Students Discover Unexpected Reward At The Acupressure Therapy Institute
By Bob Olson, OfSpirit.com Editor

Upon attending an open house at Barbara Blanchard’s Acupressure Therapy Institute (ATI), I discovered an unexpected benefit to learning about energy. I went to the lecture and demonstration anticipating a rather predictable discussion on the benefits of acupressure shiatsu. What I learned, however, came as a surprise. I discovered how students of acupressure shiatsu gained much more than an education toward a new fulfilling career; they also gained an education about something that would forever improve their personal lives, as well.

The open house became a remarkable testimonial to the benefits of being a student of energy. In two fast-moving hours, I witnessed students and teachers alike enthusiastically expressing the personal benefits—not just the vocational benefits—gained from their education. Interestingly, I don’t think the speakers this day were aware of the impact their words presented. The open house was clearly not rehearsed. In fact, ATI program director, Barbara Blanchard, told me she was lucky just to get everyone to show up on such a beautiful day—never mind rehearse the presentation, too. I believe the spontaneity of these testimonials is partly the reason they came through so inspiringly. I am grateful to have experienced this story of which I am about to share.

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The Realization of Health in Body, Mind and Spirit: An Interview with Nancy Risley
by Carol Bedrosian

Nancy Risley, RPP (Registered Polarity Practitioner) founded the Polarity Realization Institute in 1980 as a school to train professional bodyworkers and polarity therapists. The Institute currently has four New England locations:  Ipswich, MA, Plymouth, MA and Portland, ME. The fourth and newest location in Westboro, MA is a spacious, multi-room rental, prominently situated between the Outback Steakhouse and Hoyt's Cinema 14 in a newly-built commercial plaza off Route 9. Graced with PRI's soothing, mandala-like logo set off by strong, bold lettering, the large blue and white sign above the door is impossible for the eye to avoid: Polarity Realization Institute --Holistic Career Education. For the hundreds of patrons that visit the steakhouse each day, the sigh next door sends a subtle , yet subconscious signal that holistic healthcare is here to stay.

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Before setting out to design a book that would be helpful for both parents and students, I sent out a survey to roughly 650 parents at the private school where I work. I asked them a series of questions about education: what skills they felt their children lacked, what they wished the schools would teach, and what they already did in order to help their children. I grouped all these questions into different subject areas and outlined the book’s major chapters around parents’ most pressing concerns.

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More Articles & Education

The Path from India

For centuries, in India, a spiritual seeker would approach a teacher with an offering of "fuel in hand" indicating a desire to submit to the fire of alchemy. If accepted, the student would come to live and serve in the presence of the master. Before a student would ever see an asana (physical pose), he demonstrated commitment, discipline, and an understanding of the moral and ethical observances of the spiritual path. Bowing before the teachings, each student demonstrates humility and respect for the many masters who have gone before. In the East an individual does not presume to be a teacher in training. To study yoga is itself an honor. 

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Taking the Kids for a Walk on the Wild Side: An Interview With Sharon Anderson
by Carol Bedrosian

I met Sharon Anderson for the first time at Harvest Gathering in 1997 at Mt. Washington, MA. Living in upstate Vermont near the Canadian border, Sharon had traveled many hours alone by car to attend the gathering and she arrived close to dark with a dozen or so twenty-foot teepee poles attached to the top of her Volvo station wagon. As the coordinator for the gathering, I knew Sharon planned to set up a replication of an authentic nineteenth century encampment, including a wigwam that she would be staying in during the weekend, so I was quite concerned when she arrived so late that darkness was falling, she would need help with setting up the poles and teepee and I could find no volunteers around to help.

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