noun

 

1. the point at which a series of small changes or incidents becomes significant enough to cause a larger, more important change.

It was the day I listened to my inner voice and woke up early and went for a run.  It was a cold January morning in 2004 and it was about 5 am.  I woke up and had the thought “I’m going to run the Seattle Marathon.”

Honestly, I don’t know WHY I woke up and thought about running a marathon, but it definitely set things in motion that ultimately led me to being the owner of Bodymechanics School of Myotherapy & Massage.

Lets backtrack to that decision and see why it was important.

October 24, 1997
My older brother, my hero, Steve died at 36 years old of a stroke.  It was a major shock to our entire family.

June 13, 2000
My mom died of Lung Cancer at 59 years old.  A second shock to the family – we were still recovering from the death of Steve.  We found out on a Saturday that it was cancer, and she died on Monday.

Decision to Run

When I woke up that cold January morning and decided to go for a run, it was an inner cry to change my life and get healthy.  I was always athletic and played sports from a very young age.  But, as years went by, work and raising kids put exercise on the back burner.

Something triggered an emotion in me that said “run.”  So I did.
Half a mile that first day.
A full mile the second day.
And it just kept going – get up and go for a run.  Sometimes, 2 miles and other days up to 5 miles.
I would tell myself “Don’t even think about it, just get up and get dressed.”
I had signed up to run the Seattle Marathon right away to inspire me to train and commit fully to getting healthy.  You see, I wanted to live a long time for my kids, and to meet my grandkids someday.

This decision led to me getting my first sports massage during my training which felt fantastic!  I scheduled a full body massage for the following week and truly experienced an epiphany – I found what I had been looking for my entire life.  Not for a profession, but massage changed my life the minute hands were laid upon my back.  Over the course of several months, my massage therapist would talk to me about becoming a massage therapist and I asked a lot of questions about the profession.

The biggest obstacle I felt was around money.  I needed to bring in as much money as I was making in my IT Director position….

I felt handcuffed by my profession, my pay, expectations that I placed upon myself and the need to perform well at my job.  But inside, I was miserable.  I was on call 24/7 for too many years to count.  I was under so much stress as an IT Director, supporting 150 computers in 10 offices and 2 states and no help was coming to ease the load.  I was suffering from daily headaches and was taking 10-12 ibuprofen every day to deal with them.  

I began to think about my mortality because my brother had died young.  I was afraid I would die at a young age also.
Then the next shoe dropped.

March 24, 2004
My older sister died as a result of a head-on collision.  She was 39 years old.  She left behind 2 kids, who at the time were 15 and 9.

Time flew by in a haze for the next several months as we had to deal with the estate and her kids.  Training was put somewhat on the back burner as family became more important.

Ultimately, I did run the marathon in November 2004.  It took me 5:45 to finish – which I didn’t care about.  I was alive and I had run a marathon.  I remember coming into the stadium and the top female finisher was there and told me to “look up and smile because they were going to take my picture.”  I started bawling.

The tipping moment was the decision to train to run the marathon. I listened to my inner voice and chose to do something for me.
That decision led directly to my getting my first massage, where I experienced the epiphany and fell in love with massage therapy.
Which led me to massage school.
Which led me to teaching massage therapy at the same school I attended.
Which led me to being in the position to buy the school when the decision to close it was made.

Daily Reminder

I have a shadow box hanging in my office that has a photo of me in the race, my bib number and my finishers medal.

Every day when I walk in my office, I am reminded of the importance of listening to my inner voice.  When I made the jump from my IT “job” to living my passion with massage, I felt incredibly proud of what I accomplished.

I still feel that way.

I’ve since ran another marathon and countless half marathons.

Mostly I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished since buying Bodymechanics School of Myotherapy & Massage.  Every day, I get to live my passion – which is changing people’s lives.  Be it through massage therapy, teaching, or building my dream, I change lives.

Listen to your inner voice

If you have a dream, an inner voice telling you to do something – do it!  One of my mantra’s is do those things that make you happy.  As I learned from the deaths in my family, life is precious and you only get one life.  Don’t spend another minute being miserable.

If you have a true desire to help people and love the idea of massage therapy, lets talk.  I love to talk with like-minded people.  My best advice is this:  if you are stuck in a job you hate, one that doesn’t fill your soul and get you excited to jump out of bed in the morning – leave.

Bodymechanics School has a proven track record of success.  Our passionate instructors will guide you to the finish line and help you establish yourself as an exceptional massage therapist.

Set your fear aside

Lets talk and have the conversation about massage therapy.  If it’s financials, I can help.  If it’s earning a living wage, I can explain.  If it’s fear of market saturation, I can ease your concern.
After all, talk is free.

Call and set up a time to talk (360) 350-0015.
Or, enter your information in and get free information about our program –>  http://bodymechanics-school.com

Classes are starting soon

VANCOUVER
10/4/16 Day class – Tuesday through Friday from 1:30 pm – 5:30 pm
1/3/17    Morning class – Tuesday through Friday from 9 am – 1 pm

TUMWATER
10/31/16  Evening class – Monday through Thursday from 6 pm – 10 pm
11/5/16   Weekend class – 2-3 weekends per month 9 am – 6 pm both Sat and Sun (*Takes 12 months to complete)

Thanks for reading my story of the time I listened to my inner voice and changed my life course.
Shari Aldrich, LMP
President
Bodymechanics School of Myotherapy & Massage