Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.' –
Confucius
I am privileged to be a therapist, to be allowed to touch my clients skin through massage or
reflexology and to learn about my clients’ health and lifestyle in minute detail through the
detailed consultation questions I ask them. I love being able to help people feel better
about themselves be it physically, mentally or both, and there is no better feeling than
seeing a patient leave my clinic with a spring in their step and a smile on their face.
I believe that developing and nurturing that therapeutic relationship between myself and
my client is essential, and this is why I always take time to talk to my clients before and after
each treatment to make sure I understand their therapeutic needs on the day, whether they
feel the treatments are benefitting them and also if the treatment itself was relaxing and
comforting. This gives my patients an opportunity to ask me questions as well as give me
some feedback, and some of the comments I receive are so interesting and funny.
In addition to the ancient cultures of Egypt, China and India, the importance of
massaging the hands and feet to ensure good health was also passed down through
the oral traditions of the Native American and African Tribes.
Last week one of my clients said to me “I arrived here feeling like an old woman and now I
leave feeling like a new one”. Another comment was “Reflexology is a bit like having a deep
tissue massage…….without the deep tissue massage bit! My body feels so soft and flexible
afterwards”, and similarly another lady said she felt like a “marshmallow”. “I was really
sceptical about this reflexology business, but I have to say it really has worked for me” is
another one of my favourites.
I love learning and I feel that being a therapist is akin to learning to drive a car. It’s not until
you pass your test and begin driving that you really learn how to handle a car, and similarly
being a therapist, the more you practice the more you learn and the more accomplished I
feel. With reflexology, I am able to compare week by week or month by month the changes
in my clients' bodies through their feet and it is such an exciting feeling when I can see the
improvements in their health through the way their feet look and feel. Similarly, with
massage, I can see the improvements in my client's posture, mobility and range of
movement, and this brings me a feeling of pure satisfaction, an endorsement that the
treatment plans I individually design for each client are benefitting them, which to me is
extremely important.
I have always enjoyed meeting people and being a therapist is a job made in heaven. I meet
new people on a weekly basis, many of whom return for repeated treatments, and it
doesn’t take long before I feel that my client and I are friends, they feel safe in my company
and comfortable to open up to me and reveal their deepest and most personal feelings.
One of my clients commented that she felt my treatment room was her “safe haven in a
large city”, how lovely was that! Establishing a business has also introduced me to an
entirely new group of like-minded professionals through networking and other business
groups. Being a part of a networking group gives me security and it’s reassuring to learn
that other people are also facing similar business challenges to myself, and also gives us an
opportunity to share good practices on what has worked or not worked with each other.
This afternoon I had a lovely surprise. A WhatsApp message from one of my fertility clients
and a photo of her newborn baby attached, there are no words to express how I feel when I receive photos like this from parents I have supported on their fertility journey, I feel honoured and
humbled to have been allowed to share the ups and downs of their treatment and
overjoyed when I hear that they have conceived.
I love my treatment room, it is where I feel most at ease, and it is my happy place. The
ambience of my treatment room is extremely important, after meeting me at the door this
is the first impression my clients get. My room is cleaned between each client, the blankets
on the treatment couch changed and fresh couch roll applied. I always ensure that I have a
nice blend of carefully selected essential oils in the diffuser not only to make the room smell
nice, but to enhance the therapeutic benefit of my treatments. The room is clear and
minimalistic; clutter not only impacts our physical space but can also have negative mental
health effects, increasing stress levels and affecting concentration. Similarly, polluted
indoor air can be a major cause of headaches and nausea and negatively impact on
concentration, therefore I have a selection of air-purifying plants as a natural way of
removing toxic pollutants. I love winter days in the treatment room when I light my coal
effect fire and a few soya candles, and the room is transformed into a cosy little haven.
And finally, what if you were to ask me “What is the single thing you enjoy most about your
job?” The answer is simple – “The People I meet”.