Having a hard time finding the perfect massage course for you? Doing your own due diligence work can save you a lot of time and money.

Why do you want to learn massage? There are many different motives for attending a massage course including 1) personal interest and personal development, 2) wanting to be able to help friends and family with minor aches and pains, 3) giving massages as a side job, 4) adding valuable skills to you own profession and 5) seeking a career as a massage therapist. Set up a budget. It may not make sense for you to attend a 3-year massage course for a lot of money if you are only learning so that you can massage your spouse. Determine which massage style you would like to learn: Decide whether you want to learn a hard massage style like Deep Tissue Massage or Rolfing or softer massage techniques such as Ayurvedic massage or lymph drainage, massage with accessories like hot stones, etc. Check books, magazines or on the Internet to learn about the major differences between these massage techniques. Shop around: Check on the Internet, yellow pages and local newspapers for massage courses being offered in your area. Ask around: Ask friends, family or colleagues if they know of any good massage courses in your area. Ask your local massage therapist where they learned massage. Contact different massage schools: Find out in advance about the contents of the course, their pricing and any other requirements for attending the course.

Contact the massage instructors: Speak to the instructors to see if the course is the right thing for you and what teaching method they use. Ask what the ratio of theory to practice usually is in the course. Check the credibility of the schools: Inquire as to how long the school has been in business, how many graduated students they have, the founder’s massage education and the qualifications of the instructors (how long did they study, how long have they been teaching, what is their educational background, etc.) Try to contact former students: There is nothing wrong with asking for references. Ask some of the school’s or instructor’s former students how they feel about the massage course.

A massage course can be offered by massage schools, massage institutes or just by individual massage therapists. Even though many countries have regulations on the amount of hours you need to study massage in order to get licensed (requirements can vary by state, county and even city in the U.S.) the content of the courses can often vary greatly.