Sunset at Gaia School

This program is suited for students seeking an alternative to mainstream institutional program settings, and to those who are fully ready to engage in the learning process , through action and with consciousness.  The curriculum is holistic, energy based, with grounded instruction in sensitive approaches to various massage and bodywork styles, including Swedish, connective tissue, structural, myofascial, and reflexive work.  Energy modalities of Polarity, Therapeutic Touch, Reiki,   and intuitive healing are integrated into the program, with outside elective available for more Polarity and MariEl work.  I welcome questions from all who are exploring their own participation .

We have begun this January (2008) with a group, and will be offering the program again beginning in October, 2008.  If you are considering the program for fall, you may benefit from visiting our current group as an observer, in addition to volunteering as a " practice person " (our students will practice their work on you under instructor supervision).
Contact Mary Light , 734-769-7794 for information about these options.

Testimonials from previous graduates of the program :
" Oh! - I have been profoundly grateful to have you as a teacher"

" I am so grateful I could study in this way, as an alternative to the other choices in the area.  I have learned so much , been so inspired, and now confidently have a very rewarding practice of my own which is unfolding exactly as I desire.  This is a wonderful program choice for those seeking the richness of personalized attention from a master bodyworker with a rich and varied background of experience in the healing arts".

"This was a wonderful, rich experience and I was glad to experience the flexibility in scheduling and pace offered, while
learning on a deeper level that I could hope to find elsewhere.  I have a job I am very happy with , while also maintaining a small private practice at home."


VISION

To support presence and connection for optimum healing through a “present-centered awareness”  approach to study and practice in an integrated therapeutic massage program, based upon classic, holistic models of bodywork and energy medicine.   Our vision is to provide a choice to learn and practice professional skills with an energy-based foundation. 

INTENTION

To engage in a learning experience which integrates natural therapeutics, classic and emerging bodywork therapies, anatomy of movement, and energy medicine approaches, with supplemental learning from the field of holistic health , including dietary healing, botanical medicinals, applied therapeutics, and assessment techniques. 

SETTING

We meet in the peaceful countryside, amid the serenity of 800 private acres. Our practice rooms are set with bodywork tables, and teachings aids such as charts, skeleton models, and experiential supplies.  We enjoy space for our own movement, meditation, and exploration of learning processes in natural light and a natural setting.  A collection of learning materials is available in a library for student use.

As students , it is a class of women.  The people we will eventually work with in our  practicum  will be men and women of a variety of ages, backgrounds, and health conditions, under supervised  conditions, with ongoing feedback from our practice clients, teacher, and one another. 

UNFOLDMENT

During this program, you will have the opportunity to give and receive bodywork and healing sessions in an atmosphere of support and safety for the learning and healing process.  You will learn to integrate useful and emerging natural therapeutics into bodywork sessions, utilizing hydrotherapy, poultices, therapeutic botanicals , assisted stretching, and more.  We will learn approaches for: Prenatal Massage, structural bodywork, elder massage and other special populations, Esalen massage, Swedish, Polarity Therapy, Reiki, Therapeutic Touch, and MariEl work.

Two previous  graduates of this program, now successfully working as therapists , will also be available during parts of the program, as well as for your personal inquiries about the program.  I suggest receiving their work as a part of your learning and exploration process.

Students may earn up to $3,500 during their supervised field work sessions, during which they map opt to charge a student fee.  Students will be required to maintain a source of liability insurance during this time, and will be given several options (IMA, and ABMP organizations) to secure insurance.

TIMING


We encourage anyone interested to contact Mary Light during the summer months and into early fall with questions, or to arrange an interview. 


Fall, 2008 Program begins October           

Selected weekday nights, January - April,                   84 hours
   (generally one night per week)
One weekend per month, January through April             56 hours
Approximate assignments study                                  280 hours
Field Sessions                                                            100 hours
Field preparation and journal                                       100 hours                  Supervised Clinic                                                        48  hours
Required:   5 outside massage sessions
                 RECEIVED by professionals,
                 Journaled and critiqued                                 10 hours
MAY    - OFF
June  - One weekend, Integration and Style                   16 hours
July  - One weekend, Integration and Style                    16 hours


REGISTRATION
To apply, it is necessary to meet in person with Mary Light to discuss the
program , your needs and goals, and to engage in an interview.
.
 Books, supplies and study aids are the responsibility of the student.  I recommend 3-4 specific books which integrate the concepts of this program. Most all books may be obtained at a reduced price , in used condition , from amazon.com , should students wish to pursue this choice. Hand-outs are given during each class. 



This program was conceived and designed after many years of observation during my own time, since 1991, as a student and also a teacher,  in massage and bodywork schools and programs.  I feel very fortunate to have been trained in two of the very best schools of that era, under several of the most amazing teachers and role models imaginable.  These teachers include Premshakti and Nijanand of Kripalu, The entire amazing staff of Florida School of Massage in Gainesville, Florida, Lee Joseph of the Pacific Institute of Bodywork Awareness (Kauai) , Andrea Butje,  Carolyn Myss, Tom Cratsley and Barbara Sanson of Lily Dale, Maruti Siedman, Farida Sharan, and several teachers of the Florida School of Massage staff of 1993- all of which are still linked to that program today, and were accomplished therapists at the time they taught me.  I also experienced and learned from teaching positions, faculty advisory posts, and  program participation in 5 additional schools once I became an instructor.  When I founded my own Center in 1995, I continued to be creatively charged, inspired, and fascinated by the learning process- how great the need for these teachings , and attention to their crafting and nurturing. I also continued to actively engage in a full time practice , and have worked with a variety of clients in over 10,000 individual sessions. Only after that time did I put this current and evolving program out as a teacher, after being approached by prospective students asking to train with me.   I believe we each have our own variety of gifts and expressions of healing and therapeutic presence waiting to come out,  be refined, and continue to grow and amaze.  And , in this process, we, too are made more whole and peaceful.  I believe this is best  accomplished in small groups, with an experienced and skilled mentor, guest teachers, sensitive and open feedback, a steady flow of fresh ideas and energy, and with individual flexibility. This is what I offer to those interested in pursuing bodywork training with me , and with our guest teachers, at Gaia Center.


Peacefully,

Mary Light , ND, MH, LMT
Gaia Center for Holistic Healing Studies  / Gaia School of Herbal Studies