Andean Healing Hands, celebrating massage excellence in Ecuador

An new international championship bringing together professional skill, human care and recognition for the people at the heart of wellness : Andean Healing Hands presented by the by the World Massage Federation and the Olimpic national committee.

This is an opportunity to recognise the knowledge, judgement and human attention involved in massage practice. Behind every treatment are professional decisions : how to approach the body, adapt a technique, respond to the person receiving care and protect the practitioner delivering it.

The championship will feature Asian Freestyle, Sports Massage, Therapeutic Massage, Wellness & Spa, Facial Massage and 4 Hands Freestyle. Its programme also includes workshops for therapists, business meetings and much more.

Paola Karolina Sanchez Zambrano is the professional behind this initiative. Based in Ecuador, she serves as the World Massage Federation’s President for the Americas. Her continental role connects this Ecuadorian event with the wider WMF community.

I support Paola’s initiative and her commitment to bringing professionals together : a place where practitioners can demonstrate their abilities, exchange perspectives and receive recognition for the work they do.

The World Massage Federation provides the event’s international organisational framework. With administrative offices in Greece, the federation describes its mission as supporting massage education and bringing professionals together through training, seminars, camps and international events.

Among the judges already announced are professionals from Peru, Brazil, Ecuador and Spain, with backgrounds spanning massage, skin care, rehabilitation and wellness.

Mili Saldaña, from Peru, is a a specialist in skin treatment and care, and as Director of Garden Natura. Her profile brings a skin-care perspective to the announced panel.

Cristina Silva, from Brazil, is a massage therapist, contributing a Brazilian practitioner’s perspective to this international gathering.

Eduardo Cajas, from Ecuador, is a specialist in integrative physiotherapy, naturopathy and wellbeing.

Salomé Salgado, from Ecuador, practices physical rehabilitation, trichology and aesthetic care among her areas of practice.

And me, from Galicia, Spain, a wellness and spa expert and mentor. My work in professional training and wellness experience design pays particular attention to therapist posture, security, professional standards and the quality of the client experience.

Because practitioner’s wellbeing also belongs in that conversation : professional excellence should include ways of working that protect those who care for others.

Andean Healing Hands reflects this conviction. The dignity of the profession, the quality of the experience and the safety of both client and therapist should remain central to how we understand massage excellence.

A great massage brings together precision, presence and respect for the client, for the therapist and for the profession.

Further information is available through the official World Massage Federation event announcement⁠.

Link to participate : https://forms.gle/XLZokdiTLc6ZkqVx8