Helping Canadians get back to work.

Wholistic Health Training & Research Centre

Suite 500, 10050 112 Street, Edmonton AB

Possible funding to those who qualify*

  • Alberta Student Aid Program
  • Loans
  • Grants
  • Bursaries
  • Scholarships

Programs

Programs offered at each campus may vary, so be sure to check other campus offerings for the course you are most interested in.

Healthcare, Wellness, Pharma Programs

  • Program Duration: 500 hours

    The Basic Massage Therapy program is a 500 hour massage therapy course for beginners that focuses on the principles of relaxation and therapeutic massage therapy training. This course builds off techniques and theories learned in the Introduction to Massage Therapy program, incorporating a therapeutic approach to massage therapy. This program is a requisition to obtain your Registered Massage Therapist (RMT) License. After completing this program, you will only have 1700 hours left to complete. Students are also introduced to more thorough massage therapy techniques and in-depth knowledge of anatomy and physiology. Using our holistic massage therapy techniques of western science and eastern healing, the program focuses on basic understanding of:
    • Anatomy and Physiology
      • Basic understanding of the body and its relationship to all inner structures and related pathology involved in the structural and functional changes the body goes through.
    • Relaxation Massage Techniques
      • Stretching
      • Anxiety management
      • Stress relief
      • Soft touch massage
    • Therapeutic Massage Techniques
      • Circulatory enhancement
      • Neuromuscular techniques
      • Trigger point techniques
      • Deep tissue massage
    • Assessment and Consultation
      • Learn effective communication skills to ensure successful consultation processes with clients
      • Learn how to assess and diagnose a clients pain and injuries, both physical and mental
    • Body Charting
  • Program Duration: 2200 hours

    Our Advanced Professional Massage Therapy Diploma Program is the most comprehensive of our massage programs. It builds off of concepts and theories learned in both our Introduction to Massage Therapy and Basic Massage Therapy courses.

    Upon successful completion of this course, students graduate as Registered Massage Therapists (RMT) and can legally practice massage therapy in Edmonton, Calgary and all other cities or towns in Canada.

    Our Advanced Professional Massage Therapy Diploma Program is also a great program to take for other career opportunities than just massage therapy. This program can be a starting point to become a physiotherapist, chiropractor, reflexologist, even a naturopathic doctor.

    This program is a two-year course and includes these required courses:
    • Deep Tissue Massage
    • Sports Massage
    • Pre/Post-Natal & Pregnancy Massage
    • Relaxation Massage
    • Therapeutic Massage
    • Seated Chair Massage
    • Neuromuscular Massage
    • Anatomy & Physiology
    • Orthopaedic Massage
    • Lymphatic Drainage Massage
  • Program Duration: 350 hours

    The Introduction to Massage Therapy program is a 350 hour massage therapy course for beginners that focuses on the basic principles of relaxation massage. This Massage Therapy Program can provide credit towards receiving a Registered Massage Therapist (RMT) License. Using our holistic techniques of western science and eastern healing, the program focuses on entry-level understanding of:
    • Anatomy, Physiology and Pathology
      • Basic understanding of the body and its relationship to all inner structures and related pathology involved in the structural and functional changes the body goes through.
    • Hands-On Relaxation Massage Techniques
      • Stretching
      • Anxiety management
      • Stress relief
      • Soft touch massage
    • Communication and Assessment
      • Learn effective communication skills to ensure successful consultation processes with clients
      • Learn how to assess and diagnose a clients pain and injuries, both physical and mental

    Delivery of the Introduction to Massage Therapy Program:

    • This program commences and takes new intake every 2 months
    • Homework and Written Exams are online to provide you with maximum flexibility via our Wholistic Health Training Moodle.
    If you are looking for a career change, but do not know if Massage Therapy is the right career for you, try out our Introduction to Massage Therapy program, which has our massage therapy courses for beginners. Wholistic Health Training and Research Centre blends both Western and Eastern medicine to provide you with an education that is transferable to plenty of other career paths. Some of these career paths include massage therapy, acupuncture, physiotherapy, naturopathic medicine and more. If you are already in the holistic health field and are looking to expand your horizons, our Introduction to Massage Therapy program is a perfect start to that journey.
  • Course duration: 70 hours (30 hours in-class, 40 hours practical)

    Therapists will be exposed to core concepts relating to Meridian and Acupressure massage. In this course, fundamental concepts of Traditional Chinese Medicine will be explored, along with their associations to our bodies' physiological, pathological and emotional state. Therapists will be introduced to methods that will enhance clients' sense of mental and physical wellness. Partnered practice, group discussion and self-exploration are key components of this course.
    Students will be exposed to the following:
    • Fundamentals of Traditional Chinese Medicine
    • Moving massage pressure along the meridian
    • Identifying locations of acupressure points throughout the body
    • Reducing physical stiffness within the body
    • Techniques that aim to alleviate lower back pain as well as reduce muscle spasms and cramping
    • Refining current methods to relieve pain and/or tension and incorporating these routines into a treatment plan
    • Law of five elements
  • Course duration: 80 hours (40 hours in-class, 40 hours practical)

    In this course, students will take skills and techniques from Basic Acupressure/Meridian Therapy and enhance them. They will be focusing on their assessment and evaluation skills, understanding a client's perspective, as well as perceiving the client through a Meridian Massage viewpoint. This will aid students to be better equipped to understand the root cause of common complaints - such as joint and muscle pain - and pains that are not easily distinguishable, unknown or misguided. The use of case studies, meridian routines and proper evaluative questioning will be integral tools in enhancing students' existing knowledge.
    Students will be exposed to the following:
    • Qualitative and quantitative questions to further deduce client pains through case studies and hands-on learning
    • Understanding of health and mental well-being and how these correlate to a client's current and mental and physical state
    • Understanding of bodily systems: circulation, organ function and the role endorphins play in the healing process
    • Benefits associated with Meridian and Acupressure massage
    • Energy balancing and identification of body imbalances
    • Understanding the appropriate use of language and the impact this plays within the course of treatment of a client
  • Course Duration: 200 Hours

    Various ways to examine health and illness are explored within the practice of psychosomatic medicine. Students will be taught to harness and identify the way that emotions influence our health and the relationships around us.
    Students will be exposed to the basic concepts of Psychosomatic Therapy including:
    • Definition of Psychosomatic Therapy
    • The role that Psychosomatic Therapy plays in Massage Therapy
    • Relationship between the body and mind
    • Definition of emotions including yin and yang, fixed emotional responses and chi energy.
    • Emotional expressions
    • Assessment from case history
    • Case studies
  • Course Duration: 300 Hours

    Completion of Basic Psychosomatic Therapy is a requirement before continuing onto Advanced Psychosomatic Therapy. Advanced Pschosomatic therapy builds off concepts, skills and procedures learned in Basic Psychosomatic Therapy. Various ways to examine emotional wellness are explored within the practice of psychosomatic medicine. Students will be taught to analyze the whole body in relation to the emotions that correspond to particular illnesses in the body. They will also be taught how negative and positive emotions play a role in energy pathways and astral projection. Students at Wholistic Health Training are taught how to balance, recover and rejuvenate any individual that has an illness using psychsomatic medicine.
    Students will be exposed to more advanced concepts of Psychosomatic Therapy including:
    • Body and mind analysis - how we create change in our life
    • Learning the body and energy pathways
    • The power of the hands
    • Assessment (Visual, Oral and Physical)
    • Anatomy and Physiology
    • Case studies
    Before completing the Psychosomatic Program, students must complete 100 hours of practicum practicing psychosomatic medicine.
  • Course duration : 180 hours

    Students will spend time learning and improving on the methodologies and practices pertaining to the foot and creating specific treatment plans unique to clients.
    Students will be exposed to the following concepts:
    • Learn how to value the importance of the foot and its relationship to physiology, anatomy and pathology
    • How to accurately use the information to create a unique treatment plan
    • Identifying unique conditions to the client and learning to shape a treatment plan specifically to a client's needs
    • Theory of the foot: Understanding foot reflexology and its uses in the past, and how it has been adapted into modern day practices
  • Course duration: 70 hours

    Completion of Foot Reflexology is a requirement before continuing onto Hand Reflexology. Touch and the use of hands are, arguably, the most important part in ensuring a massage therapist is providing the right pressure and care to a client. In this course, students will begin to break down the importance of the use of touch.
    Students will be exposed to the following concepts:
    • Gain a full understanding of standard methods of hand reflexology as well as those used in various parts of the world
    • Successfully applying unique pressures to the hand
    • Understanding various methodologies, reflexes and techniques
    • The role of the hands in maintaining the emotional connection to pain within the body
    • The ethics of touch surrounding the use of hands today and identifying how much pressure is required for each unique client
  • Course duration: 70 hours

    Completion of Foot Reflexology and Hand Reflexology is a requirement before continuing onto Face and Ear Reflexology. Students will be exposed to teachings that pertain to the face and ear - specifically focusing on the anatomy, physiology and kinesiology of the face.
    Students will be exposed to the following concepts:
    • An in-depth understanding of cranial nerves
    • Anatomy of the face and outer ear
    • Successfully learn the techniques required to perform face/ ear/ scalp treatment for clients, while being able to identify specific acu-points associated with each type of treatment
    • Being able to focus on methods of self-treatment for both the therapist and client
    • An improvement in the methods for health tracking for clients
    • Effectively examining client history, in order to create and apply custom treatment

Languages, ESL Programs

  • At Wholistic Health Training & Research Centre, we offer an English as a Second Language (ESL) course that allows you to better understand holistic health terminology and concepts if English is not your primary language.

Edmonton Campus

The Wholistic Story


Wholistic Health Training is one of the oldest massage therapy training centres in Alberta, offering unique programs and dedicated to helping people with a combination of western and holistic medicine. At Wholistic Health Training & Research Centre our staff, students and instructors all value a natural, nurturing approach to health care.

Our Founder

Wholistic Health Training & Research Centre in Edmonton was founded in 1994 when Karim Kanji, the founder, and owner, experienced a prior medical breakthrough with his son who was born with special needs. In regards to his son's health, Karim and his family moved from Edmonton to Toronto to be closer to the Sick Kid's Hospital. After some time, when Karim was not seeing the results that he was hoping for, he started to search for answers in other areas. Karim began exploring alternative healing methods that incorporated reflexology, aromatherapy and massage therapy. He travelled back and forth from his home in Toronto to attend a holistic massage training school in Hamilton, Ontario actively looking for anything that could help his son. He combined his newfound knowledge of holistic therapies and his technical knowledge he received from attending NAIT in Edmonton, to create a perfectly blended practice of both Eastern and Western medicine. When he saw the positive results of his son's well-being and how he achieved them, he wanted to share that knowledge with others to help as many people as he could.

With his profound understanding of physiology, psychology, and anatomy, Karim incorporates both Western and Eastern techniques for effective, holistic therapies that can alleviate and in some cases, eradicate, almost any health issue. Karim was nominated for Dr. Rogers Prize Award for Excellence in Complementary and Alternative Medicine and has been on the Board of Directors with Natural Health Practitioners of Canada Association. He is constantly creating new material to teach his students, so they can understand that the mind, body & soul all work together to create a whole being. This mind, body connection shows the wholistic approach to healing, which is why the training that Karim provides is different compared to any other holistic training school in Edmonton, Calgary or even Canada.

Our Legacy

Today, Wholistic Health Training is one of the oldest massage therapy training centres in Alberta, offering unique programs and dedicated to helping people in the same way Karim was able to help his son during his lifetime - with a combination of western and holistic medicine. At Wholistic Health Training & Research Centre our staff, students and instructors all value a natural, nurturing approach to health care.


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