Last year was one of the best years Caring Palms has had.  This is because of the people that came in to try us out, the ones that came back, , our regulars, and the fact that it was a massage license renewal year.  All in all, we had 238 new people come in the door this year for sessions and classes.   

We taught 41 classes this year with 140 Reiki students, 6 Advanced Body Mechanics students, and 20 students for Couples Massage.   

We want to thank you for the support you have shown us this year, trusting us with your health care in the form of massage and Reiki, trusting us for your continuing education, and trusting us to teach you how to help each other.  We hope we have lived up to the promises we made.  We also hope we lived up to the hype from previous clients and students. 

We here at Caring Palms stand ready to help you during the new year.  We hope to see you soon.  Until then, thank you for an awesome year.

Shortly after the beginning of this month, my friend and student, Kelly Worthley passed away in a fire.  Kelly had taken Reiki 1 and Reiki 2 a couple years ago, and retaken them this year in preparation for her Master’s class, which she took in July.  Kelly was a source of light like no other.  In class, she was always jibber-jabbering, which endeared her to the other students.  Wherever she was, the mood changed from serious to enjoyable to fun.  She had that effect on people.  She was a force of light to be reckoned with. As I described her, she was a starburst in a dark room.

This piece is to let others that may not have gotten word, to know.  But while she is gone from this plane of existence, she is still here in our hearts and our memories.  She has passed to the next stage of life where she still checks in on family and friends. 

I was asked by her daughter to give the eulogy at her funeral which was for family only.  Having no prepared speech, I allowed spirit to guide me down the path of things to talk about.  I am thankful for Kelly’s friendship, and for spirit giving me the right words to say to bring comfort to her family.

by Brian Dean

I have always wondered about the things we do, and if they make a difference. I mean, we go through our lives just living them as we see fit, and never think about what effect we have on others.

I have never measured my life by how successful I am, or how much money I make. I have always felt successful simply by the few people I have been lucky enough to help, and I count them on the fingers of one or two hands. But today, I was really surprised.

I attended a memorial for a friend and student today. I met Kelly when I gave a talk at the massage school she was attending. Since then, she had become a student for Reiki and massage, as well as a friend. We traded massages from time to time as she was very good. When she had problems she could not work out, she would come see me. I would listen, talk, do energy work, whatever she needed. When her daughter had problems, she sent her to me. I was glad that she accepted what I offered, and that it did help her.

As for my friend, she was a burst of light in a dark room. Everyone she touched, she infected with her joy and positivity. The amount of love she generated was amazing. That love was echoed by the people that were there today. She touched many lives who were all better for knowing her.

But that was just part of it.

Something I learned today was the effect I had on my friend and her family. Her husband came over and introduced himself to me, and then fell apart in my arms. He thanked me for all I did for his wife and his daughter. Kelly’s daughter grabbed me and thanked me for coming, and then started crying again.

The day after she had called me to let me know what had happened to her mother, I did a reading for her and connected the two of them along with her grandmother who passed a few months ago. At the memorial, I met a friend of hers whom she saw after the reading. She told me how much better she felt afterward. I was simply glad that I could help.

There was one person that came up to me that does some other type of healing. She said that she just wanted to meet me as Kelly benefitted so much from all I had done for her. Her brother-in-law thanked me for all I had done. Her father-in-law introduced himself and wondered how I knew his family as they were giving me an inordinate amount of hugs.

I had no idea what effect I had had on Kelly, nor through her, on the people that surrounded her. I only do what I do. I don’t think of it in terms of what it affects further out. But this is what we all do. We live our lives not knowing how far reaching what we do will go, or what, or who it will affect. We just live our lives.

This here is a good lesson in the ripple effect. It makes us realize that what we do affects others, and in turn others. It makes me want to be more cognizant of everything I do and hope that the effect I have on others is a positive one.

by Brian Dean 

When people get massage (or energy work), there is always a question of how good the therapist is, and what they do that draws you to them.  What moves do they do that you like?  Are they caring?  Do they listen?  How much of what they do is specific to your needs?  Do they solely do a routine?  Do they solely work off of intuition?  What is the percentage of each?

Massage is a specific and individual thing.  Every person that gets one likes something different.  And every person is drawn to something different.  Some therapists do a routine, and that is all they do.  That is not to say that this is bad as the routine may be very good.  It is just that a routine does not allow for modifications based on needs. 

I do a routine which I label “Integrated Massage” (actually, unless something is very specific, everything gets labels as Integrated Massage).  If someone comes in with no complaints, and no specification, that is what they get.  The routine I use covers a lot of things and combines movements from several styles.  I have heard people say that the massage was the best they have had, and unique to anything they have had previously.  But even in this routine, I allow for changes based on needs. 

You see, everybody’s needs are different.  And while this routine can meet most people’s needs, and can be slowed or quickened, or made deeper or lighter based on what they want, it can also be modified for specific problems.  Unless the therapist works at a place that makes them do a specific routine without change, they are free to modify it to the client’s needs.  The more education the therapist has, the more moves they have in their repertoire to add in.  And they do this based on intuition. 

A therapist’s intuition is what tells them the right pressure before asking.  It tells them what movements would be best.  It allows them to follow their guidance to give the client what they need the most within the parameters the client sets as their comfort level. 

There are therapists that do massages based solely on intuition.  I refer to this type of massage as a “Freeform Massage” because there is no routine at all.  The therapist starts moving, and whatever movements come out are what the client needs the most.   

Now sometimes certain moves get lumped together making it look like a routine, but that is only because many moves compliment each other and are better put together.  When I do arms in a Freeform session, I generally tend to do the same thing, unless other moves are called for, and I use intuition for that.   

Intuition is what tells me what moves will work best, and which ones will not.  Many times I will see a movement in my head that I have never done before, and it will take a moment or two to figure it out and get it to work.  But these moves are what the client needs the most.   

A Freeform massage ends up being crafted to meet the needs of each specific client at the time that they get on the table.  Now while there is nothing wrong with the regular massage routine, I like the Freeform as it makes me rely completely on intuition, and allows me to give the client exactly what they need.  While the massage routine was built around standard draping practices, the Freeform was built around minimal draping (usually one hand towel while face down, and one or two hand towels while face up).  This allows the client to experience something that most massages do not… the feeling that they are a whole being rather than a series of parts.   

Standard draping is where each part of the body is uncovered, worked, then covered back up, never to be touched again during the session.  The therapist basically does parts work.  With minimal draping, the therapist is allowed to flow from one part to another, and then return as needed.  This makes the client feel like all their parts are connected, a feeling of wholeness.  (Although routine driven, Temple Lomi Lomi uses minimal draping so it can constantly move from shoulder to ankle and back.)  Of course any change from the standard draping is done within the client’s comfort level and with their permission.  

So what draws you?  Do you like a routine that you can count on each time, thus knowing exactly what you will be getting?  Or do you like something that changes and is crafted to meet your needs?  So, how do you pick a therapist?