And here we go...

After 20 years, I'm changing my business name and focus.  

December 2019 was a pivotal time for me. What was at first thought of as just a tiny 20mph fender bender, my car accident was life changing. I injured several parts of my brain. I now have a TBI, a traumatic brain injury. I also have PCS - persistent/post concussion syndrome. I went from having a small  healing arts center to not being able to care for myself.  One year later I had a second TBI from a fall. I had to relearn how to walk - I could only shuffle. For the first year, it felt like I was dropped into a stranger's body.  Life as I knew it was over.  I wasn't sure I would ever be able to work at all, much less massage again. It felt like I had aluminum foil on my hands. I was suicidal. 

I decided I would get back to work, no matter what! And I would get back to massage. COVID brought on the early retirement of many long time massage therapists in my area. I wanted to come back to help mentor and nurture new massage therapists.  I missed all of my clients!

And I needed to get back to work for me! I felt, and still feel, I'm living my purpose, my dharma by helping others heal. But New Leaf Massage didn't fit anymore. I needed a new name for the new me!  Lotus Moon Wellness was born.

LOTUS - The lotus flower comes up through the muck to bloom. There is a saying, no mud no lotus. For me my muck, my mud, was trauma. For many of my clients, their root issue is trauma, whether they know it or not. The thing about trauma is it isn't about intent or the size. It's about impact! And as women, we absorb a LOT of trauma. 

MOON- Before my accident I was always more yang - fiercely outspoken, and extrovert to the max, always running 100 mph and in as many directions. Now I embrace the yin, more reflective side of me. I am someone the likes to work with the shadows. And the moon is a reminder, especially to women, of our connection to nature, to her tides and cycles.

WELLNESS- After at least 30 years of "working on my healing" I decided I never really was broken. It was the lie I told myself, like the myth of original sin. I was a constant project. My TBI has helped me focus on wellness more. I live with the symptoms of a concussion daily, so running a marathon when you're dizzy isn't in the cards for me.  I started to focus on feeling better in THIS moment. After having every single external identity stripped away, I took a hard look in the mirror. I realized some things may never change about me. So I decided to come to peace with them, like my stretch marks, and try to find good every day within. I had to rebuild from the soul up. And doing so made me realize I like myself, warts and all.