Flux: A continuous moving on or passing by

I didn't really know what to title this post, when the idea of change came to me. I knew what my topic would be, as I've been meaning to write about this for awhile now; I just didn't know how I would frame it.

Flux seems to cover it - A continuous moving on or passing by.

As in time... life... experience. All are in a state of flux, whether we wish them to be or not.

I recently started taking a massage class. But the reason that I started taking the massage class is because it is the first step in becoming a Holistic Health Practitioner. And the reason that I want to become a Holistic Health Practitioner is that I do not want to be in my 60's and still training in the automobile industry and having to travel a significant amount of time to earn a living. Because, as many of you know, when I'm working, I'm traveling. I like the work part, but the traveling part is starting to wear on me, especially given that I now have kids that like it when I'm home, and don't like it when I'm gone. (I think my wife likes it when I'm home too.)

What I have learned, being a trainer for the past 16 years or so, is that I like helping people. Being a car guy, I get to talk about cars, and learn about cars, and drive new cars and generally have a pretty good time. And people pay me to do it. Now if you are a car guy, and you like helping people, ya gotta admit... that's not a bad way to make a living.

But looking to the future, I realized that I needed to find another path to take. Admittedly, I did not know what that path would be. But I have been a consumer of massage for several years now. And not long ago, a first time consumer of chiropractic care as well. And I guess one day, as I sat at my desk and contemplated various future scenarios of my life, I stumbled across the idea of becoming a trainer/practitioner in the alternative health care industry. This idea seemed to make sense to me for a number of reasons.

As Mattea and the boys have started growing up, and become more aware of the things going on in their lives, I wanted to be sure that what they were seeing in me was the most positive role model that I could possibly be. (Remember the discussion about always modeling behaviour?) They don't really have an idea of what I do for a living now, they just know that I'm gone a lot when I work. When they do start to ask more about what I do, and have a better grasp of how I earn my way in the world, I would like to think that I could say to them something like "I help people live their lives in a healthier way, and I help teach others to help even more people live their lives in a healthier, happier way". I would like nothing more than to see all of our children become positive influences in this world in whatever way they might be able to contribute.

Also, when I become a trainer/practitioner in the alternative health care industry, I see this as something that I can do until I am no longer able to do anything. I truly don't see myself ever not working. What would I do if I didn't work?

So I started looking around at schools in the San Diego area that would be able to start me on the path of becoming a Holistic Health Practitioner (HHP). While there are more than one would think, the one that I ended up going with (Body Mind College) had a couple of things going for it, in my view.

Their basic philosophy about the approach to becoming a HHP is this: Healer, heal thyself. Even something as basic as the beginning Massage Technician class, which I enrolled in, starts with learning Tai Chi. In their words "We train you in T’ai Chi so that you can learn to use your body in a way that you will not be injured doing massage." Since everything else is built upon the foundation, it seems that a proper foundation is key. It sounds foolish to say that there are massage classes being taught without regard to not injuring yourself while giving the massage, but after just walking through a mall the other day, and seeing massage practitioners practicing at massage chairs with mall patrons, it became obvious to me that my three classes have already taught me more about the proper stance to work from than any of these practitioners were using. And even more, I knew why they were not standing properly.

Also, one of the faculty members (and one of the teachers of this particular Massage Technician class) is a guy that I met through racing over twenty years ago, and had not seen in about ten years or so. Last time I saw Dave, I knew that he had gotten into massage, but he has been a practitioner for about fourteen years now, and a teacher for about ten.

I have had an opportunity to attend a few classes now, and I am amazed at how quickly things progress. Naturally, Theresa is looking forward to the point in time when I need to practice on someone, and I have already heard from others who would be interested in "volunteering" should I need additional practice time.

Because of my travel, I have had to miss some classes already, and I will unfortunately miss a few more going forward. But this first program is only a couple months long, and I have been able to arrange my schedule to make it to most of the remaining classes. I can also meet with some of the other students to make up the lost time.

I am truly looking forward to this journey. Once the initial Massage Technician classes are complete, I can take a look at what would be the best way to continue on my path. I can say for certain that I am excited about the pursuit of this new era of my life. I look forward to the benefits that it will bring to me, and the many benefits that I can bring to others.

And yes, once I get to that point, I will gladly offer to practice on you.