Participants

Michael Larsen, USA

Latest Massage therapist to register the World Championship in Massage is Michael Larsen from USA. The International Massage Association has asked him to tell about himself:

My name is Michael Larsen and I am from the United States where I have been a massage therapist for 20 years. My interest in massage developed when I was a teenager in the Dojo, watching my martial art teammates study healing arts as they prepared for their Black Belt tests. 

Understanding how massage helped athletes recover faster prompted me to pursue a career in massage. After high school I successfully completed my massage training and began working as a therapist.
     

Over the next 15 years I worked in a variety of settings including a spa, a reflexology studio, a rehabilitation center, a chiropractor‘s office, and a Judo Dojo. The diverse types of people I encountered strengthened my resolve to help improve lives through massage.
    

In 2015 I returned to school at Healing Hands School of Holistic Health to advance my education and become a Holistic Healthcare Practitioner. I focused my studies on Structural Integration and Sports Therapies with a minor in Tui Na. Since 2018 I have been practicing an integrated style of massage, first at Massage Envy in San Francisco, California and most recently at Northern Lights Massage in Muncie, Indiana where I am an assistant instructor as well as a therapist.
      

As a healer and athlete, my goal is to tailor each massage session to the individual so that my client can achieve optimal health. A diverse skill set allows me to help all types of clients; from stretching an athlete to increase flexibility to using myofascial release for increased range of motion. I incorporate Tui Na in specific injury protocols or with geriatric and frail clients. I use kinesial tape for postural realignment or athletic recovery, and cupping for tissue decompression of trigger points. Of course, circulatory massage is beneficial for relaxation and recovery. This multi modality approach allows me to help improve my clients health and wellness through massage.  

The International massage Association look forward watching Michael Larsens skills at the World Championship in Massage in June in wonderful Copenhagen, Denmark.