Synergy Wellness Academy

Starting from the ground up.

Our students are learning why the feet matter when we look at how someone stands, walks, and moves. It all connects to the bigger picture.

Located in Kentwood, MI | Serving the Greater Grand Rapids Area
Secure your spot today, spaces are filling fast!

If you are considering a career in massage therapy, we would love to talk.

Call/Text: (616) 855-1720
synergywellnessacademy.com

Cultivating Skilled LMTs to Elevate the Wellness Community in Grand Rapids!

Photos by Jen Knapp

This photo represents much more to me than another continuing education certificate.

This past week I completed the 40-hour Deep Lomi Thai Fusion Practitioner Program at Touch Factor Massage and Bodywork and Massage School Reimagined, taught by Joe Lavin, with Wendy Lavin bringing her extensive physical therapy background into the mobility, movement, assessment, and clinical portions of our training.

I thought I had a pretty good idea of the experience I was hopefully coming for.

It was all that and more.

Over the course of the week, we explored Deep Lomi, Thai-inspired movement and stretching, compression, mobility, body mechanics, assessment, clinical reasoning, and ways of creating bodywork that can be simultaneously relaxing, exploratory, creative, and therapeutically intentional.

What I appreciated most was that this wasn't simply about memorizing another sequence of massage techniques.

It challenged us to explore why we were doing what we were doing, to pay attention to how the body responded, to become more efficient with our own bodies, and to find ways to let movement, touch, assessment, and intuition work together.

And then there were the people.

Our group brought an incredible amount of curiosity, openness, vulnerability, and generosity into the room. We practiced on one another, experimented, asked questions, occasionally struggled, gave honest and constructive feedback, and helped each other become better throughout the week.

That made the experience immeasurably better.

Joe and Wendy, thank you for your patience, grace, humility, generosity, and for opening your space to all of us. There is something special about learning from people who possess tremendous knowledge and experience but remain genuinely curious themselves.

As both a massage therapist and an educator, experiences like this are incredibly important to me.

I don't want my practice - or my teaching - to ever become stagnant.

I'll be incorporating pieces of this work into my own bodywork as I continue developing the way I combine orthopedic, sports, movement-based, relaxation, and Lomi Lomi approaches. But I'm equally excited about what this experience will bring back into the classroom at Synergy Wellness Academy.

My students don't need to become copies of me or any other therapist. I want them to learn principles, develop excellent hands and body mechanics, understand anatomy and movement, think critically, remain curious, and eventually discover the kind of therapist they want to become.

Being a student again reminds me how important that is.

So I'm heading home with a certificate I'm very proud of - but much more importantly, with new ideas, new questions, new ways of moving and working, and a renewed excitement about this profession I've chosen.

Joe and Wendy - and everyone who shared this week with me - thank you.

I'm forever grateful.

Learning grows when we listen, share, and learn from one another.

At Synergy, every shared experience helps build stronger, more confident therapists.

📍 Located in Kentwood, MI | Serving the Greater Grand Rapids Area
🎓 Enrolling now, 10 months to a new career!

If you are considering a career in massage therapy, we would love to talk.
Give us a call and explore what is possible.

Call/Text: (616) 855-1720

Cultivating Skilled LMTs to Elevate the Wellness Community in Grand Rapids!

Saddle up for the answer! 🤠

Saddle joints are found at the base of the thumb and the sternoclavicular joint. Did you get it right?

👉 Thinking about massage therapy as a career? Come see what makes learning at Synergy different.

Call 616-855-1720 or DM us to learn more.

Cultivating Skilled LMTs to Elevate the Wellness Community in Grand Rapids!

Calling all massage educators and CE providers!

Looking for a space to share your knowledge and bring your course to West Michigan? Synergy would love to host you. Let's connect!

Call/Text: (616) 855-1720
Kentwood/Grand Rapids, MI
Synergy is proud to support continuing education.

Your education is the foundation. What you build from it is yours.

At Synergy, we encourage our students to keep learning, explore different techniques, and discover what speaks to them.

Learn the foundation. Find your niche. Make it your own.

📲 Call/Text: (616) 855-1720
📍 Located in Kentwood, MI | Serving the Greater Grand Rapids Area

Cultivating Skilled LMTs to Elevate the Wellness Community in Grand Rapids!

Muscle of the Week: Brachioradialis

The brachioradialis is a key elbow flexor, especially when the forearm is in a neutral “thumbs-up” position. It also helps guide the forearm back toward neutral during rotation.

For students, it’s a great muscle for connecting elbow movement, forearm position, and real-life gripping and lifting tasks.

Students, save this for study. Follow along for another muscle spotlight.

***If you are considering a career in massage therapy, we would love to talk***

📲 Call/Text: (616) 855-1720
🌐 synergywellnessacademy.com
📍 Kentwood / Grand Rapids, MI

Cultivating Skilled LMTs to Elevate the Wellness Community in Grand Rapids!

Learning is only the beginning. It’s what you do with that knowledge that builds confidence, strengthens your skills, and shapes the therapist you become.

Learn it. Practice it. Put it into action.

Next Evening Class: Monday, OCTOBER 12 (3 evenings a week)
Next Day Class: Monday, February 1 (2 full days a week)

Call today or DM us to learn more about tuition, class schedules, and how to get started.

Cultivating Skilled LMTs to Elevate the Wellness Community in Grand Rapids!

📲 Call/Text: (616) 855-1720
🌐 synergywellnessacademy.com
📍 Kentwood / Grand Rapids, MI