Local Birth Doula Rebirths Her Business! Grand Opening of Balanced Life Massage Therapy, in Westminster, MA, on January 2, 2014.

The Rebirth of a Business.

 

Maternal Instinct Doula Service

Becomes

Balanced Life Massage Therapy

 

By Charity Parrott, LMT

 

This is an exciting time in my life. This past year, I went to school to study therapeutic massage. The Massage School in Acton, Massachusetts, taught me well. I developed skill, understanding and patience during this time.

 

Instead of the state requirement of 100 hours of hands-on massage training, our school required 200 hours, for which I am grateful. This extra supervised time allowed for me to understand with greater depth, the workings of the muscles, the way they interface with the bones; how every task we complete, even how we show up in this world, affects the way we feel in our bodies. I am blessed with the gift of massage to help support others.

 

Before I was a Licensed Massage Therapist, I worked as a Certified Labor Doula. I opened Maternal Instinct Doula Service in 2006. My work included supporting families through pregnancy and childbirth, educating parents about the process of gestation, childbirth and supporting them during the postpartum period. Maternal Instinct Doula Service was renamed  Balanced Life Massage Therapy in November, 2013.

 

During my time as a doula, I attended over 100 births at  hospitals in the Boston and Worcester area, births at birth clinics and even a few homebirths as a student midwife. Included in these births were VBAC's (vaginal birth after cesarean), multiples, surgical births and my favorite, sibling births! They taught me so much about birth, strength and the power of determination.

 

My focus was also on my education. I took many continuing education programs and became a Certified Childbirth Educator and  Hypnobirthing Childbirth Educator. In 2009, I enrolled in the Basic Midwifery Program, through the Massachusetts Midwives Alliance. After finishing the educational portion of the program, I continued my focus on being a doula. I may, someday, complete the apprenticeship portion of the training, becoming a homebirth midwife, but for now, my priority is raising my daughters. My calling is helping them become successful adults.

 

In 2011, I received energy healing, known as Reiki, from a friend. I fell in love with this modality. Receiving education and my 3 attunements at Solstice Healing Arts Center in Medway, Massachusetts, I became a Reiki Master, bringing healing touch to my work.

 

It was becoming a struggle to be on call, as my children grew older. When they were younger, they were easy to juggle but as they grew older, their many sports and activities quickly became the main focus of my time. My lifestyle of being on-call was clearly limiting their freedom to socialize, to become involve in extracurricular activities. My mind was never far from my clients.  It was becoming difficult for me to feel grounded anywhere I was. My mind was always planning my exit and logistics of how I could effectively serve everyone's needs.

 

I was also juggling the marketing of a business that is strictly niche, and the members of this niche group were always changing! This was a part that I enjoyed. Attending many networking groups, such as Women's Business Network of Harvard, MA, The Chamber of Commerce and Fitchburg Business Networking Group, helped me meet large amount of other small business owners. These business owners taught me so much about how to market my own business.

I felt the desire to offer a service everyone could benefit from. A service I could schedule around my children's lives. A service I could depend on for greater stability of my finances. I wasn't sure what it would be, but I knew change was coming.

 

A friend, Jessica Weagle, LMT,  who owns Deep Relief Massage Therapy in West Boylston Massachusetts, joined us for dinner one evening in the summer of 2012. She mentioned how massage therapy has been really as a business and suggested I learn massage therapy.  I looked to my husband, who was clearly supportive of the idea and made a decision to improve my life through further education. It was a warm summer evening, sitting out on the back deck, sipping a glass of wine. I will never forget that night.

 

I asked Jessica what school she would recommend. She suggested I look into The Massage School, pointing out the amazing scholarship program that they have. This program allowed me to complete massage school with no debt.

 

 I sent my application in that week and was interviewed by the school 2 weeks later. On September 10, 2012, I walked into a classroom and met a wonderful bunch of people, my new tribe for the next year! They all taught me so much and were an important part of my development as a therapist.

 

Together, we studied hands-on techniques, massage theory, A&P, Kinesiology, Pathology and gained practical experience. I completed school on November 3, 2013 and was licensed by the middle of December, 2013.

 

This is where it gets really fun! The difference with massage therapy as opposed to doula work, is I needed to create a space for my massage work. Doula work is all done on location and included a huge amount of driving. My mileage  for the last 3 years is over 100,000 miles.

 

I was thrilled with the idea of creating a special space for my massage practice. The search began for the perfect launch space. It needed to be private enough for clients to feel comfortable but in a professional setting. My search ended when I decided to lease a small office, only a couple miles away from my home. I really can't wait to see my mileage for next year!

 

My office is a plain space that I will create a warm escape inside of. The space is a 14 feet long by 10;.5 feet wide. The lease is now signed, the keys are in my hand and the decorating is planned and ready to begin! This is the fun part. The walls will be painted an amazing shade of green, the new rug is beautiful. Many plants from my home will be moving to the space, so the window is an added bonus!

 

This project just happened to fall at the end of the year, when my husband is home from work. This is great, because painting space is his department. He has such a patient attention to detail. He will paint the room next week, then I will move all my stuff in. Once set up, we will open for business on January 2, 2014!

 

Our services include Massage Therapy, Prenatal Massage, Reiki, Hypnobirthing Classes, Belly Casting Services and Placenta Encapsulation Services.

 

I no longer plan to attend births as a doula, but would be very happy to recommend some of the dedicated doulas I respect. Please feel free to contact me for a referral for any of your prenatal needs, from childbirth educators to midwives, even lactation consultants located close to you.

 

Balanced Life Massage Therapy is located at 2 Narrows Road, Entrance C, Suite 3, Westminster, MA, 01473, inside the Sonoma Square Professional Building. We have plenty of parking. 

 

You may schedule an appointment online or you may call 978.855.0057 for more information. You may also use the contact page to have your questions answered. I am happy to schedule appointments anyway that best serves you so please choose the method you prefer. Text messages are not encouraged due to the potential for miscommunication.

 

I look forward to serving you and hope you schedule an appointment with Balanced Life Massage Therapy today!