Education Descriptions and Full Agenda

Wednesday & Thursday
8:30am - 5:00pm

Optional pre-conference workshop:

Postsurgical Massage Therapy and Scar Tissue Management

Cathy Ryan

16 CEs

Instructor and scar tissue expert, Cathy Ryan, takes you through the science of scar tissue formation and the impact of manual therapy on scar tissue.

This class will give you the science and confidence you need to support your own critical thinking and session planning skills, along with the opportunity for hands-on practice with scar patients.

Register for Conference & Workshop

Thursday, October 22, 2026

4:00pm - 6:00pm

Conference Check-in

landing

Be greeted by Healwell staff and check-in for Body & Soul - A Healwell Homecoming

Friday, October 23, 2026

7:30am - 9:00am

Conference Check-in
& Breakfast

landing

Be greeted by Healwell staff and check-in for Body & Soul - A Healwell Homecoming.

Enjoy a nice breakfast.

Friday, October 23, 2026

9:00am - 9:45am

Keynote Presentation

conference room

Cindy E. Farrar

At Home in Your Being; Living from the Inside Out

Friday, October 23, 2026

10:00am - 1:00pm

(choose one - classes will be repeated)

Scar Tissue and Lymph

classroom B

Cathy Ryan & Laura Bryant-Earner

Expand your understanding of post-surgical healing through a thoughtful exploration of manual lymphatic drainage and scar tissue care. This science-informed session examines how skilled touch can support recovery, mobility, and long-term outcomes—helping you approach post-surgical clients with greater clarity, confidence, and clinical insight.

The Big “Fat Agenda”: Rethinking How We Touch Fat

classroom A

Nicole Trombley

Fat is one of the most despised tissues in the human body, yet for us massage therapists, it's one of the tissues we touch most. It's continuous under the skin; we cannot touch skin without also touching fat. Without understanding fat tissue, it's difficult to work with it skillfully and compassionately. While massage therapists are making important strides, calling for body-positive, size-inclusive practices, the next step is fat literacy: not just accepting fat bodies, but understanding fat tissue itself. This workshop aims to fill this big "fat gap."

In this interactive workshop, we'll get curious about fat itself, asking: What is fat, really? What does fat tissue do in the body? What happens to fat under our hands during massage strokes? We'll explore fat's anatomy: its lobules, its fibrous network, its rich innervation, cellulite, and its special relationship with fascia. We'll develop an anatomical lens that sees fat as an "us tissue," not a "them tissue." We'll redefine fat as normal human anatomy, not a pathology. We’ll rediscover fat as fascinating. We'll get crafty and build some fat (fat is not boring)! Through self-palpation exercises and gentle movement explorations, we'll gain an embodied understanding of fat in our own bodies. With our new grounding in fat anatomy, we'll work together to build a big "fat agenda," combining our best practices for hands-on techniques, therapist embodiment, and fat-informed approaches to working with all bodies. You might just fall in love with fat.

Friday, October 23, 2026

1:00pm - 2:00pm

Lunch

landing

Let's gather and eat. Lunch will be served in the Landing outside the conference room.

Friday, October 23, 2026

2:00pm - 2:30pm

Sound Bath

location coming

Pause. Settle. Be held in sound.

This immersive sound bath offers space to unwind your nervous system, soften mental noise, and reconnect with yourself. Through layered tones and vibration, you’ll be invited into deep rest—an experience designed to restore, regulate, and gently integrate all that Homecoming holds.

Friday, October 23, 2026

2:00pm - 5:00pm

(choose the other class - classes are repeated)

Scar Tissue and Lymph

classroom B

Expand your understanding of post-surgical healing through a thoughtful exploration of manual lymphatic drainage and scar tissue care. This science-informed session examines how skilled touch can support recovery, mobility, and long-term outcomes—helping you approach post-surgical clients with greater clarity, confidence, and clinical insight.

The Big “Fat Agenda”: Rethinking How We Touch Fat

classroom A

Nicole Trombley

Fat is one of the most despised tissues in the human body, yet for us massage therapists, it's one of the tissues we touch most. It's continuous under the skin; we cannot touch skin without also touching fat. Without understanding fat tissue, it's difficult to work with it skillfully and compassionately. While massage therapists are making important strides, calling for body-positive, size-inclusive practices, the next step is fat literacy: not just accepting fat bodies, but understanding fat tissue itself. This workshop aims to fill this big "fat gap."

In this interactive workshop, we'll get curious about fat itself, asking: What is fat, really? What does fat tissue do in the body? What happens to fat under our hands during massage strokes? We'll explore fat's anatomy: its lobules, its fibrous network, its rich innervation, cellulite, and its special relationship with fascia. We'll develop an anatomical lens that sees fat as an "us tissue," not a "them tissue." We'll redefine fat as normal human anatomy, not a pathology. We’ll rediscover fat as fascinating. We'll get crafty and build some fat (fat is not boring)! Through self-palpation exercises and gentle movement explorations, we'll gain an embodied understanding of fat in our own bodies. With our new grounding in fat anatomy, we'll work together to build a big "fat agenda," combining our best practices for hands-on techniques, therapist embodiment, and fat-informed approaches to working with all bodies. You might just fall in love with fat.

Friday, October 23, 2026

7:00pm - 10:00pm

Rooftop Reception

rooftop

As night settles in, we’ll gather under the October sky for an evening of connection and celebration. With city lights around us and crisp autumn air above, this rooftop reception is your invitation to unwind, mingle, and deepen the conversations that began during the day.

More than a party, it’s a moment to exhale together—to laugh, share stories, and experience the kind of community that reminds you why this profession feels like home.

Saturday, October 24, 2026

8:00am - 9:30am

Breakfast

landing

Let's gather and eat. Breakfast will be served in the Landing outside the conference room.

Saturday, October 24, 2026

8:30am - 9:30am

Sound Bath & Yoga

location coming

Begin with gentle, accessible movement to release tension and reconnect with your body, then settle into a deeply restorative sound bath designed to calm the nervous system and quiet the mind.

This hour offers intentional integration—space to breathe, soften, and let the learning of the weekend land. Expect to leave feeling grounded, regulated, and renewed.

Saturday, October 24, 2026

10:00 - 12:00pm

(choose one - classes will be repeated)

Excellent Exhale

classroom A

David Lobenstine

This session explores how cultivating awareness of the breath can support both therapist and client, making care more sustainable and effective. Because therapist and client are breathing together throughout every session—often without noticing—this workshop gently brings that shared process into conscious awareness. You’ll experience how breath can become a practical tool in your work, supporting presence, ease, and longevity in your practice while helping clients inhabit their bodies more fully.

Rather than teaching a “right” way to breathe, this session focuses on breathing easier. By learning to lengthen the exhale and allow the inhale to arise naturally, participants will reduce unnecessary tension in the neck and upper back and support the diaphragm’s role as the primary driver of respiration. This shift creates meaningful change in both the muscular and nervous systems, easing sympathetic activation and fostering a calmer, more efficient state for therapist and client alike—during sessions and long after they end.

Holding Space Without Losing Yourself

classroom B

Sakinah Irizarry & Ericka Clinton

Massage therapists are trained to be present, attuned, and compassionate—but the emotional weight of this work is rarely acknowledged. In this thoughtful and honest session, we’ll explore the mental and emotional realities of practicing in a helping profession, including the quiet impact of holding space day after day.

Together, we’ll reflect on sustainability, boundaries, and the inner life of the practitioner. This conversation invites you to consider how to continue showing up with depth and integrity—while also protecting your own wellbeing and sense of self.

Saturday, October 24, 2026

12:00pm - 1:00pm

Lunch

landing

Let's gather and eat. Lunch will be served in the Landing outside the conference room.

Saturday, October 24, 2026

1:00pm - 3:00pm

(choose the other class - classes are repeated)

Excellent Exhale

classroom A

David Lobenstine

This session explores how cultivating awareness of the breath can support both therapist and client, making care more sustainable and effective. Because therapist and client are breathing together throughout every session—often without noticing—this workshop gently brings that shared process into conscious awareness. You’ll experience how breath can become a practical tool in your work, supporting presence, ease, and longevity in your practice while helping clients inhabit their bodies more fully.

Rather than teaching a “right” way to breathe, this session focuses on breathing easier. By learning to lengthen the exhale and allow the inhale to arise naturally, participants will reduce unnecessary tension in the neck and upper back and support the diaphragm’s role as the primary driver of respiration. This shift creates meaningful change in both the muscular and nervous systems, easing sympathetic activation and fostering a calmer, more efficient state for therapist and client alike—during sessions and long after they end.

Holding Space Without Losing Yourself

classroom B

Sakinah Irizarry & Ericka Clinton

Massage therapists are trained to be present, attuned, and compassionate—but the emotional weight of this work is rarely acknowledged. In this thoughtful and honest session, we’ll explore the mental and emotional realities of practicing in a helping profession, including the quiet impact of holding space day after day.

Together, we’ll reflect on sustainability, boundaries, and the inner life of the practitioner. This conversation invites you to consider how to continue showing up with depth and integrity—while also protecting your own wellbeing and sense of self.

Saturday, October 24, 2026

3:15pm - 5:30pm

Research Translation Challenge

conference room

Corey Rivera & Ericka Clinton

This interactive Research Translation Challenge invites you to turn research into real-world communication. In this session, small groups will translate research abstracts—some serious, some not so serious—into accessible formats like social media posts, one-pagers, client handouts, and short podcast or TikTok scripts.

Expect creativity, collaboration, and a refreshing change of pace as you flex your communication skills, explore how audience shapes meaning, and create shareable resources.

Testimonials

Here's what folks said about the 2024 Healwell Homecoming

The classes I took were above and beyond! I was expecting an overview of the lymphatic system and fascia research and both classes were so much more. Megan and Cath are extremely knowledgeable and engaging. For me they were a meaty prelude to Cath's scar class, which I'd been wanting to take. I truly enjoy when we Healwellians come together IRL. Thank you for putting together a wonderful program.

I loved it! . . . You all did a fabulous job of coordinating and presenting a high quality learning and community building event. Thank you

Great event. Loved the format, extended workshops, plenty of lively exchange of ideas, great peeps!

The entire event exceeded my expectations. Extremely well-organized, very informative and motivational. It inspired me to do more!

Fabulous!

Amazing opportunity to meet others, share information and experience, have some fun. Really helpful to have some of the industry reps there, but not all the conference tables, etc. So, good resources without being overtaken by commercialism.

It was an honor to witness the meeting of the minds.

Loved the sharing of ideas, insights, experiences and opinions, Cal is a great speaker, engaging and enjoyable, big heart, very smart 👍

It was amazing how different we all are, yet we all want the same thing and found common ground. We learned from each other and that is key.

I really enjoyed both, especially the noodle. The questions were great, the conversations even better. And getting to hear what other tables came up with, of which the ideas were often different and new points of view. If anything, we needed more time!!

What was being discussed in these events helped me work though some of the stagnation I had been feeling in my practice.