Experience

I started doing what we call just normal Jackson stuff.  I started hiking, jogging and mountain biking.  I was really slow at first and couldn’t make it that far but you have to start somewhere and at least I had made those first steps.  I plugged along for about 4 to five years with some ups and downs but had managed to lose a good amount of weight.  I started to fall in love with the mountains and all of the amazing activities that they provided.  Not only was the weight falling off but my self-consciousness was diminishing.

I didn’t know anything about Jackson Hole.  I just knew that I didn’t want to move back to the city just yet and deep down I believe I was ready for a big change.  I knew I had two friends there and that they would help me find a place to live and a job.  So, I packed up the few belongings I had and made the trek.  The people in Jackson were fit, really fit.  I had always felt subconscious about my weight, and it was amplified by the active community here in Jackson.  I became only a little more active in the first few months but then I stepped on a scale. I weighed 300 lb.  Not only had I become extremely self-conscious, but my weight had become very unhealthy.  I decided right then that it was time to make a change.

The entire time I was trying to physically better myself I had been working in a hotel.  My degree was in hospitality business management so I thought that hotel work was where I should be.  I had just paid thousands of dollars for this degree and I had better use it.  Looking back I know that I hated being in the back of the hotel.  The fluorescent lights were smothering me.  I probably knew this at the time but kept plugging away.  Something had to change.

My mom was a massage therapist and I remember when she was in school she would come home and practice on us. I remember how awesome it was and how much it helped make me feel better from the amount of damage sustained playing football. I don’t think that it was ever at the forefront of my mind, but looking back I think that I wanted to go into a field where I could help people like my mom.  Make them feel better, whether it helps with an injury, stress, or overworked muscles.  While working in the hotel not only was I not helping anyone except the shareholders of the hotel, I was making myself go crazy.  One day I decided that I have to quit, go to massage school and come back to Jackson.

I loved everything about massage school.  I feel very fortunate to have been able to go to as good of a massage school as I did.  The teachers were amazing and very knowledgeable.  After the one year program, I was hooked.  I graduated and immediately moved back to Jackson.  I got a job in a spa and continued to learn from some of the great therapists that worked there.  I wanted to continue to learn so I went to Thailand to learn Thai massage.  I also took specialized classes to better myself in the field.

The whole time I was learning massage I was bettering myself by exercising and learning to eat healthily.  I practiced yoga religiously which became one of my other passions.  I have recently completed my 300-hour yoga teacher training and am currently practicing to start teaching. 

Because of all the hard work and practice, I am the happiest I have ever been.  I feel a great sense of satisfaction and am constantly learning new techniques.  I am easily the healthiest I have ever been as well.  I firmly believe that we must constantly work on ourselves if we want to achieve our ideal selves.  I am happy with where I am at but will not stop putting in the effort to better myself.

My partner and I recently decided that we wanted to be closer to our families in Washington and moved to Bellingham. I am happy to bring what I have learned from working on so many mountain bikers and ski/snowboarders in Jackson to Bellingham.