NCMC 3rd Tuesday Presentation Series
Local, affordable, and high quality continuing education for our LMT Community
NCMC Presentations
CE: 3 hours in-person or online
Cost: $30 + tax - Includes CE certificate
Current Student LMT: $10 + tax (use discount code STUDENT-LMT) No CE Certificate will be provided
Time: 6:00pm-9:00pm
In Person Location: Hillcrest Church Commons
1400 Larrabee Ave, Bellingham, WA 98225
NCMC’s monthly presentations are a fantastic way for you to receive the continuing education hours required to maintain your massage license. We draw from a broad network of professionals to provide a range of topics that will enhance your massage techniques and business skills. Do not miss this incredible opportunity to increase your knowledge from seasoned instructors.
You must pre-register online for all 3rd Tuesday Presentations for 2025-2026. Visit our website for detailed descriptions about our presentation series, information on pre-registering, and additional listings for local continuing education classes. Be sure to sign up for our monthly emails to receive a reminder invitation to upcoming events.
Do you have a great idea for a presentation to share with our LMT community?
Get in touch and let’s chat!
Lymphatic Massage Tools to Save Your Hands
Date: September 15, 2026, 6:00 - 9:00 PM
Presenter: Ariel Hubbard LMT MA60531582
Class Info: This introductory course explores how light-touch lymphatic techniques can expand a therapist’s clinical toolkit while reducing physical strain. Participants will review lymphatic anatomy and physiology, along with key indications, contraindications, and the foundational principles of the Lymphatic Clearing method. Through demonstration and guided practice, students will learn signature techniques to enhance circulation, improve tissue mobility, soften hypertonic tissue, and prepare the body for deeper therapeutic work when appropriate. Emphasis is placed on practitioner ergonomics, clinical decision-making, and seamless integration into existing massage sessions. Designed as an entry point to the Lymphatic Clearing approach, the course delivers immediately applicable skills and a strong foundation for therapists pursuing advanced lymphatic massage training.
Class Format: In-person, Hands-on
Evidence - Based Kinesiology Taping for Massage Therapists
Date: October 20, 2026, 6:00 - 9:00 PM
Presenter: Kerry Gustafson LMT, ATL, ATC MA60301642
Class Info: Kinesiology taping has become one of the most widely utilized clinical interventions in manual therapy. Frequently applied to reduce musculoskeletal pain, the modality is also popular for claims regarding improvements in muscle strength, range of motion, lymphatic drainage/swelling, and overall functional outcomes. However, despite widespread commercial training programs, high-quality research validating specific taping patterns, directions, or exact tape tensions remains surprisingly scarce. This course bridges the gap between commercial hype and clinical reality. By adopting a transparent, scientifically grounded approach, participants will learn to navigate the limitations of current literature while maximizing the true therapeutic effects of tape. By integrating the best available evidence with practical clinical experience and individual patient presentation, you will learn how to seamlessly incorporate taping into a standard massage session for post-treatment support and extended therapeutic carryover.
First Half: The Scientific Basis of Taping: Critical review of proposed physiological mechanisms, including neurosensory input, soft-tissue decompression, and pain modulation via the gate control theory. We’ll take an honest look at what the research actually supports versus common industry claims regarding tension percentages, directional recoil, and specialized application patterns.
Second Half: Practical Skills & Clinical Applications Pain & Sensory Modulation. Hands-on protocols targeting acute and chronic musculoskeletal conditions. Through edema & swelling Management, we’ll cover techniques for supporting lymphatic drainage and bruise recovery following tissue trauma.
Class Format: In-person, Hands-on
Anterior Trunk Massage
Date: November 17, 2026, 6:00 - 9:00 PM
Presenter: Eren Bartsch LMT MA60175828
Class Info: The abdomen, chest, and sternum are often missing from massage school curricula, so many LMTs avoid these regions altogether, preventing clients from getting work done in these important areas.
We'll cover the anatomy of the anterior trunk, indications and contraindications for working here, and take an honest look at breast tissue itself: what it is, who has it, and why so many practitioners avoid working with it. We'll also spend real time on boundaries and how informed consent works when you're moving into unfamiliar territory with a client.
This is not a breast massage class and we won't be demonstrating or practicing any breast-specific techniques, but we will talk plainly about why breast-specific work matters and what it involves. This class is a great starting point if you're considering taking a breast massage class in the future.
In addition to lecture and discussion, I'll demonstrate abdomen and upper chest massage techniques, and then you'll have time to practice them with a partner, with hands-on feedback from me as you go. Come prepared to spend real time at the table and leave with techniques you can incorporate into your practice right away.
Class Format: In-person, Hands-on
A Second Puberty - Hormonal Changes in Adults
Date: January 19, 2027, 6:00 - 9:00 PM
Presenter: Kelley Garrison ND NT60996791
Class Info: A deep dive into hormonal changes in perimenopause, menopause, and gender affirming care and how these changes can affect patient health.
Class Format: In-person, Lecture
A Neurovascular Release (NVR) Approach to Resolving Low-back Pain and Reducing Hypertonicity in the Spinal Erectors
Date: February 16, 2027, 6:00 - 9:00 PM
Presenter: Kieran Schumaker LMT MA61221200
Class Info: This hands-on workshop will be an evening of experiential learning about an uncommon approach to muscle tension and hypertonicity. You will come away from this workshop with new skills for addressing low back pain and asymmetrical back tension. In explaining this approach, Kier will introduce and bring together a few concepts borrowed from structural integration and manual osteopathy. Over the course of the evening, expect to feel a reduction in tension in your own back muscles and greater ease of movement throughout your body when walking and standing. You will also begin to understand how the skills and concepts taught this evening could be used to bring ease to whole body patterns involving pelvic torsion, mild scoliosis, and other left-right imbalances.
Class Format: In-person, Hands-on
Human Evolution, Movement, and Massage
Date: March 16, 2027, 6:00 - 9:00 PM
Presenter: Caroline Snijder van Wissenkerke BCSI, LMT, RES-CPT, RYT200 MA60578350
Class Info: We live in an increasingly sedentary time. All of us notice the ubiquitous forward head posture, rounded shoulders, and tight hip flexors from texting, typing, and sitting. We know that movement is important, but what kinds of movement and how much do we need? How can we, as bodyworkers, support our clients to find easeful body alignment in a way that sticks? Let’s explore these questions and more through the lens of human evolution and biomechanics. We’ll look at how our human physiology developed over millennia and how that’s relevant in our massage work. We’ll cover what research of modern hunter-gatherers tells us about common assumptions regarding disease, pain, and aging. For many of the problems our clients show up with—from osteoporosis, to plantar fasciitis, to pelvic floor dysfunction—moving well can be the difference that’s needed. And we’ll move our own bodies as we explore alignment cues and functional movements to practice in your own self-care and share with your clients.
Class Format: In-person, Experiential
Table Thai - Gentle Moves & Scarfing
Date: April 20, 2027 6:00 - 9:00 PM
Presenter: Lise Flora Waugh MS, C-1AYT LMT MA61028887
Class Info: The hands on portion of class is a guided partner experience. Occasionally we will pause to review a technique or obviously to answer questions. Think of it like a dance. This workshop will not be teaching you how to give a Thai Massage- but it could enhance that aspect of your tool box as well as provide simple joint freeing movements and "stretching" that can be implemented into any table based massage.
Class Format: In-person, Hands-on
Connective Tissue Release Techniques within the Coherency Matrix: A Nervous System Informed Approach to Integrative Bodywork
Date: May 18, 2027, 6:00 - 9:00 PM
Presenter: Deanna Clasby CR, CRMP, CSEP, LMT MA00020213
Class Info: A colleague once shared with me that he felt the most brilliant bodywork sessions he received were normally from practitioners who worked within multiple body systems at once.
I devoted myself to the fascial system, the visceral system, the skeletal system, the fluid systems, the nervous system and different subtle-body systems. My presentation will be on ways to integrate working within multiple systems together in your practice with a primary emphasis on working through the nervous system first.
Via working through the nervous system first, and by boosting what I am calling the Coherency Matrix, you can facilitate deeper, fuller and more permanent releases of tension. The client literally drops deeper into the table. Then finding and working a through-line within their other systems helps promote the larger structural unwindings and reorganizations.
Some of our clients need extra care & holding to bring their systems into states of entrainment, coherency, co-regulation, and ultimately greater relaxation, to meet their massage therapy goals. And this can all be done with non-verbal, hands-on techniques.
This approach of working within the Coherency Matrix through the different systems can benefit a relaxation massage, sports/treatment massage techniques, Cranio-sacral treatments, and Structural Integration sessions.
I hope to inspire and to inform those of my colleagues ready to venture out into newer territories with their healing arts practice, so they can utilize a wider variety of tools to help them meet the varied needs of their different clients.
Class Format: In-person, Lecture & Experience
Rewiring the Brain for More Freedom of Movement
Presenter: NeuroMovement talk with Denise Skinner, RN, ABMNMP
Class Format: In-person
About the Class: More to come soon...
Massage Entrepreneurship and Career Path Planning
Presenter: Essie Hicks LMT - MA0001257
Class Format: In-person, Lecture
About the Class: This course will help massage entrepreneurs and those who are employees develop their career plans and business plans. We will focus on the entrepreneur mindset, treating the business plan as a living organism, and practice some visionary exercises to help with your meditations, vision, and manifestations.
The effect of visceral manipulation on diastasis recti abdominis (DRA)
Presenter: Brandi Kirk PT
Class Format: In-person, Hands-on
About the Class: The goal for this presentation is for the attendees to have the skills to close up a DRA with visceral manipulation to the jejunoileum. The presentation will include a power-point presentation of the concepts of visceral manipulation, anatomy of the jejunoileum, description of the visceral manipulation techniques and presentation of the research. I will then demo the techniques hopefully on someone who has a DRA and then we will do lab practice of checking for DRA and then the visceral manipulation techniques of the jejunoileum. This will not take the place of taking a visceral manipulation class, which is 4 days in length, but it will introduce you to visceral manipulation in hopefully a practical way so you can take these techniques back to your practice.
The Diaphragm from 3 Approaches: Myofascial, Visceral and Craniosacral
Presenter: Lauren Christman LMT - MA00007042
Class Format: In-person, Hands-on
About the Class: The respiratory diaphragm is a key structure -- providing the engine of breathing, helping to stabilize the torso, organizing the movement of most organs, and being delicately responsive to our autonomic state. Let's explore 3 avenues for providing balance and ease to this powerhouse! After an initial review of its structure and placement we'll have three rounds of demos and practice sessions: myofascial, visceral and cranial. Handouts provided.
Tax Smarts for Massage Therapists: Maximize Deductions, Minimize Stress
Presenter: Siobhan Murphy MBA, CPA, CFM, C
Format of Class: In Person, Experiential Lecture
About the Class: As a massage therapist running your own practice, navigating income taxes can be overwhelming—but it doesn’t have to be. This course is designed specifically for massage therapists and bodywork professionals who want to understand how to confidently manage their tax responsibilities, maximize deductions, and avoid costly mistakes.
Structural Integration and Energy Medicine
Presenter: Jean Louise Green LMT - MA61465720
Format of Class: In-person, Hands-on
About the Class: Jean Louise, a seasoned practitioner of Structural Integration (S.I.), has spent years working with Dr. Ida P. Rolf’s 10-session series while studying and tracking fascial tissue rotation patterns in clients and in her own body. This careful observation has sharpened her ability to assess patterns quickly and accurately, helping her address each client’s needs more effectively. In this workshop, she will demonstrate her visual assessment process, share insights on addressing rotation patterns throughout the 10 sessions, and guide attendees in partnering up to assess each other’s primary direction of rotation.
Participants will discuss how to apply these findings to improve client outcomes and support healthy body mechanics for both practitioner and client. Jean Louise will also explore connective tissue conductivity, the Rolf Line, and the role of gravity as a supportive force. The evening will include hands-on work, with demonstrations of engaging clients through breath and micro-movements to enhance myofascial release. This interactive and educational session promises valuable tools, techniques, and inspiration for bodywork professionals.
Beyond the Binary: Gender-Affirming Care in Massage Therapy
This class fulfills the WA State Health Equity Requirement
Presenter: Luigi Continenz LMT - MA60582972
Format of Class: Online, Lecture
About the Class: Join us in an eye-opening training exploring the nuances of gender-affirming care and how it pertains to massage therapists. Some areas of discussion include:
Barriers to care & systemic oppression
Trauma-informed approaches to care
Gender-affirming procedures relating to bodywork
Inclusive language & intake forms
Gender, sex & identities
Office culture, allyship & visibility
Now more than ever, there is a tremendous need for gender-affirming providers who have the expertise to serve and understand the needs of trans and gender diverse communities. This training is intended to equip you with the skills and tools needed to cultivate an inclusive space that is supportive and affirming for all gender identities. This workshop will explore the nuances of gender-affirming care, and how to integrate it into a massage therapy practice.
What the Lower Leg? Anatomy and Treatment through a Structural Lens
Presenter: Spencer Belsvik LMT - MA60979784
Format of Class: In-person, Hands-on
About the Class: In this class we will cover the fascial compartments of the lower leg, the muscles inside, their relationship to the surrounding structures and how to treat them. You will learn a wide variety of structural techniques and assessment tools to facilitate the balancing of these compartments for ease of movement. I'm interested in teaching you manual therapy techniques you can use right away in your massage practice, as an addition to or to comprise an entire session. In this class, we will also discuss the theories behind Structural Integration and how to blend them into your practice.
This class will be almost entirely hands on, with as little lecturing as possible and ample time to practice, so come prepared!
2025-2026 NCMC 3rd Tuesday Presentations
We are hard at work gathering presenters for our next exciting season of NCMC 3rd Tuesday Presentations! Check back later this summer for the full listing. Be sure you are subscribed to our email list to be the first to know (just scroll down to get signed up)!
Ethics: How to Stay on the Correct Side of the Law
Presenter
Marybeth Berney, LMT
About the Class
(4 hours, in-person lecture; meets state requirements for ethics). In Washington State approximately 14,000 complaints against health care providers are submitted to the Department of Health every year. Unfortunately, massage therapy is one of the groups most complained about. Not only do providers have to defend themselves when these complaints occur but these same complaints also drive increases in rules and regulations. The regulations around massage in Washington State have been changing on an almost yearly basis since 2017.
Testing and Assessment for the LMT
Presenter
Kerry Gustafson LAT, ATC, LMT
About the Class
(3 hours, hands-on) Spend an evening learning how to efficiently utilize testing and evaluation to identify common imbalances, immobilities, and conditions, giving you the information needed to spend more high-quality manual therapy time with your patients. This hands-on course will cover the nuances of hand positioning and body mechanics in order to test range of motion, stretch tissues more effectively, and access muscles easily. Hone these essential skills to maximize your session efficiency and patients’ benefit. Kerry will also demonstrate manual muscle tests for awareness in how athletic trainers and physical therapists evaluate weakness to differentiate true weakness from imbalance or poor endurance.
What is Structural Integration Anyway?
Presenter
Russel Stolzof LMT
About the Class
(3 hours, in-person lecture) In this lively presentation Rolfing® Structural Integration instructor will lead a conversation about the nature and importance of considering structure and integration in all forms of bodywork. We will define and discuss what structure is and means in the context of bodywork. We will also delve into the question of what integration is and how we can perceive it with our observation and senses.
Dynamic Stillness: Listening, Touch, and the Heart of Coherence
CHANGE OF DATE: New date is Tuesday, 2/25/25 (Previously was scheduled for 2/18/25)
Presenter: Clara Cunningham LMT
About the Class: (3 hours, hands-on) In this class we will focus on growing our capacity to access stillness as a resource that cultivates safety and deepens coherence in touch modalities. As well as deepening a practitioner's therapeutic presence stillness, whenever integrated into sessions, also can support our clients to have more lasting change. It can also give us therapists more subtle sensitivity to create the input to their system that is most effective. Learning to work more consciously with the nervous system allows us to go at a pace that our treatment is more easily integrated and supports our clients to develop greater interoception. Interoception is the ability to sense, interpret, and respond to the body's internal physical and emotional states, both consciously and subconsciously. It includes information about sensations like heart rate, breathing, hunger, fullness, temperature, pain, and emotions. In this world where overstimulation is now the norm, massage is a profound tool for growing interoceptive capacity and this in turn is a way to increase Health.
Massage Adjustments for Clients at Risk for Lymphedema
Presenter
Gayle McDonald MS, LMT
About the Class
(3 hours, online lecture) Many people who have been through cancer treatment are at risk for developing lymphedema at any point following treatment. In this class we will look at which treatments put clients at risk, the signs that a person has lymphedema, and the adjustments massage therapists should make to ensure that lymphedema is not triggered or exacerbated. There will be a hands-on component so that therapists have a chance to practice the stroke direction, pressure, and sequence of the strokes.
Introduction to Chinese Five Elements
Presenter
Raizelah Bayen LMT
About the Class
(3 hours, hands-on) From the perspective of Chinese Medicine, humans are seen as an integral part of nature. The components of the natural world, Earth, Metal, Water, Wood and Fire Elements are alive in each of us. The path to health and well-being is the cultivation of balance of the Elements within. As massage therapists, we can deepen our self-care and our work with clients by learning to recognize the signs of imbalance and integrate tools from Chinese Medicine into our massage to restore balance to the Elements. This Introduction to the Chinese Five Elements will give you a foundation in Chinese Five Element Theory, and equip you with the skills to put the theory into practice in your massage work right now. You will learn potent Acupressure points and key essential oils to balance each Elements.
Palpating the “Big 5”: Fascial Architecture of the Abdomen and Pelvis
Presenter
Marty Ryan LMT
About the Class
(3 hours, hands-on) "Big 5" refers to the parietal peritoneum, greater omentum, mesocolon, mesentery, and the broad ligament.
These visceral connective tissue structures support, protect, and help supply the abdomino-pelvic viscera with blood, lymph, and nerves. This 3 hour course will bring these structures forward in a "big picture" and layer-by-layer way. Wee will also practice step by step palpation techniques to find these tissues in the belly.
The Magical Pelvis
Presenter
Elizabeth Ruff LMT
About the Class
(3 CE hours, hands-on) In this 3-hour workshop, Elizabeth will guide you into the magic of the pelvic bowl! You will have a fresh sense of the multidimensional matrix that creates this “basin” which contains all our light AND darkness. It's through reverence for all the parts of ourselves that we can offer transformative hands-on body therapy to others.