Peer Massage in America

My friend and colleague Thea Blair from the U.S.A. reports that she recently held her first whole-school Peaceful Hands (peer massage) training a a Waldof charter school near Denver, Colorado.

There were 23 teachers  19 were quite enthusiastic, 3 were doubtful and one was outright antagonistic. One of the teachers complained that this kind of touching was not like a game of tag or a clapping game between children - it was "intimate".  Thea agreed with her and started a conversation on the topic of what "intimate" means and how it is that there are certain words are off-limits now because society has placed a sexual connotation upon them. Words like "passion" and "pleasure" and "deep" and "intimate".

After the first two sessions the teachers who clearly did not want to practice Peaceful Hands in their classroom were excused. After that they had a blast! The teachers are eager to begin a pilot program at their own school.

The Hug that saved a life

It can be difficult to explain it in rational way.
Why does such a simple gesture as a hug from stronger premature twin bring back to life a weaker twin sister, regulating and tuning her heart rate and bringing her back to life
Now they are  teenagers.
Maybe even a believer of rational/academic science can take this topic for a short meditation :)    Click here  to watch this beautiful video that shows the power of touch.

Business plan

Yes, it is a new business plan for "CMC – Hauora lessons NZ nationwide".
 If you are familiar with the old fashioned business plans – with SWAT analysis etc, where you used to spent weeks and months ,

this A4 diagram looks like fun..

It is Canvas business model that I will work on during my 8 week Social Entrepreneur course at the Auckland University of Technology, run by the Auckland City Council .

For me this diagram looks fantastic. I hope that by working on this model during the course, it will bring a solution on how to make our instructors busy delivering CMC nationwide. Our children, and all of us, deserve a professional , evidence based programme that teaches empathy, a foundation for an empathic society. 

Massage NZ AGM

Sunday was the AGM for Massage NZ.
It was well organized, and very constructive.   It gave the members an opportunity  to put forward their views on the challenges of the marketplace, and how to become more flexible to meet these demands.
The suggestions were constructive and they were all accepted for immediate action.  Yoka, as president of the organization, is to be congratulated for an outstanding performance.
For Child Connection, it was also a pleasure to meet up with many of its former CMC instructor students.
In the picture - from the left is Yvonne from Nelson, Eva and Lesley from Napier.

Leopard loves getting a massage !

This adorable big cat can be heard purring as loud as a locomotive in the video posted to YouTube.

http://youtu.be/nPMi136tURg

Global Movement

Pro Touch Society has become a global movement.

Sometimes good ideas are waiting for ages in the form of a seed in the minds of people around the globe, and one single action triggers a spark that connects all these minds, creating a fast growing worldwide movement. 

We can all witness anti-touch campaigns. Youtube shows us examples of children and students being punished for the simple act of empathy with touch. How much we can see these and remain silent.?

Gill Tree sparked a movement with her Manifesto http://gilltree.com/manifesto/

Keep an eye on our blog, there will be plenty of good news to come.

Pro Touch Society

What are the consequences if, on a international scale, institutions continue to advise against touch?
With the media impressing on us almost daily the negative effects of inappropriate touch we ar failing to recognise the negative effects of not touching.

 On UK National Massage Day, Friday 16th May 2014,  hundreds of Massage Therapists formed a  conga line from St Thomas' Hospital to The Houses of Parliament to bring awareness that touch is not something to be feared, not a luxury, but a necessary part of preventative health care.

Child Connection Trust is a part of the Pro -Touch Society movement initiated by Jill Tree.

http://gilltree.com/manifesto/