Massage for Peace touches people in need

This is a blog post from Teesforchange.com – the gracious folks that helped us start our revolution for peace.  This photo is from our first day of training in Dharamsala, India which serendipitously happened to be International Peace Day.   A million thank yous to everyone that supported this trip; financially and spiritually.  I will go back; for there is more peace and healing touch to share.

by teesblog on July 7, 2010

The Massage for Peace program by the Boulder College of Massage Therapy literally touches hundreds of people each year.

The non-profit massage school helps student share their healing hands with those living with illness, in poverty, and through war and conflict. Each year they offer 10,000 hours of massage free of charge to those who need it most.

As one alumna for the College, Becky Little explains Massage for Peace is “the simple act of reaching out and touching someone. Extending the love, care, and respect that comes from nurturing touch to another human being is a gift that enriches life. The gentle touch of a hand or a reassuring hug reduces fear, anxiety, and loneliness often felt in times of unrest and despair.”

With the average cost of a massage being about $1 per minute, over the last 33 years the school estimates its donation to those in need to be nearly $200,000.

At home, massage therapists from the school each spend about 250 hours per year with patients in prenatal, postpartum, cancer, cardiac, and orthopedic care at Boulder Community Hospital.

Last September, 10 massage therapists travelled to Dharamsala, India to teach massage therapy to Tibetan refugees at Lha Charitable Trust. Many of the refugees they worked with arrived with little aside from the clothes on their backs and the terror of the experiences they escaped. In a letter afterward, the trust’s general manager Ngawang Rabgyal said the skills learned by the refugees will go a long way toward helping them rebuild their confidence, and praised BCMT for its dedication to non violence. This was the seventh trip by students of the school to Dharamsala.

We at Tees for Change are proud  that we designed and produced the Massage for Peace t-shirts worn by the massage therapists on their journey and we hope you’ll join us in following their adventures in peace.

If you want to know more about the Massage for Peace trip to India, you can read all about it on the BCMT blog. To donate to Massage for Peace please follow this link.

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We are becoming more compassionate

I wrote this blog entry today for the BCMT.org blog but wanted to also share it with you – the words of the Dalai Lama are just too powerful not to spread around…

Although I am quite aware of the reality in the world today, I do pride myself on being an optimist and for my true belief in the inherent good within each of us. It’s simple, I was raised this way, for me, I have known no other method for working through life.  As an adult I now see how all the twists and turns in life have taken to where I am today.  Always focused on furthering the search for my true purpose I continue to follow my path with trust as well as caution.

A piece of this life purpose was revealed to me in the fall of 2009 when I traveled to Dharamsala, India on behalf of BCMT’s Massage for Peace service effort. This trip was nothing less than life changing for myself, my travel mates and the incredible friends that we met along the way. The intent of the group was to teach massage therapy to Tibetan refugees allowing them access to education, a new skill and increased hope for prosperity in their lives. What I found was that in many cases, I was the student. Learning about deep compassion and forgiveness, sincere dedication to truth and enlightened thought. Learning about their spiritual leader, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and their undying allegiance to him as children of his words.  This experience opened my world to this culture, their leader and a beautiful new mindset.

A client of mine recently told me about an interview on the Today Show, I wanted to share that today. I hope that you are as captivated as I was when watching this and I hope you are as optimistic as I am about the future of our world.

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