Looking (Back) Across the Lake

“There’s not a word yet, for old friends who’ve just met” - Gonzo. The Muppet Movie. 1979

I am sitting on a rock in a secluded cove, waves passing gently over the rocks, my toes in the water, warm rays of sun soaking into my shoulders and back. I am enjoying a long-awaited vacation with my family. My kids are kicking a soccer ball (what else is new) on the beach. Don is doing what he does best - coaching and loving them. For the first time in many months, I feel rested. As I gaze across the lake, grateful for each peaceful breath, I finally have a little time to reflect. Time to look ahead to the upcoming school year - my fifth - as lead instructor at Balance Massage School, and time to look back on the most extraordinary four years of my life.

I began this journey in 2018 when four beautiful and amazing students - I called them “explorers” back then - signed up to learn massage therapy at this fledgling little school in downtown Waterbury. I had so much I wanted to share about this ancient and sacred profession. So much I wanted to teach others about the power of touch, and the way it can change lives. So much I wanted to share about the journey to self-knowledge and self-love, and how massage - both in giving and receiving one - can set that process in motion.  I was nervous that first day, too, and I had so many questions. Would I be a good teacher? Would I be able to convey the deep and powerful emotions that had been growing in my heart since I became a massage therapist back in 2011? Would anyone understand and accept the concept of a ‘safe container’ and how profoundly it can help people discover their deepest callings and truest selves?

I didn’t have the answers to those questions, but it was a journey I could no longer put off. So, borrowing a mantra from a running shoe corporation, I ‘just did it’.

One of the first things we do at the beginning of every school year in that very first class is gather together in a circle. A group of strangers - all with our personal hopes and fears and - buried a little deeper - quiet belief that maybe, just maybe, we have something to offer to the world. In that opening circle, we begin to let down our defenses. We share our life’s journeys. Slowly, we shake off our jitters. By the end of that first meeting, we feel more acquainted, more like friends. We feel welcomed and accepted, unconditionally. We feel safe. And we are ready to begin the most wonderful journey we will ever take.

Within these four walls, we will learn more than just the mechanics and techniques of massage therapy. We will learn how to listen; how to hold space for one another; how to lift one another up; and just as often, how to pick one another up when we fall. By the end of that first class we will already share a deep respect and trust with one another, and we will be ready to dive deeply into the study of massage therapy and all that it has to offer.

As the weeks go by, we will learn that in the safe container of our classroom we can be who we are, even as we discover, or uncover, new things about ourselves. In time, we will even learn how to love who we are. As we go deeper into the curriculum, we will learn how to speak what’s in our hearts, knowing we are not being judged. We will also learn how to listen to what others have to say without judging them. We’ll learn how to open the doors to our hearts and let others inside - even if those doors have been closed for many years. And from that place of safety and love and acceptance, we will learn about the profoundly beautiful profession we are embarking on, and the opportunities for service it will provide us.

In the safe container of our classroom, we will learn what it feels like to be free. And in that sacred space, we are as free as we will ever be.

The last few years have been among the most difficult in the entire history of our country. People have been afraid of getting sick; of gathering together, even with friends; of saying something innocent and being judged, misunderstood, or canceled; of being injured, even in normally safe places; of our political system; and now, of becoming pregnant. And it is in this frightened and wary world that what we bring to the table - no pun intended - is most needed. Hope, restoration, healing, growth, understanding, patience, and recovery. There has never been a greater need for intuitive and well trained massage therapists, and we will be ready, one touch at a time, to change the course of the world.

I often liken massage therapy to what’s commonly known as the ripple effect. Drop a single pebble into a calm body of water, and the tiny waves roll ever outward, affecting and impacting everyone and everything they meet. In my practice, and now in my students’ practices, I have witnessed hundreds of people experience healing, joy, release, and the beginnings of self-love and understanding, simply through the touch of a massage therapist trained in the art(s) of massage, intuition, empathy, and openness. These people in turn go back into the world and, restored, share their healing with others. They smile at a stranger who, also in turn, goes home or back to work in a better frame of mind. Something as small as a smile can change the course of another person’s life. And like the ripple effect, everyone they meet is made more whole.

I am so excited about the upcoming year, and I can’t wait for that first opening circle. It has been an amazing four years, and I have learned something from every student who has come through our door. And as I sit here looking back across the lake - I am filled with a deep sense of gratitude, love, hope, and peace. And I can’t wait to share that with this next cohort of students. If you’re ready to experience a life changing career; if you’re ready to get to know yourself as the stunningly beautiful person you (already) are; if you’ve been putting off following this dream for any one of a thousand reasons, I have a small (if borrowed) piece of advice for you. Just do it.

With Love,

Steph