Soma Massage Blog

Health Coaching Career Trend

Forbes: Health Coaching Career Trend

A recent article in Forbes cites Health Coaching as one of the biggest health trends today. Health coaches guide and motivate their clients to make healthy lifestyle changes. In the process, these clients are eschewing exorbitant doctors’ fees. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, participating in a health coaching relationship can help clients manage stress, lose weight, increase physical activity—all changes that reduce or eliminate the risk of heart disease and diabetes.

At The Soma Institute in Chicago, Illinois, we are dedicated to helping change the way healthcare is redefined in the United States. Chronic disease accounts for 75% of healthcare costs in the nation—and health coaching can significantly reduce this strain on the country.

If you’re interested in a career helping others—and being part of the solution—consider exploring the idea of health coaching. Soma offers a 15-week Health & Wellness Coach Training Program. For more information, give an admissions representative a call at 1-800-694-5314. A new career could be waiting for you.

Attend Soma. Change your life. Proof inside.

We asked a recent Soma graduate to reflect on her time here at Soma. Here are her responses.

What were your feelings on entering the program?

I was nervous. Curious. Questioning myself if I made the right decision to make a career change. Wondering if this career really was for me. But even with all that, I was excited. I had explored multiple options, disappointed with each one more than the last until I came to Soma. This school and its program stood out from the rest.

Why did you enter the program?

I was looking to change my career. Working full-time as a Chef ruled my life. With my shifts ranging from 12 to 16 hours a day, 6 days a week, only making just enough to pay my bills... it was draining. My friends and family began to ostracize me for never being available. I missed birthdays, weddings, baby showers, anniversaries, and everything in between. I was pushing my body to the limit, and with the lost support and understanding of the people I cared about I slowly sank into a deep depression. I knew something needed to change, and it needed to change fast. It took me a while to realize, but when I made the decision to go back to school, it gave me something to work towards again. It gave me hope. I turned back to one of my original desires, to enter into physical therapy, and went on researching all options available. Before I knew it, I was filling out an application (on the spot, I might add) after my walkthrough with Stan. I was sold immediately. It was the focus on clinical work, and the confidence. Confidence in the teacher's and student's capabilities radiated from Stan and anyone else I spoke to, and I think it was that confidence that gave me the extra little push I needed.

What were some high points and low points in your time here?

The classes were amazing. Really, so much information was given, it kept me captivated. I soaked it up like a sponge. And the teachers were so helpful and engaging; you could tell they enjoy what they do, and that made things all the more interesting. I finished the program on a high note with lovely new people. It was more than I expected, and I was (and still am) extremely grateful for that opportunity.

Did you learn everything you wanted to learn/ do you feel qualified to start your career now that you've graduated?

I absolutely learned what I wanted! That confidence I mentioned earlier? I feel it in myself now. I am beyond happy with my decision to go back to school, and I can't imagine where I would be now if I hadn't. I can't wait to get started in my new career! The decision to attend Soma changed my life in more ways than I imagined.

Medicine Massage Therapist

Day in the Life of a Integrative Medicine Massage Therapist

Massage Magazine recently profiled UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine’s full-time massage therapist, Marcia Degelman. Integrative medicine addresses patients from a whole-person perspective, rather than individual, separate parts. Cancer patients, trauma survivors, and even infants in the intensive care unit have all benefited from Integrative Medicine—and in particular, from massage therapy.

According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, integrative medicine is growing significantly in the United States. Therapies included in this growing field are homeopathy, yoga, meditation, and massage therapy, among others.

On a typical day, Degelman sees several patients suffering from varying illnesses. She uses a range of techniques from deep tissue to light touch depending on the patient’s specific circumstance. “I see all kinds of patients, from 90-year-olds who are having their first massage ever to doctors with pancreatic cancer to people with fibromyalgia, MS, scoliosis,” said Degelman,

The Osher Center conducted studies with patients undergoing a variety of treatments, from cancer related surgery to marrow transplantation, and found that the patients who received massage therapy as part of their integrative medicine had less pain and depression, and found relief from stress and anxiety. “We believe that massage can bring patients out of their worried minds into a more relaxed body, where they feel they have—and can tap into—resources in their body to help its healing process.”

Student loan debt or a rewarding career? You decide.

Which of these scenarios would you prefer?

1. You've struggled for four years to earn a college degree only to find there are no jobs applicable to that degree. But doesn't a degree in Communications apply to everyone? And isn't Anthropology everywhere? Perhaps, but not in the want ads. On top of that, you now have to start paying back those student loans, and let's generously call that a soul-crushing debt. So now you're living in your parent's basement, because your old room is now a yoga studio/knitting den, you have no money, no job, and just to make this the perfect country song, your girlfriend left you for your best friend.

Or, how about this:

2. You've gotten a degree from a certified training program, and after graduating in a mere 11 months, you find that there are good paying jobs just waiting for you to fill them. You've got your own apartment, your friends are all jealous, and now your best friend's girlfriend is leaving him for you!

Simply Hired has recently compiled a list of the Top Ten Best Jobs you can get without a college degree. Not surprisingly to us, Massage is number seven on that list.

Massage Fights Heart Disease

Top 3 Risk Factors for Heart Disease

February is recognized as American Heart Month—a time to recognize heart disease as the number one killer among Americans.  The American Heart Association has published the top 3 risk factors for the disease and what you can do to minimize your risk:

1. High Cholesterol
2. High Blood Pressure
3. Inactivity

There are many way to manage your risks, including a healthy diet, more activity, and massage therapy.  Recent research suggests that including massage therapy into your exercise routine is beneficial to heart health.  The Buck Institute for Research on Aging conducted a study in 2012 that says massage therapy reduces inflammation of skeletal muscle acutely damaged through exercise. Evidence suggests that massage affects inflammation in a similar way anti-inflammatory medications do.

If you’ve ever considered a career in massage therapy, now is a great time to look into it. With more people turning to alternative methods of care, massage therapy is becoming more and more mainstream. Massage therapists are in the unique position of being able to help patients with a myriad of health issues through natural methods—reducing medical costs and trips to the doctor.

If you’d like more information about a career in massage therapy and The Soma Institute’s Clinical Massage Therapy Program, give us a call at 1-800-694-5314.