Here’s hoping I get leid

I’m always eager to learn new skills, and after over 20 years as a massage therapist, I’ve found myself in some pretty interesting continuing education workshops! This week, I’m diving into lomi lomi—a traditional Hawaiian style and approach to bodywork. I know little about this approach and am excited to learn the details.

I originally studied massage at the old-school Swedish Institute, before its corporate takeover. Back then, I was transported into a world of deep knowledge that I’m still learning from even now, 20 years later. I have a Type A personality when it comes to learning, and I was lucky enough to study with about 15 other Type A’s, all led by a mighty Type A instructor.

When I first found myself in massage school, I had absolutely no interest in actually doing or receiving massage—I just wanted to learn anatomy (or so I thought). At the time, I was transitioning out of my ‘stay out late and party’ phase into something totally unknown. I had a bit of money from an art project, I’d just been fired from my job, and a drinking buddy of mine was doing ‘sexytime’ massage on Craigslist. I thought, hmm, I can touch people. Yet when I posted my first Craigslist ad and a man showed up at my door for a “massage,” my brain was like, “Wait, what? I know nothing about this powerful energy!”

Fast forward 20 years, and here I am—still studying, still eager to learn more and more. So, with that, I’m off to Hawaii! Well, not really—Parsippany, NJ. Here’s hoping I get leid (see what I did there?) and come back with some new skills to share with all of you!