an economy has been called the worst since the Great Depression, people aren’t giving up their Swedish, shiatsu or sports massages. Every year, massage therapists give more than 114 million massage treatments, according to the National Massage Therapy Institute, a training center with several U.S. locations.

And massage therapy is among California’s 50 fastest-growing professions, just behind environmental science, according to the California Economic Development Department, which projects job openings to increase by about 26 percent statewide by 2016. So, it’s not surprising that the National Holistic Institute, the state’s largest massage school with a campus in the heart of Emeryville, is building a new 24,000 square-foot campus across the street from its smaller Hollis Street space. Learn more…

MASSAGEmag.com Logo

“NHI Celebrates 30th Anniversary, Continues to Shape Massage Therapy Education”
MASSAGEmag.com (Online Magazine)
May 21, 2009

Over two thousand years ago, Confucius wisely stated: “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.“ For the past 30 years, the National Holistic Institute (NHI) has graduated thousands of massage therapists for whom those words have real meaning. Learn more…

San Fernando Valley Business Journal Logo

“Massage Therapy Schools Feeling Boost in Business”
San Fernando Valley Business Journal
By Andrea Alegria
April 27, 2009

As unemployment rises, and more people are forced to explore new career opportunities, massage therapy, one of the nation’s fastest growing professions, is luring prospects to established schools in the San Fernando Valley such as National Holistic Institute in Encino. Learn more…

The Oakland Tribune Logo

“Free massages for police officers in April at Emeryville school”
Oakland Tibune
By Kristin Bender
March 31, 2009

Following the killings of Oakland police Sgts. Mark Dunakin, Erv Romans, Daniel Sakai, and Officer John Hege on March 21, the National Holistic Institute massage school will be offering free massages to any police officer in the East Bay who is feeling stress from the tragedy.

KNBC-TV Logo

“Proposed Massage Certification Changes in California”
Today in LA
KNBC-TV (Los Angeles, CA)
August 27, 2008

NHI Studio City Campus Manager Joe Bob Smith featured as an authority on proposed legislation regarding how California massage therapists are certified. Watch the Video…

Mahalo Daily Logo

“How to Give a Massage”
Mahalo Daily (Online Magazine)
August 22, 2008

“Leah D’Emilio visits the National Holistic Institute and learns some tips on how to massage, the theory behind massage therapy, and how to give a 15 minute “relaxation massage”. Watch the Video…

East Bay Business Times Logo

“Myers Has a Finger on the Pulse at Massage Therapy School”
East Bay Business Times (Pleasanton, CA)
February 13, 2006

“For a man who heads a business that stresses relaxation, Mason Myers has lived a particularly frenetic decade.

After graduating from Duke University, he organized a cross-country bike ride from San Francisco to Wilmington, N.C., that raised money for charity and was the subject of a documentary film “The Cycle Also Rises” that appeared on PBS stations.” Learn more…

Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal Logo

“Massage school says city is the hands-down place to be”
Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal (San Jose, CA)
October 7th, 2005

“The growing need for a good rubdown in Silicon Valley has led the National Holistic Institute to open a school in San Jose.” Learn more…

Massage Magazine January 2005 Cover

“National Holistic Institute Turns 25”
Massage Magazine (Ponte Vedra Beach, FL)
By Brandi Schlossberg
January – February 2005

“In September the National Holistic Instittue celebraated 25 years of teaching massage therapy.

Located in Emeryville, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area, the National Holistic Instititute was founded by Carol Carpenter in 1979. Since then, sthe school has graduated more than 7,000 students from its on-year, 720-hour program…” Learn more…

San Francisco Business Times Logo

“There’s the rub”
San Francisco Business Times (San Francisco, CA)
November 26, 2004

“Therapeutic massage, the ultimate hands-on business, has begun to rub the government and health establishments the right way. ” Learn more…

Massage Therapy in the News

UAB News Logo

“The Right Massage Can Relax the Body and improve Health”
The University of Alabama at Birmingham – UAB.edu
By Nicole Wyatt
January 29, 2013

Massage therapy can lower blood pressure, help prevent colds, enhance skin tone and more, according to an expert at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

Licensed Massage Therapist Arnold Kelly, who provides massage therapy at the Outpatient Physical Therapy Clinic at the UAB Spain Rehabilitation Center, said massage provides two types of benefits: immediate and cumulative. Details…

WSJ.com Logo

“Don’t Call It Pampering: Massage Wants to Be Medicine”
The Wall Street Journal – WSJ.com
By Andrea Petersen
March 13, 2012

While massage may have developed a reputation as a decadent treat for people who love pampering, new studies are showing it has a wide variety of tangible health benefits.

Research over the past couple of years has found that massage therapy boosts immune function in women with breast cancer, improves symptoms in children with asthma, and increases grip strength in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome. Giving massages to the littlest patients, premature babies, helped in the crucial task of gaining weight. Details…

The New York Times Logo

“How Massage Heals Sore Muscles”
NYTimes.com
By Nicholas Bakalar
February 6, 2012

A massage after vigorous exercise unquestionably feels good, and it seems to reduce pain and help muscles recover. Many people — both athletes and health professionals — have long contended it eases inflammation, improves blood flow and reduces muscle tightness. But until now no one has understood why massage has this apparently beneficial effect.

Now researchers have found what happens to muscles… Read More…

NPR Logo

“Little Luxuries Faring Well In Flagging Economy”
National Public Radio (Online Article)
By Tovia Smith
January 26, 2009

“Looking for who’s doing well in a down economy? You’d expect that bargain-type businesses, like thrift shops, would thrive in tough economic times. But, surprisingly, a slew of businesses that deal in more luxury-type goods and services are also doing well.” Read more…