Thanks to efforts by BCMT’s internship manager, Aspen Sullivan, BCMT is building a new internship opportunity for its students at the Acorn School of Early Childhood Development. BCMT students, supervised by senior faculty member, Gaye Franklin, are sharing the Peaceful Touch® method with preschoolers. Peaceful Touch® is designed for children ages 3 through 8, and its approach is based on three fundamentals:

• That touch is necessary for human growth and development
• That the calming hormone, oxytocin, is activated through touch
• That a permission process supports healthy touch and helps establish good boundaries.

Peaceful Touch® for children began in Stockholm in 1995. Currently, with more than 300,000 children receiving Peaceful Touch® on a regular basis, both parents and teachers see in children lower levels of anxiety and aggression, as well as improved concentration and better group functioning. Research has verified these observations.

To find out more about this groundbreaking program, visit the Peaceful Touch website.

In 2009, BCMT set a conservative goal of $25,000 for fund raising with something very specific in mind: take our service to the community global. Early in the year, we jumped on the bandwagon of an alumna, Maria August, who had been teaching massage to Tibetan refugees in Dharamsala, India – really making a difference in that community. Her students were learning quickly, getting jobs, and hungry for more.

So a team of us, 10 faculty, staff and alumni started fund raising to support her efforts on a larger scale. We raised funds individually and by participating in larger group efforts such as the Massage for Peace clinics in the spring. By September, we’d met our goal and were on our way to Dharamsala (via Chicago and Delhi) to teach 20 Tibetan refugees the basics of massage therapy.  I still can’t believe what we accomplished in such as short period of time. We raised enough to cover the trip and then some – a downpayment on giving back far into the future.

Crib in Baby Room, Tibetan Children's Village, Dharamsala, India

If there’s one thing I learned about this experience, it’s this: we all want to make a difference. It’s joyous to give back to the people, animals and plants we share the planet with. Given the opportunity and support, we can and do rise to the occasion. At BCMT, we’re looking at 2010 as another great year to serve locally and globally. Our latest local initiative is an internship at the Acorn School for Early Childhood Development. Students (supervised by Massage for Peace instructor, Gaye Franklin) will provide Peaceful Touch to little ones getting ready for nap time. Yup, getting a good night’s sleep or a siesta in after lunch, is yet another benefit of  receiving regular massage.

Sweet dreams,

Carol Brunelli, Massage for Peace Coordinator

AMTA MERT prepares and manages volunteer massage therapists for professional deployment to disaster sites to perform massage on rescue and recovery workers.

Displaced Haitians set up tents in football stadium

The concept for a MERT Program started in 1989 following the California Loma Prieta Earthquake. During that disaster, more than 8,000 massages were given to disaster workers, demolition workers, grief counselors, highway patrol officers, and many others. Since that time, volunteer massage therapists have participated in numerous disaster responses.

AMTA MERT offers emergency management agencies and rescue workers the expertise of highly qualified, professionally trained massage therapists. To volunteer, therapists must:

• Maintain their AMTA Active Professional classification membership in good standing, and
• Have liability insurance coverage (included in your AMTA Professional classification membership).

A woman is helped after being trapped in the rubble of a collapsed building in Port-au-Prince.

MERT members may be working alongside individuals from the federal and state emergency management agencies, the Red Cross, the National Guard, law enforcement and other responding agencies. Long before the concept of MERT, emergency management agencies developed policies and procedures allowing them to respond cooperatively and effectively to disasters.

To volunteer, contact your AMTA chapter.

BCMT is so excited to announce our monthly Reiki Share Group starting on January 13, 2010 from 6 pm to 9 pm.  Anyone with Reiki experience can come and join in giving and receiving Reiki in a spectacular environment of healing.  This day is extra special as it is a World Peace Group Meditation day organized by the ICRT (International Center for Reiki Training).  We will participate in the group meditation joining thousands of people around the world using Reiki to bring peace to the world at 7:30 pm with the Peace Cards.

Reiki Share Group @ BCMT starts January 13, 2010

You can see testimonials and more information about the World Peace Meditation at reiki.org.   Please email me at dhittinger@bcmt.org if you are interested in participating in the Reiki Share Group scheduled for January 13 at 6:00. Please bring a set of sheets, we will have plenty of tables available.

Peace,

Dona Hittinger

This past week I was thrilled to get an email from a massage therapist in the Chicago area. She was looking for volunteer opportunities in Asia, specifically for massage. After a brief Google search, she found BCMT’s blog entries about our volunteer training in Dharamsala, and our Massage for Peace website (www.massage4peace.org). Her email to me was effusive, “I am so inspired by your stories of Dharamsala.” I encouraged her to volunteer at Lha Charitable Trust (www.lhasocialwork.org). Lha is always in need of massage therapy instructors. Donating just a week of one’s time can make a huge difference in Tibetan lives.

BCMT's Massage for Peace Volunteers: Dharamsala, India

Donating one’s time to teach–anything–has an exponentially positive impact on the world. The 20 students we trained in September went to work immediately on their family members and friends, comforting them and relieving their pain. Some have found employment; while others are poised to do so with a bit more training.

Lha has just purchased a beautiful, new building. The vision for the new space includes expansion of their massage therapy training program. BCMT is proud to be considered a partner in this initiative. We hope to return to Dharamsala in 2010 with another group of exceptional teachers. We believe that education is the key to making the world a better place.

Want an idea for a New Year’s resolution? Volunteer your time as a teacher. Teach massage therapy. Teach computer skills. Teach English. Teach what you’re passionate about to those who can’t afford to pay for it , or have limited access to training programs. And remember: giving back always mean getting way more than you give. Just ask our Massage for Peace teachers: Christa Forsythe, Suzanne Carroll, Dona Hittinger, Jessica Shada, Gaye Franklin, Jack Vandenberg, Louise Sexton, Becky Little, and Jessica Gumkowski.–Carol Brunelli, Massage for Peace Coordinator

Rob Buckley, founder of Himalayan Healers Project, is a Grand Junction native, who served in Nepal in the Peace Corps in 2001.

Buckley’s vision for the project is to preserve Himalayan healing traditions and culture, and also provide a means for the “untouchables” caste of Nepal to rise out of poverty and discrimination by teaching them massage therapy and then giving them jobs in the spas where they earn much more than the average Nepali.

It is the only project in the world that trains the Dalits, or “untouchables” in the healing arts, Buckley said. Victims of human trafficking, as well as widows have also been given the opportunity to learn the healing arts trade.

Reach more about the Project and the success of its graduates here: http://tinyurl.com/y9t93gv.

BCMT Students Provide Massage to Sian Kaan Employees

As the New Year approaches, most of us do some kind of year in review, we think about what we’ve accomplished– and struggled with–in the last 12 months.  And then, we make resolutions. We put new hopes, dreams, and plans into place for the new year.  It’s been an emotional year, a phenomenal year, a year of huge milestones at BCMT.  In March, we took our first group of students on a Study Abroad/community service trip to Tulum, Mexico. Our students soaked up this experience, embracing a new culture, making new friends and making a difference. Each one of them had the opportunity to provide massage for the very first time to the hard-working folks at Sian Kaan Ecological Reserve.  They also worked on day laborers – men who do back-breaking work – during a day trip to Ek Balam.  The people they worked on had to be encouraged to receive massage.  For them, it was a luxury that people like them cannot afford - or  something strange that they wanted to stay away from. What they found out what that massage therapy is medicine–it heals–and that they deserve it.

In September, ten faculty, staff and alumni set out to make a difference, this time in Dharamsala, India. The plan was to train 20 or so Tibetan refugees in massage therapy over a six-day period. A BCMT alum, Maria August, inspired us to do this work. She had been working with a local nonprofit, Lha Charitable Trust, and told us that their plan going forward was to incorporate massage therapy into their core training programs.  We all knew that the experience would be life-changing, tranformative, amazing. What we didn’t know is that we’d be forever bonded with Tibetan refugees and their plight for freedom, opportunity, and preservation of their culture. 

BCMT students giving time and energy to Relay for Life patrons.

I must say if I hear one more person say “in this economy” it’s possible that my head may actually explode.  I think we all know it’s a tough economy.  In some ways Colorado has not been hit as hard as some areas, none the less people still struggle.

I have lived here almost my entire life and the Colorado spirit is one of pride that comes from being in the rugged Rocky Mountains and being part of a community.  Many of us who grew up around here can “remember when” things were all locally grown  and you knew your milkman by name and 303 was the area code  in the whole state.  So when it comes to supporting local causes and giving back to the community it hits home with me and pulls at my heart strings.

When I decided to go back to school and come to BCMT I still wanted to feel that sense of connection.  There were details that intrigued me about coming to a locally owned and non-profit college that I never would have realized had I not checked into it.  BCMT has been in Boulder for 34 years;  it was started by locals.  One of those locals is still on our board of directors:  Honora Wolf.  Every year this college donates thousands of hours  to needy people, giving them safe, healthy therapeutic touch.   Hospice,  Colorado AIDS Project,  Support Services for Veterans,  Breast Cancer Awareness and many more individuals and causes, this movement has been called the “Massage for Peace” campaign.  We put our hearts, time,  and money into helping  our community  become a more peaceful place.

You may want to know:
Why would a  non-profit college would be a wise choice for my schooling needs?  There are many reasons, however the one that really impressed me was this :  ”Nonprofit organizations can and do make a profit, but it must be used solely for the operation of the organization… ” (about.com)

What does that mean? The money stays in the school! It goes back into the school to provide students the best education possible.

You also may wonder:
Do the degrees from for-profit schools and non-profit schools carry the same merit?  YES, as long as the college is fully accredited your degree has the same merit.

So if you are thinking of going to school to learn a valuable trade, think local, think non-profit, think of the benefits to the community and  can my time in school be two fold:  Education and giving back? After all, do you really want your tuition money going out of state into a corporate pocket?

Sadly at some point in each of our lives we come face to face with the dying process. Whether it is a  parent, spouse, child, close friend or even just a loved one of someone you care deeply about it, it is a difficult process to say the least.

Though I’m not an expert in this process I have had the honor of being there for some that I cared deeply for, through this trying and yet deeply intimate process. During these experiences I have noticed that some deal with the dying individual in the same kind loving affectionate manner that they did when the person was well and healthy. Others, however, take a more hands-off stance. When I enter into these types of situations I reflect back on the training I received in my Psychosocial Aspects of Touch Class. I remember the value of touch and compassion that is sorely needed when a challenge like this is being undergone.

I have used therapeutic touch to comfort dying clients and their families.  Understanding the dying process helps; yet using your heart to create a calm peaceful atmosphere can be priceless. I have been in the room as ones have passed away; I have been there to offer a comforting touch during painful cancer treatments; I have stood by the side of a dear friend and gently did shiatsu to ease the pain of  chemotherapy. However, the one most recently that touched my heart and impressed upon me the value of touch was a  mother of a friend of mine. She died recently of Alzheimer’s – this is a most painful and evil disease.  It deteriorates the mind then the body,  slowly until the body just forgets to live. When she was in her final days she had these horrible leg cramps that even though she could not express the pain she was having verbally, she would raise her head off the pillow and point to her leg. Upon touching her leg I could feel it was seized up and though her advanced age, the muscle was hard as a rock in spasm. I began to “rub” her leg, it was completely unresponsive. So I chose to just hold her leg. I’m not a cranial sacralist, but her pulses and rhythms began to tell me a story. All I did was listen, and listened some more. There was story there, a story of a long life lived, her legs wanted to go, not to lay in a death bed.  As I listened there were a million things running through my head that my instructor in Cranialsacral told me. Doug would say “just listen” and don’t have an agenda. After a long silent conversation I conveyed to her with my touch that it was alright to relax now and just be in this moment. Then it happened: she stopped fighting. She lived for just 1 more day, but she didn’t fight, she just relaxed, it was beautiful passing.  I was there when she finished her life and drew her last breathe. I witnessed the wonderful people of the nursing home come by and kiss her and wish her peace. The hospice councilor came with hugs and often an assuring hand on the shoulder was common. They were all fine examples of not being afraid to touch the living, the dying, and the deceased.

My lesson learned, never be afraid to touch, never be afraid to share a moment. Remember to give a hug or a kiss a gentle touch to arm, touch can say more then words and many times there are no words. Touch is a gift and gifts are made to be shared.

I need a massage. A short phrase that says a mouthful. I say it when I’m stressed, got sore muscles, or when I need a major attitude adjustment. How often do you say it? How often do you hear it?  For many of us, massage therapy is a cure-all–or at least a highly therapeutic, effective treatment for our bodies, minds, and spirits. Well, we want everyone to know how great massage is. We figure the more people know about the therapeutic benefits of massage, the more they’ll seek it out. The more they seek it out, the better they’ll feel. We’re hoping to create a sort of wellness domino effect. And what better way to do it than to…tweet.

Sian Kaan, Tulum, Mexico

That’s right. Tweet.  We’re launching a hashtag – keyword – campaign on Twitter to raise awareness of the benefits of massage therapy. If  Twitter and tweets are new to you, no worries. It’s as easy as writing a sentence or two.  Seriously. Twitter may be the new social media darling, but that doesn’t mean it’s complicated or difficult to use. To get started, click on the Twitter icon you  see on our blog, or visit twitter.com. To start tweeting, create a username and login, and you’re good to go.

So how are you feeling today? Stressed? Run down? Fatigued? Recovering from surgery? Sore from a big workout? Feeling a bit world weary and overwhelmed? Share your current state of mind, body and spirit on Twitter, and help spread wellness.  Make sure to include the hashtag “ineedmassage”. Every tweet with those key words will be pulled into our Twitter feed.

Hey, it’s been a long day #ineedmassage.  How about you?