Dr. Stan and Mary Dawson bought ASHA in the fall of 2003 from the founders, Jim and Becky Gabriel, who started the school in 1991.  It was Jim’s vision to add Neuromuscular Therapy (NMT) to the core curriculum of a massage school.  ASHA was the first school in the country to include NMT in its program.

Dr. Stan and Mary have continued the innovation and the commitment to excellence.  Since 2003, the program has expanded dramatically to 900 hours and 64.5 credit hours.  More hours have been added for Swedish Massage as well as Anatomy, Physiology and Pathology.  New courses have been added in Asian Theory, Polarity Therapy, Reflexology and Mind/Body Integration.

The redesigned Sports Massage course added content from a collaboration between Dr. Allanah Levian, Dr. Dawson and the Sports Massage faculty.  Dr. Levian brought over 20 years of experience working with world class athletes and therapists from both the Eastern bloc countries and Western therapists.  However, the techniques in the program are suited for both Olympians and the general public.  The Sports course taken with the NMT course provide a technique training that deals effectively both with medical problems like pain and wellness issues like structural balancing and optimal health.

ASHA’s 900 hour curriculum has become more comprehensive.  The tuition package is innovative and includes a massage table and all the supplies and fees needed to become a licensed massage therapist.  It takes 9 months to complete the Day program, 12 month to complete the Night program and 17 months to finish the Weekend program.

Dr. Dawson is the driving force behind the changes at ASHA.  He authored the holistic model that underlies ASHA’s educational process.  Stay tuned because Dawson’s business plan includes some changes that will continue the history of innovation at the school.