Class Cost

All four day classes costs 600.00 and payment is due two weeks prior to class start date. To register download registration form at the top of this page and make payments to Michael Hahn. Call for Visa and Mastercard payments

Class Schedule

The focus of these trainings is to offer you an introduction to Visceral Manipulation, an Osteopathic approach to the entire body. The assessment techniques and treatment methods taught are extremely effective when used together and help take the guesswork out of knowing where to work. This will help streamline sessions, allowing you to accomplish more with greater ease and success. In all classes you will have ample time to learn the presented techniques while receiving direct one on one guidance. These trainings build on each other offering you an opportunity to develop effective, powerful, and unique skills in the bodywork field. The skills learned in these classes are easily integrated into your existing practice and will help you treat stubborn issues such as: TMJ disorders, back pain, headaches, stress, repetitive strain injury and chronic pain.

About Visceral Manipulation

When using manual therapy, knowing where, when and how to work makes for efficient and productive sessions. Visceral Manipulation offers quick assessment strategies and powerful hands-on techniques for the ENTIRE body, not just the viscera. Sessions become more streamlined while treatments are gentle and the results excellent.

Jean Pierre Barral, developer of Visceral Manipulation is a brilliant and creative pioneer in the field of Osteopathy who continues to quickly advance this work. Originally trained as a physical therapist and searching for more resources he entered the European School of Osteopathy, graduating in 1975. Looking deeper into the anatomy of the organs, especially the abdomen, he began to realize the important role that the membranes and ligaments played in the health and comfort of the body. This exploration led to years of practice and the development of Visceral Manipulation. John Pierre Barral has combined amazing assessment techniques with the best of Osteopathic manipulation.

An exciting part of this work is its application for treatment of deep restrictions within the entire body, ie: bones, ligaments, joints, membranes, dural restrictions with in the neural canal and cranium, tensions within arteries and nerves, strains inside brain tissue, and of course organs and their supporting membranes.

Assessment Strategies

Visceral Manipulation offers multiple assessment strategies that quickly guide the practitioner to the appropriate places to work. Since there are a handful of assessment techniques many or all of them can be quickly used to confirm where and when to treat. These classes teach the foundations of assessment, allowing you to immediately begin working with these skills in your private practice.

Manual Therapy techniques

Visceral Manipulation uses different hands-on techniques depending on the tissues being treated and the outcome of the assessments. Following are the methods taught.

Functional Methods

Functional Methods are gentle, yet potent techniques that help wake up the bodies proprioception of an area, basically initiating a healing and self correcting response from the body. These techniques help the body restore proper function and are at the core of the work.

Motility Induction

This is a treatment to work directly with the inherent movement cycle of the organs. All of the organs have a movement cycle that can be assessed and treated with motility induction. Motility is the subtle yet distinct movement cycle of an organ that takes about eight seconds to complete. Motility in Visceral Manipulation is different than the peristaltic motion of organs often referred to as motility. This movement happens thousands of times per day and since the organs all directly or indirectly connect to the spine and musculoskeletal system it is easy to imagine how strains in the organs ultimately manifest as pain far from the original restriction. Another reason pain often manifests far from the organs is because the organs do not have the same pain receptors that are found in the musculoskeletal system. This means pain shows up in the musculoskeletal system when the cause is often elsewhere. This treatment method is a powerful tool for restoring balance to the body, reducing tension and eliminating pain.

Recoil

This method requires a quick release of the practitioners hands after appropriately setting up the technique. This is often used on bones and in other select stubborn situations. More details will be taught in class.

The focus of each class:

Level 1

This class creates a foundation for learning Visceral Manipulation assessment techniques and hands-on Functional Methods, both at the core of this work. You will learn General & Local Listening assessments that will allow you to quickly determine the most fruitful place to work during your sessions helping to take the guesswork out where to work. You will learn a variety of functional techniques, motility induction and recoil techniques giving you tools to make low force, accurate intervention that will bring about positive global change, reducing pain and increasing range of motion. There will be ample time for supervised practice and time to watch demonstrated sessions. Techniques will be applied to the liver, stomach and spleen with an introduction to the digestive organs. Strategies for integrating the work into your existing practice will be covered.

Level 2

Deepening of current skill set and review of Level 1 class. Explorations in bringing out your own unique gifts in applying this work. Techniques for working with duodenum, small intestine, large intestine, sigmoid colon, pancreas and digestive sphincters. Extensive practical work and continued demonstrations.

Level 3

Advancing and fine tuning techniques. Introduction to the thorax including, ligaments, bones, joints, lungs and the heart. Techniques for releasing dural tube restrictions. Continued supervised hands-on practical work and demonstrated sessions.

Level 4

Techniques for working with the kidneys, ureters and pelvic organs including: the bladder, uterus, ovaries and ligaments of the pelvis. Continued review, extensive practical work and continued demonstrations.

Level 5

Introduction to working with the nerves and vascular system. Advanced techniques for working with the spine. Extensive practical work to deepen assessment and manual skills. Deepening of all techniques, sensitivity and quality of touch.

Testimonials about Michael's Teaching

"A great continuing education class offering a clear refresher of anatomy while learning powerful new skills. I feel I am ready to integrate this into my practice tomorrow and my body has made great changes after two days of receiving this work."

"I thought I knew deep tissue work but this class gave me another level of clarity and intention. The work is easy to deliver and has profound results."

"The information is clear and concise. I appreciate Michael's gentle nature and the way he encourages us to take our time with our clients."

"The classes are very informative and easily digestible. I could use the information in my practice the next day."

"This class offers massage therapists another way to think "outside the box"."

"Michael's enthusiasm was awesome, the information was presented clearly and his knowledge of anatomy was great."

"The less I worked (forced) and the slower I went, the more dramatic the response. Now I can work until I'm 70!"