With nearly a lifetime of experience and practice in massage, bodywork is definitely my calling in life. At the age of 5, my grandfather first taught me how to rub his shoulders and it became my daily after-school chore. From that point on, I basically grew up working on family and friends--from putting my 3rd grade teacher to sleep by working the stress and tension out of her neck and shoulders, to working the pain and tightness out of my mother's shoulder from a pinched nerve, and even walking on my father's back at his request to provide him relief from his chronic back pain after a hard day's work as a carpenter. At every family gathering you wouldn't find me playing with the other children; instead you could find me at the table with all of the adults going chair to chair rubbing shoulders while they played dominoes or cards. Massage was meant for me. My familiarity with bodywork evolved over the years along with my techniques, and although I didn't immediately pursue Massage Therapy as my profession after school, I continued to work on friends and family who would often come to me to ease their aches and pains. Finally, I could no longer ignore what people have told me for years and decided to obtain the education and licensure necessary to practice massage professionally. I haven't looked back, and the relief and relaxation I see my clients get with my sessions with them only confirms that this is my calling in life. After school, I worked under the direction of a Physical Therapist, providing both medical massage to patients recovering from surgeries, injuries, and chronic/acute disorders and providing therapeutic massage to spa clients as well. Witnessing first hand the amazing results provided by receiving massage on a regular basis only further confirmed what an impact massage can have on one's life. The benefits of massage are real and can be very effective as part of a physician's treatment plan or just to help relieve stress in one's life. On January 3, 2014, I started working at a Evia Spa. It was a great experience working in a spa setting and getting to work on clients for both relaxation and therapeutic purposes. I gained more knowledge of bodywork and had a lot of fun working with so many different talented people. In April, the spa restructured internally and switched from an employee-based staff to rental spaces for self-employed businesses. I stayed on and officially started Knead to Relax Massage Therapy, renting a room out of Evia Spa within their new structure. Things were going great, and in October, the owners came to an agreement with new management and re-restructured everything back to employee-based staff. Wanting to keep my focus on my clients' care and individual needs, I decided it was time for a new place for myself and my clients. I'd received enough notice of the change to allow for proper research, and after many, many meetings and on-site inspections of potential rental places, I finally found a new place to call home. On November 2, 2104, I moved my massage practice to its current location, inside the Holistic Touch Massage Establishment in Spring, just north of Rayford/Sawdust. While the new place is exclusively designed for bodywork, it is a good fit for all of my existing and future clients. I feel this new location within Holistic Touch allows for better focus of my clients' needs without the distractions of a noisier, faster-paced salon. It is a quieter place where relaxation is key. Settling into the new environment, I continue to expand my knowledge in massage techniques so I may be of better service to my clients. The more I grow, the more I enjoy my practice. Not a day goes by that I'm not happy with this career and path in life. I look forward to treating many new clients.