What makes Michael Brasunas with Awakening the Spirit Healing Arts and Bodywork Therapy a good neighbor?
What happens when physical touch becomes a gateway to deeper healing? Michael Brasunas, owner of Awakening the Spirit Healing Arts and Bodywork Therapy, reveals the extraordinary potential that lies within each of us during this enlightening conversation.
With over 20 years of experience as a massage therapist and bodywork specialist, Michael approaches healing through multiple dimensions—physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. His journey began with an intensive six-month training in Hawaii that transformed his understanding of the human body and its capacity for renewal. "When someone comes to receive healing," Michael explains, "we approach the individual with respect to all those different layers of what's going on."
The conversation ventures into frequently misunderstood aspects of bodywork therapy. Michael challenges the notion that massage is merely an indulgence, highlighting how it serves as essential self-care for overall wellbeing. He shares the joy of witnessing first-time clients discover the transformative power of professional touch: "It's amazing to see the transformation from when they walk in and when they go out." Many leave wondering why they waited so long to experience these benefits.
Beyond his professional insights, Michael opens up about personal challenges that shaped his perspective. After becoming overly committed to an organization that drained his energy and time, he learned a powerful lesson about prioritizing family and meaningful work. "I was so fixated on being seen in a certain way... that I lost sight of what was most important," he reflects, a realization that now informs how he helps others find balance.
Michael's parting wisdom resonates beyond his practice: "We each have everything inside of ourselves to find peace and balance and harmony and love and creativity." It's this belief that guides his work—creating space for clients to reconnect with their innate capacity for healing.
Ready to discover your body's natural ability to heal and restore? Visit recoverthesoul.com to learn more about Michael's unique approach to bodywork therapy and schedule your transformative session.
To learn more about Awakening the Spirit Healing Arts and Bodywork Therapy go to:
https://www.recoverthesoul.com/
Awakening the Spirit Healing Arts and Bodywork Therapy
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Skip Monty.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Well, hello everyone and welcome to the Good Neighbor
Podcast of the Tri-Cities.
So today I am super excitedbecause we've got a very
interesting guest in our studio,and I'm sure you'll be just as
excited to learn all about themand their company, because today
I have the pleasure ofintroducing your good neighbor,
mr Michael Brasunes, who is theowner-operator of Awakening the
(00:33):
Spirit Healing Arts and BodyworkTherapy.
Michael, welcome to the show,thank you very much.
Well, we're thrilled to have you, like I said, excited to learn
all about you and exactly whatyou do.
So if you don't mind, why don'tyou tell us about your business
?
Speaker 3 (00:47):
Yeah, sure, I operate a massage therapy and healing
arts practice so I specialize inlike a very sort of intuitive
and natural way of approachingthe body with depth and presence
, so weaving in the modalitiesof massage Swedish massage, deep
(01:12):
tissue, connective tissue bodywork as well as craniosacral
therapy and energy healing andmany other different types of
modalities I've learned over theyears and I've been doing it
about 20 years, so I havedeveloped a reputation here in
Asheville of providing excellentprofessional quality work and
(01:37):
it's been a great experienceVery good.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Well, how did you get into the massage body?
Sure, yeah, well, when I cameout of college, massage bodywork
.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Sure, yeah.
Well, when I came out ofcollege, I wasn't quite sure
what I wanted to do right away,and it turned out my mother had
a friend whose husband wasoperating a massage school in
Hawaii, and it was a reallyunique program.
(02:07):
We learned a lot of thephysical bodywork elements, but
there was also a very what Iwould call beautiful approach to
viewing the body and theexperience that each person is
having in their life from amulti-dimensional perspective.
So we have our emotionalexperience, we have our physical
experience, of course, ourmental and our spiritual
experience, and so when someonecomes to receive healing or to
(02:32):
be supported in whatever's goingon in their life, my mentor
really believed that we approachthe individual with respect to
all those different layers ofwhat's going on, and so, like I
said, we learned a lot ofamazing techniques for helping
people to relax and to receiveand to experience sort of a deep
(02:54):
but not necessarily likepainful bodywork style, but also
to learn how to connect deeperwith their breath and what's
going on inside of them and whatmight be playing out in their
lives, so that they can come toa greater state of balance and
harmony with all differentthings happening in their life.
And so that was in Hawaii.
(03:16):
I came straight out of collegepretty much and, like I said,
that was about 20 years ago,2005.
And it was a six month veryintensive training.
We kind of each of us wentthrough our own sort of healing
journey along the way, you know,we would do a lot of sharing
and experiencing the techniqueswe were learning, and so I came
(03:37):
out of there with a prettyawesome training and experience
and went right into, you know,working in spas and whatnot, and
then eventually sort of openingmy own private practice because
I really wanted to cater mywork to people that really
wanted to have that kind ofexperience.
I know you're going to maybeask me a little bit more about
(04:00):
that, like sort of what I caterto, so I'd be happy to go into
that whenever you're ready yeahsure, tell us of what I cater to
, so I'd be happy to go intothat whenever you're ready?
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Yeah sure, tell us, what do you cater to?
Speaker 3 (04:08):
Sure, sure, yeah, because it's always funny,
people are always like, you know, when you want to build a
business of any kind, you wantto really make sure you have a
sort of a niche audience or sortof a target sort of audience.
And I think when I was younger,I was like, well, you know,
anybody, anyone is going to payme to do it.
But as I yeah, as I sort of youknow gained more experience
(04:30):
over time, but also as I noticedhow I felt working with people,
I noticed that, yeah, I wantedto work with people that really
were, I could say, I guess theeasiest way to say there's like
engaged in their own um healingjourney, so to speak.
Now, it doesn't mean someonehas to be already at a certain
(04:53):
you know place and and and likehigh level of, of, uh, you know
um development or anything butbut that there's that
receptivity and that humility.
I guess we could say that, um,that someone comes and they say
you know, I really want to, umlike understand more about
what's, what's causing these,these issues in my body, or
(05:14):
what's um, you know what aresome of the ways in which I can,
um like take care of myselfmore, you know, and so, um, like
, I started offering sort ofincentivized ways for people to
get regular care, you know likea monthly discount package and
stuff like that.
And um, cause, I noticed, likewhen I was working in in spas
(05:36):
and whatnot and nothing against,um, you know this, these type
of experiences I was having.
But sometimes I would get peoplein there who maybe they were
being dragged in by a spouse orthey just wanted to conk out,
and that's fine, like there'ssome, there's a time and a place
for just really having just avery deeply relaxing experience,
which people do obviously getfrom my work as well.
(05:57):
But I really noticed that whenit's almost like a shared
journey, so to speak I know thatsounds kind of, you know, kind
of cliche or something but whenthere's sort of a participation
in the client, then I feelmyself actually less exhausted
after I'm working with them andit makes me more inspired to
(06:19):
keep, you know, working withpeople in that way.
And so I really tried to targetit to people that are drawn to
maybe what we could call like a,you know, a deepening into
their life's journey and purpose, we could say.
So that's why I named thebusiness Awakening the Spirit,
(06:39):
because it's about.
You know, as we're goingthrough this journey in life,
you know, are we, are welearning from experiences?
Are we?
Are we waking up to the deeperthings that are being way?
I do even life coaching and evensome what we could call
(07:06):
spiritual coaching or whatnot,and cause.
Some people come to me incrisis, you know they're,
they're having issues in theirmarriage or issues, you know,
with chronic disease and, and soreally helping people to to
rest and rejuvenate and sort ofenter into my healing space
where they are able to let go ofany of the worries and concerns
(07:28):
that are happening out thereand just really sort of have a
very present, centeredexperience in their own, in
their own body and being able toreceive care from someone they
trust, you know, who's reallyshowing up to be there with them
.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
So awesome.
Sounds incredible, Soundswonderful actually.
I'm signing up, yeah sure sure,so what are some myths or
misconceptions in what you do?
Speaker 3 (07:55):
Yeah, yeah, I think obviously probably the best
misconception is that massage isfor other people.
Misconception is that massageis for other people.
You know, I think a lot oftimes and I'll you know, as a
man I can speak on behalf of menI feel like we, you know, this
(08:17):
is obviously a stereotype, Icould say.
But in general, I would say,you know, I would guess maybe
70%, 70 to almost 75% of myclient base is female and I
think, um, as men, and then Ithink also as maybe just you
know, people in our culture ingeneral, we often think, you
know, uh, we can get through it,you know we can, we can, you
know, power through, we mighthave pain because we overdid, uh
(08:40):
, overdid something, um, but youknow, you know, almost like
getting a massage is like a signof weakness or something like
that.
You know to ask for help and so, and I get that, you know, I
have those.
You know I have that ego inmyself too.
In a lot of ways I like to do alot of like handiwork myself
(09:01):
and I don't always, you know,want to have somebody else do
something for me that I could domyself.
But I think, when it comes toour body and especially as we're
aging and, you know, maybe wedon't recover as quickly from
exercise or exerting ourselvesor injuries and whatnot.
You know, it's just, I've hadthe gift and the privilege, I
(09:23):
would say, over the years of ofbeing the, the person that gives
somebody their first massage,and it's, it's amazing to see
the transformation from whenthey walk in and when they go
out.
They're like wow, I had no idea, uh, that, that, that that was
what it was like, or or it'salmost like they're.
You know, they're um, uh, youknow they've entered into the
club and now they know, and theydon't.
(09:44):
You know, it's almost like uh,you know, I wish I knew about
this earlier, and now I want todo this more often and um, so,
yeah, I would say um, you know,massage, you know, has maybe had
some some misunderstandingsover the years, and I that's why
I like to call it body work,because it's really, um, it's
more of a, of a science and evenan art, um, than just sort of
(10:07):
like a rub down or like arelaxation.
I mean, I can provide alldifferent types of work for
people, whatever they're lookingfor, but I really like to see
it as a therapy and as a, as atechnique that really helps us
to just feel better and italmost always does the trick
Right.
And honestly, I actually preferI mean I've had massages from
(10:31):
women that have been amazing buthonestly, when I get a session
from a man, you know, we justour bodies are built in a way
that we tend to have thatability sometimes to be stronger
in our hands or our arms, thatability sometimes to be stronger
in our hands or our arms, andso if I can get a guy who really
is talented and gifted in whatthey do, I often really
appreciate that and I enjoygetting that.
(10:53):
But yeah, there's there's morefemale massage therapists out
there and and there are, youknow, obviously there's there's
that discomfort around touchthat we have sometimes like
being touched by someone ofeither or gender.
You know it brings up stuff forpeople and that's totally
(11:14):
understandable and I never wantanyone to feel that they should
be more comfortable withsomething than they are, with
something than they are.
But what I like to do is to bein that professional space where
I I do provide that safe placefor people to have that
experience and yeah, and so it'sa it's a privilege in that way
(11:36):
for me to be able to offer thatand and and and I I really
appreciate people when they doshow up and they, they
experience what I do and then,uh, and then they know, you know
, then they have that experienceto base it off of in the future
.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
So Very good, Very good.
Well, in your spare time, whatdo you do for fun?
Speaker 3 (11:53):
You know, I just I, I , I used to play tennis a lot
growing up.
I grew up in Atlanta and, uh,I've been raising kids over the
last couple of years or so, 15or so.
Um, I have a 10 and a 15 yearold and, uh, my wife and I are
very busy with them but, um, I,uh, I actually just today I
played tennis for the first time, like competitively with three
(12:15):
other guys, like a doubles match.
Um, we played for almost twohours and, uh, it felt great.
Um, and so, exercise, um, you,you know, I play soccer as well.
I coach my son's soccer team.
I like to run and then, with mywife, you know, we like to
sometimes go out dancing andwhatnot and just working on my
(12:37):
land.
I've got, we've got a half acre, but we have, kind of you know,
a garden and chickens and knowwe're always working on the, on
the property and stuff.
So, staying busy, stayingactive and, uh, staying on my
feet, you know I hear you.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
Well, I've got a garden too, and I'm jealous that
you have chickens, because Iwould love to have chicken.
We just got yeah, we've got.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
Well, we had we had two older hens and a rooster,
and we decided to add morebecause we had some that died.
So we've got eight chicks thatare now about six weeks old and
they're still separate, but theycan sort of see each other
through a fence and we'relearning about that process of
introducing them to the flock,and so we'll be able to get,
hopefully, a lot more eggs, youknow, coming up in the next
(13:19):
couple months or so, but it's,it's fun.
You have to, yeah, you have to,take care of them, though
they're whether a tiny way tobring them in every night and,
you know, put them under theheat lamp and all that, but yeah
, it's good man.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
The eggs are unbeatable like fresh eggs man,
I know, I know let's switchgears for a second.
Can you describe a hardship ora life challenge that you've
overcome and how it made youstronger in the end?
Speaker 3 (13:43):
Hmm, oh, that's a good question.
Um, I was thinking about oneoption I could go into.
I, um, yeah, I mean, I, uh, Iwas involved in an organization
that took a lot of my time andenergy away from myself and my
(14:05):
practice and my family, and ithad qualities of being very
profound, but it also I gave toomuch of myself, and so I
learned through that that themost important thing, at least
for me, is family and time doingwhat is really most meaningful
(14:33):
for myself, because I tend to bethe kind of person that wants
to be in service.
You know that's how I ended upgetting into.
You know the work I do and Ilove being in service to people,
I love showing up and beingreliable.
But I sort of burned the candleat both ends trying to help
(14:59):
organize this group and thesetrips we were taking, and I was
so fixated on being seen in acertain way that people would
appreciate what I was doing thatI lost sight of what was most
important, and so the lastcouple years I've been really
trying to recover thatrelationship with my wife and my
(15:19):
children and also my parentsand my siblings.
It just really exhausted meultimately and I had to kind of
wake up one day and realize Iwas going down the wrong path.
So that's all I'll say.
I mean I could go into moredetails about it, but it's not
really important.
It was just that realizationthat I think you know it's so
(15:44):
important on a daily basis toreally reflect on where am I
putting my energy, and is itultimately for the highest good,
or am I doing it for otherreasons that are maybe secondary
?
And so yeah, so that was agreat, a great realization.
And then and then I'll justreally feeling like I'm back in
the, in the flow of things in mylife and it's, it's uh, yeah,
(16:08):
it's a lot better.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
Awesome.
Well, a lot of us have gonedown that road, so you're not
alone, brother.
I totally, totally get it.
Well, if, um, if you couldthink of one thing, michael,
that you would like ourlisteners to remember, uh, about
you and about, uh, awakeningthe spirit, healing arts and
body work therapy what would,what would that be?
Speaker 3 (16:30):
That's a good question.
Um, I think the most importantthing that I would like people
to know about me is also what Iwould like people to know about
themselves, and that is that weeach have everything inside of
ourselves to find peace andbalance and harmony and love and
(16:53):
creativity.
And so, obviously, since this isa podcast where I'm somewhat
promoting my business, that'ssort of what I would encourage
people to consider when they'relooking for somebody to to help
them in their own life's journey, whether it's physical or in
other ways.
Like I said earlier that I tryto be someone who who really
(17:17):
echoes and reflects back topeople like who they are and
what they're capable of and thelove that we each can feel when
we just drop into our heart andinto our body.
And so in my sessions, I liketo open that space for people to
really just be present and bewith themselves, and then, at
(17:40):
the same time, they get a nicedeep, relaxing experience as
well, and so, in my opinion, youknow, there's nowhere better to
look than to working with me,but that's obviously my biased
opinion.
Well, that's OK, that's allright.
That's all right.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
For those of us who are interested in what would
like to come check you out orcheck out your studio.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
How can they?
Speaker 2 (18:06):
learn more.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
Yeah, well, my website is www, which we don't
say anymore, we just say thefirst part, it's
recoverthesoulcom.
So that'sR-E-C-O-V-E-R-T-H-E-S-O-U-L,
recoverthesoulcom, and then fromthere there's a button where
you can schedule, there's a linkand, yeah, I have also some
(18:33):
recordings I've done, there'ssome articles.
So, yeah, that's basically thebest place to go is my website,
and there's also a contact formon there that people can reach
out to me.
Uh, and those, those will gostraight to my inbox as well.
Awesome, awesome, very good okay, well, I said that about ww
because I was watching astand-up comedian the other day
(18:56):
and he's like we used to say ww.
And then we realized watching astand-up comedian the other day
and he's like we used to sayWWW, and then we realized what a
waste of time right, right.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
Well, that's a good point.
I still say it occasionally,but yeah, it's a good point
there's no difference in well,michael, I can't tell you how
much I've enjoyed talking withyou and appreciate you taking
time out?
Of your busy schedule to talkwith me and with our listeners
and wish you and your family andawakening the spirit, healing
(19:22):
arts and body work therapy allthe best.
Moving forward.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
Hey, I really appreciate that, Skip.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Yes, sir, and maybe we can have you, have you back
one day when you've got an eventor something going on.
Speaker 3 (19:34):
That'd be great, I'd be happy to do that.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
All right, thanks so much.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
Thank you for listening to the good neighbor
podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to GNP, try dashcitiescom.
That's GNP, try dash citiescom.
Or call 4, 2, 3, 7, 1, 9, 5, 8,7, 3.
5-8-7-3.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Skip Monty.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Well, hello everyone and welcome to the Good Neighbor
Podcast of the Tri-Cities.
So today I am super excitedbecause we've got a very
interesting guest in our studio,and I'm sure you'll be just as
excited to learn all about themand their company, because today
I have the pleasure ofintroducing your good neighbor,
mr Michael Brasunes, who is theowner-operator of Awakening the
(00:33):
Spirit Healing Arts and BodyworkTherapy.
Michael, welcome to the show,thank you very much.
Well, we're thrilled to have you, like I said, excited to learn
all about you and exactly whatyou do.
So if you don't mind, why don'tyou tell us about your business
?
Speaker 3 (00:47):
Yeah, sure, I operate a massage therapy and healing
arts practice so I specialize inlike a very sort of intuitive
and natural way of approachingthe body with depth and presence
, so weaving in the modalitiesof massage Swedish massage, deep
(01:12):
tissue, connective tissue bodywork as well as craniosacral
therapy and energy healing andmany other different types of
modalities I've learned over theyears and I've been doing it
about 20 years, so I havedeveloped a reputation here in
Asheville of providing excellentprofessional quality work and
(01:37):
it's been a great experienceVery good.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Well, how did you get into the massage body?
Sure, yeah, well, when I cameout of college, massage bodywork
.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Sure, yeah.
Well, when I came out ofcollege, I wasn't quite sure
what I wanted to do right away,and it turned out my mother had
a friend whose husband wasoperating a massage school in
Hawaii, and it was a reallyunique program.
(02:07):
We learned a lot of thephysical bodywork elements, but
there was also a very what Iwould call beautiful approach to
viewing the body and theexperience that each person is
having in their life from amulti-dimensional perspective.
So we have our emotionalexperience, we have our physical
experience, of course, ourmental and our spiritual
experience, and so when someonecomes to receive healing or to
(02:32):
be supported in whatever's goingon in their life, my mentor
really believed that we approachthe individual with respect to
all those different layers ofwhat's going on, and so, like I
said, we learned a lot ofamazing techniques for helping
people to relax and to receiveand to experience sort of a deep
(02:54):
but not necessarily likepainful bodywork style, but also
to learn how to connect deeperwith their breath and what's
going on inside of them and whatmight be playing out in their
lives, so that they can come toa greater state of balance and
harmony with all differentthings happening in their life.
And so that was in Hawaii.
(03:16):
I came straight out of collegepretty much and, like I said,
that was about 20 years ago,2005.
And it was a six month veryintensive training.
We kind of each of us wentthrough our own sort of healing
journey along the way, you know,we would do a lot of sharing
and experiencing the techniqueswe were learning, and so I came
(03:37):
out of there with a prettyawesome training and experience
and went right into, you know,working in spas and whatnot, and
then eventually sort of openingmy own private practice because
I really wanted to cater mywork to people that really
wanted to have that kind ofexperience.
I know you're going to maybeask me a little bit more about
(04:00):
that, like sort of what I caterto, so I'd be happy to go into
that whenever you're ready yeahsure, tell us of what I cater to
, so I'd be happy to go intothat whenever you're ready?
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Yeah sure, tell us, what do you cater to?
Speaker 3 (04:08):
Sure, sure, yeah, because it's always funny,
people are always like, you know, when you want to build a
business of any kind, you wantto really make sure you have a
sort of a niche audience or sortof a target sort of audience.
And I think when I was younger,I was like, well, you know,
anybody, anyone is going to payme to do it.
But as I yeah, as I sort of youknow gained more experience
(04:30):
over time, but also as I noticedhow I felt working with people,
I noticed that, yeah, I wantedto work with people that really
were, I could say, I guess theeasiest way to say there's like
engaged in their own um healingjourney, so to speak.
Now, it doesn't mean someonehas to be already at a certain
(04:53):
you know place and and and likehigh level of, of, uh, you know
um development or anything butbut that there's that
receptivity and that humility.
I guess we could say that, um,that someone comes and they say
you know, I really want to, umlike understand more about
what's, what's causing these,these issues in my body, or
(05:14):
what's um, you know what aresome of the ways in which I can,
um like take care of myselfmore, you know, and so, um, like
, I started offering sort ofincentivized ways for people to
get regular care, you know likea monthly discount package and
stuff like that.
And um, cause, I noticed, likewhen I was working in in spas
(05:36):
and whatnot and nothing against,um, you know this, these type
of experiences I was having.
But sometimes I would get peoplein there who maybe they were
being dragged in by a spouse orthey just wanted to conk out,
and that's fine, like there'ssome, there's a time and a place
for just really having just avery deeply relaxing experience,
which people do obviously getfrom my work as well.
(05:57):
But I really noticed that whenit's almost like a shared
journey, so to speak I know thatsounds kind of, you know, kind
of cliche or something but whenthere's sort of a participation
in the client, then I feelmyself actually less exhausted
after I'm working with them andit makes me more inspired to
(06:19):
keep, you know, working withpeople in that way.
And so I really tried to targetit to people that are drawn to
maybe what we could call like a,you know, a deepening into
their life's journey and purpose, we could say.
So that's why I named thebusiness Awakening the Spirit,
(06:39):
because it's about.
You know, as we're goingthrough this journey in life,
you know, are we, are welearning from experiences?
Are we?
Are we waking up to the deeperthings that are being way?
I do even life coaching and evensome what we could call
(07:06):
spiritual coaching or whatnot,and cause.
Some people come to me incrisis, you know they're,
they're having issues in theirmarriage or issues, you know,
with chronic disease and, and soreally helping people to to
rest and rejuvenate and sort ofenter into my healing space
where they are able to let go ofany of the worries and concerns
(07:28):
that are happening out thereand just really sort of have a
very present, centeredexperience in their own, in
their own body and being able toreceive care from someone they
trust, you know, who's reallyshowing up to be there with them
.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
So awesome.
Sounds incredible, Soundswonderful actually.
I'm signing up, yeah sure sure,so what are some myths or
misconceptions in what you do?
Speaker 3 (07:55):
Yeah, yeah, I think obviously probably the best
misconception is that massage isfor other people.
Misconception is that massageis for other people.
You know, I think a lot oftimes and I'll you know, as a
man I can speak on behalf of menI feel like we, you know, this
(08:17):
is obviously a stereotype, Icould say.
But in general, I would say,you know, I would guess maybe
70%, 70 to almost 75% of myclient base is female and I
think, um, as men, and then Ithink also as maybe just you
know, people in our culture ingeneral, we often think, you
know, uh, we can get through it,you know we can, we can, you
know, power through, we mighthave pain because we overdid, uh
(08:40):
, overdid something, um, but youknow, you know, almost like
getting a massage is like a signof weakness or something like
that.
You know to ask for help and so, and I get that, you know, I
have those.
You know I have that ego inmyself too.
In a lot of ways I like to do alot of like handiwork myself
(09:01):
and I don't always, you know,want to have somebody else do
something for me that I could domyself.
But I think, when it comes toour body and especially as we're
aging and, you know, maybe wedon't recover as quickly from
exercise or exerting ourselvesor injuries and whatnot.
You know, it's just, I've hadthe gift and the privilege, I
(09:23):
would say, over the years of ofbeing the, the person that gives
somebody their first massage,and it's, it's amazing to see
the transformation from whenthey walk in and when they go
out.
They're like wow, I had no idea, uh, that, that, that that was
what it was like, or or it'salmost like they're.
You know, they're um, uh, youknow they've entered into the
club and now they know, and theydon't.
(09:44):
You know, it's almost like uh,you know, I wish I knew about
this earlier, and now I want todo this more often and um, so,
yeah, I would say um, you know,massage, you know, has maybe had
some some misunderstandingsover the years, and I that's why
I like to call it body work,because it's really, um, it's
more of a, of a science and evenan art, um, than just sort of
(10:07):
like a rub down or like arelaxation.
I mean, I can provide alldifferent types of work for
people, whatever they're lookingfor, but I really like to see
it as a therapy and as a, as atechnique that really helps us
to just feel better and italmost always does the trick
Right.
And honestly, I actually preferI mean I've had massages from
(10:31):
women that have been amazing buthonestly, when I get a session
from a man, you know, we justour bodies are built in a way
that we tend to have thatability sometimes to be stronger
in our hands or our arms, thatability sometimes to be stronger
in our hands or our arms, andso if I can get a guy who really
is talented and gifted in whatthey do, I often really
appreciate that and I enjoygetting that.
(10:53):
But yeah, there's there's morefemale massage therapists out
there and and there are, youknow, obviously there's there's
that discomfort around touchthat we have sometimes like
being touched by someone ofeither or gender.
You know it brings up stuff forpeople and that's totally
(11:14):
understandable and I never wantanyone to feel that they should
be more comfortable withsomething than they are, with
something than they are.
But what I like to do is to bein that professional space where
I I do provide that safe placefor people to have that
experience and yeah, and so it'sa it's a privilege in that way
(11:36):
for me to be able to offer thatand and and and I I really
appreciate people when they doshow up and they, they
experience what I do and then,uh, and then they know, you know
, then they have that experienceto base it off of in the future
.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
So Very good, Very good.
Well, in your spare time, whatdo you do for fun?
Speaker 3 (11:53):
You know, I just I, I , I used to play tennis a lot
growing up.
I grew up in Atlanta and, uh,I've been raising kids over the
last couple of years or so, 15or so.
Um, I have a 10 and a 15 yearold and, uh, my wife and I are
very busy with them but, um, I,uh, I actually just today I
played tennis for the first time, like competitively with three
(12:15):
other guys, like a doubles match.
Um, we played for almost twohours and, uh, it felt great.
Um, and so, exercise, um, you,you know, I play soccer as well.
I coach my son's soccer team.
I like to run and then, with mywife, you know, we like to
sometimes go out dancing andwhatnot and just working on my
(12:37):
land.
I've got, we've got a half acre, but we have, kind of you know,
a garden and chickens and knowwe're always working on the, on
the property and stuff.
So, staying busy, stayingactive and, uh, staying on my
feet, you know I hear you.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
Well, I've got a garden too, and I'm jealous that
you have chickens, because Iwould love to have chicken.
We just got yeah, we've got.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
Well, we had we had two older hens and a rooster,
and we decided to add morebecause we had some that died.
So we've got eight chicks thatare now about six weeks old and
they're still separate, but theycan sort of see each other
through a fence and we'relearning about that process of
introducing them to the flock,and so we'll be able to get,
hopefully, a lot more eggs, youknow, coming up in the next
(13:19):
couple months or so, but it's,it's fun.
You have to, yeah, you have to,take care of them, though
they're whether a tiny way tobring them in every night and,
you know, put them under theheat lamp and all that, but yeah
, it's good man.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
The eggs are unbeatable like fresh eggs man,
I know, I know let's switchgears for a second.
Can you describe a hardship ora life challenge that you've
overcome and how it made youstronger in the end?
Speaker 3 (13:43):
Hmm, oh, that's a good question.
Um, I was thinking about oneoption I could go into.
I, um, yeah, I mean, I, uh, Iwas involved in an organization
that took a lot of my time andenergy away from myself and my
(14:05):
practice and my family, and ithad qualities of being very
profound, but it also I gave toomuch of myself, and so I
learned through that that themost important thing, at least
for me, is family and time doingwhat is really most meaningful
(14:33):
for myself, because I tend to bethe kind of person that wants
to be in service.
You know that's how I ended upgetting into.
You know the work I do and Ilove being in service to people,
I love showing up and beingreliable.
But I sort of burned the candleat both ends trying to help
(14:59):
organize this group and thesetrips we were taking, and I was
so fixated on being seen in acertain way that people would
appreciate what I was doing thatI lost sight of what was most
important, and so the lastcouple years I've been really
trying to recover thatrelationship with my wife and my
(15:19):
children and also my parentsand my siblings.
It just really exhausted meultimately and I had to kind of
wake up one day and realize Iwas going down the wrong path.
So that's all I'll say.
I mean I could go into moredetails about it, but it's not
really important.
It was just that realizationthat I think you know it's so
(15:44):
important on a daily basis toreally reflect on where am I
putting my energy, and is itultimately for the highest good,
or am I doing it for otherreasons that are maybe secondary
?
And so yeah, so that was agreat, a great realization.
And then and then I'll justreally feeling like I'm back in
the, in the flow of things in mylife and it's, it's uh, yeah,
(16:08):
it's a lot better.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
Awesome.
Well, a lot of us have gonedown that road, so you're not
alone, brother.
I totally, totally get it.
Well, if, um, if you couldthink of one thing, michael,
that you would like ourlisteners to remember, uh, about
you and about, uh, awakeningthe spirit, healing arts and
body work therapy what would,what would that be?
Speaker 3 (16:30):
That's a good question.
Um, I think the most importantthing that I would like people
to know about me is also what Iwould like people to know about
themselves, and that is that weeach have everything inside of
ourselves to find peace andbalance and harmony and love and
(16:53):
creativity.
And so, obviously, since this isa podcast where I'm somewhat
promoting my business, that'ssort of what I would encourage
people to consider when they'relooking for somebody to to help
them in their own life's journey, whether it's physical or in
other ways.
Like I said earlier that I tryto be someone who who really
(17:17):
echoes and reflects back topeople like who they are and
what they're capable of and thelove that we each can feel when
we just drop into our heart andinto our body.
And so in my sessions, I liketo open that space for people to
really just be present and bewith themselves, and then, at
(17:40):
the same time, they get a nicedeep, relaxing experience as
well, and so, in my opinion, youknow, there's nowhere better to
look than to working with me,but that's obviously my biased
opinion.
Well, that's OK, that's allright.
That's all right.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
For those of us who are interested in what would
like to come check you out orcheck out your studio.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
How can they?
Speaker 2 (18:06):
learn more.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
Yeah, well, my website is www, which we don't
say anymore, we just say thefirst part, it's
recoverthesoulcom.
So that'sR-E-C-O-V-E-R-T-H-E-S-O-U-L,
recoverthesoulcom, and then fromthere there's a button where
you can schedule, there's a linkand, yeah, I have also some
(18:33):
recordings I've done, there'ssome articles.
So, yeah, that's basically thebest place to go is my website,
and there's also a contact formon there that people can reach
out to me.
Uh, and those, those will gostraight to my inbox as well.
Awesome, awesome, very good okay, well, I said that about ww
because I was watching astand-up comedian the other day
(18:56):
and he's like we used to say ww.
And then we realized watching astand-up comedian the other day
and he's like we used to sayWWW, and then we realized what a
waste of time right, right.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
Well, that's a good point.
I still say it occasionally,but yeah, it's a good point
there's no difference in well,michael, I can't tell you how
much I've enjoyed talking withyou and appreciate you taking
time out?
Of your busy schedule to talkwith me and with our listeners
and wish you and your family andawakening the spirit, healing
(19:22):
arts and body work therapy allthe best.
Moving forward.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
Hey, I really appreciate that, Skip.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Yes, sir, and maybe we can have you, have you back
one day when you've got an eventor something going on.
Speaker 3 (19:34):
That'd be great, I'd be happy to do that.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
All right, thanks so much.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
Thank you for listening to the good neighbor
podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to GNP, try dashcitiescom.
That's GNP, try dash citiescom.
Or call 4, 2, 3, 7, 1, 9, 5, 8,7, 3.
5-8-7-3.
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