Caring Palms will be closed Saturday, December 24^th for Christmas Eve and Saturday December 31^st for New Years Eve.

Whether you are traveling, or staying at home, we hope everyone has an enjoyable and safe holiday season.

Who do you give gifts to during the holiday season? Something for the kids, the spouse? Then there’s finding something nice for Uncle Bob or Aunt Sue. How many others do you gift? You go out of your way to find the proper things for each person, but… what about you?

Yes, what about you? Are you not worth it. You care for so many others. When do you have time to care about you? This is a constant problem for all care givers. And when we are talking care givers, we are talking about those that help and support others whether they be family, friends, patients, clients, and more.

It might seem selfish in this “season of giving”, but it truly is not. We are constantly reminded that we need to care for ourselves. That nagging sore back, or that constant feeling of being tired are all indicators. They tell us that we need to step back and care for ourselves, so that we can continue to care for others.

So, what can you do for yourself? In the short term, take a day off. Go do something special for you. Get a massage, or some type of healing session. Sit by the beach and read a book. Do something that makes you feel calm. And while you do that, stay there, stay present in your mind. Do not let it wander to current issues or problems.

In the long term, find something that you can and will continue to do. Take a class in something fun. It could be drawing or painting, or cooking, or walking in nature. Do some meditation, and if you don’t know how, find someone that teaches it. Set up a regular meditation plan. It could be daily, weekly, or a few days a week. Stick to that plan. It takes 21 days to make or break a habit. Make this a habit, not a task.

So what are you going to gift yourself with this holiday season? How about calmness and peace of mind?

This was given to a client as part of a reading. It was so profound that I had to write it down.

I was sitting at home doing some stuff while the program Ghost Hunters was playing in the background. This program follows the TAPS organization, a group of people that investigate haunted places. One of the biggest things I observed was that they have no respect.

They go into a place and set up scientific instruments throughout. Now these instruments are impressive as they can pick up sounds, vibrations, and other things. Spirits can make lights flash on their equipment. It has also picked up words, yes completely audibly understandable words. After that, they go in and turn off the lights and wait.

I believe that none of the crew are mediums. They rely completely on their scientific equipment. It seems that a group that believes in spirits, and makes it their job to prove the existence of such, would go to the point of having a medium.

In many cases, they will ask for specific spirits, and not be open to anyone else, like a specific person that passed in some traumatic experience (like a fire, or murder) in that location. Hardly ever did I hear them say “please”. One of their people did now and then, but for the most part, no.

There was one instance where two of them were in a room together when the light on their equipment on a table blinked. One of them started asking questions getting maybe a blink now and then, nothing really answering his questions. He asked, “Do you want us to leave?”. There was a blink of the light. “We’ll leave if you answer our questions.” Huh? The other person kept telling the spirit to tap the table.

Now first thing, spirits are not trained monkeys. If they want to communicate this way, they will. If they don’t, then coercing or threatening them will not do anything more than piss them off. These ghost hunters come in and invade to spirit’s space. They demand that they perform tricks. Basically they are rude.

Spirits, just like soylent green (look it up) are people. They deserve to be treated like people. If someone came into your home and treated you like this, how would you react? When dealing with spirit, one needs to treat them like they would any living person. Be polite.

This is why I don’t watch programs like this. It’s just like watching some rude jerk on TV or in real life. I stay away from those. If you learn anything from these programs, or this article, it should be that just because someone has moved to the other side, they still deserve the same respect and consideration that they had in life. Enough said.

Since people do not see the t-shirt designs too often, a new shirt will be featured each month.

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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 schedule is as follows:

You may sign up for any of these through the website, or over the phone with a credit card.

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.

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.