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About Rachel Cook
(probably more information than you even wanted)
I wasn't one of those people who always knew they wanted to be a massage therapist. When I was little, I wanted to be an actress, a writer, a teacher, a stay-at-home mom, a biker, a race car driver, a rock star (singer and guitarist), a doctor, a nurse, a veterinarian, a ballerina, an Olympic ice skater, an herbalist, and probably a dozen other things. I pretty much wanted to do it all. During my teen years it think I was mostly split between being an actress/director/writer for theater (and a poet), and an interior designer. Massage didn't really hit me til I was about 27.
What finally led me to massage was pretty much hitting bottom. I had an awakening one day and realized my life was a mess, and not at all what I wanted. It was like waking up from a coma only to find that some stranger had been masquerading as me and had made a disaster out of my life. At the same time of this awakening, I had this strange feeling, like there was something that I was supposed to be doing with my life, I just couldn't remember what. ~You know that feeling you have when you walk into a room, stop and think to yourself "I know I came in here for something, what the heck was it"? Well, it was sort of like that, but on a much grander scale. So I asked for a sign. At the time, I had pretty much lost any belief I ever had in God, so I didn't know who or what I was asking for a sign, but I asked for a sign.
About three months later, after making a series of changes in my life, I got my signs. (They were in the form of commercial, after commercial, after commercial for massage therapy... I'm talking literally EVERY commercial break, multiple times, over several hours, to the point that it was so ridiculous, my friend sitting next to me told me "I think someone's trying to tell you something. I think it's a sign." I don't remember ever telling my friend about my asking for a sign either, so it's not like it was prompted.) It took me awhile to recognize them as signs (I was pretty thick-headed), but I finally got it. So I looked into massage. When I went to massage school, I felt like I had finally found my tribe. It just clicked. And I've never looked back.
Now I'd say I'm not just a massage therapist, I'm more of a massage evangelist. I'm so ridiculously passionate about this thing that I do, that it's been a hard path for me realizing that most people don't appreciate the intense value of massage the way I do. It's been difficult for me trying to figure out how to convey that value to people. In fact, I'm still trying.
Now my life is completely different than it was when I had my awakening. I am very happily married to my soul-mate/best friend/dream man and self-employed as a massage therapist/educator. I take much better care of my health now and have a level of respect for myself I never had before. And I've tapped into a real experience of spirituality in my life; a very personal sense of the divine.
I've been doing massage for over 8 years, and it's my goal to help people learn how to love themselves, respect themselves, and take good care of themselves. I hope that I can help people find the beauty that resides within them that just gets buried under the rubble of life.
My Professional Experience/Training
Though I grew up in Colorado, I did go to Arizona for a year, where I went to massage school. I graduated the summer of '03 with 700 hours of training. I've had the great fortune of surrounding myself with massage therapists who have years more experience than I do, and extensive training. I've been able to learn a lot from my therapist friends. I also had the opportunity to work with a brilliant therapist in downtown Denver for a time, and learned from her as well. In addition, I've pursued training in Healing Touch Spiritual Training. In September of 2008, I received my Certification in Clinical Aromatherapy from the Institute of Spiritual Healing and Aromatherapy. I'm also a certified member of Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals, a group with high standards of professional ethics. I recently had the great pleasure to study Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy with it's founder, Ruthie Piper Hardie, and am now certified in AOBT.
I hope to help others navigate their journey through life with as little pain as possible... both psychologically and physically.
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