Cattie and I agreed to write a guest post for each others blog and  I am so delighted we did, as her story is so inspiring and you can really get a feel for the wonderful soul she is.  I asked Cattie if she would be willing to share some of her own stunnning photography too which I am delighted she agreed to.   I hope you will enjoy learning more about Cattie and please do get in touch with her, sign up for her Guide, which is global, by visiting http://animalmassageguide.com/  you can  e-mail Cattie from her contact page too.

Cattie with Sadie

Hi everyone! This is Cattie Coyle from Animal Massage Guide, and I am so honored that Julie invited me to write about myself and AMG. When I asked Julie if there was anything in particular she wanted me to write about, she said “tell us about yourself and how and why you started the wonderful Animal Massage Guide”… well, here goes!

I have always loved animals and was one of those kids who was happiest hanging out at the stable or with my (and my friends’) dog(s) and other pets. My parents had to drag me away from pastures, barns or anything I came across that had animals. As I got older, I started pre-med with the plan to become a vet, but after a year of that, it dawned on me that while I would be helping animals, they would fear me, and I would also have to do things I wasn’t even able to think about. And that was it for pre-med. I instead decided to follow another passion – photography. I enrolled in a 2-year professional photography program and majored in portraiture. Of course, my final portfolio consisted of portraits of people with their pets.

Cattie playing with Prospect

I tried to survive doing pet portraits full time, but either the market for it wasn’t there yet or I just lacked the necessary business savvy. Whatever the reason, I needed a steadier source of income and ended up in the corporate world. Which I actually didn’t mind for many years, until my Dad suddenly passed away. It made me stop and think about what I was doing with my life, and I realized I wasn’t happy (to say the least) and what I was doing for work was completely meaningless.

Deep down, I knew I needed to work with animals. I came across animal massage by chance during a visit to Sweden, and when I returned to the US, started researching animal massage schools here. I found Bancroft School of Massage in Worcester, MA (where they had just started a small animal massage program), applied, and graduated in 2005. I started my own business, but after only a few years, allergies forced me to stop practicing. I had already become allergic to horses, cats and rabbits, and when I started reacting to dogs as well, I couldn’t continue.

But what was the end of my business was also the beginning of Animal Massage Guide. When I first started practicing, I was contacted many times not only by animal owners looking for a massage therapist for their pet, but also by people who were interested in learning animal massage and wanted to start their own animal massage business, or add animal massage to their existing “human” massage business and were looking for advice.

As I had been on “all sides of the fence” – as somebody looking for a school where I could learn animal massage, as a massage student, as a practitioner starting (and running) an animal massage business, an animal-loving allergy sufferer, and an animal guardian looking for holistic health alternatives for my own pet – I decided to start a blog to put all my experiences in one place, as a resource for everyone to use. At the same time, I was doing a lot of research into alternative therapies for allergies, and in my quest I came across many therapies I never knew existed before, and most were also used with animals. So what started as a blog about animal massage slowly became a blog about many different kinds of alternative/complementary therapy for animals.

I didn’t really have any set goals with the blog when I started it, but as it has evolved, I slowly figured out what they were. I want AMG to be a resource that both help open animal owners’ eyes to the fact that there are a lot of complementary options available, and that you may not have to give up on your pet just because the vet said so; and also help alternative / complementary animal health practitioners get more exposure (I know how difficult marketing yourself can be, and how important any chance to get your name out there is), and an opportunity to share their story and help educate us about the modality they practice (and maybe even find a new one to try themselves).

I can’t tell you how grateful I am that I did start the blog. It has allowed me keep up with and learn so much more about complementary and alternative health both for people and animals, and I have “virtually met” so many amazing people who do so much for the animals and are wonderfully generous with sharing their stories, case studies and advice (thank you all!)

As for where the blog will go in the future, there will be more guest posts, more schools and practitioners added (sign up! it’s free), and I am working on a few exciting projects which hopefully will see the light of day at some point this year. I am also undergoing a new (to me anyway) kind of allergy treatment, continue to do freelance photography, and am about to embark on a whole new exciting adventure in the animal health field (there will be blog posts about all of this eventually of course!).

Julie, thank you so much for inviting me to write this – it was a good excuse to look back and think through the choices I have made and why I made them. A little self-reflection is always good for the soul. And for anyone reading this – please let me know if you would like to be listed on AMG, or if you have a story / case study (or anything else) you would like to share. I always love to hear from readers!

Thank you so much for sharing your wonderfully inspiring story Cattie, and here are some of Cattie’s beautiful photographs. You can see more of Cattie’s beautiful photography at her website http://www.ccoylephotography.com/

Hello everyone!  I am very pleased to announce that Voice of the Animals has just launched its brand new on-line learning programme!

Ten fortnightly 45 minute sessions held live by webinar conference.  Julie breaks down the fascinating topic of animal communication into bite size chunks so that you can interactively learn and practice for yourself, joining a group of like minded others from around the world!

If, like many, you are not familiar with what on earth a WEBINAR is, please do not worry, they are really easy and simple to use.  All is explained with our short video on our Webinars page, and also by downloading the recording of our first webinar so that you can watch for yourself just how simple and flexible a learning method it is!

It all begins on the 11th April 2011 at 19:00-19:45 (GMT) and fortnightly (approx) until August 23rd.

If you can’t make it at those timings, again, not to worry.  I will be recording each session and adding it to the webinar page so that you can buy it and listen back to it as often as you like.

If you are a beginner I recommend signing up for all ten sessions as they all build upon each other.  If you already practice you are free to sign up for the ones you would like to, again designed with maximum flexibility in mind.

GREAT SAVINGS!! If you sign up for the whole programme you make a saving of 15% and if you book onto the live sessions the recording is FREE too!

You can book online now by visiting our webinar page, if you have any questions feel free to ask in the comments box or contact Julie at julie@voiceoftheanimals.org.uk  or on +44 (0)7968 038279.  I look forward to welcoming you to a webinar soon!

Thanks and wishing you all a wonderful day! Blessings and love. Julie Lines. XXX

Hello Everyone,

This week I have added a new channeling to The Purpose of Species blog.  If you aren’t familiar with this blog, I am co-creating a book that shares the purpose of as many animal species as possible.  This is written not from our perspective but is actually channeled messages directly from the collective conscious of the animals themselves… If you want to receive a weekly e-mail when new channelings are added please visit the site and simply sign up in the pop up light box.

I awoke at 4am last Thursday and heard clearly in my mind  “We are the Sun Bears and we have a message for humanity”

This is the first time I have been addressed quite so directly, the more usual way I receive channelings is that I start to see lots of pictures or TV programmes about the animal.  Then they start turning up in my thoughts and finally their message just pours out of me, normally just before dawn!  I write it all down in my journal, fall asleep and awaken to read the channeled words as if for the first time.

It is amazing, humbling and very moving to know that the animals on the planet so want humanity to awaken and to rebalance, what is now a planet massively out of balance. (By the way, we can all connect like this with animals, if you want to learn how read more in our website!  If you already able to do this and would like to contribute, please submit channelings to The Purpose of Species website.)

So, I thought I’d find a Sun Bear You Tube clip to share with you that shows what is happening with these spectacular and beautiful bears.  It is, sadly, yet another story of a species reaching the bring of extinction BUT there are things happening to change this.  I also found a blogsite for the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre where a wonderful man called Siew Te Wong has established an amazing centre out there, do take a read and support them in whatever way you can.

Things are changing, things are massively shifting across all things.  Our role is to find a way of being most useful and to get on and do the things we know we are really here to be doing…. following our hearts, our passions and our intuitive guidance.

I believe it is crucially important that we all stay positively focussed on what we can do something about, even if that is simply sitting quietely and holding a vision of peace and balance across the world, each day for two minutes.  That does make a difference.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Sending blessings and love to you all,

Julie XXX

Hello Everyone,

Join Julie Lines for a FREE half hour introduction to the fascinating topic of Intuitive Animal Communication.

Sign up NOW for the webinar by clicking on this link https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/580138470 to register your details. You will receive an e-mail with a link to the website that you simply sign into on the 7th February at 7pm (GMT).

There is a limit of 100 people to attend the live session – so if you would like to come along please sign up now to avoid disappointment.

Once you have logged in on the 7th you will hear Julie and see the slide presentation as she guides you through the session.

You also willl get the chance to interact with Julie, ask her questions and put your views and ideas across to the group, verbally and using the comments text box.

In this first webinar the aim is to give you an insight into what intuitive animal communication is all about, what the key skills are to be able to receive incoming animal communication and you will get the chance to practice  with a photograph of a wonderful guest animal teacher!

All done in a light hearted and fun way, if you can’t make the live session, it will be recorded so that you can download it from the website for FREE afterwards.

We look forward to welcoming you to this event and to sharing with you fascinating insights into intuitive animal communication!

For those of you that have attended our workshop,  other animal communication workshops or read any of the excellent books recommended on our site, here is the beautiful Gemima and I have a few questions for you to ask her.  I can verify a good few of the questions so that you can check how accurate you are. Let me know your answers either by using the forum, for all our workshop attendees or by commenting on this page.

Have fun and I look forward to hearing from you and Gemima!

Gemima