When people ask me, why did I choose Massage Therapy as a career I have my elevator pitch ready: I always wanted to be a massage therapist; I like helping people feel better, I love learning about the body, and I wanted a job that presented challenges everyday. But the road that lead me to these conclusions was paved with irregular stones.

It is true that I was drawn to the theories of massage therapy right out of high school but was never interested in receiving massages. I hated to be touched due to years of bad experiences with doctors and dentists. My trust was low. The glamorous ideas that I could be my own boss and make lots of money were immature. My parents saw this, and knew me better than I knew myself. They persuaded me to attend a 4 year college so I could expand my horizons.

This lead me to major in Psychology for a short time, then English Literature. By my sophomore year I had dedicated myself to Theater Arts, which I enjoyed. I got to take drawing classes, costume design, acting classes, and script analysis. I made lots of friends and excelled.

Then I dislocated my knee. It was an old injury that had been misdiagnosed and mistreated for 10 years.

I was told both my knees were ticking time bombs and with less than 10% cartilage in each, I had the joints of an 80 year old woman. It was a blow to my self esteem I wasn’t prepared to handle.

I started waiting for the next terrible thing to happen and lost sight of any possible future in theater. I slumped into a deep depression that ultimately alienated my friends, created a disdain for theater, and lead to dropping out of college. I moved back to the Des Moines area and began the slow process of healing.

For the next 10 years I worked a slew of jobs. I spent years in restaurants, a short stint as a Legal Assistant, got my Series 6 license, work in call centers, mall shops, you name it. I viewed each new position as a lily pad- I would land, learn all that I could, and jump to the next opportunity.

I became a Circulation Manager for a magazine company. I settled in and spent 4 years learning the trade, conquering challenges each day, gaining responsibilities and rebuilding my finances. I made new friends, and a few enemies, that encouraged me to make the position my own. Most of the time I was content, but there was a nagging need to do something more, which I ignored until my 30th birthday.

Knowing my distrust in the medical profession, a very dear friend suggested a doctor I might like. She had been suffering for years before she found this doctor who resolved her concerns in about a month. His philosophy was to treat ailments as though they were brand new- setting aside previous treatments and addressing the root of the problem, not the failure of the prescriptions. I liked that idea, and at that point I was in constant pain- I was ready to try something new.

I prepared myself for the worst as I told the doctor about my knees and waited for his response. He smiled kindly and chose his words well. In his opinion, my knees were damaged, but there was no need to talk about surgery or pills- physical therapy would help.

The time bomb analogy made his eyes roll- he said I didn’t need to live my life under that black cloud of doom and whoever told me that in the first place needed to work on their bedside manner. I cried in his office- it was the first time in 20 years I felt like there was hope.

The doctor sent me to his physical therapist, a trusted physician with a shared philosophy. During my consult I repeated my age-old tale and he too, smiled and told me my concerns were not insurmountable.

For 6 weeks I attended PT sessions and learned how my body worked. I learned how my muscles were causing my pain and imbalance. I learned what I could do to prevent pain, and how to treat it, not forget about it. I felt like a new person and the grey clouds I had been hanging on to were finally released.

With my new outlook I took stock in my life. I realized what was making me happy, and what wasn’t. My job was alright, but I wanted to do something more meaningful, something that helped people. I wanted to go back to school. I wanted to learn more about physiology and the body.

I started spending all my free time at the library- I researched philosophy, world religions, technology, art- if it struck my fancy I read 4-5 books on the topic before moving to the next topic.

Meanwhile my friends were getting injured. For a year a friend had been limping and had no intentions of getting help. After reading about massage techniques I offered to try to help. At first he resisted, but a few weeks later when the pain had reached a new all time high, he said it was worth a try.

I didn’t really know what I was doing so I started by gently feeling his calf. His leg was stiff as a board; it felt like a charlie horse.

I remembered seeing a muscle chart in one book or another and imagined the muscle fibers in the calf. I remembered cooking chicken and how much easier the meat sliced when cut with the grain, so I followed the grain. I thought about the 20 years I had spent dealing with my own leg cramps, knees and ankles problems, I figured they were connected somehow so I worked his ankle and foot.

After 45 minutes he felt better, and his limp was less. 2 weeks later we tried it again, this time his leg turned to jelly; the pain was gone and so was his limp. I felt inspired. Here was a person who had been suffering for a year and now had no remnants of that pain thanks to my help.

I started helping all of my friends- rubbing their backs, feet, hands when they mentioned they were sore. Eventually I got a sense of their pain before they mentioned it- I could see their discomfort in how they walked, how they stood. I continued to feel inspired, energized, and motivated.

In 2014 I received a letter letting me know I was eligible for student loans and I knew what I wanted to go back to school to learn. I researched massage schools across Iowa until I found Carlson College. Without knowing it, I was drawn back to the school I looked at attending straight out of high school. This time with fresh eyes.

In January 2015 I started school. The next 6 months were a full-time whirlwind of knowledge. I learned about Anatomy, Physiology, Pathology- classes that I avoided in high school and college. I received massages multiple times a week, which took quite a bit of getting used to. At the same time, my instructors helped me to realize that some of my clients would feel the same way. As I learned what helped me, I was learning how to help them.

It was surprising to learn how my previous jobs connected to massage therapy. Working in restaurants gave me a unique prospective on clean work environments, the law office a better understanding of contracts and confidentiality. There were days I hated receiving massages, there were moments I felt like my head would explode from all the new information but every moment I knew I was doing what I was meant to do.

The day of graduation came and it was the happiest day of my life. I was so proud to graduate, to accomplish my goals, to share my success with my loved ones.

I felt so confident I spoke at graduation. I remember nothing of what I said, only the surge of emotions I knew I had to share with my classmates and professors.

When they awarded us with our diplomas and announced our class as Massage Therapists I felt awesome. I knew massage therapy was my true career.

Today I am proud to own Studio Q 360- Artisan Massage for Pain Relief and Relaxation in Adel. I am happy to help my clients by assessing their posture and muscle tissues, sharing stretches that can help alleviate their stress and tension. Each day I know I am living a dream come true.