Level 1 Itinerary

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AT THE HEART OF CANINE AQUATICS – LEVEL ONE

A Training Program
Offered by Cindy Horsfall of La Paw Spa

Important: This is a sample itinerary.

Please also be aware that this itinerary is the intention of my class however, everything is subject to change as schedules come together; course content however will remain basically intact.

WEDNESDAY DAY 1

Arrive in Sequim, Washington and get yourself situated for the week. when we meet tonight, we’ll be going over some ideas for good places to shop, eat out and beaches to hang out on – so that you can create the week that is best for you.

Sequim is located between the majestic mountains and the salt water edges of our country; it’s a perfect location to ponder the bigger picture of your life. I urge you to take advantage, while you are here, of our vast horizons and allow yourself to let go all that concerns or thoughts that don’t serve you and open your heart and mind to the week to come.

7pm – We’ll meet up at LA PAW SPA in Sequim for our first night together.

La Paw Spa - Sequim Headquarters

La Paw Spa
We’ll take a tour upon arrival of the pool, the set up, the building and the solutions that were found to create this spa setting. This is an opportunity for you to begin to plan your own pool space and start answering some of your personal questions about your set up at home.

I promise this to be an easy evening as some of you may be tired from the journey to class. We’ll talk briefly about water therapy, enjoy introductions, we’ll go over the itinerary for class and I will give you your notebooks so that you can begin to read up on this fascinating line of work and ponder just how it might fit into your perfect world.

We will also go over the maps of the area – favorite places to shop and eat so that you can make your plans on how you are going to take care of yourselves in class.

THURSDAY DAY 2

PACK: two sets of swim wear and a plastic bag to put it in after our day. A fleece cover-up if you have one for when you are wet but outside the pool. Wear comfy working layers. Easy on and off shoes. Bring your notebook!

9AM – We’ll meet up at LA PAW SPA in Sequim

We will go over the course materials and outline. We will cover some basics about canine therapy and meet Stuffie – our demo dog. We will begin to explore the deeper definition of CANINE WATER THERAPY.

This morning we will go over a standard recipe for the work, clarify some of the massage holds and moves and then get into the pool together and practicing some footwork. You will need to learn to move with a lower center of gravity in the pool – so that you will feel more grounded and secure in the pool. We’ll get a chance to work with buoyancy, water movement and moving with intention.

This is an important first step in our journey to be the best we can be in the world of canine aquatics – as when we get that 240 lb. Bull Mastiff in our arms, we’ll need to have a grounded stance in order to be the stable ‘island’ that this dog (and his person) will need.

11AM – We’ll be joined by professors ANI and MAGOO

Ani and Magoo

Ani and Magoo are 2 wonderful teachers who will teach each one of you the basic positions of this work.

BREAK FOR LUNCH FROM 1230pm-230pm

2:30 PM – Meet back at LA PAW SPA

Koko

We will enjoy a selection of dogs this afternoon who will be teaching us how to use a pool this size, the steps and the benches – we’ll talk about massage techniques and holds. We have an easy line up so that you can all get used to applying the techniques we learned yesterday in water.

FRIDAY DAY 3

PACK: two sets of swim wear and a plastic bag to put it in after our day. A fleece cover-up if you have one for when you are wet but outside the pool. Wear comfy working layers. Easy on and off shoes. Bring your notebook!

9AM – We’ll meet up at LA PAW SPA in Sequim

ericksen

We have a wonderful 3 hour class from Cindy Ericksen in Basic Canine Anatomy, Form and Function, and applied MASSAGE techniques.

BREAK FOR LUNCH FROM 1230pm-230pm

2:30 PM – Meet back at LA PAW SPA

We will begin to work with harder dogs and explore how different injuries look in water and some of the ways we handle our sessions.

SATURDAY DAY 4

9AM – We’ll meet up at LA PAW SPA in Sequim

Law SPa in Sequim

Arrive in your slippers and your pajamas.

10:00 AM – 1:00 PM – Enjoy a wonderful morning with our intuitive friend – Marie-Claire. She will spend a few hours with us and we’ll begin to explore an introduction to animal communication and intuition – a step toward becoming more sensitive to feeling and hearing the whole picture.

Matie CLaire Dog

The fastest way to happiness and peace is the absolute acceptance of WHO YOU ARE right in this moment. The nature of humanness is divinity. This is evident in many of the daily “miracles” of our existence: our body, the seasons, the supreme organization of the universe. We know this in our cells, our bones. There is a deep resonance to the truth that we are all connected, that divinity expresses Itself as us, exactly as we are in this moment; right now, and now, and now. – Marie Claire

There may be things that come up for you in class – obstacles or questions in your personal life that you feel you need addressed. Although sharing these things in class may be appropriate, we will need to be careful not to let these things interfere. If you feel things need to be addressed, Marie Claire has offered her services to you (for a fee) – she can meet with you on an emergency basis if needed and will also be available via the telephone. She will also be there for you – if needed – after you get home she is a gifted facilitator for change and a wonderful life coach.

Marie Claire is available for private sessions and can be reached at: 360.681.4411

ENDING AT 12:30pm (ish).. Enjoy your day off .

SUNDAY DAY 5

I will have directions for you all (each of you bring a couple of towels, a snuggley robe, easy on/off shoes, a big water bottle to drink and a bunch of snacks). Plan on about a 75 minute drive (one way) to the watsu pool on Bainbridge Island. Please car pool and be drive carefully.

Plan to be at the pool after lunch at 1pm for a great class with TOM COBIAN.

THE PRINCIPLES OF WATSU from 1:00pm – 7:00pm.

WATSU has been pivitol to my understanding of the power of water and I am excited to share this with you. This will be an exploration of water movement and how this work feels to your own body. We will cover foot work, proper body mechanics and buoyancy. Focus will be on increasing our stability in water and lowering our center of gravity. We will practice floating each other and explore the various ways to move in water while carrying weight in our arms. This will be a profound part of our time together and you will begin to embrace the full picture of water therapy.

After this class ends around 7pm – you will enjoy a break where you can eat the picnic dinner you brought with you (or order a pizza!) – after which, you will each get a chance to re-enter the pool and receive a short introductory WATSU session (about half hour each) noting first hand how movement in water is translated and felt in your own body. After you have received a WATSU, you will understand more fully the power of water the next time you get that pup in your arms.

ENDING AT 900pm (ish) – Drive carefully home.

MONDAY DAY 6

9AM – We’ll meet up at LA PAW SPA in Sequim

We will start this fun final day with a short talk on orthopedics and injuries that we often see in our clients and begin to explore the various ways to support our clients via mobility aides and common protocols for water therapy.

Mobility Aids

BREAK FOR LUNCH FROM 1230pm-230pm

2:30 pm – Meet back at LA PAW SPA

We will get back in the pool and continue working with dogs, we have a wonderful line up of pups scheduled here… becoming more comfortable with the variety of dogs that will become your clients when you get home. The dogs we’ll be seeing will become more difficult and we’ll be seeing some dogs NEW to the water as well.

Dogs in the pool

At the end of this day – We will have an opportunity for each of you to perform your own session in water with your own dog and client. Each one of you will be able to find your own words to describe what water therapy is to your client and find out about their dog and then proceed into the water and provide that owner and dog a full and safe session.

pool group

7:30 pm – Dinner will be served at La Paw Spa

Celebrating our time together, we’ll enjoy a final meal together and each get a chance to share our plans from this point … the gifts and strengths we’ve each discovered in ourselves and what we each envision our businesses to look like….

class group

We will have covered a lot in this short time together. My desire is to expose you to a full spectrum of things that you will need to become a successful therapist in this world of Canine Water Therapy. My goal will be to show you the depth of the work so that you can then go home and draw upon your own special gifts and tie this all together into your own private practice. I want to cover the precautions and dangers inherent in this work as well so that you know where and how to proceed with caution.

held dog

I do offer a LEVEL TWO class for those who want to dive deeper into the work. With the basics of how to get a dog into the water safely, how to handle, hold and do a basic session already covered in LEVEL ONE, we’ll be able to now concentrate on how to handle a new and more difficult dog, well explore a few new tools to use in water, will cover listening skills and client notes and we will have more private session work which will hopefully begin to unleash some of your own unique gifts to the exciting field of service.

As a graduate of Level One You will be able to enjoy this logo in your advertising.

Heart 2 Heart - Level 1