Hendrickson Method Massage and Manual Therapy

We hope this finds you healthy and doing as well as possible during this very challenging, unprecedented time of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are sad to tell you that the current situation requires us to postpone our May 30 - June 2 Hendrickson Method workshop, Transformation Through Touch: Essentials of Manual Therapy for Lower Extremities. The new dates for this workshop are October 31 - November 3. We hope you will be able to join us then. If you are already registered f...or the May training, your registration will automatically transfer to October. Please contact Jeanette at [email protected], or at 510-524-3107 if you have any questions or concerns. We’ll be in touch in the fall to confirm the training dates and make adjustments if needed. At this point, in addition to shifting the Lower Extremities class to October, our plan is to start the next full series of trainings in January 2021, beginning with HM for the Spine. This workshop will be followed by HM for Upper Extremities in May 2021 and HM for Lower Extremities in the summer of 2021. As members of the healing tribe, it is extremely hard to be asked to stop giving our healing touch; to be unable to serve in the ways we feel called, through our hands and hearts. We know this shut down time is also bringing the stress of financial hardship and the unknowns of when we will be able to offer HM to our clients again. As a way for the HM community to stay connected, Tom and members of our teaching staff are offering 3 free Zoom calls from 11 am - noon PST beginning Saturday, May 23 with Tom sharing healing words and practices, as well as a Q & A time. The other two Zoom dates are June 6 and June 20, also from 11 am noon PST. Details will be shared in an upcoming email and on this page. We hope you will be able to join us for these gatherings, which will support you in the deepening of your HM practice while sheltering in place so that when the time comes to see clients again, you will be drawing from a stronger, deeper well of knowledge and healing energy. We are holding you in our hearts, and look forward to seeing you on Zoom soon. With gratitude for you and love, Your Hendrickson Method Institute Team

With all the news about the coronavirus, we have entered a new level of stress in our country and around the world. I know that many of your clients are worried about how to prevent getting infected and you may be as well. I recently sent my patients an email with thoughts on stress management and ways to support the immune system during this time. It’s posted below so you can read it. In the letter, I highlight the belly breathing meditation we do in class as well as HM trea...tments as ways to calm the nervous system and support immune function. HM is a powerful healing offering during this time of uncertainty because it is so effective at reducing stress, anxiety and worry. As you know, it’s designed to induce deep calm through engaging the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), which strengthens the immune system, lowers blood pressure and heart rate, and promotes the rejuvenation of the body. Also, as HM is a heart-centered practice, it offers a potent opportunity to share loving kindness and compassion, which also boosts the immune system and helps promote optimum health. As practitioners in the healing arts, it’s important for us to prioritize practices that support our self-care so that we can remain steady, strong vehicles of healing, especially during difficult times. Part of the art of self-care is to do the best we can to stay calm, rested and healthy every day. A key to HM’s effectiveness is our ability to enter a healing state before we begin each treatment. The energy development practices we teach in class, including belly breathing, qigong, and meditation, are designed to create a state of healing energy in our body by engaging our PNS. Then from this state of deep calm, we are better able to connect with our client’s PNS as we give the treatment. This creates the optimum potential of healing in our client’s body, mind, and emotions. Energy exercises and meditation are steps that we might want to skip if we’re in a hurry, but I know from experience that this time of inner focus, chi development, and calming, is equally as important as executing the proper HM techniques during a treatment. These practices are essential for becoming a master practitioner because it is not only the mechanics of the techniques but the healing energy that is cultivated that provides the greatest benefit to your client and yourself. I hope you will join me for our next workshop, Essentials of Manual Therapy for Lower Extremities, May 30 June 2 in Berkeley. Contact Jeanette at [email protected] to register. In addition to the art and science of the HM protocol for the lower extremities (see video for one technique we will cover), I will be sharing key practices for energy generation as well as new insights on healing inspired from the deep dive I’m doing on my sabbatical. Until then, renew your commitment to those practices that keep you strong, healthy and in a state of calm for your clients. Blessings, Tom

Here's the text from an email that Tom recently wrote to his patients about the coronavirus. He wanted to share it with you in case it's helpful for you and your clients. February 29, 2020 Dear Patients: ...Continue reading

I feel so much gratitude and appreciation for the wonderful Upper Extremities workshop we experienced together this past weekend! Thank you to our excellent teaching staff Qilo, Nikki, Ryn, Sigal and Maria for your great skill, heart, humor, and love of HM. Thank you to all the students. Your openness and willingness to dive deep into the materialinner and outermade the class soar. ... Thank you to Jeanette for your steady presence and care behind the scenes that makes all the difference. And thank you to Luke for sharing your gifts of photography. Together, we created a very inspiring and powerful four days of learning and growth. After all these years of teaching, I feel we’ve found a new rhythm with the way we’re presenting the material that supports a relaxed and even more effective learning experience. From the new power points to the demos, we’ve streamlined and simplified things and the result is a spaciousness that allows us to sink into new levels of depth as well as have lots of fun and laughs. I’m a big fan of our new HM graduate single-day option and am happy we had several graduates join us over the weekend to deepen their work and bring their beautiful energy to class. I look forward to seeing you at our next workshop, Manual Therapy for Lower Extremities, May 30 June 2 in Berkeley. Visit hendricksonmethod.com or contact Jeanette at [email protected] to register. Between now and then, may we all combine a compassionate heart and mindful presence with the precision of advanced manual therapy to deliver effective HM treatments that are filled with kindness. Blessings, Tom

Hendrickson Method Institute January 2020 Upper Extremities Workshop

As health care providers in an increasingly online world, we are seeing many more clients and patients who have complaints in the wrist and hand. One of the most common complaints is due to carpal tunnel syndrome. I have found that when patients come to see me, they have often been misdiagnosed by other providers or self-diagnose incorrectly. Most people assume that if they have pain in the wrist or hand it must be carpal tunnel syndrome. Not true. The most typical symptom... of carpal tunnel syndrome is numbing and tingling in the thumb, index and part of the third finger. The cause of the numbing and tingling is a compression of the median nerve. The typical site of compression is at the wrist, the site of the carpal tunnel. Compression of the nerve generates numbing and tingling. We have a very effective protocol in Hendrickson Method for carpal tunnel syndrome. In acute cases, we need to use METs for the wrist and finger flexors to pump the excess fluid out of the tunnel. For chronic cases, the fascia that forms the roof of the tunnel, called the flexor retinaculum, gets short and thick. We use soft tissue mobilization to dissolve adhesions at the attachment points of the retinaculum as well as PIR-MET to lengthen the fascia, to de-compress the nerve. Obviously the client needs to manage their condition as well with frequent breaks, stretching of the wrist and hand, and good posture. The attached video shows a portion of the HM treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome. To learn this technique and more treatments for the upper extremity, please join me for the next HM workshop, Transformation Through Touch: Manual Therapy for Upper Extremities, Jan 25-28 in Berkeley. Visit hendricksonmethod.com or call Jeanette at 510-524-3107 to register. Blessings, Tom Hendrickson, D.C. Founder Hendrickson Method Institute