Heart and Soul Massage School

The demand for massage therapy in the tri-county area exceeds the supply of available licensed massage therapists. So, local spa owner Nicole Frye has taken it upon herself to remedy that shortage by offering a massage school. Nicole’s school is called Heart and Soul Massage School, and she says it is licensed by the State Council of Higher Education of Virginia. I asked Nicole how acute the shortage is.

I have a couple of openings at my spa and then in the surrounding areas, The Homestead, they are looking for licensed massage therapist as well as The Salt Cave in White Sulphur Springs. I also understand that Snowshoe only has one massage therapist available.  I frequently get calls to see clients from that way in Snowshoe or going to Snowshoe.

What type of massage therapy do you offer?

I do Swedish and deep-tissue, which is more of a therapeutic massage. I also do hot stone therapy. And that’s kind of hands-on massage, but you also incorporate hot basalt stones into the massage, as well. And the heat helps to relax the muscles a lot better.  It goes in, penetrates the muscles deeper, as well, and helps to relax a lot faster. Plus, heat just feels good.

How long will it take to complete the course and what will students learn?

The whole course is a 560-hour, total hours.  We do 315 hours in anatomy, kinesiology, physiology. The hands-on part is 210 hours. And then there’s an additional 35 hours in the clinic where they’ll be working on the public.  With anatomy, we learn the muscle, where they insert, where they originate, their actions.  We also learn the functions of the body, body systems like the lymphatic system, circulatory system, that sort of thing, as well. And we also cover a little bit on nerves. We cover some on nutrition.  We are also going to have a couple mini classes: intro to aroma therapy, intro to hot stone massage and things like that.

What is the class schedule?

I am offering a day and an evening class. So, if you take the daytime class, that’s going to be Monday, Wednesday and Thursdays.  That’s from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. and that’ll take you about seven months. And then for the evening class, I’m offering Monday evenings from 6:00 to 9:00 and then one to two Sundays a month from 1:00 to 4:00 and that’ll take you about 14 months to finish.

Will students be eligible to be licensed once they complete the school?

They are eligible to be licensed.  They will get a massage certificate that then they go and take the national exam which is called the MBLEx.  And then, once they pass that, they go back to their state to get their state license.

If people are interested in attending massage school, but they don’t have cash in hand to pay the tuition right now, is there any way for them to finance that?

We do have scholarship funds available to help pay for tuition. In addition, they can also get student loans.

What is a newly-minted massage therapist’s earning potential?

A newly-licensed massage therapist getting out of school can make about $25.00 an hour plus tips working for somebody else.

More information about the school can be found online at HeartAndSoulMassageSchool.com.  This is Mickey Frank Thomas for Allegheny Mountain Radio.

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Mickey Frank Thomas

Mickey Frank began his radio career in October 2017 when he was offered the impossible-to-fill 9:00 p.m. to midnight slot on Saturdays, where his coordinated mix of pop, soft rock and R&B from the 60s through the 80s met with little acclaim. Deciding that he needed a more awake audience, he added the 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. afternoon drive slot to his workload when it became available in December 2018. Originally from Morton, Illinois, good, old Mickey Frank has lived in more places than he can count on his fingers and toes, but now resides in Highland County.  Email Mickey Frank at  mickeyfrank@amrmail.org.

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