On the Path to Becoming a Massage Therapist: An Alumna’s Journey

As an executive-level global manager for a major high-tech company, I had a good job that paid well and I did important work that I enjoyed… life was good. Then key direction and upper management changes at the company, moving into peri-menopause, empty-nest syndrome, and the horrific events of 9/11/2001 threw me for quite a loop! I began questioning my place in the world and what I was doing with my life. A year after 9/11, I felt that I still wasn’t firing on all “happy cylinders”, so I started working with a life/career coach to help deal with the issues I was facing at work. (At that time I did not recognize my confusion around the bigger life picture.) One day my coach asked, “If money were no object, and you could spend your time doing whatever you wanted… what would it be?”
Well! Humph! And humph again! That sure got me thinking…. For years, I had loved to get a good massage, had dabbled with it working on friends and family. I seemed to be really good at helping people get over headaches. Anyone I would work on would tell me that I should be doing massage. I shared with my coach that massage therapy would be a possibility, and of course, her homework for me that week was to look at the local massage schools to see what kinds of programs they had to offer. Together we worked out my priorities for a learning program.
A few key criteria guided my evaluations of the various massage schools in the area: #1) It had to have an evening program, as I was working full-time. #2) It had to be close enough that I could make it to class on time after work. And most importantly, #3) It had to have a very robust program. I felt that if someone were going to touch people as a professional massage therapist and impact their health and well being, it would be imperative that they have the best education possible. Top earner in my evaluation score card was The Boulder College of Massage Therapy. Not only was BCMT nearby work, with an evening program, it had a world-renowned reputation. (Sure, it wasn’t the shortest or cheapest by any means, but neither of those criteria held a significant rating in my grading scale.) Did you notice the “someone” and “they” two sentences earlier? I never intended to sign up for anything throughout this investigation… it was simply a homework assignment from my coach.
Of course, the Universe has its own agenda. It, usually, understands what is good for us even if we don’t recognize it ourselves, and responds appropriately! I graduated from BCMT’s Massage Therapy Certificate program in 2004, (with honors, I might add!), and began a part-time practice from my home based on the business plan I had created in a career class assignment. I also continued my education at BCMT, completing the AOS Degree program in June 2005. That same year, I earned additional certifications in Orthopedic and Sports Massage and in Zen Shiatsu. (Am I a classic Type-A personality or what?!?!)
After 17 years with the high-tech company, I was laid-off November 2006, and my next life-chapter began in earnest. My time at BCMT most certainly was worth the time & money, putting my home life on hold, all the stress of maintaining a full-time executive-level job in a downward spiraling company AND, for almost 3 years, showing up at BCMT 4 nights a week (and lots of weekends for electives), doing homework, studying for tests, and working clinic and community service hours. As this blog progresses, I will relate my experiences in making the transition from corporate executive to massage therapist, the challenges I faced, what worked and what didn’t in building my business, and more importantly, how the education I obtained at BCMT differentiated my work from the crowd. Stay tuned, dear reader… the journey has just begun….