My love for massage started about 15 years ago, when I was a handy man. I had an accident at work which injured my back pretty bad. I had seen all kinds of chiropractors and medical doctors to help fix my back. Over the span of two years there were no changes and doctors wanted to do surgery. I really did not like the idea of having surgery. A good friend of mine told me to go see this guy in Kaneohe. Well, I went reluctantly to see him, thinking how he would be able to do what the doctors couldn’t. I arrived at the house and there was an older gentleman that told me to come in and sit down. I explained to him the problems I was having and, unlike all the others, he asked me to lay down and relax. He treated me with what I now know as shiatsu, trigger point, and deep tissue. Man, was it painful! But it was very effective. My back had not felt that good in years. I returned to him two more times and it was a different treatment each time. The last treatment he just laid hands on my low back and neck and I literally could feel the heat moving through my spine. It was strange and amazing all at the same time. That’s how I got introduced to bodywork and energy work.
In 2005 I moved to California and was looking for a career change, when I came across a massage therapy school, California Healing Arts College. It got me thinking about the treatments that helped me back in Hawaii. I wanted to make a similar difference in someone’s life as that massage therapist did in mine. So I decided to go and check them out and then enrolled into the Master Massage Therapist Program. While studying massage therapy, I started to understand the techniques that were used to help me with my back issues years earlier. I learned many modalities there, but was drawn the most to shiatsu, trigger points, and deep tissue because of my personal experience. I focused on those and created my own style which is a mix of all three with some energy work to smooth things out.
While working in the industry and going to all kinds of therapist from all over the world I noticed one thing that bothered me. Most therapists would follow a routine regardless of what they run into or what problem they see. I always wondered if there was a better way to address the individual needs of each client. I asked some of the more experienced therapist and instructors I knew. The only one that had a good answer was my Deep Tissue instructor. He showed me how to “read” the client’s body, its posture, and think of what could cause the pain. It is important to understand what is going on because usually what a person feels is an effect of what is wrong. To release tension a good massage therapist needs to find the root of it and then work on correcting it. Now that’s what I do, I watch my clients from when they first meet me, their posture, how they walk, turn their heads etc… I ask many questions about their work and then, as I work on them, actually listen to the body. How the muscles react, what’s relaxed what’s tight and then decide what to do. Every client is treated differently; I create a unique routine for each person that I feel would have the best effect.
Looking forward to meeting you.
James Peck