The attendees trickled into Chicago within windows of calm that alternated with lashings of rain, hail and even an almost unheard of tornado warning. I arrived three hours late and funnily enough hooked up with the same people I was due to ride-share with three hours earlier. The organizers had some very switched on transport guys who tracked us down at each chaotic terminal, herded us by cell and delivered us safely in the storm. Well done Mary B and Mary Jo S for organizing this.

It was an extra warm welcome when we finally arrived at the Indian Lakes Resort.

Some background on NAMTPT. This organization prides themselves on their high standards. As a double certified NMT my credentials were still considered not good enough to join as a professional member a few years back. I had to do the full Myopain Seminar certification to achieve this. Does this make the NMT certification redundant? No. But it is still a partial steppingstone. The CMTPT standard is tougher to obtain, and involves much more study and more expertise.

You don’t need to be a graduate massage therapist and you don’t use massage techniques here in NAMTPT-land. Because of this it may turn out to physically prolong our careers. Less injuries will occur when you employ techniques like Stretch and Spray as taught by Jeff Lutz from Pittsburgh, and elbow work, jackknobber and ball rolling to rid those pesky trigger points, as taught by Mary Biancalana and Sharon Sauer. These two fine ladies have recently authored a low back pain self-help book to continue the Clair Davies series of books. A free copy was in the conference pack.

The audience here at the conference all seem highly educated, skilled and seemingly all run successful businesses. The atmosphere is like one big happy family, making it easy for a new boy like me to fit in. That is until I give my presentation tomorrow.

Stew

PS Our esteemed President, Erika Bourne, also from Boston, has still not arrived after her flight got canceled.