Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/68013
I decided to become a massage therapist after the passing of my first child. During my daughter's prolonged illness, I went to a massage therapist to help me relax and found that it not only helped me physically, but emotionally as well. The calm, quiet, and nurturing touch helped me gather strength during a horrific time. I will always be grateful to the massage therapist who helped me. I only hope that I can bring the same sense of calm to others who are in pain. Jennifer Rauschmayer Plano, Texas I was brought up in a fast-food eating, TV-worshipping broken home in 1980's America. I was fat and miserable. I developed psoriasis (the rash grew to cover 80 percent of my body). The combination of the disease and the weight left me feeling untouchable and unworthy, a byproduct of our cultural ideals. Early into my 20s, I discovered health food and exercise and began to transform. As an art student, I began exploring the emotional effects of my poor body image and our cultural standards of beauty. With the goal of reaching out to others like myself (to help them feel less alone in this world), I used photos of myself, obese or covered in a rash in my artwork. After receiving many reiki sessions as an introduction to the power of bodywork, I realized that using my touch to help people would be a more effective way to directly influence how another perceives their body, welcomes and loves their body. I went to massage school. Along the way, I learned how to heal my body without the use of Western medicine. In my practice, I use my experience as proof of the power we have to heal ourselves. JENNY ETTINGER DENVER, COLORADO I have a completely natural attraction to the art of massage. I have a desire to please and give. There is immediate satisfaction when the client arises from the table and gives you a spontaneous hug or with sparkling eyes tells you, "That was fantastic ... the best massage I've ever had." This is such a rush. My cup runneth over. I became a bodyworker because I completely believe in the work and its ability to heal, which the body does by itself. I see myself as a catalyst, nothing more, but needed. I believe in doing things you really believe in. It is my passion to massage and I let love infuse my bodywork with as much integrity as possible. When I do bodywork it is a form of meditation. The strokes just flow from the source. My hands never stop or hesitate not knowing what to do next. It's magical. When someone trusts their body into my hands, I feel honored and privileged. I am always striving to give the perfect massage. At times, I come close. Close is very rewarding to me. The pleasure of touching someone is a tactile pleasure to both the giver and receiver. My fingers are drawn to this experience. Each person's body is different. It is always new and exciting—and revealing. The muscles do not lie. The exterior is a veneer, but what is under the skin is the truth. I forever seek the truth. BERNARD ZEMBLE LAS VEGAS, NEVADA I became a certified massage therapist after I was in a car accident. At the time, I was going to school to be an RN. After the car accident, I was seeing a chiropractor for about five months, and I was still having muscle spasms in my back, so he suggested I see his on- site massage therapist. It was wonderful. She was able to relax my muscles. Even my adjustments with the chiropractor went better. One day before second semester nursing classes, I dropped out and the same day I signed up at the local massage school. I have now been doing massage since July 2005. I work at a nursing home and a day spa. SHELLY CAVINS-SAUER APPLETON, WISCONSIN I became a bodyworker because my great grandma Olga was a bodyworker. She worked in San Francisco in the 1930s. She got her certificate to do bodywork from a school in Chicago, Illinois. Her certificate actually read "certified in bodywork and hygiene." She always made it sound so glamorous. She told me of a woman who had a lot of pain on her left side. The woman had been to a doctor, but he couldn't visit massageandbodywork.com to access your digital magazine 31