The Complete Massage Pack: Basic & Professional Massage Therapy

I took two little massage courses at a community college and then got this video. It really is pretty good it shows all sorts of different motions you can use while massaging and they explain "how long to" and "positions" etc.. It's nice for helping to learn how to give a nice basic massage.

This is a two VHS product. The first VHS (Basic) was wonderfully done and photographed. Bravo to them. The second VHS (Professional) was pretty bad. The sound quality was bad, the writing on the board was bad-and at times-you couldn't read it. The massage viewing part was good. So, if you are only interested in watching other people's massage techniques, then this is the video for you (well worth the money).

This was a lot of help to me. I like to give massage and wanted to do it well.

These two dvds really do cover a wide range of massage techniques. The Basic Massage dvd is best to base your routine around. The Professional Massage dvd goes into more technical detail with names of different muscles and tissues. The Professional Massage dvd also goes one step further and gives some tips on setting up your own massage business. The reason why I give this product only 4 stars is the production quality is poor, especially on the Professional Massage dvd. The picture quality is grainy and when the instructer points to notes on a dry erase board, the picture is so over-lighted that you can not read parts of the board. However, this dvd is still worth the cost for all the information that you get. For those people who are interested in massage therapy as a career, I also suggest the book "Massage Therapy Career Guide" by Steve Capellini (ISBN: 1562533827). This book covers all the behind the scenes business to becomming a massage therapist. One of the best parts of the book gives tips on massage tests. I have yet to find anything more nerve racking than giving a test massage to a potential future employer, but this section takes a lot of tension out of the situation. Other great features include liability insurance, taxes, third-party billing, dream and nightmare days in the life a massage therapist and the Resource section is lengthy, concise and filled with addresses, phone numbers and URLs.

It is advertised for beginners and 'professional massage therapists.' As a professional massage therapist, I thought it might be worth the investment to add to my massage library - IT ISN'T. It is extremely elementary and the quality of the DVD production is shockingly poor; at times, one cannot see what the massage therapist is doing. There is NO DISCUSSION re body mechanics, which is primary for anyone doing massage ("take care of your own body"). The anatomy portion - most if not all written on an erasable marker board - is unreadable due to reflections and some hand drawings of muscles (again - suggest a book or include this 'manual' that is often referenced - PowerPoint graphs or printouts should have been used in the DVD production, as well as referring people to an Anatomy book such as Trail Guide to the Body by Andrew Biel, which is one of my main anatomy book references. Throughout the showing of the 'how to' do an actual massage, the words come across the screen: "refer to the manual" but there ISN'T ANY MANUAL accompanying the DVD to refer to. I feel the person who put this together means well, however it is very poorly executed and it certainly is NOT for people already trained as a professional massage therapist. I admit that of the two DVDs provided, I went right to the one that was for 'professionals' and skipped the first one for beginners. I feel sad to write this actually. I really believe the owner/creator of this DVD wants to offer some valuable instruction. It is simply a very poor quality over all. There is NO skipping to the next segment, i.e., neck, legs, back - it is all one very long DVD so a person can't jump back and forth to review specific areas.

Really enjoyed this book.

A bit of a let down on expectations -epecially on content. This is not a professionally constructed dvd. -So don't build your hopes up too high like I did. (Expected a brief but concise guide on massage basic and professional techniques. -Example types of strokes, demonstrations of each type of strokes, muscles targeted with ones actions, -perhaps a brief on chronological coordination and timing oneself for a full body 1hr session, etc. --you get the picture -expected it to be a sufficient preparation DVD for a student, etc. Instead it is wanting/'lacking' -even from the 'professional' DVD.# In some cases of the video's demonstrations, instructor's hands are not directly visible to the camera. Prior to purchase, based on reviews, was originally willing to overlook image video quality for content. However, not satisfied with content. Video lacks sequence/ structure and is not fluid and does not give the option to be, in the basic DVD -so that's a bit annoying. -For the price and hype, expected different. Would not recommend as a first buy DVD or foundation DVD for a student -Won't get you mentally prepared for what is ahead of you at massage academy. ...-The acupressure highlights were interesting but not much to brag about. the anatomy/physiology highlights were really limited/basic. #-A text book has more appeal.# Overall review; So very sorry to say but honestly; "Long, boring and unco-ordinated" P.s.. it's like a low-budget movie doesn't seem like much effort was put into it as could have been....-Have seen better mini-clips in terms of content on YouTube. Doesn't make for a handy reference DVD. :-S -If you're like me, you won't like it. -And it really disappoints me to say that. Would have loved to have given a better review but if I have to be honest, I truely can't on this one. On a positive note I won't bash the seller cause delivery was timely, and in that respect, service was good. My issue is with the video(s) itself. (Not sure if this was supposed to come as an accompaniment to a textbook cuz it was labled that way on the package, but I only got the the 2 DVDs in the case -and it didn't seem like an original either.) (Is any one from a student's-need perspective able to make a better recommendation of a more useful DVD to serve as a good/an excellent reference guide in your student library?) In other purchases, I really do appreciate Steve Capellini's book 'Massage Therapy Career Guide' and the All inclusive Sierra Comfort Portable Massage Table (-With a slight reservation on the construction material when folding, but it's stable when standing -considering accessories makes a good

good information. Sometimes the instructors hands are on the opposite side where you can't see, but she does come around the other side or change camera angle after a few minutes.