Collective Spotlight: Woozy Wootters
Meet Woozy, a licensed massage therapist.
Why did you want to become a massage therapist?
Oddly enough, I've been asked this a lot by clients, and I still don't have a solid answer for it. Before getting into massage, I was training to become a middle school art teacher. Then the pandemic happened, and there's a several-month-long gap in my memory (which was the style at the time) and suddenly, I'm attending school for massage.
Maybe I was motivated by the recent shared loss of physical connection, or maybe it's just that being a massage therapist seemed like a cool job, but whatever the initial reason was, it was very quickly replaced by something much more meaningful to me.
What have you gained from this work?
Everything. Prior to learning massage, I spent so much of my life out of touch with myself. Weighed down with chronic physical pain, I felt incredibly limited in how I could engage with the world. I knew it was tied to my stress levels, and so I craved numbness, both mental and physical. I had a disconnection with myself, and with those around me.
Soon after I began giving and receiving weekly massages as part of my schooling, I noticed that I was suddenly feeling things again. I let my repressed emotions flow out of me, I advocated for myself more easily, and I began stepping out into the world in ways that I would have been previously been too anxiety-inducing to risk. In shockingly short time, my intense physical pain began to noticeably lessen.
In addition to how immensely rewarding it feels to help others, it feels wonderful to have a job where I'm required to be in touch with my own body in order to do it well. Every session, I am reminded of how important this self-connection is. The more massages I give, the more in connected I feel with myself, and with the world as a whole.
What do you hope your clients feel after working with you?
After a session with a client, my first hope is that any physical pain or discomfort they felt is lessened, but that's not the end of it. I want my clients to feel more connected with themselves; to not only feel how every part of their body affects each other, but to feel more in tune with what their body is telling them, and why.
A lot of us have distant - or even antagonistic - relationships with our bodies, and I struggle with this myself. In addition to relieving pain, I want to provide a space where those with that kind self-estrangement can begin to reconcile, and find peace and joy as more unified humans.
Additionally, I want my clients to feel heard, in whatever way they need to be heard. I put a lot of emphasis on talking before the massage, to give clients time to consider what elements of their lives might be affecting them in this moment, and to subtly remind them that they - and their bodies - are worth listening to.
How does your work inform your activism or understanding of the world?
You might've noticed, but I think massage therapy can be life-changing. Unfortunately, it's also often prohibitively expensive, pushing away people who could probably benefit from it the most. This is why I use a sliding scale, and also why I keep my rates relatively low in general: I think massage is more helpful the more frequently you receive it, and I want to encourage people to not see bodywork as a luxury, but as important maintenance that they deserve.
What's your favorite season of the year, and why?
Autumn, for sure. September always feels like the start of a new school year for me - it's a fresh start, full of new opportunities! Plus, the air is so crisp, I get to dress in layers, and spending most of my life in New England has not dulled my love of the colors.
What has made you smile recently that you feel the need to share?
At the time of writing this, it's been a dark and chaotic week, and sometimes it feels hard to smile. Fortunately, I live with the friendliest dog in the world, and when we go out together, and when someone wants to say hi to him as much as he wants to say hi to them, it always makes me smile. Today, on this beautiful and sunny morning, we bumped into a cool neighbor who's been getting to know him AND one of his dog friends with their person ALL AT THE SAME TIME!
It made me so happy to see him so excited.
Learn more about Woozy:
