Journey Towards Changing My Life.

“I know that I am a better person because of my work in this field and I will always appreciate the good training I had at FSM.”

It was 1984 and I was in another stressful nursing job. The previous summer I had taken a Shiatsu class held at the school, the only class member who was not a FSM student.  I loved the energy that emanated from this group of people.  The idea of going through a massage program had been on my mind for almost ten years.  One morning after working all night at NFETC, I  drove over to the massage school and asked when the next class was starting. When I learned it was in two weeks, I turned in my notice the following night and the journey toward changing my life began.

It was 1984 and I was in another stressful nursing job. The previous summer I had taken a Shiatsu class held at the school, the only class member who was not a FSM student.  I loved the energy that emanated from this group of people.  The idea of going through a massage program had been on my mind for almost ten years.  One morning after working all night at NFETC, I  drove over to the massage school and asked when the next class was starting. When I learned it was in two weeks, I turned in my notice the following night and the journey toward changing my life began.

There were twenty-five of us in an accelerated summer program.  As happens, we bonded quickly, the  4 1/2 months flew by, and after a lovely graduation ceremony we were all off in different directions.  I began nursing part time, doing massage from home, then joined “Center for Therapeutic Massage” in Gainesville with Mimi, Jeff, Iris and Val.  My Florida experiences were all special, opportunities to grow and to continue nurturing the idea I might one day be able to walk away from nursing and do massage full time.  It took another ten years for that to happen, but after returning to the beautiful mountains of Virginia, for 2 1/2 years I nursed full time as I began building a massage practice part time.  Finally, I walked away from paid vacations and health insurance and made it happen.  With hard work, a lot of novice marketing, along with continuing trust in the universe, in less than two years I had a substantial clientele. Now in my early seventies, I have closed the office I kept for twenty years and still continue with a small practice out of my home.  I have loved my work and the gift it has been in my life, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

I have met some wonderful people, many graciously appreciative of my work.  Because I lived in a town for twelve years where the Appalachian Trail passes through, I worked with many folks attempting to walk the entire trail from Georgia to Maine.  It has been a wonderful feeling to receive a post card from a hiker thanking me for my contribution in his or her achievement in reaching Mt. Katahdin.  I have enjoyed other parts of my practice, such as doing massage for cancer patients and harried school teachers, hospital staff and secretaries.
 
Thirty years ago, after my FSM graduation, my classmate, May Leone, invited me to do massage at the Clearwater Music Revival along the Hudson River in New York which presented me with one of the treasured experiences of my life–meeting my hero, Pete Seeger. 
 
I know that I am a better person because of my work in this field and I will always appreciate the good training I had at FSM.  I continue to brag about the teaching approach at the school which was described to me in this way by Lee Joseph…”Massage is a vehicle to help people improve the quality of their lives.”   And, the always generous Benny Vaughn once said to me, “Never underestimate the value of your basic massage training.”
Bunny Medeiros  (Photos:  Me & Pete; me, thirty years later standing in front of a friend’s painting.)

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