Massage Ever After

Tonight officially kicks off my education at Utah College of Massage Therapy (UCMT).  I’m excited to begin- to get my hands dirty, so to say.  I’ve thought a long time about what I want to do with my professional life growing up.  My problem was never knowing what interested me, but deciding and following through on one of the many career paths I admire.  I believe massage therapy will be a beautiful fit for my soul. 

I’ve been piecing some memories together that seem to fit into my education choice. I thought I’d list some of those today, so I remember some growing seeds that helped me get here.

Growing up, Lera was the good one, London was the creative one, and my Mom called me the nothing child.  It wasn’t meant in a cruel way, she said it as, “Sariah isn’t bad, Sariah isn’t good.  Sariah doesn’t care about excelling in school like Lera, Sariah doesn’t care about being social like London.   She’s the nothing child”, a.k.a. undescriptive.  I never understood my Mom’s thought process in this summary of her children.  All three of us were so much more than 1 descriptive word.  I misunderstood the description given to me from my Mother as something I was doing wrong, or as an emotional indifference from my Mom because of my own insecurities.  As I grew older and learned healthier communication I told my mom that this statement hurt me.  She apologized sincerely, and I felt better knowing I misunderstood her meaning.  She reminded me that she also called me the compassionate one.  I love that.  I’m so grateful that I could have a relationship with my Mom that was a compassionate one.  She served me, I served her, and I grew into an adult knowing I was loved.

Sleepovers, movie marathons, and roommates have been a solid building ground for honing my skill in massage.  I think I gave my first massage to a friend when I was in 5^th grade.  My mom would give me massages after a grueling half hour of brushing my knotted hair.  Her hands became the example for me as I started “tradesies” with a friend.  (Tradesies: a “Rie-ism” for two or more people that switch giving massages to each other.) 

A close friend of mine is a massage therapist and I appreciate her healing hands.  I appreciate that I am able to relate with her, to reach out to her when I need empathy or even someone that I can be with; I can relax with no expectations on me except for me to just be.  I day dream about resting on her massage table when I’m feeling overwhelmed.

My family is not a touchy family.  We don’t hug when we see each other or when we leave.  We don’t snuggle on the couch or pull our chairs together.  We don’t tickle.  In fact, when I see other families do this it makes me uncomfortable.  However, in my family, I massage.  I rub the feet of my pregnant sister as she is in the delivery room of the hospital.  I give scalp massages to a head ache ridden mind.   I rub exhausted shoulders, and loyally find the knots that are causing pain.  I hug my sisters by embracing them with care.  This is one of my favorite things about our relationship.  We are not touchy, but we are healing.

I’m excited to share compassion with others in the healing arts of massage therapy.  Everyone needs touch.  Everyone needs a peaceful place of trust and relaxation.  I hope to provide that.  I want to be able to build a business that is full of compassion, full of well-being.  I want to be able to help others feel comfortable in their own skin.  To let others know that they can just be, and that someone will take care of them in a healing, caring way.

I hope to keep my blog updated through my journey.  I will be at school Monday –Thursday nights and for 5.5 hours on Saturdays working in the massage lab.  If everything goes smoothly I will graduate March 7, 2015.