A massage therapy school near Smyrna and La Vergne — about 15 to 20 minutes away in South Nashville.
Nashville Institute of Massage & Bodywork is one campus, at 311 Plus Park Blvd, just off I-24 by the airport. It is a realistic weekday commute from Smyrna, La Vergne, and the Sam Ridley Parkway corridor. This page is written for people making that drive.
Train for a hands-on career in under six months — without moving or quitting your life.
Most of the people who call us from Smyrna and La Vergne are working adults who have thought about massage therapy for a while. They want something hands-on, something with a license behind it, and something that does not take two years of night classes. NIMB's Accelerated Massage Therapy Program is 650 contact hours in five months, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., on campus in South Nashville. It is honest work and a full day, and it is over by the time most programs are reaching the halfway point. Graduates receive a Certificate of Completion and are eligible to sit for the MBLEx, the national exam Tennessee requires before you can apply for a license.
Why Smyrna and La Vergne students choose NIMB.
The drive. Smyrna and La Vergne are the easiest commute we have after Antioch: get on I-24 West at Sam Ridley Parkway or Waldron Road and get off at Harding Place. Fifteen to twenty minutes in normal traffic, and you never touch downtown.
Parking and the building. Free on-site parking in our lot, with wheelchair-accessible parking, entrance, and restroom. Suite 270 is on the second floor of 311 Plus Park Blvd; the classroom and the student clinic are both there.
The schedule. Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 4:30, for five months. Cohorts start every January and July, so you can plan the commute around a fixed end date rather than an open-ended one.
Where graduates from the Smyrna and La Vergne area can work. Spas, chiropractic and physical-therapy offices, franchise clinics, and private practice across Middle Tennessee. Brentwood North and Green Hills are both about 25 minutes from Smyrna for sponsored-track graduates. The Sponsored Massage Trainee track is built around those four locations.
What you learn, and what it costs.
The 650-hour curriculum exceeds the minimum the Tennessee Board of Massage Licensure requires of an approved program and covers anatomy and physiology, kinesiology, pathology, Swedish and deep-tissue technique, ethics and Tennessee massage law, business practices, and supervised hands-on practice, including work on real clients in our student clinic. Every class is taught by working therapists and led by Institutional Director Bill Mullins III, LMT, NMT, who has served on the Tennessee Board of Massage Licensure since 2017.
When you complete the program you receive a Certificate of Completion and become eligible to register for the MBLEx. After passing the MBLEx you apply to the Tennessee Board for licensure as a Licensed Massage Therapist; the Board, not the school, issues the license, and NIMB does not guarantee licensure or employment.
Two tuition tracks. The pay-in-full track has a base tuition of $7,900. The Sponsored Massage Trainee track is for qualified candidates who want training with a job waiting: out-of-pocket tuition can be as low as $1,500 in exchange for a 24-month employment commitment (a minimum of 25 bookable hours per week) at one of four affiliated Massage Envy locations — Bellevue, Brentwood North, Belle Meade, or Green Hills — after graduation and licensure. Both tracks attend the same classes with the same instructors. See the admissions page for how each track works.
Three things people from Smyrna and La Vergne ask first.
How far is NIMB from Smyrna and La Vergne?
About 15 to 20 minutes in normal traffic, up I-24 West to the Harding Place exit. Put "311 Plus Park Blvd, Nashville, TN 37217" in your maps app and check it at 7:45 on a weekday morning to see your real time.
Is parking free?
Yes. Free on-site parking in our lot, every day, for students and clinic clients.
Is there a massage therapy school closer to Smyrna and La Vergne?
No. The closest Board-approved massage programs to Smyrna and La Vergne are NIMB in South Nashville and the school in Murfreesboro. NIMB is the shorter drive for most of Smyrna and all of La Vergne.
Come see the campus before you decide.
Request information or book a tour. Tell us you're coming from Smyrna and La Vergne and we'll schedule around your drive. Call (615) 505-0025 or email admissions@nimbtn.com.
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