On Tuesday this week, I'm being interviewed on a wellness talk show, MindBodyRadio.
Here's the information I'm providing them.
YOUR BACKGROUND
I became a licensed massage therapist with the State of Ohio Medial Board in January of 1999. Starting my career in a busy day spa, I experienced typical massage therapy tendonitis issues within a few years.
In 2002, I learned barefoot massage and have been specializing in it ever since, teaching since 2004.
2017 began a new evolution of the way I teach barefoot massage when I co-founded the Center for Barefoot Massage. We have instructors throughout the US and also have a Pro Membership for our graduates. In 2019 I began an online company, Massage Momentum, where I provide valuable information to all massage therapists to help their careers soar.
I continue to provide barefoot massage in my busy Cincinnati studio.
YOUR PROFESSION
In my massage studio, I provide effective, comfortable myofascially based barefoot massage.
When I teach, I help massage therapists discover more effective yet easier ways to provide deep tissue massage so they can have a long-lasting, pain-free massage career.
Our continuing education company, the Center for Barefoot Massage, guides our instructors to teach their students how to use their feet like they do their hands, which saves careers and provides valuable support in their communities.
WHY ARE YOU PASSIONATE ABOUT THIS LINE OF WORK?
The human touch is a valuable asset-I don't think there's any replacement for it. While tools may assist in providing more effective massage, the human touch is essential.
The trouble with massage therapy is that many (if not most) massage therapists work to their detriment, hurting their bodies while they try to fix their clients. This creates injury and burnout quickly in a career that they love.
By providing barefoot massage to my own clients, I've been able to sustain a busy practice for 21 years without injury. Teaching therapists-not only can it save them physically, but they often make more money as they can do more massage without hurting. In fact, their last massage of the day may even be better than their 1st one. It also creates a ripple effect-they feel better, so they're happier, they are able to enjoy their lives with their families, and their clients feel better. When their clients feel better, it positively impacts THEIR lives and relationships.
When I was in massage school over 2 decades ago, any business information we received is completely irrelevant now. I've found that many massage schools don't provide much assistance with marketing or running a business.
It's my goal with Massage Momentum to help fill those gaps with business and marketing knowledge.
ANYTHING ELSE?
I had 2 small children when I started massage school in 1997 and had 6 more after I became a massage therapist. Barefoot massage saved my career when I was pregnant with twins-I couldn't bend over to do hands-on work. We have 8 children, 5 of whom still live at home.
My brilliant husband, Paul, runs the back end of our businesses, and we also have a rescue German Shepherd, rescue Persian cat and an adopted turtle.
SOMEONE YOU ADMIRE (AUTHOR, ACTIVIST, PROFESSIONAL, OR PUBLIC SPEAKER):
There are a ton of business people I admire, but one that sticks out right now for me is Shelli Varela. She was the 1st female firefighter in her city, has been a featured Ted Talk speaker and hosts a fantastic podcast, It's a Tribe Thing (on which I was featured, episode 48). She's an exquisite listener and synthesizer of valuable information.
BIO FOR OUR WEBSITE
Mary-Claire Fredette has been a massage therapist since 1999 and specializes in effective, comfortable, deep tissue barefoot massage at her Cincinnati practice, Affinity Massage Studio (www.affinitymassages.com)
She co-owns the Center for Barefoot Massage(www.barefootmassagecenter.com), runs an online membership for our barefoot massage therapists and has recently been a new focus on creating business courses for all massage therapists at MassageMomentum.com.
