CenterPoint offers Minnesota Massage Programs with Shiatsu Therapy, Thai Massage, Spa Resort Massage Techniques.

It's All About Choice!

Choose from one of many Minnesota massage programs that is right for you! Choose from one of CenterPoint's three massage diploma programs. In addition, choose one or two Elective specialty courses that will personalize your massage therapy education to fit your therapeutic massage career goals.

Come and see what two generations of students have loved about CenterPoint! Schedule your campus visit - 952-562-5200.

Join a FREE Massage Class Today!

Download The CenterPoint School Catalog PDF >

Which Massage Diploma Program is Right for You?

1. East West Therapeutic Bodywork
   
2. Shiatsu Therapy
   
3. Therapeutic Massage

Choose Massage Therapy Courses from CenterPoint's Elective Courses:

1. Thai Massage
   
2. Spa & Resort Techniques
   
3. Foot & Hand Reflexology
   
4. Hospital Massage
   
5. Craniosacral Techniques
   
6. Lymph Drainage Massage
7. Discovering the Healer Within

East West Therapeutic Bodywork...

East West Therapeutic Bodywork is CenterPoint’s premier program. This is the therapeutic massage training program of choice if your vision is to help people feel better, recover from injury, and restore balance and vitality. You will obtain skill and knowledge to best serve the greatest number of clients in need of bodywork. East West Therapeutic Bodywork offers the unique advantage of in-depth training in Japanese Shiatsu therapy and Therapeutic Massage.

Students choosing this massage training program will have the distinct advantage of learning two major styles of bodywork - the philosophies, theoretical foundations, assessment techniques, hands-on applications and clinical experience.

Upon graduation you will have gained knowledge and skills from two powerful systems of bodywork. This provides the foundation, certification, and license for working as a natural health care provider. If your massage career goal is to be a practitioner in eastern and western healing arts, enroll in this program.

61 Credit Hours - 1320 Clock Hours

Full time: 20 Months    Part time: 28 Months

^TOP^

Shiatsu Therapy...

Is the Shiatsu Therapy program right for you? Have you been drawn to the beauty and philosophies of Japan and China? Do you practice a martial art? Are you intrigued by a system of natural healing that is more than 2500 years old? Then Shiatsu may be right for you! 

CenterPoint's Shiatsu Therapy program teaches two complete systems of Asian Bodywork Therapy: Namikoshi Shiatsu and Shiatsu Anma with additional application techniques. Students acquire a uniquely large toolbox of skills and shiatsu techniques in our classes and school to better serve their clients.

Shiatsu therapy stimulates and harmonizes the flow of “Qi” (vital energy) throughout the body and has both preventative and therapeutic affects. The curriculum integrates the ancient arts of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) theory and assessment with the modern Western sciences, personal and professional development, and a supervised clinical experience.

TCM theory and assessment explore patterns of disharmony and disease from a uniquely Asian perspective. Students learn to assess and harmonize the flow of "Qi" (vital energy) throughout the body. Many clients prefer the depth and vitality of Shiatsu. Choose Shiatsu Therapy and expand your ideas of health and wellness.

43.5 Credit Hours - 900 Clock Hours

Full time: 12 Months    Part time: 20 Months

What is Shiatsu?

^TOP^

Therapeutic Massage...

CenterPoint's Therapeutic Massage training program includes Swedish massage and Advanced Therapeutic Massage education techniques. The foundation is an in-depth science curriculum with a client-centered approach to massage, where clients are active participants in their own therapeutic process. Students develop excellent palpation and therapeutic technical skills, and are well trained to respond to the needs of clients ranging from stress and relaxation to repetitive use syndromes, postural tension, overexertion, and auto, work, and sports related injuries.

Students learn therapeutic massage in a comprehensive training program grounded in the theories of a Western-based science curriculum (anatomy, physiology, kinesiology, and pathology), personal and professional development, and a supervised clinical experience.

The Therapeutic Massage training program provides the opportunity for you to gain a very high level of therapeutic massage skills and knowledge that is necessary to become a successful massage therapist. If you are looking for massage courses or a training program that gives you the tools to help people recover from injury and manage pain, this is the therapeutic massage program for you.

43.5 Credit Hours - 900 Clock Hours

Full time: 12 Months    Part time: 20 Months

What is Therapeutic Massage?

^TOP^

CenterPoint's Elective Courses...

Thai Massage
Thai Massage is part of the four-fold traditional medical system of Thailand and features the concept of energy flow through pathways of the body. This style ofmassage bodywork emphasizes the mind/body connection and has been utilized in the treatment of physical, emotional and spiritual disorders.

Thai Massage includes stretching and extending the range of motion of the client’s body. The stretching often takes the form of double or assisted Yoga. Once the client has relaxed deeply, the practitioner, with a heightened sensitivity, stretches the client to his or her comfortable limit.

A high level of significance is attributed to the abdominal region. According to Thai Medicine, all the major energy pathways of the body have their origin in the vicinity of the navel. Thai Massage is performed on a floor mat and utilizes the thumbs, fingers, forearms, elbows, and palms for massage and pressure techniques. Thai Massage is easily integrated into other forms of Asian Bodywork Therapy like Shiatsu.

2 credit hours - 45 clock hours


^TOP^

 




Spa & Resort Techniques
Spa & Resort Techniques is a great course to add to your education to expand your employment options. Spas have become the largest employers of massage therapists in the U.S. Spa techniques combine natural healing traditions with relaxation & restoration for the spa massage client. Spa training prepares the massage or shiatsu therapist to find employment in spa establishments, resorts, hotels, salons, and cruise ships. Massage therapists also incorporate spa techniques into private practice without the need for extensive equipment or special “wet room” facilities.

Students in the Spa & Resort Techniques courses will train in a vast array of spa techniques including Aromatherapy and Essential Oils, Heated Stone Massage, Body Wraps, Salt and Sugar Glows and Scrubs, Hot and Cold Hydrotherapy Applications, and much more.


The foundation of CenterPoint’s Spa & Resort Techniques is therapeutic. The spa techniques are taught from the healing perspective in addition to comfort and relaxation. The techniques provide for endless creativity and uniqueness among bodywork treatments. Spa & Resort Techniques is an excellent way to expand your sessions with clients. You can combine many of the spa techniques with your massage or shiatsu sessions to create just the right treatment for your clients. Combining this course with any of the therapeutic core programs gives you the tools to offer a wide range of services to your clients, both in private practice and in established businesses. Take both Spa & Resort Techniques to learn the full complement of all you can do in this amazing modality!

Spa & Resort Techniques is a great course to expand your employment options and create your personal “signature” therapies. In this course students learn about the current breadth and importance of the spa industry. Students experience in-depth study of Aromatherapy and Essential Oils. In addition, students learn the effectiveness and techniques of the Heat and Cold applications of Hydrotherapy, cleansing and exfoliating techniques including Salt and Sugar Glows and Scrubs, and Body Wraps working with herbs, seaweed, clays and mud. Students also learn and practice the very popular Heated Stone treatments and receive their own set of stones. This course offers many spa techniques that will expand your practice and benefit your clients. The Spa Kit includes items to practice these specific treatments.

2 credit hours - 45 clock hours




^TOP^

 

Craniosacral Techniques
Craniosacral Therapy (CST) is a gentle, non-invasive, hands-on method for correcting problems affecting the Craniosacral system, in which the brain and spinal cord function. It encourages the body’s natural healing mechanisms to dissipate the negative effects of stress and improve the body’s internal environment. CST is increasingly used as a preventive health measure for its ability to bolster resistance to disease.


Using a soft touch, practitioners assess and release restrictions in the craniosacral and fascial systems throughout the body to improve the functioning of the whole person. Students will learn hands-on cranial and fascial release techniques to effect pain, illness, dysfunction.

Craniosacral Therapy is effective for a wide range of common problems associated with pain and dysfunction, including migraine headaches, chronic neck and back pain, learning disabilities, chronic fatigue, emotional imbalance, stress and tension-related problems, fibromyalgia, temporomandibular joint syndrome (TMJ), and other connective-tissue disorders. The CST techniques offer astonishing results with sometimes minimal effort.

2 credit hours - 45 clock hours

 

^TOP^

 

Lymph Drainage Massage
Lymph Drainage massage is very relaxing and helpful for stress reduction, as it activates the parasympathetic nervous system. Lymph massage has significant therapeutic benefits for many types of clients, including those who have had recent surgery, soft tissue injury, cancer survivors, stress and tension, “traveler’s edema” and others.


Lymph Drainage Massage uses light-touch massage strokes to move excess fluid (edema) out of the body’s tissues and spaces and into the lymph system, where it can be purified and transported for recirculation or elimination.


The course begins with a detailed study of the lymphatic system. Concepts of lymphatic massage, including watersheds, assessment, indications & contraindications, and directions of movement are introduced. Basic hand techniques of lymph drainage massage are introduced and practiced. Techniques are applied to the various body regions, and self-massage techniques are taught for client education and self care. This introductory course is excellent to broaden your ability to work therapeutically with your clients.

2 credit hours - 45 clock hours

 

^TOP^

 

Hospital Massage
Hospital Massage prepares the student to work in a variety of health care settings, including hospitals, assisted living, long-term care facilities, rehabilitation centers, hospice, and private practice clients who are medically frail.


Demand is continually growing for skilled massage and bodywork therapists who are trained to provide complementary care for those who are being cared for in mainstream medical settings.


Hospital massage therapists work alongside nurses, physicians, and other mainstream providers to create integrative health care. Students will learn to use standard precautions and infection control, to identify common symptoms and conditions found in hospital patients, working around medical devices, and documentation of care sessions. The course will cover positioning the client, and working with clients in hospital beds and wheel chairs. Students will also learn specific indications and contraindications for patients in labor and delivery, orthopedic units, cardiac units and other specific kinds of care. Students will learn how to modify every aspect of giving a massage to be appropriate for clients in a wide variety of medical settings.

2 credit hours - 45 clock hours

 

^TOP^

 

Foot & Hand Reflexology
This course offers the bodywork therapist a deeper look into the use of reflexive therapy. The hands and feet each contain points and regions that correspond to all the body's structures and functions, making reflexology an ideal adjunctive technique for any of CenterPoint’s programs.


Reflexology is based on the holistic model of the body, and makes use of the concept that the whole is reflected in each of the parts.


In this fun and exciting course, you will learn the detailed maps of the hands and feet, the techniques to make your reflexology work come alive, and additional techniques suitable for spa or other practice incorporating scrubs, exfoliation, and hydrotherapy techniques. In addition, students experience in-depth study of Aromatherapy with Essential Oils, which are integrated into foot and hand treatments. Reflexology can serve as a stand-alone therapy, or be combined with your other tools and techniques for spa, salon, fitness center, or private practice. There will be many opportunities to experience the healing effects of hand and foot reflexology, and practice your technique during the in-class practice on the other participants.

2 credit hours - 45 clock hours

 

^TOP^

 

Discovering the Healer Within
Discovering the Healer Within is designed for therapists-in-training to begin the process of self-discovery and self-mastery. Qigong, Yoga, or other therapeutic exercise are practiced for self-care during each class session. Students explore strategies for successfully transitioning into life as a student of massage and/or shiatsu. “Archetypes of the therapy room” help therapists-in-training identify common patterns in themselves and others. These include “victim”, “nurturer”, “rescuer”, “child”, “vampire”, “wounded healer”, and others. Students explore personality styles with the Keirsey Temperament Sorter and the Chinese Five Elements. Stress management and self-care strategies presented and practiced are important tools for the bodywork therapist to manage their future practice and maintain longevity in the profession.

2 credit hours - 45 clock hours

 

^TOP^