We Asked: When and how did you decide massage was the right career for you?

Here is what you told us...

I was in my fifth year of college in a pre-law program and realized that my heart wasn’t in it anymore. I explored my hobbies as potential career options. Aromatherapy has always been a passion of mine and massage therapy was a logical extension of this love. When I met my husband, who is also a massage therapist, I had the opportunity to see firsthand how the profession manifests itself in reality. I realized that I could change people’s lives through the gift of touch. That was 1999. I haven’t looked back since!
Karma Isis Clark
Louisville, Kentucky

When I was a child, I would sit on the back of the chesterfield (couch) and rub my grandmother’s shoulders and neck. I loved to share touch with her. She wanted me to be a nurse because that was what nurses did back then. Nursing was not what I wanted; I wanted to share touch.
Adele A. Dirks
Calgary, Alberta, Canada

I have fibromyalgia, and after a year my daughter finally talked me into getting a 30-minute massage. I continued getting massage every two weeks for a couple of months. Massage helped me so much I knew I had to learn more about it. After much prayer I attended a 1,000-hour program and received my degree.
Pam Bryson
Chattanooga, Tennessee

I have been a massage therapist for six years, and it wasn’t until this spring that massage meant more to me than anything. Don’t get me wrong—I have evolved more and more in my practice, and I haven’t been burned out or injured, but I took a self-care class that made me even more obsessed. I experienced an “aha” moment in this class that in turn created a hunger to learn more, provide more for my clients, and become an advocate to help other massage therapists not give up.
Joy Bernstein
San Antonio, Texas

I was attending a community college, about to go into a nursing career, when a friend began going to massage school. I had been considering massage school myself but was unsure at the time. Meanwhile, my mother had been ill and was having trouble sleeping because of her illness. The only thing that would relax her enough to sleep was massaging her legs and feet. One night when I was massaging her, I realized that I was seriously interested in helping people in this way.
Danyelle Cryer
Las Vegas, Nevada

When I was 3 years old, I saw someone giving a massage on TV. At that moment, I began massaging my family. I loved it! I decided right then and there to become a “masseuse.” (Back in 1980, that’s still what we were called.) I opened my little free “practice” to friends. I gave out massage coupons for Christmas and birthdays. When I was 14 I started thinking about owning my own actual business, and the creative wheels started turning. I graduated from massage school in 2001, and have been living my lifelong dream ever since. I give free massages as a perk to my clients, but the real perk is mine. Everyone needs a massage. My new life goal is to ensure that everyone who wants a massage can get one.
Gillian Weeks
Centennial, Colorado