In May 2011 I gave a talk to the students of the London College of Beauty Therapy to share my experience as a massage therapist.
I got the distinct impression that most students were interested in knowing my motivations to re-train as a therapist after leaving a good and stable office job. I mentioned to them that I went to Peru to do the Inca Trail in Machu Picchu and that’s when it dawned on me that we all have a mission in life and, after being in contact with a different culture, I realised that complementary medicine can really transform people’s lives. That is why I wanted to change career and really focus my attention on complementary therapies, and I feel my job to share the benefits of alternative medicine never ends, especially now that new advertising guidelines are in place and they are making it more difficult for complementary therapists like me to explain how we can help people in their stressful lives.
In Peru people tend to respect traditions and the elders and they have “curanderos” or natural healers who use herbal medicine and massage to give some relief to common ailments like colds, digestive problems etc. In Peru nature is sacred and must be preserved for future generations: in light of this, preserving one’s health while taking care of the environment are felt very strongly culturally and have become important political drivers influencing many aspects of people’s lives from children at school to adults in their jobs.
In my talk I also touched upon my experience as an award-winning massage therapist and explained to the students how to become established as a therapist after getting a qualification. It is tough to start a new business activity and using some simple marketing techniques without spending any money a therapist can promote treatments and services very effectively using social networking.
Massage and improving the quality of people’s lives are my passions: have you found what your life’s mission is yet?