Caring Palms will again be hosting an Herbalism Seminar taught by Master Herbalist, Cindy Whitley in September. The last seminar was well received by the students who attended, who thought it was a tremendous amount of information that was well worth the money they had spent for the class.

This seminar works with herbal medicine to help keep one well. Here are the details...

Staying Well with Herbs, Saturday, September 27, 2014, 10:00am - 3:00pm, at the Caring Palms Studio

Improve your quality of life by learning how to stay healthy and fight illness with herbal medicine. Learn which herbs can replace antibiotics, treat and prevent the flu, colds, coughs, infections and viruses. Not only will you gain knowledge of the herbs themselves, you will also learn how to prepare your own herbal treatments. After this workshop, you will bring home information that can save you countless doctor visits and trips to the pharmacy, and everyone will make 3 remedies in class!

The cost for this seminar is $60 in advance. One can sign up through the Caring Palms website. Go to the 'Our Studio' tab and select 'Events'. You can also visit Cindy's website here.

Caring Palms is now open regular hours every Saturday. Our newest therapist, Christine Neubauer will be here to do massage and Reiki sessions.

Previously, the studio had been open 'by appointment only', but now someone will be here from 10:00am to 5:00pm to take appointments and walk-ins. Brian will still be available, by appointment only as he always has, based on what his schedule is. We can also offer Couple's Massages on Saturdays, but we will need enough notice to set up. 

If you are in need of a good massage, please call for an appointment.

Last weekend, Caring Palms had a booth at the 12^th Annual Festival of Chariots and Mantra Music Festival at the Seawalk Pavilion in Jacksonville Beach. Although it was hot (heat index 106 degrees), it was a fun day getting to be part of the event and meeting new people. Whitney, Christine, and I arrived at 2:00 to begin setting up for the event which started at 4pm. Once we were up and running, we were constantly busy doing chair and table massage and Reiki for love offerings which included cash, papers, a book, and a banana. All were appreciated.

The event gave us a great opportunity to meet people who are into the type of things we do at the studio... meditation, energy healing, etc. Everyone we touched seemed impressed with the type of work that we did and were surprised that we did not use our fingers that much. They got to see that there are a lot of differences in what we do as opposed to other massage therapists whether we were doing massage or Reiki.

So, even though it was hot (did I mention that it was hot?), there were wonderful people and great energies. We want to thank everyone that came out, that talked with us about what we do, and those that had time to get some work done. We also want to thank those that entered our contest to receive a free session. Those notifications are going out as you are reading this.

Again it was a great day, and great fun. Thank you all that came out to see us.

Black and white. What are they? Well, in truth, white is the absence of all color, and black is the combination of all colors (with the exception of the computer screen). One, emptiness, one fullness. Basically, they are polar opposites, extremes if you will, the quintessential yin and yang. In terminology, they signify a concrete evaluation where something can be measured.

We look for things to be black and white. This signifies a clarity that can not be disputed. It is something that is so crisp and clear that it can not be misunderstood, so clear that we could say that it is a yes or a no.

But we also look at it as good and evil. In the old westerns, good guys wore white hats while bad guys wore black hats. In Star Wars, Luke Skywalker's outfit was white, while Darth Vader was dressed all in black. And although we look at white being full of good, it is the absence of everything. Maybe that is why we put things in the terms of light and dark.

Go to the light. Follow the light. Let the light guide your way. Or... are you afraid of the dark?

I think this comes from an innate sense of fear of the unknown. As children, we were afraid of the dark because we could not see what was there, what was waiting to grab us. You know, those monsters under the bed. When our key sense is sight, and that is taken away, it is quite scary.

But by defining things as light and dark, we open up to the possibilities of shades of gray. Black and white photos are not all black and white, but a variety of shades of gray. The same occurs with laws. We want our laws to be written in pure black and white, but then there seems to be way too much room for interpretation which brings us into the gray. But the gray is where most of us live.

We make decisions, and usually, there is no clear-cut choice. We decide based on facts and feelings. So we maneuver our way between the possibilities, between the dark and the light to come up with something in the middle that we feel will work for us. We do the best we can with the information we have. We try to avoid the darkness, and stay within the light. Sometimes we need to cross through shadow to get to that light. But we have to remember, that shadow is there because there is light. It is the light shining that casts the shadows. And if you look at that shadow hard enough, you will find that while it may be dark, it is not completely black. It might be a darker shade of gray, but there is light there making it so.

When dealing with light and dark, we may travel in the dark for a spell. But one thing we need to remember is that even a little bit of light will push back the darkness. And if we have some light, and are travelling through the gray, one thing to remember is to head to the lighter gray so eventually we will emerge into the light.

The metaphors are obvious. We stay within the light by being and thinking positively. When we are negative we (as Yoda would say) turn to the dark side. The dark represents fear. And we need to put the least amount of energy into that as possible. We get back what we put the most energy into. If we put it into making good things happen, they will. If we spend it in fear, we will draw to us what we fear. It is the law of attraction. We bring to us what we put the most effort into.

So where are you heading? Do you wander through the gray, or do you go to extremes and do dark or light? The key to entering darkness is to remember light, and bring that light with you. Personally, I carry a flashlight.

• September 13 (Saturday) 10am - 5pm Confirmed
• September 24 (Wednesday) 10am - 5pm Confirmed
• October 11 (Saturday) 10am - 5pm  
• November 8 (Saturday) 10am - 5pm  

The following is a list of currently scheduled classes.  This class is a two-day class worth 12 CE hours for 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:

• October 18 - October 19  (Saturday 9:00am - 5:00pm and Sunday 10:00am - 4:00pm) Confirmed

All classes are scheduled to be held at the Caring Palms Studio.  Should the location change, that change will be on the website and students notified. 

Maximize your results with less effort. Utilize the science of martial arts and apply it to massage. Advanced Body Mechanics and Techniques for Massage Therapists, is designed to reconnect the massage therapist with proper body mechanics and techniques while putting a new twist on things and showing how to get more pressure with little effort. While it does go over some basics, it takes body mechanics to a new level where every move involves the use of the therapist's entire body so they can work without hurting themselves. The class being part lecture, part hands-on practice takes positions, centering, and the proper use of body strength from Japanese martial arts and applies them to the art of massage therapy. It also shows how to focus one's energies to increase their strength with simple exercises meant to teach the student how to 'think' beyond where they are working so they can get deeper into the client and to channel their energies to the point of thought. The student will learn how to focus their energies and use their body to do deep work 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 does, but in a new light as well as moves many people may not have seen before. 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.

 
NCBTMB and Florida Board of Massage Approved for twelve (12) Continuing Education Hours (CEUs)
Class Cost: $300 Early Registration (at least 19 days before the class date)
                    $350 within 19 days of the class date

This class is for licensed massage therapists or anyone that regularly uses massage in their practice.  For those looking to learn basic massage for relaxation for their partner or friends, see the website on the Massage For Couples classes. 

To sign up for classes, go to the website and select Continuing Education, Advanced Body Mechanics and Techniques, and Class Schedule to see additions and changes or to sign up.

Caring Palms has two rooms for rent to a holistic arts practitioner.  This person could be a practitioner of accupuncture, reflexology, hypnosis, massage or any similar modality.  If you know anyone interested, please have them call Brian at Caring Palms.   

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.