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Greetings!
Welcome to the September issue of the Caring Palms newsletter. This month we have a Reiki 1 class scheduled and other information.
I hope you like what we have here. |
Labor Day
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Caring Palms will be closed
Monday, September 7th for the Labor Day holiday. The studio will reopen Tuesday, September 8th
at the normal hours.
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Classes, Classes, and More Classes, and Yet More Classes
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Thanks to the massage license
period that just ended on the 31st, and a change in the laws
requiring the massage portion of the continuing education hours to be in a
classroom, Caring Palms has taught a record number of students. Since the beginning of the year, there have
been 54 Reiki 1 students, 26 Reiki 2 students, 4 Reiki 3 students, and 8
students for the Body Mechanics classes.
And 48 of those 92 students took class in August.
Though not all of these
people are massage therapists, the majority of them are, and all too many
waited to the last minute to get their CEUs (continuing education hours). Part of the reason for the last minute rush
was because of the economy. People just
have not had the money, but faced with the prospect of not being able to work
after August, they came up with it. A
couple told the story of having taken someone else's massage class to find that
it was categorized incorrectly. It was
not listed as massage and the people that teach it are not doing anything to
get it changed. So, they ended up taking
my Reiki classes to get their hours.
Caring Palms has bent over
backwards to accommodate as many people as we could. When people couldn't make the existing class
dates, we created more classes. When the
need was greater than the studio capacity, we convinced the landlord to let us
use an empty office at the other end of the building. And although this office had its challenges
with having to move chairs, tables, music, and other things from the studio
each class, it gave us the opportunity to teach a larger number of people. (The fun part was watching the temperature go
up as we did the energy work. It would
start out at 70 degrees in the morning and end up at 84 by the end of the day.)
August has definitely been a
busy month. But classes will continue
and are scheduled through November. They
just probably won't be as full. (One of
the classes had 12 students while another had 15.)
Caring Palms wants to thank
some people for helping during the large number of classes we had. We want to thank Cathy for being part of the
Body Mechanics test class which helped define the class. We also want to thank Alicia for evening out
the first Body Mechanics class.
We want to thank the landlord for making available the empty office at the other end of the building.
Caring Palms also wants to
thank Heather and BJ. Heather helped
with the 15 student Reiki 2 class, but also helped cart chairs, tables, and
anything else that needed to be moved to and from the empty office we used as a
classroom. BJ also helped doing the same
for that class and two others. Without
their help, it would have been a huge mess no matter how organized it was.
And finally, Caring Palms
wants to thank all the students that took the classes and put up with the less
than ideal conditions. Without you, it
would not have happened.
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Back to School
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Now that the kids are back in
school, it is time to do something for yourself. It is time to get some needed work and
relaxation. Caring Palms has many styles
of massage available for relaxation as well as working out any problems you may
have from the summer. We also have Reiki healing energy to help any problem you
might have.
This could also be a good
time to improve yourself by taking classes on a wide range of things from
meditation to Reiki to massage. Caring
Palms offers classes in energy and meditation.
We also offer classes for couples to learn to do massage on
themselves. (A complete list of classes
is available on the Reiki side of the website under Class Pricing.)
So whether you need
relaxation or want to improve yourself, Caring Palms is the place to look. Check out the website, or call us today.
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| Reiki Class Schedule |
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The following is a list of currently scheduled Reiki
Classes. Each class (unless otherwise marked) currently has a status of
'Scheduled'. This means that a date has been set, but no one has signed
up for it yet. Once a deposit has been received for a class, the status
will be 'Confirmed'. Any class marked as 'Closed' has basically filled up. (Note: In some cases, one may be able to enter a class marked 'Closed' with permission of the instructor.) The current schedule is as follows:
Reiki 1
September 12 (Saturday) 11am - 5pm Confirmed
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October 10 (Saturday) 11am - 5pm November 14 (Saturday) 11am - 5pm
Reiki 2
- A Reiki 2 class will be scheduled before the end of the year
Reiki 3
- A Reiki 3 class will be scheduled before the end of the year
All classes are open to anyone wanting to learn this unique
method of hands-on healing. The cost for each class is $100 no matter
what level of Reiki the class is for. A 50% deposit ($50) is required a
minimum of seven (7) days prior to the class date (or permission of the
instructor) to reserve a space in the class. Classes with no deposits
received by the deposit date will be canceled. All class statuses may be
viewed on the Reiki side of the web site under 'Class Scheduling and Schedule
of Classes'. |
| Modality of the Month |
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Hawaiian Lomi Lomi
The ancient art of Hawaiian Lomi Lomi
has been practiced for hundreds of years. The gift of healing was passed
down to the "chosen one" who spent their life practicing the healing
arts. Kahuna's (healers, shaman) were taught to use thumbs, hands,
forearms and elbows to massage. It wasn't uncommon to have hot rocks
placed on injuries or have the Kahuna walk on your back. Kahuna's were
even known to use a mild form of hypnosis, instilling feelings of
well-being. They believed they could transfer their own vital energy
into a person who was sick.
Hawaiian Lomi Lomi was kept secret within families for most of its
history, until Kahuna Aunty Margaret Machado decided to teach anyone who
wanted to learn "the loving touch". Aunty says, "Lomi Lomi is a loving
touch. When they feel loving hands on their body, they'll respond, "she
loves me, she'll take good care of me, and I'm going to get well."
So, what is the difference between Lomi Lomi and any other massage? That
is a difficult question to answer. Clients have said, "It's as if you
are right inside of my muscles and you know exactly where to go and how
deep to go." "The pressure points melt, your hands and elbows feel
strong and loving as if they are guided." I don't know how elbows
and forearms can
feel loving, but that is what clients say! Lomi Lomi feels like many
different techniques put into one flowing system. It has a rhythm and
flow that is soothing and feels complete.
read more
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Body Mechanics Classes Went Well
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During the month of August,
Caring Palms held its second class on Body Mechanics for Massage
Therapists. Although the class did not
sell as well as hoped for, we still had four students looking to improve their
massage skills. Because of the small
class, we were able to hold it at the studio without too much difficulty.
The two classes of this type
that were taught (one in June, one in August) were definitely a learning
experience, and not just for the students.
We found things that worked, and things that did not work as well as
hoped for.
One of the things discovered
was that most students have never been taught forearm work. This is taught as part of this class because
it takes some of the wear and tear off of the hands and fingers. Although some had had some training with the
concept, this was completely new to most students, and because of that took
more time to learn.
In one of the classes, two of
the students had been practicing for years, and had been hurting themselves for
years. It was a challenge for them to
drop their old habits and relearn how to move with their body.
Most of the students liked
the advanced moves that come from Hawaiian Lomi, Esalen, and the teacher's
experience. They found that they like
how easy it is to get deeply into someone with much less effort.
In each class one thing was
seen. Students need more time to
practice what is being taught. While the
concepts of the class should not be new (provided whatever school they went to
bothered to teach them properly), it has been taking a long time for the
students to assimilate the material.
Right now, there are no more
Body Mechanics classes scheduled this year.
During the next few months, this class is going to be looked at and redefined. The first change will be to increase the
number of hours, maybe offer it over three days instead of two. Some of the moves might be extended, while
others might be dropped. New material
might be added keeping in mind the time constraints.
Look for this redefined class
to be offered some time next year. |
Editorial
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by Brian Dean
What is it about people and
lifestyles? Why is it that anything
different is wrong? Aren't we all
different? Why should we all be the same?
I had a student in my class this month that was 'different'. She
follows an alternate lifestyle. Does it
harm people? No.
At the beginning of each
Reiki 1 class, I go around the room and have each student introduce themselves
and tell a little bit about who they are.
One of my students told us that she was a vampire. Now, first off, it was daylight. Secondly, I know one of the other students
was wearing a crucifix. And thirdly,
this student was wearing jewelry that was silver. Ok, so she is not a creature of the night
bitten by another creature ages ago and looking to drink everyone's blood.
Now, I don't know a lot about
this lifestyle. I do remember there
being a reality series on the SciFi channel some years ago where the residents
of the castle (contestants) had to experience each of the four lifestyles
represented by the four people judging them.
The contestants would go through challenges to be able to score points
and stay. Each week, one was asked to
leave the castle (the equivalent of getting booted of the island).
Of these four people (if I
remember correctly) one was a Goth, one was a nudist, and one was a
vampire. And while this vampire had the
contestants do some strange things including drinking blood (it was not known
to be human), he for the most part was harmless.
My student follows this same
lifestyle. She does not harm
people. She is a healer. In her description, she talked about the
healing work she does, and a lot of it was true empathy where she would pull
the problem from someone else inside of her, make it her own, and then get rid of it.
But she has great
energies. Now, I know her talking about
herself made some of the other students uncomfortable, but her energies did
not.
My helper, BJ, made the
comment that it was going to be a long day, and this student's response was
"we'll see." When I heard about this, I
asked and was very surprised at the answer.
Apparently, she has tried to take Reiki before, THREE TIMES. In each case, after she told about who she is,
she was asked to leave, THREE TIMES. I
was shocked. Here was this person with
good energies, and a talented healer, and she was asked to leave for wanting to
learn more energy healing. Wow. Needless to say, I did not ask her to
leave.
There are tons of alternate
lifestyles. Some are not too strange,
and some are really bizarre. There are
people that like Goth and they dress up in black and use black nail polish.
There are people that are into whips and chains and bondage and like to have
control taken from them while others like to be in control. Then there are groups like the Star Trek
fans, or Trekkies. (Years ago, I used to
go to Star Trek conventions and would consider myself a Trekkie. Now, I'm just a Science Fiction fan as I always have been.)
So what makes one different
from the other? None of these people
hurt other people, at least not without mutual consent. They are not nut cases running around the streets looking for helpless prey. In each case, there is a psychological need
that is being fulfilled whether it is to dress up like Captain Kirk or to be
tied up and flogged. And in each case,
this is done between consenting adults.
No one is going out and kidnapping people to beat them up and drink
their blood. Yes, there are some whackos
(and yes, that's a technical term) that do this, but it is not because they
belong to a lifestyle. It is because
they are whackos.
And another thing I have
found is that many of the people that choose some type of alternative lifestyle
do it for a reason, and they do it after careful consideration. For the most part, they seem to have a little
above average intelligence (yes, even the Trekkies, or at least a good
percentage of them).
These lifestyle people have
their terms for 'normal' people too. In
some circles normal people are referred to as vanilla, being all the same, not
having any flavor. The science fiction
people refer to normals as mundanes as they don't have the imagination to think
outside the box (or in this case the starship).
There is a saying that reality is for people that can't handle science
fiction. But what is normal? One person's normal is not the same as another's.
But the point is that these
are just people with a different point of view.
Why are we afraid of those that live differently, or have a different
religions (non-Christian)? Why can't we
just accept people for people? When we
don't, we miss out on a lot of good energy.
Caring Palms does not care
what your lifestyle is. We are not here
to judge you. If you are a person in
need of healing, we are here for you.
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| Can We Answer Your Questions? |
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You have Questions? Maybe we have answers.
Each month, we write articles on a variety of subjects. Is there something that you would like to see us write about? Do you have questions that you 'd like answered? Do you have questions on massage? On Reiki? On energy work in general? Submit your questions or requests to Brian@CaringPalms.com and we will try to see if we can answer them for you. | |
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