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When Emily Cohen and Michelle Mangano became co-owners of the California College of Physical Arts last year, they made very few changes.

CalCopa has been providing quality education in the field of massage therapy for over 26 years. With flexible programs and dozens of electives such as sports massage, pregnancy massage, infant massage and Thai massage, the school's enrollment has thrived almost exclusively by word of mouth.

"We left the curriculum alone because it's really outstanding," said Mangano. "It's time-tested and well organized, and it meets all of the educational criteria."

Instead the two women have decided to focus more on expanding the school's outreach, while maintaining the excellence for which CalCopa has come to be known.

It's ironic that Cohen and Mangano, both from the corporate world, have found themselves co-directors of a school whose students so often have taken an indirect path to the healing arts.

"One of the things that I'm impressed by is the range of our students," said Mangano. "We have a lot of people who come to this as second and third careers."

Cohen points out that although CalCopa offers an alternative to the traditional academic setting of community college or university, their students are still required to rise to a considerable level of accomplishment. She's familiar with the challenges that the students are faced with on a daily basis because, in addition to being co-director of the school, she is also a student there. Cohen has recently completed the first 200 hours of the program and plans to make her way through the remaining courses.

"There is a fair amount of studying involved," she said. "You have to know human anatomy, and there's also a physical component; giving a massage is a very physical job and there's a certain amount of endurance that you need to build up."

In the first 100 hours, students learn basic anatomy and systems of the body in addition to basic Swedish massage. One of the last components of the 500-hour core program includes a class on how to protect one's body from occupational hazards that can cut a therapist's career short.

CalCopa gives credit for previous massage therapy education, according to Cohen, as long as it is adaptable to their curriculum.

"Massage is actually entering into the community colleges, not enough to get licensed, but enough to peak people's interest," said Mangano. "And then they come here when they're ready to move on."

Full-time classes at the CalCopa start the first Monday of every month and part-time classes begin every other month. Prospective students are welcome to sit in on classes and to tour the facility at any time to decide if massage therapy is a viable option for them.

According to Cohen, many of the classes, such as reiki or acupressure, do not require prerequisites in massage, and therefore are often taken for enrichment purposes alone.

"Students learn a lot about themselves while they're taking classes here," said Mangano. "It's really fascinating to see them change."

California College of Physical Arts is located at 18582 Beach Boulevard, Suite 11, in Huntington Beach. For more information, call (714) 964-7744, or visit www.calcopamassageschool.com.