Jonathan's Helpful Hints Archives · Page 3 of 6 · PetMassage™ Training and Research Institute

Some Scholarships Awarded

Some Scholarships Awarded We were thrilled to be able to award $300 Colvin scholarships to Advanced PetMassage workshop students. Their essays showed their appreciation for their training and passion for continuing their practice of Canine Massage. More Scholarships Available We have two more scholarships available for people who would like some financial support to attend their PetMassage…

Meridians Pulse and Tongues Tell Stories

Meridians Pulse and Tongues Tell Stories Would you like to be able to assess the qualities of pulses of individual meridians. All you have to do is learn how to palpate, where to palpate, what to palpate, and interpret what you feel as meaningful information. Would you like to look at a dog’s tongue and…

Think Less, Do More

Think Less, Do More Message I got a message the other day from a friend in a meditation group. The note said “Think less and do more.” Think Less About What? So, of course, I wondered what she was suggesting. What did she mean? Why was she saying this? What was her motivation? In other…

Skills To Get Spontaneous Validation from Dogs

Are You Doing It Right? Have you ever wanted to get spontaneous validation during your canine massage? Would you appreciate the knowledge that at that moment, you were doing what the dog needed most that would enhance their life? That you were on the right spot, moving in the right direction, with the right pressure,…

Water Puppies For Health and Happiness

Water Puppies For Health and Happiness Water babies Many of us are water babies. I’m not just referring to people who were born in hot tubs ala French obstetrician Frédérick Leboyer; or water-birth in bathtubs with the advice, consent, and support of doulas and midwives. And I’m not limiting water babies to those born under…

Canine Massage, The Future of

Canine Massage, The Future of Job Scene In 20 Years Do you ever wonder what the job scene might look like in 20 years? Where will the jobs be? We know the employment picture will be very different from today. And, some vocations, like PetMassage will grow and evolve. There will obviously still be opportunities in…

The Life of a Canine Massage Practitioner

The Life of a Canine Massage Practitioner Wake up. Think about massaging dogs. Massage dogs. Do something that supports your dog massage practice. Go to sleep. Repeat. All dogs love and appreciate whatever massage you give them. Your best efforts are good enough for them. Fortunately for them, your best, when you practice, can be…

The PetMassage Foundation Level Workshop.

The PetMassage Foundation Level Workshop. New workshop model Increasing its breadth and depth Expanding the workshop experience Reducing the fees for repeating practitioners. New PetMassage workshop model Recently, Anastasia and I attended a body mechanics workshop. The stated intention of the people who were giving the workshop was that they were going to change the practice of…

Dog Sitter Walks On The Wild Side

Anastasia and I took a short vacation to celebrate her birthday. We arranged to have a friend come to our home throughout the day to take care of our dogs. Not used to walking two 40+ pound boxers, our friend was concerned about what might happen if their activity levels were too much for her.…

Soft Eyes See Where To Focus

Soft Focus There is soft focus in the practice of yoga. There is the soft focus used in meditation. Use your soft focus with your dog in PetMassage. Hold your hand 6 inches from your nose with your thumb up. Squint, and focus on your thumbnail. Everything behind it shifts out of focus. Lower your…

PetMassage Training, Students, Validated With Testimonial

PetMassage Students Are Awesome We’re proud of our students. Every dog massage that our graduates give demonstrates the depth and quality of the training they’ve received. They proudly post the initials CPMP after their names. It stands for Certified PetMassage Practitioner. Every dog massage also demonstrates the depth and quality of their willingness to pursue…

Indian Hand Gestures: Mudras

Mudras Mudras, hand gestures, in classical dance in India, are symbolic for directing energy towards the sun, the moon, the spirit, the ground. We integrate these predominantly in our Transitions PetMassage. They are functional. Purposeful. Mudras are essential for driving the narrative of the story the dance is telling. The Classical Indian Dance Mudra Formula…

Sumi-e PetMassage

Japanese Ink Painting I had an intriguing lesson last weekend. I attended a short workshop on Sumi-e painting. I rediscovered and reclaimed a freedom that I had nearly forgotten. I was so eager to take this class. This was something that I’d wanted to learn since my age was still in single digits. I knew…

Fluid Flow

So much significance is placed on lymphatic and other fluid movement is because they can be tracked and measured. PetMassage affects the movement and viability of all the fluids in the body. Besides the blood and lymph, here is a partial list of some of the other fluids in the body: cerebral spinal fluid, digestive…

Crisis At The Dog Park

Socializing At the Dog Park The Park District in Toledo OH just opened its first dog park. Toledo has finally joined the rest of the cities in the country in its dog-friendliness. Going to an off-leash park is a new experience for us. We have a new puppy. We reasoned that if we took her…

Candle Flame

Firing Neurons, Scottie I caught a flicker of a candle flame. It appeared during a recent meditation. The reflection was the shadow of a tiny flare that flashed way back behind my eyes. Oh look: shiny! I thought about the focus and intentionality needed to light a candle. A single match, touched correctly to the…

Conducting the symphony

A conductor’s job is to bring the disparate voices of the orchestra together for the purpose of creating magical moments of music. Woodwinds, brass, percussion, strings, chorus, solo artists, all unite under the active intentional direction of the conductor’s baton. Musicians follow every eye movement, each facial expression, each lift of the heel, each rise…

Laws Concerning Canine Massage

Due Diligence The due diligence that one of our students did while deciding whether to pursue a career in canine massage was very impressive. While most of us might look at the chart on the IAAMB website that shows the laws governing canine massage by state; and see that there are limitations posed where we…

Heart Chakra

This week’s newsletter is a beautifully written research paper submitted by Susan Miller, of south Florida. Foundation Level students must each write a short paper on a subject assigned to them as part of their requirements to earn PetMassage Certification. Susan’s topic was the Heart Chakra. This, and many other papers by Foundation Level students…

Advanced Level Workshop

There are still openings for the final Advanced Level PetMassage workshop in 2017. You can still register for it. The dates are September 18-22. Your prep for it is your practice experience. A couple of the attendees are coming from the southeast where this year’s storms have been especially dire. If any of them find…

Massaging Dogs on The Floor

Quality Control Sometimes it is impossible to get a dog up on a table because they are too heavy to lift, or if they are in so much pain you feel in danger of being bitten. In these rare situations, by all means, do what you can to massage them, even if it’s on the…

Inspirational PetMassage Instruction

Quality Instruction In my opinion, a good instructor must always present the course content as if it were in an engaging conversation. The energy of the learning experience must be alive. Moving with the breath. Vibrant. Every moment must feel–must be–fresh and spontaneous. In my view, even the most obvious and mundane elements of PetMassage…

Releasing Reciprocal Joints

Sometimes when we pick up the dogs foreleg the whole limb feels stiff. All three major joints, the shoulder, the elbow, and the carpus, or wrist, are locked. There are several reasons why these joints might be held so rigidly. Some of them could be physiological, some behavioral. Chronic (long term) stiffness and arthritis could…

Reactions And Responses Of Dogs

Recently, a PetMassage student told me that when she was deciding which school to take her training, she determined that the PetMassage program differs from the other schools in the importance we place on the mind – spirit applications. Here’s an example. Dogs reactions may be newly learned responses such as using extra caution on…

Gratitude

We just had an exciting 9 days. It began with PetMassage for Dogs Day. This, the honorary day proclaimed by the City of Toledo, Ohio, recognizes the contributions PetMassage has brought to our community. Besides the obvious financial benefits to hotels, restaurants, et al, PetMassage has enhanced the image of Toledo as a “dog friendly” and…

Break Dance

Play Patterns Watching our two dogs play, I see a pattern. They charge, engage, parry, peak to intense excitement, and break away to regroup. Then, they repeat, and each time they rejoin, it’s slightly different. Need For Variation That break away to regroup is essential for effective and interesting play. After all, doing the same…

Spirit Expressions of Lake and Dogs

Spirit Expressions of Lake and Dogs Messages From The Deep Sitting on the beach watching the waves, I’m drawn to the dark grey-blue horizon line defining the lake surface against the luminescent aquamarine sky. The sounds of waves envelop me. The lake is alive; breathing its waves onto the sand. Exhale on, inhale back. The…

No One Told Me About Rescue Dogs.

No One Told Me About Rescue Dogs. There are some significant things that we didn’t know when we set about adopting a rescue dog. The learning curve has been going on for a couple of weeks. Every day we have new insights. New questions. Some are answerable; some, we’ll never know. Some, we didn’t know…

Touch Breathing

Touch Breathing Animal Shelter Pitbull Visiting a dog shelter recently, I watched a young woman bring a young pitbull outside for some fresh air and exercise. She brought him into the gated play area, tossed a ball across the yard, and sat down on a bench to watch him play. The dog showed no interest…

Dogs At The Movies

Dogs At The Movies Anastasia and I recently spent a frustrating hour at Family Video, a neighborhood video rental. We were searching for some light entertainment for the evening. What we found was rack after rack after rack of energetically dark movies. We were not about to immerse ourselves for two hours in the throes…

Natural resource

Natural resource Dog Park Dogs have a “natural” way to help us rediscover OUR sense of balance, well-being, and happiness. Anastasia and I took Camille, our boxer, to a dog park. We, along with the other pet parents, watched in rapture as our dogs scrambled about on the meadow. We all had big smiles on…

Kinesio taping

Kinesio taping I recently experienced kinesio taping. My right hand and arm, which had been in a sling for a month following a hairline crack in my elbow, started to swell. I was at the IAAMB/ACWT conference. Fortunately Lola Michelin, an expert trainer in Equi-Taping, noticed and offered to tape my arm. I was eager to…

More About the Flew.

More About the Flew A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the effects of moving the air about within the dogs flew. Let’s bring this home. Let’s take this topic from hypothetical musing to real life application. Exercise Do this little exercise: close your mouth. Move the air from behind your teeth to in…

The Flew

The Flew Signs And Signals Of Stress In Dogs There are overt signs and signals that we’ve learned to look for in dogs to determine the level of stress in their lives. We look at their top line to see if the hackles over the withers are flat or raised. We look at the eyes,…

Accidental Life Lesson

Accidental Life Lesson I had a life lesson last week when I had an accident. I was walking down the street -actually I was skipping and dancing down the sidewalk, singing, and walking my dog Camille when, all of a sudden. I noticed that, as the nursery rhyme [Halfway Up The Stairs,-A.A. Milne] goes, “I…

Golden Retriever Moves Slowly and Limps, Then Gets PetMassage™

Golden Retriever Moves Slowly and Limps, Then Gets PetMassage™ Luke Skywalker, healthy, active, eight year old Golden Retriever. Complaint: moves slowly and limps. Luke Skywalker was limping and his owner had taken him to her vet to see if he had broken or torn anything that would cause this unusual behavior. Veterinary palpation and x-rays…

Small Price To Pay For Correctness

That’s Our Policy Last Friday afternoon someone from Queensland Australia signed up for one of our PetMassage™ Foundation Level workshops. We had corresponded on Facebook and she felt that our teaching philosophy would be simpatico with hers. She registered online at our website by purchasing a ticket to the workshop. The fees for all our…

CAVE People

My friend George used an interesting acronym the other day: CAVE people. When heard it I envisioned Neanderthals squatting around a fire, grunting at each other. The letters represent: Citizens Against Virtually Everything. I was close. George was describing some people in a Chicago neighborhood who were resistant to his wanting to alter the roofline…

PetMassage Workshops for Dog Owners

Taking This Workshop Demonstrated Students Devotion to Dogs PetMassage had another successful day of workshops for Dog Owners. The morning session was all about Dog Handling and in the afternoon it was all about PetMassage™. There were 6 attendees and their dogs. All the dog owners taking this workshop were female. They encompassed a wide…

Dog With Issues With Men Triggers Observation

A Male Practitioner With Female Clients I am told that I project an energy and quality of presence that people and dogs are comfortable with. Dogs and people are easygoing with me and we usually join up readily. I do not force my will on them. I work with dogs and their owners, encouraging them…

Love and a dog

Love and a dog I’ve got my jacket on, Camille’s leash in my hand and the little wiggle butt is sitting as pretty as she can, gazing up at me, grinning. I lean over to clip the leash to her collar and I am overwhelmed with the connection that she is making with me. Her…

Trust and Transformation in PetMassage

Dogs, Dogs, and More Dogs I write this blog every week to share some of the insights I’ve had about dogs. I’ve written about dog massage, dog life, dog death, dog youth, dog middle age, dog seniors, well dogs, sick dogs, happy dogs, sad dogs, grieving dogs, confused dogs, content dogs, dog empathy, dog chakras,…

Burping in PetMassage™

What’s In A Burp? At the beginning of each PetMassage™ Foundation Level workshop we introduce ourselves to the group, sharing a little about ourselves. Students describe how their lives and passions defined them and propelled them to choose PetMassage™ for training, and find themselves part of this specific group. In a recent workshop, while one…

Frayed Green Dog Collar

There is a counter in our garage, just to the left as you walk in. It is cluttered with tools, piles of stuff I haven’t organized (yet), books, boxes, bundles of paper bags, coils of hose, left over cans of spray lubricant and hardware from practically completed projects, and there, among it all, a frayed…

Greater Good For Sensitive Canaries Smells And Looks Okay

How are you? So I have to ask. How are you dealing with everything that is going on? I keep wavering between being overwhelmed by the angst over what is reported and excited with anticipation for whatever happens next. It’s got to unfold week by week; can’t watch the full season on Netflix. If I…

Spirit Connection

I had a dream. I awoke a few mornings ago with vivid images of my last dream. I was seeing all life as evolving spirits. Glowing beacons of light. Some were bright; some, dull. In the dream, we were each learning from our experiences; especially the challenges. Everyone’s goal was to evolve to where they…

Switchable Modes

Scratch the side of your dog’s neck moving from shoulder to ear. Notice the ruffled pattern of coat where cool air accesses the skin. Touch your dog’s deltoid muscle and watch the entire body shift its center of balance. It will either move into your hands, toward you, or away, to the other side. All…

Grounding Yourself and Your Dog

Grounding you While you are administering a PetMassageTM make sure you are well grounded; that you feel a connection with the earth beneath you. Benefits of Grounding: sending the signal that your methods and intentions in your PetMassageTM are natural processes keeps you focused helps you establish a deep even breath rate; PetMassageTM becomes a…

Goals and Resolutions

Goals and resolutions achievement is a process. It is the beginning of the year and my Facebook feed is filling up with encouraging suggestions for the best way to set goals. One uses the acronym SMART. Specific, Manageable, Agreed upon, Realistic, and Time-based (measurable). You put yourself in a positive, enthusiastic state and use this…

GOAAAL

How “now” Dogs know. They live intuitively in their ever shifting reality of the “now.” Our dog Camille is totally invested when she is gnawing contentedly on a raw bone. Totally committed. Totally focused. She is the bone chewer. Working the bone is a totally immersive experience. All she hears is the sound of her…

In Uncertainty Lies All Possibility

In uncertainty lies all possibility It is winter and the roads are slick with invisible ice. My tires cannot grip. My car starts its sideward slide. I do what I can. I take my foot off the brake pedal. I steer into the skid. The car keeps sliding. There is a car parked on the…

End of the Year Completions and New Beginnings

End of the year completions and new beginnings We see the end of the year on our calendars and think of it as an end and a beginning. New Years Eve is a goal line. It’s the finish line for completing projects you’ve been wanting to get done. One, for many PetMassage™ students, is writing and…

The Immune System, Lymphatic Movement and PetMassage™

The immune system The immune system protects dogs from all sorts of invaders. The skin and coat are the innate portions of the immune system. These are their first lines of defense. The skin and coat protection is nonspecific, providing protection from many foreign invaders. The adaptive portions of the immune system are much more…

Trying to Make Sense of Lola’s Transition

Trying to Make Sense of Lola’s Transition Yin – yang dynamics We talk about yin and yang a lot. The yin – yang dynamic is a description of disease and health, death and life, and how one cannot exist without the other. There is no up without a corresponding down, dry without moist, heat without…

What do your dogs feel in PetMassage?

What do your dogs feel in PetMassage? With PetMassage Myofascial Release there is no consistent answer. It is like asking you to imagine the color blue. What you visualize will be very different from what I think I see. And, each aspect of blue will have a different set of emotional interpretations, tags and strings.…

You are Right

You are Right Baseball: Who’s on First? The World Series is playing. It’s the Chicago Cubs vs. Cleveland Indians. I’m watching it on TV. Wrigley Field in Chicago is a scene of otherworldly angst and enchantment. The fans are captivated. The outcome of the game will determine their collective destiny. Are they perennial losers, or…

Transitions PetMassage

Transitions PetMassage Letters ten yards high During our recent PetMassage Advanced Workshop, when I introduced the subject of Transitions PetMassage, I could feel the students’ anxiety rise around the table. The term TRANSITIONS in big bold letters reared up before us. The letters were ten yards high, pulsing, throbbing, overwhelmed us.They were screaming and unavoidable.…

Attend the Foundation Workshop to Learn Canine PetMassage

What to expect when you attend a PetMassage Foundation Level hands-on workshop This is one of the most often requested pieces of information about our training. We understand that making a commitment to attend a school away from your home town; and making a commitment to follow your dream to learn canine massage, is…

We had quite a scare

We had quite a scare DNR, Do Not Resuscitate I had a Healing Touch session last week during which the abbreviation “DNR” surfaced to my conscious awareness. I heard the letters spoken in my inner ear and saw them in capital letters in my mind’s eye. Why was I thinking about “Do Not Resuscitate.”…

Inspiration: Where does it come from?

Inspiration: Where does it come from? What’s that sound? Moving your hands over the dog, you listen. You are open to hearing the faint stream of suggestions that will help you make sense of what you feel and the best way to respond. Sometimes when giving a PetMassageTM one feels the presence of kindred spirits. These…

PetMassage Due Diligence

PetMassageTM Due Diligence A student’s quest A student in our last PetMassage Foundation level workshop shared with me that, once she had decided to learn canine massage, she spent considerable time and effort choosing the school she would attend. She read and researched everything she could find online about all the schools that offer training.…

Integrating PetMassage with veterinary care

Integrating PetMassageTM with veterinary care We are so different and so alike Listening to myself describe how PetMassage integrates with veterinary medicine at the AHVMA (American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association) conference I heard myself offer a perspective I hadn’t previously considered. Besides providing a way for dogs to relax and find their visit to the…

Right Livelihood

Right Livelihood Over the past 20 years Anastasia and I have had several challenging times keeping PetMassageTM going. Each time we would ask ourselves, would we be as fulfilled if we were working for someone else, or ought we to continue developing our own vision and mission? Self-realization and actualization We remember the…

Tiny “fix,” big adjustment

Tiny “fix,” big adjustment Tiny fixes for quick relief Tiny fixes provide quick relief and make a huge difference in my quality of life. When I’m thirsty, it’s all I can think about. A tiny sip of water, and my mouth and throat are no longer parched. When my thirst is quenched, I can turn…

Hand positions

Hand positions Think about your hands Your hands are the part of your body that touches the dog. They discharge the energy drawn up from the earth, processed through your filters that are transformers and regulators of your intention. The manner in which you hold your hands has an effect on the way your intention…

Summertime in Ohio, and the living is intuitive

Summertime in Ohio, and the living is intuitive Sunshine on my shoulder makes me happy Our boxers love to lie in the sunlight. Inside, they will seek out any shaft of light, even the jagged slice streaming through the edge of closed window blinds. In the yard outside, they have favorite areas where they snooze…

Daddy’s home

Daddy’s home As Lola. Camille. and I amble past a house on our evening walk, we notice a young woman and her little person gardening in a side yard. A green VW beetle pulls into the driveway. The little one drops what he’s holding, turns, and runs toward the car shouting in the sweetest little…

Space for another piano

Space for another piano Twenty years ago, I bought a beautiful old baby grand piano. It has a soft, rich voice. I’ve enjoyed playing it. “Playing” being the appropriate description of what I do with the piano. I sit down to play and I never know what the music will be. I don’t follow music…

Intimacy in Canine Massage

Intimacy in Canine Massage Hey! You talkin’ t’ me? When you go to a party, who do you greet first, and hang out with the most: the dogs or the people? With other people, we are self-protective. We’d rather not share some of our stories. Some experiences are meant to stay private. We’d also really…

One hundred naked birds smile

One hundred naked birds smile Birds of a feather I watched a huge flock of birds descend upon a tree in our neighbor’s yard. Sections of the tree are bare; its branches infested with delicious fowl-tasty vermin. Word, or chirp, had spread. It was a fabulously turned out buffet. Ravenous insectivores appeared from all directions.…

Kind and Gentle is Fundamental

Kind and Gentle is Fundamental Interview Cancelled The morning of July 11th I was scheduled to be on TV, to talk about PetMassage for Dogs Day. As we were heading out the door to the interview, I checked my phone. A text appeared. The interview was cancelled because the reporter had been called to cover a shooting in…

Learning PetMassage is like learning a new language

Learning PetMassageTM is like learning a new language PetMassageTM is a journey. The goal of the PetMassage Advanced workshop, is to take the Foundation Practitioner’s level of expertise and capacity to help dogs to the higher level. Advanced workshop students learn additional skills, and more intensive applications of skills they mastered in their Foundation training. They…

The Reveal

The Reveal Fixer Upper Formula for Success Anastasia and I enjoy watching the “reveal” on the show Fixer Upper on HGTV. We eagerly look forward to seeing what plans, skills, and diligence they can produce. The show has a formula: the choices, the decision, the demolition phase, the design plan, the effort phase, which…

Exhibition Booth Design Elements, Part 2

Exhibition Booth Design Elements, Part 2 Your Booth Design is based on your Intention What is the purpose for your booth? Again, it is about having a clear, simple message. Your booth could be purely informational. Your booth could be a sales room to promote and market your products, such as private sessions, instruction, books,…

Anatomy of a successful trade show booth and show

Anatomy of a successful trade show booth and show To Market, To Market Summertime, and the livin’ is easy. Now is the perfect time to market your canine massage. There are all kinds of venues from agility competitions to county fairs; the opportunities are abundant. Canine massage is becoming ever more popular. Most dog…