Sometimes the path to the work we are meant to do doesn’t reveal itself all at once. Sometimes, we experience something that changes us, move on with our lives, and years later realize that experience was quietly pointing us toward our true calling.
That is what happened to me.
I finished my PhD in Biology and Biomedical Sciences at WashU in 2003, but started seriously doing yoga in 1999. Fast forward to 2005, I was participating in a yoga teacher training program when my instructor returned from California after completing a 100-hour certification in Thai massage. She gave me two Thai massage sessions, and the experience was simply life-changing. I didn’t immediately become a Thai massage therapist, but I never forgot how profoundly different I felt afterward. For me, it was a game changer and helped me release some pains from a major car accident I had in 2001. I didn’t realize how limited I was!
In 2013, after seven years in Biotech sales (with a trip to India in between in 2010) I very much valued my scientific background and the career I had built. I became increasingly burned out and knew I needed to reconfigure my life. That’s when I remembered those Thai massage sessions. I realized that something that had made such a profound difference for me might allow me to do the same for other people. So, I went back to school to follow that deep soul desire!
Eleven years later, I am still doing that work—and I can’t imagine doing anything else.
Thai massage is much more than a traditional massage. It is performed fully clothed, usually on a floor mat, and incorporates compression, stretching, rocking and acupressure along the body’s sen energy lines. I have trained in a specific discipline with a lineage that extends nearly 1,000 years in Bangkok, Thailand, and the practice itself has roots going back approximately 2,500 years.
What I love most is that the work is calming and restorative for both the person receiving it and for me as the practitioner. Clients often tell me they feel lighter, more peaceful and joyful after a session. Sometimes they are so deeply relaxed that they feel like they could take the longest nap of their lives!
Over the years, I’ve expanded my training to include emotional healing work, nutritional counseling and supplementation, and muscle testing. I also use some specialized machines in my practice to help with pain relief. My goal is not simply to provide a massage, but to help people feel significantly better than they did when they walked through my door. I’ve worked with people in many different circumstances, including ALS patients in hospital beds, athletes, hairdressers with back problems. About 70% of my patients have been Veterans or Veteran adjacent (I am the daughter of a Vietnam Veteran). Thai massage can be adapted to the individual and can be practiced almost anywhere.
I’m especially proud of the teaching and practitioner awards I’ve received through the school founded by one of my most influential teachers, Dr. Anthony James. I’m equally proud of the many wonderful experiences my clients have shared with me over the years.
Looking ahead, my dream is to create a more comprehensive health and wellness clinic where I can bring together Thai massage and other complementary approaches, including therapies such as hyperbaric oxygen and red-light therapy. I also founded a church with the goal of serving people in need and providing services on a donation basis.
Ultimately, my work is about helping people feel better—physically, emotionally and in their everyday lives. I feel incredibly fortunate that something I experienced nearly two decades ago ultimately led me back to what I believe is my life path. And I’m excited to see where that path leads next.
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