Hands on Health Academy

14/08/2025

🧘 When movement meets massage: The secret to helping your class clients and members even more

Imagine this: you’re teaching a class, and you spot a client whose posture, tension, or stiffness makes you think, “If only I could get my hands on you for an hour.”

🤝 After 25 years as a massage therapist, I’ve lost count of the times I’ve had that thought — and the difference I’ve been able to make when I followed through. Massage and movement aren’t rivals. They’re partners. I wouldn’t want to do one without the other.

👉 Here’s why.

Some people don’t like hands-on adjustments in class — but they’ll happily melt into a massage table. That private time gives them space to talk about what’s happening in their body, ask questions about movement, or explore any aches they might feel. In a one-to-one situation, they may even allow you to guide them in ways they’d never accept in a group.

On the flip side, I often have massage clients who need movement. A few stretches, mobility exercises, or strength exercises can make a huge difference to how they feel. If I can guide them into a class they’ll enjoy, they not only improve their flexibility and strength — they reduce aches and pains, feel part of a community, and rediscover what their body can do.

The beauty of having both skills?
✅ You can help people in more ways, no matter their starting point.
✅ You build deeper trust and longer-lasting client relationships.
✅ You create multiple income streams and a more resilient business.

When movement meets massage, everybody wins — and the people you serve are happier, healthier, and more confident in their bodies.

💜 If you’ve ever thought, “I wish I could do more for my clients,” learning massage might just be the missing link.

13/08/2025

How I Help People Tune Into Their Bodies—Even When They’ve Never Felt Connected Before

🧘‍♀️ We focus a lot in our classes about how 'it' feels.

It = the exercise, position, posture, movement, stretch

If you know how it feels when it feels good, it's easier to get back there if you get an injury/ache/pain/problem.

But not everyone knows how to 'feel what they feel'.

➡️ Maybe their attention is looking outward most of the time.
➡️ Maybe they avoid looking in because they're worried about what they might feel.
➡️ Maybe they're too busy and think it's self indulgent.

For these people a massage can be a pivotal moment.

You can take the time in a massage to help them feel postural muscles - like in their back, hips and shoulders - that they might not pay a lot of attention to.

This can help those people stuck in painful movement habits move into enjoyable movement habits and break free from aches and pains for good.

Pilates, yoga and massage make a great combo!

09/07/2025

▶️ Had time off from Massage Therapy and feeling nervous to return?

📢 Refresher Course for Therapists
▶️ Feel like you need some Hands on practice with an experienced therapist and a group of other people like you?
▶️ Only seeing friends and family and want to make ‘a go of this massage business’ properly?
▶️ Want to set yourself up as a professional and start getting regular paying clients but have no idea where to start?

Also
😐 Is the idea of promoting yourself and advertising filling you with dread, don’t know where to start with social media and want to avoid sounding like a used car salesman?!

Whether you've had time off to have a baby, an illness, the pandemic or you never really got started with your massage business and now want to start earning good money from your skills, this course will help you Refresh and Restart your Business with Success.

In this course we will cover:
✅ practical skills to let your hands remember what it was like to massage again
✅ work on each other and share feedback until you feel confident
✅ relaxation, grounding and breathing techniques for when the overwhelm hits hard
✅ effective consultation, getting the important information from your clients
✅ opportunity to ask technical/anatomical/physiological questions
✅ how to promote yourself without being on social media all day or like a car salesman
✅ authentic rebooking, with ease
✅ creating a Massage Membership to secure regular bookings and recurring income

👉 Click link in comments now to book a place or find out more. Only 6 places available

Want to be a confident, booked up Massage Therapist? Click the link in the comments to leave your details and I’ll give you a call. You can ask all the questions you need to find out if this course is right for you.

🤔Why choose me?
I help people improve their confidence in their mind and body so that they can create the fulfilling and profitable career that they dream of. I do this by sharing my successful (and unsuccessful!) experiences and knowledge in the Health and Wellness industry that I have gained in the last 23 years.

I have been a massage therapist for 23 years, including 10 years as a L5 Sports and Remedial Massage Therapist. Originally I started as a Holistic therapist, alongside teaching exercise classes such as aerobics, conditioning, Pilates and yoga. I have worked for myself as well as at city centre and cruise ship spas, boutique gyms and events. Now I have a studio, in Sheffield, with Pilates, yoga, strength classes alongside the massage clinic with 3 other therapists.

This means this can help anyone who has a Holistic, Sports Massage or Soft Tissue qualification get their confidence and business back on track.

👉 Click link in comments now to book a place or find out more. Only 6 places available

📝 The course takes place over a weekend and 2 online afternoons. It also includes a 1:1 strategy session to help you get your personal working practice and business off to a great start.

Sat and Sun (Sat 1 - 6pm, Sun 9 - 4pm)
2 online strategy sessions - Saturday afternoons, 1 - 4pm
1 x 1:1 personal strategy session (bring your diary to the weekend date, we’ll book it in then)

📅 Dates:
October 18/19 - 1 - 6pm, 9 - 4pm, Sheffield
2 online sessions - Saturday afternoon, October 25th and November 8th 1 - 4pm
1:1 Strategy sessions booked individually.

Must be paid in full before the course commences.
Early bird £297 (ends 17th Aug 25)
Full price £397
Payment plan available

👉 Click link in comments to book a place or find out more. Only 6 places available

04/06/2025

7 Things Massage DOESN'T do.

There are so many myths surrounding massage that I thought I'd debunk a few of them here. If your therapist is still telling you any of these things, it's time to get a new therapist.

1️⃣ Increase circulation - otherwise you’d be out of breath on the couch! The only thing that increases circulation is your heart. And we’re not massaging your heart…

2️⃣ ‘Release’ muscles, fascia, tendons, ligaments, anything soft tissue actually. You might release some emotions. That’s up to you, and coincidental to the massage.

3️⃣ Release toxins. Nope. Not even when you drink a glass of water after (which is only because it's nice and you might be thirsty!). The only thing that releases toxins is your liver and kidneys. They deal with your toxins on their own schedule.

4️⃣ Lengthen muscles. We stop growing around 21 - 25 yo. Your muscles and other soft tissues grow to accommodate your bone length and to allow effective movement at the same time. We can’t ‘push’ them into a longer length.

5️⃣ Break down knots/adhesions. There’s no such thing as knots or adhesions and we’re definitely not breaking anything down in the body.

6️⃣ Realign the pelvis. If you can be in a car accident at 30+ miles an hour, fall down some steps, fall over, etc and not suffer a misaligned pelvis then I’m sure a massage cannot mis or realign anything!

7️⃣ Speed up recovery. Your own metabolism/body processes, the food you eat and the rest you get will dictate how fast you recover. It does feel nice whilst you recover though!

21/04/2025

#1 Pros and Cons of working for yourself Vs working for someone else as a Massage Therapist.

Self employment isn't for everyone. I've met countless therapists who struggle to maintain their diary and their income needs, leaving them feeling frustrated and upset because it's not the 'job of their dreams' that they though it was going to be.

I've met an equal amount of therapists who work for a business they don't like, feel exhausted by the workload, taken advantage of and don't get the chance to really make a connection with their clients.

With the skills you learn on a Professional Massage Therapy Diploma Course there are so many opportunities to create the career you dream of...
.. and we'll help you understand all the aspects of working for yourself, or working for someone else.

Self Employment
Pro:
- Work with the type of clients who you love to work with
- Set your diary around you life, making sure you have time for family, friends and family
- You're your own boss, no one to answer too

Con:
- You've got to find those clients yourself!
- Not everyone can fit the diary you set
- You're the boss, you have to stop the buck!

Employment
Pro:
- You can turn up at work and your clients are booked in for you
- Guaranteed hours of work and pay
- You have support for difficult conversations, policies and procedures

Con:
- You don't get to choose who is booked in with you
- You might not get paid what you expect
- You don't get to decide what policies are enforce and the mission for the business

09/04/2025

23 years and still loving it 💜

This career has taken me:
- into my own clinic in a gym
- onboard a cruise ship which sailed the Meditarranean, Caribbean and Bahamas
- Australia, in a private gym
- in my own clinic in a Physiotherapy practice
- in a high quality City Centre Spa
- in my own clinic in my Pilates and Yoga studio

I've massaged all sorts of people
athletes - professional and amateur, office workers, carers, teachers, nurses, builders, police officers, bus drivers, guitarists, fire fighters, gardeners, parents, a famous jockey, CEOs, accountants, wine tasters, piano tuners, hairdressers, personal trainers, physiotherapists... I could go on

I've added extra treatments, skills and certificates to my 'tool box' but the hands-on treatment is always a winner.

Running a business isn't for everyone. Nor is being a Sole Trader. For me it was the best choice because I have always had the freedom choose where I work, with whom and how much money I earn.

22/09/2024

Imagine choosing…
- when you work
- who you work with
- the career your REALLY want to work in
- to look after people the way you want to

A career in Massage Therapy can give you the opportunity to do all this and more.

Pick a better future for yourself and your family by creating a rewarding and profitable therapy business that gives you time off with the family for holidays and Christmas working with people you enjoy helping.

- Professional massage therapy course taught by experienced therapist, sharing over 20 years employed and self employed experience
- In depth applied anatomy, physiology and pathology that helps you deal with a broad range of client needs
- A year to learn, develop your skills and create the practice of your dreams
- Extensive practice time to hone your hands on skills
- Full business support including comprehensive business module and marketing templates (not offered anywhere else, that I still use in my successful practice) to start your career successfully, and continue that way

Join us on our Open Day to find out more about how to enjoy a new career in Massage Therapy.

12/08/2024

02/11/2023

𝐈𝐭 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐮𝐬 𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 to begin sharing with you details of our wonderful speakers, who will be presenting in the 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐎𝐧 𝐇𝐮𝐛 at this year's Therapy Expo, November 22nd & 23rd at the NEC Birmingham.

Our two day programme introduces a new concept this year:
'𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑺𝑻𝑶𝑹𝒀' - 𝐅𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬 which play a hugely important part in being a modern, evidence informed practicioner:

1. 𝐇𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐲
2. 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐲
3. 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭
4. 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲
5. 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠

As we release daily details of our 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐎𝐧 𝐇𝐮𝐛 programme, you will see that some have one of Five Principles hihlighted.

𝐓𝐎𝐃𝐀𝐘'𝐒 𝐇𝐔𝐁 𝐅𝐎𝐂𝐔𝐒:
Day & Time: Wed 9.15am
Presentation: '𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐓𝐨 𝐄𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞'
Speaker: Anna Maria Mazzieri (Director of the The ST School)
Story Principle: 'Critical Thinking'

To hear more about '𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑺𝑻𝑶𝑹𝒀', be sure to check out the Sports Therapy Association Podcast Ep.170 in which Anna Maria discusses it with James Earls & Owen Lewis of Born to Move.

Available on the Sports Therapy Association YouTube Channel and all popuar podcast apps >>> 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒!