ABOUT US

Thomas Cushman, Licensed Massage Therapist & Reiki Master

Connecticut Massage Therapy License # 006054

American Massage Therapy Association # 22591

Healing Gateways

Bodywork and Energywork

I began my journey with Hands on Therapy receiving Usui Shiki Ryoho Reiki sessions to help with a chronic health issue. During my first session I had an unexplainable sensation in the indicated area. I went on to get the level I certification. I moved and, with the help of my teacher, found a center called Healing Gateways which offered a Reiki Master Teacher and hands on concepts that focused on bodywork and energywork. I walked into Healing Gateways of Madison CT in 1998.

The two principal business partners and creators of Healing Gateways were Joan Clark and Richard Porter. Joan Clark was a nurse with various backgrounds in bodywork. Her business was called Earth Gateways. Richard Porter had an undergraduate degree in psychology, was trained to monitor floatation tanks and had a small education in bodywork. His business was called Healing Energies. Together, they created Healing Gateways.

They looked at how the body held stress and developed a bodywork style that focused on the Mind and Body relationship. Joan and Richard incorporated gentle rocking and supportive bodywork to help in a nurturing and relaxing manner. The also took this concept and discovered what the they called Energetic Matrix Alignment (EMA). It is based on the ideas of the Meridians, Chakras, Kundalini Energy. They put together 2 sequences ulitizing these energy balancing concepts of eastern body work and western nurturing bodywork concepts. 

Along with learning from them, I completed the certification for Reiki Master Teacher in June 1999. 

Joan transitioned in February 2001 and by 2007 Richard had advanced Parkinson’s Disease. While having what I felt was a good approach to a bodywork style, I wanted to honor Joan and Richard by giving professional credibility to the work and establish it as a continuing education course for LMT’s, and to be ethical and professional myself, it was necessary to go to massage school and get the state license.

Licensed Massage Therapy

Orthopedic MassageTherapy

I started at Branford Hall Career Institute in the spring of 2008. As classes went on, learning body mechanics, Kinesiology, Anatomy and Physiology, and Assessment, I realized just how important it is to have the fundamental foundation of Massage and Bodywork education. The teacher for my final Neuromuscular Massage class had a certification in Orthopedic Massage from The Academy of Clinical Massage Therapy through Whitney Lowe LMT. I have recently completed the same certification. Along with his continuing education, I am also studying the Orthopedic Massage method from The Massage Institute through James Waslaski LMT and I utilize educational materials by Steve Jurch LMT who currently is the Massage Coordinator for the Women’s Tennis Association and have I taken continuing education in Massage and Movement with one of his subcontractors. She is also certified through The Academy of Clinical Massage Therapy. Massage, just like Physical Therapy, helps soft tissue growth. In some ways the same and in others, differently and complimentary.

The protocol and objectives of Orthopedic Massage Therapy are to:

Normalize soft tissue dysfunction (muscle, tendon and ligament for example)

Improve flexibility or Range of Motion (ROM). This can be done passively with the practitioner moving the joint (PROM) or the client doing the active movement (AROM)

Restore proper movement

Restore proper strength

Eastern Bodywork

Along with Orthopedic Massage much of my continuing education has been the Japanese acupressure method of Shiatsu that works the Chinese Acupoints and Meridians with fingers instead of needles. The eastern modalities work well with the energy concepts that Healing Gateways Body work is founded on. While Oriental Medicine has its elemental theory, feel that other cultures such as the Natives and Celtics have a more straightforward way and I work in those manners. I am also extremely interested in Thai Massage and Ayurvedic Bodywork. I, and others from Healing Gateway are working on more than the 2 EMA sessions put together by Joan and Richard.