For Bodymechanics School graduate Jose “Joe” Lozano, LMP, working hard is nothing new.  You see, Joe has been active duty military for 20 years now.  He attended Bodymechanics School evening, graduating just over a year ago.  He attended night school at the end of a long day serving our country.  (Read how Bodymechanics accepts GI Bill payments for massage school in Tumwater.)

Joe is often asked how he maintains his schedule.  Monday through Friday, Joe is awake at 4:00 am to get to his job on post managing the dining facility by 5:00 am.  He works a full shift on base, goes home to spend an hour with his wife and then heads to his second job at Hand & Stone Spa in Lacey where he works until 10:00 pm.  How does he do it?  In his words “training, perseverance, dedication and sacrifice.”  Joe performs 20-25 massages a week at Hand and Stone (full time  for massage therapy is considered between 10-15 massages a week.)  Joe just celebrated his 1-year anniversary at Hand and Stone.  Don’t worry – Joe does take weekends off to recharge!

Joe believes his military service has prepared him for this life – training him to get up and GO at a moments notice.  He believes in and lives by the soldiers creed to always stand ready, to deploy at a moments notice.

The Soldier’s Creed

I am an American Soldier.
I am a Warrior and a member of a team. I serve the people of the United States and live the Army Values.

I will always place the mission first.
I will never accept defeat.
I will never quit.
I will never leave a fallen comrade.

I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills. I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.
I am an expert and I am a professional.
I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the United States of America in close combat.
I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.
I am an American Soldier.

Joe uses this mentality to help him get through his long days – I will never accept defeat.  I will never quit.  I am a warrior.  He knows what to expect between 5 am and 10:30 pm.

Lift the fallen, Heal the hurting and Fix the broken

Joe uses skills learned at Bodymechanics School of Myotherapy & Massage in Tumwater to help him in his work with clients and to educate them about their body.  His focus is to “not judge” peoples aches and pains, but rather to focus on helping them get out of pain.  He sees many military personnel on his table and is easily able to identify with their injuries because he personally knows the work.

Joe tells me the story of a gentleman who came to him for treatment of low back pain.  This guy had received massage therapy every week for 5 years to help with his low back pain.  In talking with him, Joe recognized that the client had never had treatment on his psoas muscle – ever, by any other therapist.  Knowing that this muscle is often the biggest cause of low back pain, Joe set in motion the treatment plan to help alleviate the clients pain.  After the session, the guy reported no residual pain, and it was relieved for an extended period of time.

Joe puts people at ease immediately.  His sense of humor and easy personality has garnered him a following of fans on his massage table.  In the scenario above, Joe spent time educating the client on his pain and the muscles involved.  the client was “all in” for the treatment based on Joe’s description.  I could easily tell how gratifying this was for Joe – his smile was big as he described the treatment and the clients results.

For the past year, Joe has volunteered each month at JBLM, providing free sports massage at different events.  He has an affinity to helping soldiers get pain relief.  His long term goal is to work with the Wounded Warrior program in Texas when he moves home next year.  Joe will be missed by many in this area when he moves home.

Massage Career versus a Job

Joe loves massage therapy.  It’s really quite evident in talking with him.  Massage therapy is the career he has chosen as his profession when he is discharged from the military. When questioned, Joe believes that it’s because he doesn’t have to deal with a lot of people at a time.  He loves focusing on one person at a time to help them – to be their entire world for that hour.

His goal with clients is to be the best hour in their day!

When Joe moves home to Texas, his plan is to open a small practice and continue helping clients and the military to the best of his ability.  He toys with the idea of teaching at a school someday.  Mostly, he has a strong desire to help people feel better and be happy himself in his new career.  Joe compares his massage career as a passion – where a job is something you dread doing.

For others considering a massage therapy career – especially those in the military – Joe advises them to live by a creed.  “You have to WANT to do it.”  Show up, live with strong work ethics.  Place the mission first and accept no defeat, and apply the soldiers creed to your massage career.  Those who have a strong desire to help people get relief, massage therapy will be an excellent career choice.

For now, Joe is still at Hand and Stone Spa in Lacey providing evening massage therapy sessions Monday through Friday.  If you want to experience an exceptional massage, give him a call to get scheduled.

Bodymechanics School of Myotherapy & Massage does accept the GI Bill and MyCAA options for those with the benefits in our Tumwater location.  We will be able to accept these payments in Vancouver in 2018.

If you identify with Joe’s story and are interested in talking with me about our program, lets talk.  I can be reached by calling (360) 350-0015.
Now enrolling for evening and weekend classes in Tumwater.
Now enrolling for day and morning classes in Vancouver.