~Parker Palmer

A great question to ponder from Parker Palmer, founder of the Center for Courage and Renewal. For more information on Parker’s contribution to the world, visit the website for the Center for Courage and Renewal.

The perfect gift for your mother, wife, sister, or friend.

You may share the gift package with more than one person.

Call 610-565-5566 to purchase today.

Print out page for Mother’s Day coupon here.

Feel frequently fascinated

An entire universe was created for our delight

Allow yourself what is going on

Allow yourself to kneel down in the grass

And witness the earth

Gaze up at the stars

Your senses to lead you

See amd smell what will . . . → Read More: Your Senses to Lead You ~ Author Unknown]]> If you take a look around you

Feel frequently fascinated

An entire universe was created for our delight

Allow yourself what is going on

Allow yourself to kneel down in the grass

And witness the earth

Gaze up at the stars

Your senses to lead you

See amd smell what will occur in the next moment

And drink in the splendor

And experience joyous anticipation

Say hmmmm or ahhhh a lot…

~Author Unknown

Blessed are the hands that find those places rarely touched–

memories cleverly hiding for so long from so much

Kind are hands that hear the stories that words can no longer explain.

daring to soothe the hours and years of weariness or pain

Full of grace those gentle hands . . . → Read More: Inspirational Poem about Healing]]> Healing Hands by Terah Cox

Blessed are the hands that find those places rarely touched–

memories cleverly hiding for so long from so much

Kind are hands that hear the stories that words can no longer explain.

daring to soothe the hours and years of weariness or pain

Full of grace those gentle hands that truly and deeply feel us.

For we don’t know how much we hurt before a touch begins to heal us…

By Terah Cox

Wishing everyone a safe and Happy New Year 2011!

Have you always wanted to know about massage, but found out that the cost was beyond your reach?

Are you thinking of Massage Therapy as a career, but would like . . . → Read More: Educate Your Mind and Body in 2011]]> Discover the gifts of massage in a 10-week introductory course with Carlton Ann Daily, ABMP.

Call 610-565-5566 for course dates and times.

“It’s time for touch today.”

Wouldn’t that be a great thing to hear if you were an adult living in an assisted-living center? I have a dream that every elder, mature adult or senior living away from family and friends who would like a massage will have access . . . → Read More: It’s Time for Touch Today ~by Carlton Ann Daily, ABMP]]> My Dream of Massage for Elders Everyday

“It’s time for touch today.”

Wouldn’t that be a great thing to hear if you were an adult living in an assisted-living center? I have a dream that every elder, mature adult or senior living away from family and friends who would like a massage will have access to touch every day for twenty minutes.

Touch within my family came to me as a daily routine, whether through brushing my hair or brushing my teeth. My grandmother Mona rocked me, comforted me, and read to me as I grew up in Atlantic City during the 1950′s. I cherish my grandmother’s memory today. As a professional massage therapist, I continue this tradition of comfort and care, serving anyone from infants to seniors, as a kind of testament to Mona.

Pouring over the research articles on massage and touch therapy for our aging population, the overwhelming conclusion is that we have a touch-starved society, especially among our elders. My professional experience informs my passion and my dream that every elder who wants one should have a massage for twenty minutes every day. I know from my hands-on experience how massage with elders has increased the quality of their lives.

From the moment I approach the automatic doors of the assisted-living center, my spirit energizes, my tension dissipates, and my heart opens. I smile at the nurses and the aides. This is how I start my journey to Lucy, my massage client, who is 95 years young.

Lucy is quite a bit older than I, but the human connection is strong. Lucy has been in a senior living residence for over 20 years. I’ve been giving her massages for the past six years. Lucy loves the massage and looks forward to the twice weekly visits. Sometimes she talks about her childhood. These early stories are like precious gems collected, polished and shared with love and tenderness. Sometimes she tells the same story more than once, yet I never tire of hearing them. I am honored.

In a way, I suppose I am a nanny, something of a Mary Poppins for elders. The lyric from the film seems apropos: “When Mary holds your hand, you feel so grand/Your heart starts beating like a big brass band.” Elder massage is a time where comfort and therapeutic touch softens the heart of those elders it reaches.

This article was published in Lilipoh magazine in the Winter 2007 issue. Lucy peacefully passed on in May, 2010. To view a video of Carlton and Lucy together and learn more about Carlton’s work, visit Carlton’s practitioner page.

Rose Tree Holistic Health Center