Ch-ch-ch-changes!

Whew, August & September have been NUTS for me! In case you don’t follow me on social media (in which case you should!) on August 2nd of this year, I was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. 2 weeks later, I had surgery to insert my mediport and received my first chemotherapy infusion in the same day. I am undergoing treatment #7 of 56 as I write this right now!

In that same time, my oldest has started kindergarten, we moved back in with my mom, I’ve dropped massage gigs & Pilates classes left & right, and shut down my office location. I’m also preparing to travel to LA for my BASI Pilates certification test out, while also preparing for the kids’ new half-sibling to be born to their dad & step-mom the same weekend! Much to do, organize, & process with ever decreasing mental and emotional bandwidth with which to navigate it.

So if you have attempted to call me and not heard back yet, I do apologize! Currently the most reliable way to reach me is via text or email, because it’s highly likely that a. I’m exhausted, b. My kids are going nuts in the background, c. I’m at a doctor’s appointment or teaching a class, or d. All of the above!

I will continue to be available for private and semi-private Pilates lessons on the studio equipment through Club Pilates Stone Oak, and for outcall massage sessions at your home or business location. To reflect these changes, I am in the process of altering my price structure, offering only my core of therapeutic services, and working on make online appointment requests available again.

Please bear with me as I go through this difficult transition. I will be undergoing radical bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction sometime between December and February, at which point I may not be available for any massage services for a month or two or more, depending how things go.

In the meantime, you can follow me on social media for updates, and contribute to my gofundme to help support my family through this difficult season. As always, thank you so much for your support!

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I teach a few classes a week at the YMCA, and the past couple weeks I’ve popped into a yoga class at a branch near my house where I don’t teach any classes, but their child watch hours and group ex schedule are good on my day off. After shuffling into Sunday afternoon yoga a few minutes late, I wind up right up front just feet away from the instructor since the class is so full. Afterward, she asks my name, and I mention that I teach at a different branch. She lights up and says, “OH, so THAT’S where I know you from! You taught at Siclovia a couple months back, right?”

Sigh. Indeed, I had, and that day was some horrific cross between a shit show and a three-ring circus for me, the working single mom with 2 littles along, attempting to do it all and failing miserably. Siclovia, in case you aren’t familiar, is a biannual event hosted by the San Antonio YMCA wherein city blocks are closed off to allow people to bike, skate, walk, run, etc. without fear of cars coming through. Stations are setup along the route with food trucks, sponsor booths, and short sessions led by the Y’s group ex instructors. I had signed up to do 2 sessions, with this particular yoga instructor teaching tai chi in between.

First of all, it was HOT out. I found myself carrying both of my kids’ bikes because they weren’t comfortable or proficient in riding on their own and we were running late (as always.) I was also carrying my purse, a lunch bag, and a diaper bag, while hustling along little legs that would rather wander and explore than hurry. I had asked my boyfriend at the time to join me and help out, and he had overslept and didn’t make it out at all; an undeniable manifestation of a pattern I had been trying to ignore of him not being there for me whenever I needed a partner the very most. The kids were whiny, hot, and unhappy. I hadn’t adequately prepared for the environment in which I would be teaching because mat Pilates is primarily taught on the floor, which was impossible here for various reasons. My kids alternated between running out of sight and crying for me while I attempted to pull  30-minutes of standing exercises out of my @$$. In between my sessions I tried to help them to ride their bikes, which turned into a double tantrum literally in the middle of the street.

Amidst the debris of my crumbling sanity, her tai chi session had seemed so centered and well thought out. She had a soothing way about her and engaged the crowd with joy and ease.

I admitted there in the yoga studio that yes, it had been me at Siclovia, and my cheeks burned recalling how disorganized and unprepared I had felt, what an epic failure of motherhood I had experienced trying to juggle work with a supposedly fun outing for my kids that had been nothing but frustration for all of us from start to finish.

She told me that she had admired me so much that day, and that she had had to improvise since much of the work I started with was similar to what she had planned to teach.

I was astounded that anyone who witnessed probably 75% of my ordeal that day had come away with a sense of admiration. I certainly didn’t feel worthy of admiration, rather I felt ashamed. I had envied how well put together she seemed against how frazzled I had felt. Turns out she felt similarly about my juggling act that day.

Which I guess just goes to show, that even on your worst days, there’s someone watching you in quiet amazement of your strength. She probably has no idea how badly I needed to hear that today.

The summer season can be hard on your body- between the South Texas heat, extra activities with the kiddos, road trips, and visiting family in town, you need a break! And here at Return to Life, we understand that Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was a body in alignment. Any work that’s worth doing takes time and consistency in order to deliver results.

That’s why now through July 31st, 2018, I’m offering 2-pack special pricing on all my full length massages. You know what they say; Proper Prior Planning Prevents Pee Poor Performance. So plan ahead and give yourself the gift of self-care, twice.

• 1 hour sessions, $125 (regular $150)
• 1.5 hour sessions $175 (regular $199)
• 2 hour sessions $225 (regular $250)
• 3 hour sessions $330 (regular $360)

Cannot be combined with other offers or promotions. Package must be purchased by 7/31/2018 but does not expire. Both sessions must be used by the same person, non-transferrable.

Book Now!

 

Did you know that the month of June is dedicated to celebrating LGBTQ+ Pride? Return to Life is proudly owned by a member of the queer community, and so I’d like to wish you a Happy Pride Month!

I would like to take this opportunity to bring your attention to a non-profit organization focusing on the needs of this community, The Trevor Project. They provide suicide prevention and counseling services to at-risk LGBTQ+ youth, which is such a vital service as the rate of suicide can be higher in our community, particularly amongst young people who set to work in finding themselves only to discover that their family and community are not supportive of them.

If you have a moment and a few dollars, please take a moment to support The Trevor Project.

Show Dad how much you appreciate all the ways he took care of you growing up by returning the favor. Father’s Day Specials are here for the whole month of June!

-Get a 2-pack of 1 hour deep tissue massages for $125 (regular price $150)

-Book any 90 minute table massage and get a deluxe upgrade for FREE! Includes hot or cold stone add-on, aromatherapy, and hot foot towels (a $25 value)

Here’s a short youtube video with clips from the class I assistant taught at Lauterstein Conway in February! Enjoy 🙂

I had a funny sense of Deja Vu last weekend, walking into Lauterstein-Conway School of Massage in Austin. Hadn’t it only been a year ago that I was on the other side of the classroom, finding my love of Matwork for the first time in Robert Gardner’s Intro to Thai class? And yet here I was, 50 CE hours later, assistant teaching with Robert, and watching 28 faces light up around the room as they experienced the neat little box that had been built for them in massage school and reinforced in the Swedish based massage culture in the US completely explode around them as they found new, efficient, and effective ways to use their bodies to help others.

It was such an excellent experience being able to help others experience that light bulb moment that had to potential to completely change their practice and their potential as therapists. I’m personally looking forward to continuing to mentor local massage therapists as I partner with Robert to bring his Thai Massage Jam event to the San Antonio area, where therapists interested in Matwork can get together in a casual setting to learn, receive, and play!

Thai Massage Jam Austin Webpage

Well, it was only a little bit of a scramble to get things together (thanks, kids with cooties, for making my week extra chaotic!) but, this day has been a long time in the making and I’m so excited to finally have a space to call my own.

If you happen to know me, then you know that I have this hearing issue where “you can’t do that!” sounds EXACTLY the same to me as “I double dog dare you to do it!” and so, here I go forging my own way ahead.

The last massage practice where I was employed was an amazing place to work, and I appreciated how they were genuinely interested in constant improvement of not only their human assets, but of the massage culture at large in San Antonio. I often said that if I had to work for someone else, it wouldn’t be anyone else but them. And if I ever left there, it would be to work for myself.

And while that experience was invaluable to me, I’ve grown in such a divergent direction this past year that it was about that time. When you outgrow the old box, smash it and build a new box. Something something big fish, and all that.

There’s a whole wide ocean out there for me, and I am so excited to see where this journey takes me next!