What I thought was deeply sophisticated at 17

As a late teen and early 20’s girlie, I remember passing by the classy spa on Perkins Road in my hometown thinking “one day I’m gonna go there.” It was (I guess still is) nestled in an aesthetically pleasing version of a strip mall with lovely landscaping and a cozy small town vibe even thought it’s on a busy road.

What makes somebody grown

this was 30-something me and 17 yr old me could've never imagined that I was embodying both sides of what inspired me--the pencil-skirt professional and the budding bodyworker

I thought to myself “ooooh, classy….” It seemed so sophisticated. Like you had to wear a pencil skirt suit to go in there and you’d come out of there magically transformed into your best self after your massage or facial or whatever. Top tier.

I imagined everyone in there was beautiful. The clients, the aestheticians, the cleaners, everyone. Young me thought that I had to have alllll my shit together before I set foot in a place like that. I needed to be that woman in a pencil skirt suit. And my dream of becoming a museum curator fit perfectly with how I dreamed an experience in this place would be: the professional woman getting pampered to the Nth degree, cute car, stylish clothes, perfect boyfriend, yeah…the dream.

What makes me laugh now

I’m quietly chuckling to myself now because oh. my. goodness. how I had it all wrong. I didn’t realize that I was falling for the made-up dream that all the media I consumed stealthily pushed onto me. It would take me 20 more years to remove many of those layers of how I viewed the world to see how it really was and how I could show up as my real self and feel a sense of purpose and belonging.

But one thing’s for sure and that’s the allure of that spa. The allure of having a place to go and feel supported and nurtured. That whole idea stuck with me all this time. I remember even at about 19 or 20 years old creating my own plan to build a community center that was a safe place to go to do yoga, get your hair done, get a massage. Heck, this dream still ruminates in the back of my mind. Maybe one day….

What did I get right

I couldn’t articulate it then when I was driving my lil’ Honda Accord to and fro around town but receiving and providing support and healing for the physical body is something I see as integral to feeling whole, especially for sensitive creative humans like myself.

I could feel my life experiences running through my body—the more traumatic ones settling in instead of moving through and out. The more exhilirating ones pulsing and tingling throughout my body like freshly thrown fairy dust.

During this period of my life I was providing support to loved ones in the way of doing hair, pedicures, and even eyebrows. I had put myself of the track to becoming a museum curator but I enjoyed giving support so much. Seeing people light up after I took care of them for an hour or so deeply meant something to me.

Where it led me

I can clearly see now that it was that intrinsic understanding I have that much-needed healing and processing happens when the body feels supported.

And though I had a (mostly) wonderful experience as a museum curator, I feel so much more aligned now that I’m answering my soul’s call to support people in their bodies. It matters so much.

People who experience bodywork* experience 25-80% decrease in pain. The same study showed improvements in disability, perceived muscle tension, flexibility and anxiety. That pain and tension and anxiety are by-products of what we experience in life. I couldn’t put it all together in my 20’s but I now fully explore and understand this.

It’s why teaching yoga since 2012 (these pics are from 2013 or 2014) has been such a good fit for me and why practicing Thai Yoga Bodywork is the right thing for me to expand into right now. I haven’t practiced it for 5 years (!) and I recently started easing back into giving (and receiving) bodywork in the last 4 months. I’m taking it on fully and Paris, watch out! Cos System Reboot, my bodywork service, is coming in full effect.

Where we are now

After 20 years of ruminating on why exactly I always felt called to the cozy support of bodywork, I’ve arrived. I’m here, clear in my purpose, and ready to present my own bodywork support to the world, or at least to Paris.

Hop on the waitlist for System Reboot, my luxe in-home bodywork service in Paris, if you’re ready to release the trauma and tension to feel good af in your body.

*The application of physical therapy methods such as massage, yoga, exercise, and relaxation techniques for the purpose of promoting physical and emotional well-being.

a lil pin or 2 for your board or whateva