Mellow Ltd., Mellow Massage Therapy Center

What do you want to be when you grow up?

As long as I can work with people, in a physically active, nurturing, communal environment of mutual respect and equality, I think I will be happy. (That's not too much to ask, is it?)

My other interests outside of MT include running, rescuing dogs, high-rigging, carpentry, and electrics for theatre and stagecraft, bicycling, keeping the Wissahickon Park clean, and community building through active initiatives.

Who is your hero?

I don't have a hero, and honestly I don't really believe in or support that concept. We need to work to come together as a people, and I think qualifiers like this only serve to further separate us.

I think if you look, you will find heroism in each person you see. I believe this is what we must do to empower each other.

Heroism means fortitude when it's most difficult to maintain -when there will be no recognition or reward; it means love for those who won't return it and don't appreciate it; it is doing the right thing because it is the right thing, not because people are watching; heroes fail and try again. I am a hero, and you are too.

If I have to pick someone well-known who embodies this spirit, I would pick, among others, Frida Kahlo. She stayed true to herself and did not compromise her beliefs for money or fame. She suffered for her love and her art, but never hardened her heart or laid down her brush. She lived hard, suffered much pain, but had an equal if not greater amount of joy, and she knew better than to consider herself great or apart from any other soul suffering on the earth; in fact she humbly (but with a loud voice) used her gifts to make the unheard people around her heard in their struggles for equality and fairness in the workplace.

That is what it is to be human though... There are no heroes. Hopefully we can all find what it takes to be human.

What is your favorite quote?

Lately, with all that's happened in my life I continually return to two:

"I know God will not give me anything I cannot handle. I just wish He didn't trust me so much."

-Mother Teresa

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? We were born to make manifest the glory that is within us. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same."

-Marianne Williamson

Coffee or Tea?

Coffee. MosDef. Black, please. Organic, Fair Trade and Shade-Grown.

Why did you become a massage therapist?

I became a therapist in pursuit of a healthier lifestyle for myself, in search of greater physical and spiritual wellbeing. I'd like my impact on the world to be gentle and positive; the ripples moving outward from me to spread from a place of hope and healing.

I have faced many sports and active-lifestyle related injuries and personal physical challenges. Not ready to give up an active life, I decided to learn as much as I could about healing, to take control of the process. By learning I keep an open mind and always look to change as potentially positive growth, I continue to empower myself on this journey. Bringing this attitude to my practice, I hope to thereby empower others as I lend them support and my expertise on their path to healing and health.

Narrowly in second place is my need to help others. I believe that having taken control and responsibility for my own health and life puts me in a good place to encourage others to move forward along the same path. Nothing is more sustaining than growth - it keeps us flexible and open-minded, engaged and honest, and very importantly, humble. All in this world together, we are each more likely to succeed if we help each other along, giving and receiving support along the way.

My reasons aside, I made the right choice. I love what I do. Even on a bad day, when I begin a bodywork session tired or unfocused, I finish energized and calm, centered and at peace, knowing both my client and myself are in a better place. We will go out into the world with positive energy, and only good can come of that.