Really NYS... Time for a shift in thinking...

Hello my dear friends, As some of you might know for the last few years I’ve been training and working with Cindy Black (Meridian Massage Institute and former co-owner of Fingerlakes School of Massage, my Almamater), learning so much about our energetic body and beginning to understand just how connected we are to nature and its cycles. After supporting her teaching of the Meridian Massage Certification program last summer I have felt a call to teach. I really want to teach about energy. Help human beings be more gentle with themselves and each other, help to share the amazing information I have learned over the years about health and wellness (which sometimes, ok ok most times, is very different than what western medicine has trained us to believe it to be). To be able to provide others with tools to be well in mind, body and spirit. So, as always, I followed that dream and applied to Finger lakes school of massage, to teach Energy Palpation. I was very surprised at the response I got. According to NYS regulations you need to have a BS or Masters degree to teach Massage. WHAT??!! Wow, is NYS F***ked up. In my opinion, this limits the massage education because as we all know, massage is way more than just muscles... Its spirit and energy and intuition and love. So I shared this with my dear friend Cindy, as she was one of my references and I so appreciate her insights and wisdom and heart. And guess what she said... Start your own damn massage school... SO, guess what, I am embarking on a journey... In 2014 I am going to jump through all the hoops of NYS and get the necessary acreditations and “approvals” to start a new massage school, This school will be very different from all the ones that I know of. It will teach all the required courses (A&P/Kinesiology, etc) but it will be very focused on the energy body. It will include courses taught by Shamans, It will host guest teachers (like Cindy Black, woo hoo), it will include classes in QiGong and will offer other tools for the students to find a path inward, because it is my belief that when we spend time turning into ourselves, we can create an outer world based more on heart and soul and love and divinity. Anyway, here are some of my thoughts about creating this new school. I would love any thoughts you might have, and if you are already an LMT and had particular things about massage school that you really really loved and wanted to know more about, and things that you felt were not really helpful, now is a perfect time to speak up! AND just to clarify... This is not to say that FLSM is not a great school, Because it is. It offers a great education and the teachers there are magnificent. But the school I want to create will be different. It will be Sacred. It will be Sacred Waters school of Massage and Energy Medicine... Ok, here are some ideas, add any you might have please: *Minimum age of 25 to get in - this allows for students to have experienced life past high school, making exceptions for extremely committed younger people. *No financial aid because that creates a million hassles - so keeping the cost lower than other places in the area - and that would be simple if I keep the administrative functions to a minimum (call in my 20+ years of being an executive secretary!). * By not taking student loans, I will not graduate people with major debt - either a person has the ability to manage it or they don't.  Not having the ability to manage the money part means go to another school that will help you get into debt. I know that to be a successful LMT you have to be able to manage the money side, and that can start with managing money to pay for school.  There has to be a dedication to the work beyond the sounds of "I can make $60 an hour- how cool!" * Complete the program in a year, rather than intensive format - this keeps things easier for everyone and differentiates the program from others. * Make the core of the curriculum energy or meridian based - this keeps it different and gives a solid foundation for beginning work. * Take the last two months or so to focus heavily - I mean very heavily, on the NY exam. This would free up space during the rest of the program to be in a more healing and intuitive space. * Cultivate the school as small, intimate, refined, "the real deal" place.  It is great in part because it is small - no need to become a business mammoth, make the education the first priority and I know from experience that the money will be plentiful. It is a business yes, but it will be an educational-healing program first.  So, thats about it. I wanted to share this with you because I really honor your thoughts and ideas! Thanks for listening and much love to you in the new year! Janet