How I became a Massage Therapist
Many people have asked me why I decided to be a Massage Therapist. If you would have asked me when I was 17, what I wanted to be when I grew up, Massage would have never even crossed my mind.
I got my first professional massage when I was 16, the summer before my senior year in High School. I thought, "I can do this! I never have to pay for a birthday present ever again!"
For my Mom's birthday a month later, I had her lay on the floor, on a blanket, covered her with a sheet and gave her my first ever massage. She told me I had a gift, but didn't really think about it.
Fast forward 5 years. I had suffered for about a year with gall bladder pain. Intermittently, I would experience so much pain I would pass out. (We found later I was passing gall stones!) This pain would last about 4 hours and would exhaust me so much I would sleep for hours after.
The day of my Great-Grandmothers funeral, I started getting one of these "attacks" (I hadn't been diagnosed with anything at this point). My family was staying with my uncle, who is a Massage Therapist, and he said he thought he knew how to help. He did about 5 minutes of slow steady work on my back. This time the pain was at a 4 where it was normally at a 12/10, and it only lasted about 45 minutes instead of 4 hours.
It was this moment where I thought, "Wow. If he can help me with just 5 minutes, think of what can be done with an hour or more!"
I was able to participate in the Celebration of Life for the matron of our family. I was able to function with little pain that day. It was that day, I decided to be a Massage Therapist.
Ever since, my goal has been to have the as much education as I can about the human body, so I can provide the same basic relief to others as I was provided that day.