Professor Darren Wigginton, PT, RMT, DOMP teaching osteopathic soft tissue therapy at the York University Heights campus of National Academy of Osteopathy (Toronto, Ontario).

Professor Pamela Crosson-Fournier, RMT, DOMP

Professor Pamela Crosson-Fournier, RMT, DOMP teaching cranial osteopathy (osteopathy in the cranial field) at the York University Heights campus of National Academy of Osteopathy (NAO) in Toronto.

The cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) class.

The cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) class at the York University Heights campus of National Academy of Osteopathy (Toronto, Ontario, Canada). 

Sitting can KILL you!

The more you sit, the sooner you die.

Sitting for a major part of the day may be deadly in the long run researchers say.

Toronto (Canada) researchers found the amount of time a person sits during the day is associated with a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and death.

After smoking, sitting (physical inactivity) is the number two reason people die from, followed by bad diet and alcohol usage.

To counteract the negative effects of sitting, it is recommended you stand and be active for a minimum of 5 minutes per hour of sitting.

“Manual osteopaths are generally quite healthy because they are active while working, usually standing on their feet while providing hands-on care” says Professor Shawn Pourgol, president of National Academy of Osteopathy (Canada).

Top Athletes Study Osteopathy at NAO

Osteopathy, as a health career is becoming quite popular with athletes. A number of our students at National Academy of Osteopathy are top athletes.

Here is massage therapist Adam Walsh who is also studying osteopathy at NAO. He is one of the top professional body builders of Canada. 

 

 

NAO graduate offered job after giving treatment to RMT

Testimonial from manual osteopath, Ladan Jebhe, DOMP a graduate of National Academy of Osteopathy (class of Sept 2015). Ladan was offered a job after she gave a treatment to a registered massage therapist with 25 years of experience.

I think there will be a lot of times in our lives when we have to choose between two

prominent things that both matter to us, and by choosing one opportunity we have to be

willing to risk losing the other. Sometimes we make choices in life and sometimes

choices make us.

That is just the way it is. Today, I’m a real example of my story. For those of you who

know me well, you’re aware that I have been pursuing my PhD studies in Linguistics

since I’ve moved to Canada. My Academic education in English Literature and

Linguistics goes back to more than 10 years in row, which I’m so grateful about it for

providing me the path to move to Canada. If it weren’t for PhD studies, I would not be

here in Canada. 

There are times in life when you absolutely need to take the action to get

you through tense situations. Some time ago, I moved to Toronto and I’ve started to think

about what other options I would have if I wanted to pursue a totally different profession.

I’ve come across a bunch of subjects which were my interests but I was not able to take

them because I had a different background. I was so desperate about being able to pursue

a healthcare profession while I had 10 years abstract study/research experience. But right

at that time I came across a subject matter which I knew little about it and even I was

afraid to pronounce it totally right. YES, it was Osteopathy which put me in a vary

different and challenging path. 

After learning about the complex and alien world of

human body structure, it has honestly given me a new understanding. I believe in this

saying that sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together”. This is

exactly what happened to me. Since I’ve started practicing Osteopathy, I never regret

about what I’ve done. I just feel good that I chose the thing that matters most to me and I

let go of the “what if” questions that might linger about the other thing I had to let

go. I’ve found out that rules are made to be broken. 

We can never pick every option out

there – we have to be ready to choose our priorities and then feel good about those

choices. Today I felt tested myself, but it also felt really good to stick to my guns on what

I knew in my heart. I’ve just found out that life is too short to wait. Every new day is

another chance to change our lives. We’ll never know what all we can accomplish until

we do something we’ve never done. By taking the risk we’ll step into some of our biggest

rewards. Every great accomplishment starts with the decision to try. 

Life is about trusting

your instinct and taking chances, losing and finding happiness, learning from experience,

appreciating the memories, and realizing that every step is worth your while… But

you’ve got to be willing to take each step. You’ve got to give yourself a fair chance.

We’re not obligated to win every time. We’re obligated to keep trying – to do the best

we can do every day – to improve upon what we’ve learned yesterday. I simply trusted

that little voice inside my head and started a challenging profession that I literally had no

background on what it is about. YES, this is Osteopathy I’m talking about. I believe this

is greatly satisfying. Once you get into Clinic - nothing is better than hearing a patient

telling you, they are happy and feel better since of your treatment and advice. This is the

beauty of Osteopathy that you see your patients feel relieved of pain or discomfort just

after a few sessions. 

Last week in my clinical internship hour, I’ve treated a Registered

Message Therapist (RMT) who has been running her own clinic with more than 25 years

experience in health profession. After treatment, I’ve got astonished by her compliments,

she left me a gift card and she offered me to work with her in her clinic. That was very

shocking to me that she’s appreciated what I’ve done yet I’m not professional compared

to who she is in health profession. 

I’ve explained all of them to reach to a point that I owe

all these great feelings, all subsequent success, and wonderful experiences which are yet

to come, to a great leader called Dr. Shahin Pourgol. This genius man let me take

advantage of this opportunity and opened my eyes to the beautiful world of health

studies. I really appreciate the unique way he has stepped in and moreover for letting me

as a non-health background student to take this opportunity and to get to know the

concrete sides of studies. I am eternally and wholeheartedly grateful for everything

you’ve taught me in terms of personal and academic development. I have had so much

fun learning your useful business tips. You blew my mind in each lecture. Thank you for

sharing your wisdom with me. I want you to know how much I value your approach to

teach what a successful person demands to go forward. Please continue to spread this

feeling to other students in your future years. Special thanks for all your efforts you’re

making in introducing and expanding osteopathy in people’s eyes and minds. In my

share, I'm trying to apply all your tips and tricks in my practice and make you happy

because you deserve to watch your students growing personally and financially in their

lives and their practices. I’m sure you’re gonna change lots of students’ outlooks toward

life as it happened to me. I always recall you as a great instructor, life coach and a

business leader.

NAO President

Osteopathic soft tissue therapy of hard tissue by National Academy of Osteopathy president, Dr Shawn Pourgol, MBA, DC, DO, PhD  :)

Dasha sends us a photo from Cuba

Thanks to National Academy of Osteopathy student, Dasha Veprjitska for sending us this photo.

11.1% of NAO graduates have annual incom eof over $150K

Did you know the NAO alumni survey 2015 reported that 11.1% of National Academy of Osteopathy graduates in Canada made over $150,000 in 2015?

Beautiful photos of NAO student practicing techniques

National Academy of Osteopathy student, Trevor Adam Cragg practicing visceral osteopathy and other techniques.

NAO student: Shirin Pourgol (Dr Pourgol's sister)

National Academy of Osteopathy student, Shirin Pourgol (who is Dr Pourgol's sister) practicing visceral osteopathy.

Our graduates live longer, live happier

A number of recent surveys and research by a leading US university (published by Time Magazine) indicates those with good income live on average 15 years longer than those with poor income in the United States.

About 1% of North Americans make over $100,000 in annual income per year.

11.10 % of National Academy of Osteopathy graduates in Canada made over $150,000 in 2015.

Additionally these individuals with high income are twice as happy as those with incomes of less than $40,000 per year. As we have always said money does buy happiness!

This survey also found that while the rate of divorce in North America is approximately over 50%, the rate for those in high income bracket mentioned above is just 19%.

We teach everything we know about business management and entrepreneurship to our students. This is the main reason why we graduate successful manual osteopaths.

98.2% of our graduates refer others to NAO

93.8% of Canadian NAO graduates in 2015 were happy with the osteopathic education they received at National Academy of Osteopathy.

98.2% of NAO graduates would refer NAO to others who wish to study manual osteopathy.