• April 13 (Saturday) 10am - 5pm
• April 17 (Wednesday) 10am - 5pm Confirmed
• May 11 (Saturday) 10am - 5pm
• June 8 (Saturday) 10am - 5pm
• June 19 (Wednesday) 10am - 5pm
• July 13 (Saturday) 10am - 5pm
• August 10 (Saturday) 10am - 5pm
• August 14 (Wednesday) 10am - 5pm
• September 14 (Saturday) 10am - 5pm
• September 18 (Wednesday) 10am - 5pm
• October 12 (Saturday) 10am - 5pm
• October 16 (Wednesday) 10am - 5pm
• November 9 (Saturday) 10am - 5pm  

The following is a list of currently scheduled classes.  This class is a two-day class worth 12 CE hours for Florida massage therapists.  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'.  The current schedule is as follows:

•  June 4 - June 5  (Tuesday 9:00am - 5:00pm and Wednesday 10:00am - 4:00pm)
• June 22 - June 23  (Saturday 9:00am - 5:00pm and Sunday 10:00am - 4:00pm) Confirmed
• August 3 - August 4  (Saturday 9:00am - 5:00pm and Sunday 10:00am - 4:00pm)
• August 20 - August 21  (Tuesday 9:00am - 5:00pm and Wednesday 10:00am - 4:00pm) 

All classes are scheduled to be held at the Hampton Inn at Jacksonville Beach, FL.  Should the location change, that change will be on the website and students notified. 

Note: Check with the hotel for special room rates.  

Maximize your results with less effort. Utilize the science of martial arts and apply it to massage. Body Mechanics and Advanced Techniques for Massage Therapists is designed to reconnect the massage therapist with proper body mechanics and techniques showing how to work without hurting oneself and how to apply deep pressure with little effort.  The class being part lecture, part hands-on practice uses theory, stances, centering, and the proper use of body strength from martial arts and applies them to the art of massage therapy.  Students will learn how to focus their energies and use their body to do deep work with less effort and not get hurt.  This class will help anyone to work deeply with less effort no matter if one is 90 pounds or 250 pounds.  This class is for both the seasoned therapist and the new therapist.  It will show moves everyone is familiar with, but in a new light as well as moves many people may not have seen before (which have been taken from Lomi Lomi, Esalen, and other styles).  The idea is not to dictate how to practice, but to show better body mechanics which the therapist can adapt to what they do.  This is true whether they adapt all of it or just part of it.

One ion looks at another and asks... why are you so negative? (A little science humor.)

Why is it so much easier to think the worst? To see the bad possibilities? To worry? Why is it not just as easy to see the positive outcomes? Well, I wish I had an answer for that one. And yet, the truth is that it is just as easy as long as you condition yourself to think that way.

Years ago, I was told that I was the most negative person there was. In truth, I thought I was being realistic. I knew there were possibilities where things might not work out right, and I knew I had to plan for them. But even in planning, one hopes one thinks about every possibility, and most times we miss something. After all, Murphy's Law does have its basis in reality.

But why is it we automatically expect the worst? Well, I think it is because we are conditioned to do so. When we grow up, we do something and expect it to work right, and it doesn't. But we learn. We learn from the experience, and that makes us smarter in how we do things so we can better expect it to work right. Unfortunately, we get conditioned with people telling us that you can never expect it to work. So we spend our time worrying that it will not work instead of creating the situation where it will.

We can also condition ourselves to think positively. If a negative thought comes to mind, we acknowledge it, and let it go. Focus on the positive outcomes. I am not saying that we should not think things through, and prepare for problems. I am saying that we just need to stop worrying about what could go wrong.

If a soldier is constantly worrying about getting killed, eventually, he will make that happen. If we constantly worry that something will go wrong, it will. And when it does, it will be disastrous to us. You need to take the frame of mind of a computer programmer. You plan, and you work to make sure you have covered all possible problems. Then when one pops up that hadn't been thought about, you simply acknowledge it and go about fixing it. This is the process you use to test anything, try it and then keep fixing it until it is right. But it is the positive approach that makes this easier.

So, what did one proton say to the other proton? Why are you so positive?

by Brian Dean

Sticking with science, one ion asks the other, why are you so negative? The other ion asks, why are you so positive? Well, because there has to be balance.

For every something, there is an equal and opposite something. Positive, negative. Good, evil. Happy, sad. The key is to walk that tightrope that goes right between the two sides. And as any high wire walker can tell you, you need balance.

The problem is that way too many people are not balanced, and I am not talking mentally (although that can be the case too). I am talking balance in a lot of areas. Balance between work and play, physical balance, balance in life. How many of us are truly balanced? I'll bet that the answer is not too many.

We work to be successful so we can have time to play, to enjoy ourselves. But what happens is we work to a point that we don't leave time to play. In fact, I'll bet that a lot have forgotten how to. If we work too much, we lose the balance that lets us be a child for a while, to do something we enjoy (and I don't mean more work). If we play too much, we never develop the work ethic needed to support ourselves.

But somewhere along the line, we need to work, and we need to play, to let the mind do something fun so we are not constantly worrying (yes, there's that word again) about problems at work. Which will lead to more time working.

So how do we find balance? Look for it. It is not as simple as eight hours of play for eight hours of work. But it might be as simple as one hour of play to eight hours of work. Take an hour and find something you like to do. Play ball with the dog. Drive the cat crazy with a laser pointer. Read a book. Listen to music. The point is to clear your mind of work related things. Even meditation would be very helpful. Through that, you can clear pathways of thought and get rid of some of the garbage floating around in your head. Less garbage equals clearer thought.

So, look at the tightrope you are walking. What do you do to keep balanced? Remember, life doesn't come with a safety net. Find something that works, and use it.

At Caring Palms, we pledge to do the best work we can at every session.  We not only do this to continue to earn your business, but because we believe that you deserve the best care possible every time you are here.  This is true whether it is massage, or energy work, or classes. This is our promise.  This is what we will continue to do.