Why I started teaching Con Ed
While working on my latest class, I have been really diving deep into the pathway of the nerves in the arm. It's been an energizing return to a subject I've studied before. I find that the lack of detail spent on the subject in anatomy has is a huge disservice to those who hope to practice therapeutic way.
My first exposure to anatomy was in a traditional college course back in 2006. I’m incredibly grateful for that experience; it gave me a solid, science-based foundation that still informs the way I approach the body today. When I went to massage school in 2015, I was surprised to find that the anatomy education there didn’t quite match the depth or rigor I had come to expect. It was enough to get by and pass exams—but not necessarily enough to feel truly grounded in the why behind the how.
That experience isn't unique to me. Many massage therapists begin their careers with a surprisingly shallow introduction to anatomy and physiology. It’s no fault of their own—it’s just how many programs are structured. And while technique is emphasized, the deeper understanding of body systems and mechanisms often takes a back seat. Part of me sympathizes with this. Massage school is overwhelming, even to a bookworm like myself. With such a shortage of people in this field, would half of them have graduated with advanced anatomy classes? A good massage can be achieved without being able to define verbatim a dendrite. At the same time, many MTs go into the field either 1. feeling woefully unprepared for the career they’ve stepped into, or 2. blissfully ignorant of what makes a good therapist. I’ve found that the depth just wasn’t there—it often lacked the kind of clinical clarity and reasoning that really sticks.
That gap has become more noticeable as I’ve taken various continuing education (CE) courses over the years. Some of them have been fantastic. Others? Not so much. I’ve sat through courses that skimmed the surface, never quite getting into the why’s and how’s of how the body works. And I get it—it’s easy to focus on technique and skip the foundational science. But I believe that when we don’t understand why we’re doing something, or how it truly affects the body, we’re missing a huge piece of the puzzle.
That’s why, in the CE courses I offer, I aim to provide something more: a deeper, more evidence-informed education that reconnects practitioners with the foundations of anatomy, integrates technique with physiology, and encourages critical thinking. Understanding nerve pathways, for example, isn’t just academic—it changes the way we touch, assess, and support the body.
Students practicing techniques for the rotator cuff.
For me, this renewed study isn’t about relearning from scratch—it’s about refining, deepening, and bringing clarity to what we already know. It fits the foundation we should have with techniques we practice. It takes the knowledge and the practice as two pieces of a puzzle that were once far apart, and brings them together.
