Before you begin: Grab yourself some popcorn
Growing up as the oldest of seven children had plenty of challenges but also many advantages. For me, it was an experience that organically engraved a sense of nurturing and empathy into my soul. Helping to care for each of my siblings from birth until forever taught me a lot about human nature and the importance of being a positive role model. I'm eternally grateful for those years that inspired me to want to influence the world in a positive way.
As I grew and matured, I constantly sought out every opportunity to be a "helper". I discovered that this was my role. I was not satisfied if I was not feeling fulfilled. I was not feeling fulfilled unless I felt that I was positively impacting someone else's life. So, this is where I begin my journey.
As soon as I was legally allowed to have a job, I began working in a nursing home. Even though I was only the laundry attendant, I took every opportunity to spend time with the elderly residents. I got to witness the joy that something as simple as my time brought to them. This was such a rewarding and validating experience for me. But, I was too young to become a nurse and doing laundry just wasn't gratifying for a high school kid (who knew?). Fast forward three years and I find myself at, what I thought was, my dream job. The local veterinarian's office. Awe-Some! Sure, it involved cleaning the kennels of overnight messes and various bodily excretions out on the waiting room floor but I was helping. And I continued to cherish my time helping the animals and their human families. With experience, I was offered the opportunity to become a vet tech's assistant. Of course, I snatched that up without hesitation! I did all the fun "helper" stuff with the techs and thought "This is what I'm going to do for my whole entire life until I'm too old to work". That day came sooner than I had anticipated. What I didn't know was that my heart was not prepared to enter a private room with an entire family and their beloved pet to participate in their final moments together. This was far too painful for me. It was time for me to bring my attention back to that familiar feel-good feeling of nurturing and inspiring. Naturally, children! Yes, children! I landed a job as an assistant in an infant-toddler classroom at the daycare. Now we're talking! This is when I committed to becoming a lifelong learner. These kids were teaching me so much that I felt it was only fair to do my part for them and to continue my education. Over 12 years, I became certified in Early Childhood Education, worked in every classroom, taught private kindergarten, and eventually became Assistant Director of the facility. As we know, all good things must come to an end but I also know that there is always something great waiting on the horizon. Somehow, I still don't know how, I found myself applying to an educational collaborative that supports children with special needs whose schools cannot provide the level of care and education that these students require. In spite of feeling completely intimidated by the complexity and spectrum of the challenges that awaited me, I vowed to learn everything I could about each individual and their personal experiences. For the next 10 years, I did exactly as I promised. I continued to attend classes, seminars, workshops, professional development training, and even completed the requirements necessary for becoming a Behavior Technician. Not only did I do these things for myself but I did them so that I could most effectively serve the population that I chose to surround myself with. Yes, I still wanted to be the helper. But, in time, I found myself yearning to be more. There must be another asset that I can contribute to the community of chronic illness and disabilities. But what? Well, after attending numerous trainings about complex childhood trauma and learning how children and adults often suffer from the effects of neglect, are denied the benefits of gentle human touch, or have endured unspeakable acts of violence and abuse, Light bulb! Now, this middle-aged woman with her own children and demanding career decides it would be a great idea to schlep herself off to massage school three nights per week for the next year. I just couldn't ignore the fire that was ignited inside of me. Thankfully, my family was so supportive and helped in any way they could while I spent 1250 hours at school. I still worked full-time in the educational classroom and provided at home behavioral services to families when I wasn't: attending class, doing homework, making 3D anatomical models, practicing on poor souls who thought they were going to get a quality massage, completing 124 hours of clinical work (unpaid), spending every Sunday morning providing massage therapy to adults with special needs and disabilities in a residential living facility, and running a household (After all, I'm still the mom). It still remains a mystery to me about how I survived any of this. Here I am, alive to tell about it! After a total of 13 years in the field of special education, I feel that I can honestly say that my massage education was probably the most effective strategy that I had in my personal tool box to truly help these students through difficult situations and diagnoses. It turns out, we all take for granted the immense power that even the slightest human touch holds. Pair that touch with the intent to heal, to soothe, to comfort and you come to the realization that you have the ability to help anyone. *Sigh of delight*
In August of 2017, an opportunity arose to share my abilities with the general public. I made the conscious decision to expand my horizons, leave the field of student education, put myself in a position of client education and make my skills and knowledge available to everybody. Now, my contributions to the field of massage are completely limitless and I'm eager to extend them to you! I can truly say that I now am forever a helper. I proudly stand tall to say "I provide massage for everyone and every body".
Thank you for taking the time to learn about my long journey. I look forward to forming a genuine and authentic partnership with you and becoming part of yours!
With sincere gratitude,
Reneé Whittington, Licensed Massage Therapist
As I grew and matured, I constantly sought out every opportunity to be a "helper". I discovered that this was my role. I was not satisfied if I was not feeling fulfilled. I was not feeling fulfilled unless I felt that I was positively impacting someone else's life. So, this is where I begin my journey.
As soon as I was legally allowed to have a job, I began working in a nursing home. Even though I was only the laundry attendant, I took every opportunity to spend time with the elderly residents. I got to witness the joy that something as simple as my time brought to them. This was such a rewarding and validating experience for me. But, I was too young to become a nurse and doing laundry just wasn't gratifying for a high school kid (who knew?). Fast forward three years and I find myself at, what I thought was, my dream job. The local veterinarian's office. Awe-Some! Sure, it involved cleaning the kennels of overnight messes and various bodily excretions out on the waiting room floor but I was helping. And I continued to cherish my time helping the animals and their human families. With experience, I was offered the opportunity to become a vet tech's assistant. Of course, I snatched that up without hesitation! I did all the fun "helper" stuff with the techs and thought "This is what I'm going to do for my whole entire life until I'm too old to work". That day came sooner than I had anticipated. What I didn't know was that my heart was not prepared to enter a private room with an entire family and their beloved pet to participate in their final moments together. This was far too painful for me. It was time for me to bring my attention back to that familiar feel-good feeling of nurturing and inspiring. Naturally, children! Yes, children! I landed a job as an assistant in an infant-toddler classroom at the daycare. Now we're talking! This is when I committed to becoming a lifelong learner. These kids were teaching me so much that I felt it was only fair to do my part for them and to continue my education. Over 12 years, I became certified in Early Childhood Education, worked in every classroom, taught private kindergarten, and eventually became Assistant Director of the facility. As we know, all good things must come to an end but I also know that there is always something great waiting on the horizon. Somehow, I still don't know how, I found myself applying to an educational collaborative that supports children with special needs whose schools cannot provide the level of care and education that these students require. In spite of feeling completely intimidated by the complexity and spectrum of the challenges that awaited me, I vowed to learn everything I could about each individual and their personal experiences. For the next 10 years, I did exactly as I promised. I continued to attend classes, seminars, workshops, professional development training, and even completed the requirements necessary for becoming a Behavior Technician. Not only did I do these things for myself but I did them so that I could most effectively serve the population that I chose to surround myself with. Yes, I still wanted to be the helper. But, in time, I found myself yearning to be more. There must be another asset that I can contribute to the community of chronic illness and disabilities. But what? Well, after attending numerous trainings about complex childhood trauma and learning how children and adults often suffer from the effects of neglect, are denied the benefits of gentle human touch, or have endured unspeakable acts of violence and abuse, Light bulb! Now, this middle-aged woman with her own children and demanding career decides it would be a great idea to schlep herself off to massage school three nights per week for the next year. I just couldn't ignore the fire that was ignited inside of me. Thankfully, my family was so supportive and helped in any way they could while I spent 1250 hours at school. I still worked full-time in the educational classroom and provided at home behavioral services to families when I wasn't: attending class, doing homework, making 3D anatomical models, practicing on poor souls who thought they were going to get a quality massage, completing 124 hours of clinical work (unpaid), spending every Sunday morning providing massage therapy to adults with special needs and disabilities in a residential living facility, and running a household (After all, I'm still the mom). It still remains a mystery to me about how I survived any of this. Here I am, alive to tell about it! After a total of 13 years in the field of special education, I feel that I can honestly say that my massage education was probably the most effective strategy that I had in my personal tool box to truly help these students through difficult situations and diagnoses. It turns out, we all take for granted the immense power that even the slightest human touch holds. Pair that touch with the intent to heal, to soothe, to comfort and you come to the realization that you have the ability to help anyone. *Sigh of delight*
In August of 2017, an opportunity arose to share my abilities with the general public. I made the conscious decision to expand my horizons, leave the field of student education, put myself in a position of client education and make my skills and knowledge available to everybody. Now, my contributions to the field of massage are completely limitless and I'm eager to extend them to you! I can truly say that I now am forever a helper. I proudly stand tall to say "I provide massage for everyone and every body".
Thank you for taking the time to learn about my long journey. I look forward to forming a genuine and authentic partnership with you and becoming part of yours!
With sincere gratitude,
Reneé Whittington, Licensed Massage Therapist