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?

Massage Therapy for Veterans

BCMT has proudly served veterans during its 34-year history through its service learning and financial aid programs. Most recently, our students are working with a group of Iraq veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at the Boulder Veterans Counseling Center. Our goals are to introduce safe touch and moments of relaxation that the veterans are not able to achieve otherwise. It has been a great partnership thus far.

BCMT is also approved to train veterans and their qualified dependents that are eligible for Veterans Administration Educational Benefits. We work with all VA benefit programs including the newly reformed GI Bill: Post-9/11. The Post 9/11 GI Bill, which became effective for training on or after August 1, 2009, provides financial support for education and housing to individuals with at least 90 days of aggregate service on or after September 11, 2001. The amount of support that individuals may qualify for depends on where they live and what type of education they are pursuing.

For more information on all available VA benefit programs including the new GI Bill, please visit VA websites: http://www.gibill.va.gov or http://www.newgibill.org.

BCMT plans for 2010 include expanding our service to veterans, and we are currently raising funds to do so. We hope that you’ll consider supporting our efforsts by donating to Massage for Peace, our local and global outreach program.

I just received this gracious letter today from the Director of Lha Charitable Trust, Ngawang Rabgyal, and one of Lha’s founders and Board members, Neil Guidry. It speaks volumes about the importance of education, in this case, massage therapy education, in changing people’s lives for the better.

Please consider donating to Massage for Peace (www.massage4peace.org) this holiday season to help BCMT continue its efforts to provide training and massage therapy services to the underserved in our local and global community.- Carol B.

Hello from Dharamsala,

Ngawang Rabgyal, Lha

We at Lha Charitable Trust wanted to once again thank the volunteer instructors from BCMT. Your instructors were both professional and personal. The Tibetan Refugees that received your training and our staff all express their appreciation. We all hope that our new relationship with BCMT will continue long into the future. The Tibetan People and BCMT share the mission of world peace through non-violence.
It should be mentioned that the time your volunteers spent here will have far reaching benefits. Most Tibetan Refugees arrive in India destitute, fleeing oppression. Most come from nomadic herding communities; the skills they come with are no longer helpful in gaining employ. Through massage training, many are able to find work to support them and also provide financial assistance to their families still inside Tibet who are often in dire circumstances.
Many of the Tibetan Refugees that come through our programs eventually end up in western countries. Our original mission of providing them with Language and Computer skills is certainly very helpful and necessary, yet not enough. The addition of this Massage program is offering the much needed skills and confidence necessary to begin their new lives.
We are looking forward to our next group of BCMT volunteer instructors. Hopefully, with the guidance and support of BCMT, we will be able to develop our Massage Training Program and further reach out to more of those in need.
Thank you.

Sincerely,
Ngawang Rabgyal
Lha General Manager

PS For more info about Lha Charitable Trust please see www.lhasocialwork.org

At Lha in Dharamsala, there were 5 women in our basic level massage class who learned a full body Swedish massage and chair massage in our week long intensive. They ranged in ages from 20-30 years old. The youngest was born and raised in India and her parents were Tibetan. The others had all journeyed from Tibet at different ages alone or with family members, but only one had any family there in Dsala with them. The rest were on their own!

Louise Sexton and students from Lha Charitable Trust

When we asked them why they wanted to study massage they all emphasized that they felt it was a very important way of helping themselves and their families stay healthy. For some it was to work on family members who were in pain (i.e. mothers, husbands, children). They said massage was an alternative to unavailable health-care options. Another was motivated by her own interest to become a teacher and to continue her studies in the sciences and health related fields. She was going to be moving to Germany to be united with her mother and siblings, to continue her studies and to work as a massage therapist. Her mother wanted her to study massage so that she could share her knowledge by teaching her mother what she learned. Her mother wanted to become a massage therapist, too! Several were hoping to find employment as massage therapists there in Dsala. One worked at a local hotel, Chonor House, that as you know is popular with American tourists and celebrities and she hoped to be able to offer massage to guests at the hotel in addition to her current duties. We have already heard from her and she is doing just that and doing well!!! Another was a mother of 2 who hoped to return to the work force and hoped to do that as a massage therapist.

All of our students, having limited or no previous education opportunities before arriving in Dsala, were emphatic about how important it was to them to be learning. Many of them were taking other classes at Lha; one had been studying there for 2 years. Their desire to learn was insatiable. They were impressive and quick learners with enthusiastic, open minds and hearts, fun loving spirits, and strong intuitions. Each of them were a blessing to Jessica Gumkowski and I as teachers.

20 Lha Students Graduate from BCMT Massage Therapy Training

Namaste,

Louise Sexton, Swedish Therapeutic Massage instructor

How can I look at joyous healthy children playing on a well equipped playground with proud doting parents looking on, and not think of the young naked children I saw in India running around an open trash area near the side of a busy street rummaging for food or begging with outstretched hands for something to satisfy their hunger?

How can I enter a large open market filled with fresh wholesome food and not think of the marketplace of those vendors in Dharmasala sitting cross-legged in a space just wide enough for their gaunt bodies and long enough to display their meager offerings of a dirty bundle of scallions or a torn basket of fly infested potatoes and cabbage?

How can I turn on my faucet and flush my toilet at home and not think of the filthy gray contaminated water running in a deep ditch alongside the narrow streets, while a dozen thin rusted metal pipes poking out of the ground nearby convey this unsanitary water to the community?

How can I walk through my tree lined neighborhood of comfortable homes and cars in the driveway, and not see in my mind’s eye the massive tall concrete structures in India, with each designated dwelling no bigger than a small bedroom where an entire family of adults and children exists cramped everyday?

How can I not breathe in the fresh aromatic smells of a Colorado mountain morning and not remember the dank pungent odors of cow and dog waste and exposed trash wafting from the streets when I made my way to the school in Dharmasala?

How can I teach another student in a massage class and not see and feel to my core the enthusiasm, shear joy, and excitement of the Tibetan refugees who came each day to my class with a kind of thirst for knowledge I had never experienced in all my years of teaching?  This, despite their history of struggle and adversity that scars them physically, but ceases to define who they are.  Their smiles and voices will always ring in my heart, and continue to teach me about the profound resilience of the human spirit.

These sights, thoughts, and smells will forever be a part of me.  They will serve as reminders of a short period of time in my life when I dared to venture out of my comfort zone of my home, my community, and my country, and step into another world where living day to day took on a whole new meaning.

- Gaye Franklin, Massage for Peace Ambassador

I think we’re all excited and surprised that we already have an article on the Lha website.  Surprised in that nothing moves fast in Dharamsala; coffee = 45 minutes, a meal = 3 hours.

I guess news of our visit travels a bit faster, thank you Lha, we appreciate the recognition for Massage for Peace.  The more awareness we create the better; creating peace one massage at time.

Click here to read the article on their website.