My name is Antonia. I’m a licensed massage therapist. I hopefully help people relax, get through their days, get through their weeks, and just massage.
I’ve been doing it for 20 years. It’s been wonderful, working for PCRK Group.
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Growing up, I wanted to be an accountant. That was my goal. That’s what I was planning to go to college for. I started going to college and changed paths. Literally, went the opposite way, and now I’m a massage therapist.
Why did you choose to go into massage therapy?
My son was the reason why I got into massage therapy. He was diagnosed with respiratory airway disease. At that time, he was too little to be diagnosed with asthma. And one of my friends, I was talking to them about what we were going through, and he was being put on a lot of medications, and they suggested massage. At that time, he was little. He was under two and getting a two-year-old a massage, for half an hour – he probably sat for 10 minutes. So I was like, you know what, I’m going to go to school. We’ll do this at home. And that’s how I started looking for schools and then eventually finding one and then becoming a licensed massage therapist.
What is your favorite thing about massage therapy?
The people. All the people. My coworkers, the front desk staff, the management, my clients, all of my clients. I think I learn something every day from every single one of them, and they’re amazing people. And I’m grateful to be around them all the time.
Why do you think massage therapy is important to people?
People want to get massages because, well, one, they do want to relax. But they want to get massages because they want contact with other people. They want to escape, you know, everything that’s going on, just to get away for an hour, hour and a half, you know, reset their system and think about something else. Or whether they want quiet or they want to chat about something else or, want to listen to their own music and, you know, something that’s not every day for them.
How have you helped clients feel better and improve their health?
My favorite clients that I help make feel better, not necessarily to make them feel better, but to get them ready, are my clients that are getting ready to do something. Like my marathon runners and they have trips coming up where they’re hiking. I had one client getting ready to do the John Muir Trail, and that’s a hard trail to get onto, so because you have to win a lottery.
That’s how much I love hiking because I know that. So, to get them prepared to do that, make sure their muscles are relaxed because it’s a lot of physical exertion that they’re doing and they want to make sure their bodies are performing at their peak endurance to get through these situations. Especially when you have someone that’s getting ready to run their first marathon and they’re like, ‘I’m doing this.’ And I’m like, alright, well let’s get you set, you know, let’s help you out. Let’s, work the muscles, stretch the muscles, and give you some stretches to do while you’re getting prepared for that. And to listen to them when they come back for recovery and tell me about everything that had happened, good or bad, or lessons learned that they learned from their situation. So those are the fun ones. I like those ones.
What are your hobbies and interests outside of massage?
Okay, so everyone is laughing at me now. They love it – not a bad laugh, but I’m on my sourdough era. I am making quite a bit of sourdough, but we love it. And I’m giving my sourdough away to my friends.
On top of that, I love to go hiking. I love road trips. I love actually exploring Arizona, going to different towns and different cities and, you know, seeing what they have. We also travel out of state and go visit different places. So not just one state, all of the states.
What advice do you have for a new massage therapist?
Breathe. I think I’ve told even the new therapist that we’ve hired, just breathe. You got this. You have all the information you’ve learned in school. You don’t have to share everything you have. Just let them know that you’re there for them, and just breathe right through the massage, and you got this.
What are you most proud of in your career?
That I made it 20 years. So that is definitely the most proud.
How are you celebrating your 20th anniversary?
We had a party at work. It was so much fun walking into the break room and having Chick-fil-A there, because I love their lemonade. So it was awesome to have everyone there saying, ‘Oh, you’re here, alright, let’s eat. Let’s celebrate!’
And the clients I had that morning absolutely loved it, that that was the day. I went out to dinner with my family that night, and it was great. Because it’s, I mean, 20 years, you know, it’s crazy. They only tell you a therapist only lasts 3 to 5 years and I am so glad I made it 20 years.
What makes you stay with PCRK Group / Massage Envy?
I’ve always been with Massage Envy. This has always been what’s worked. An “Aha” moment that makes Massage Envy work for me was the fact that well, my son played soccer. He traveled all over the country playing soccer, playing competitive soccer. And the fact that I could actually go with him, adjust my schedule around his schedule, add hours, and readjust my schedule to make sure it worked for him. And we traveled the country, and I can say I’ve been to almost every tournament, so, majority of his tournaments, I’ve got to watch him play.
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