Good Neighbor Podcast: Tri-Cities
Bringing together local businesses and neighbor of the Tri-Cities region. Good Neighbor Podcast hosted by Skip Mauney helps residents discover and connect with your local business owners in and around The Tri-Cities.
Is your business serving the residents of Tri-Cities? Then, we need to talk! Visit gnpTri-Cities.com to schedule your free interview.
Good Neighbor Podcast: Tri-Cities
EP# 169: From Stay-at-Home Mom to Massage School Owner: A Transformation Journey with Tammy Cox
What makes Tammy Cox with Reflections of Health School of Massage a good neighbor?
Get ready to be inspired by Tammy Cox’s incredible journey into the world of massage therapy. As the owner of Reflections of Health School of Massage, she shares her personal experience of transitioning from a stay-at-home mom of six to running a massage school. Tammy reveals the challenges she faced and the sacrifices made, showing us that it's never too late to follow your passions.
Throughout our conversation, we dive into the importance of shedding the archaic labels and misconceptions that plague the massage industry. Tammy passionately advocates for the recognition of massage therapists as professionals, emphasizing the effort to build a healthy, positive image of the field. Her commitment to education is evident, as she discusses how the school not only trains new therapists but also provides continuing education for licensed professionals.
Tammy elaborates on the school's initiatives, like offering clinical massages that allow students to gain practical skills while serving the community. With a focus on providing affordable services, she highlights how this is beneficial for both students and clients alike.
Join us as we explore what it truly means to turn a challenge into a rewarding career, making a difference in the lives of others. This episode challenges you to rethink your perceptions of massage therapy and consider how you could benefit from it or even take that journey yourself. Don't miss the chance to learn more about the vital work being done at Reflections of Health. Tune in now and spread the word!
To learn more about Reflections of Health School of Massage go to:
https://www.reflectionsofhealth.com/
Reflections of Health School of Massage
(423) 929-3331
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Skip Monty.
Speaker 2:Hello everyone and welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast of the Tri-Cities. So I'm very excited about our guest today. We've got a very special guest who I'm really excited to learn all about. If you're like me and you've often wondered if you've had an incredible massage, where did that person learn how to do that? Does it just come naturally or is there a school? Well, it turns out there's a school and we're thrilled to have the owner and director of the Reflections of Health School of Massage with us today, Ms Tammy Cox. Tammy, welcome to the show.
Speaker 3:Thank you, Skip. Thank you very much for the opportunity.
Speaker 2:Absolutely Like I said, we're thrilled to have you and. I'm super interested to learn more about what you do at this school and how that works. So if you don't mind, why don't you kick us off by telling us about your business?
Speaker 3:Okay, Well, Reflections of Health School of Massage is actually located in Johnson City, Tennessee. We've been here since 2004. John and Karen Kestner were the people that opened the business the founders and in 2019, I bought the business from them and I'm trying to carry on the tradition that I learned from them, which is my passion to educate and get more massage therapists out into the world.
Speaker 2:Very good 20, 21 years in 2004. Congratulations so, Tammy, how did you get into this business? You touched on that.
Speaker 3:Well, long story short, I was about 43 years old and I have six children. The youngest was about a year old and you know I was at stay home at mom. So I knew at that point that I was going to have to go back to work and I didn't really want to go back into banking, so kind of looked around and started thinking about what do I like, what do I want to do, where can I go? So massage therapy had kind of been a passion of mine. So looked into the schools and I actually found John and Karen in Johnson City with Reflections of Health School of Massage, and came in and talked to John and at that time, you know, things were a lot hard.
Speaker 3:I didn't have income, I didn't really know how I was going to pay for the tuition, but my mind was set and I knew that this was what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go. So I made it happen. You know it was a big investment, but it's an investment in yourself that you can actually turn around pretty quickly. So that's that's my journey. Is that? You know I I needed something different and just decided that this is where I wanted to go.
Speaker 2:I like helping people, and in helping people, you know it also helps you in many ways, absolutely absolutely well, what, uh, what are some myths or misconceptions in the massage industry or specifically massage training industry?
Speaker 3:But whatever comes to mind, Well, one thing in particular we I say we, but I will limit it to some of us don't like to be called masseurs or masseuses because of the stigma that has been with that name. We like to be called massage therapist because the massage industry has worked so hard to bring us away from that thinking, the sexuality and all that, to where it's more professional and that's where we want to be.
Speaker 2:Very good, very good Massage therapist. Absolutely, absolutely Well, outside of work. What do you like to do for fun, tammy?
Speaker 3:Well, I like to read. As I said, I've got six children, three grandchildren, so I spend a lot of time with them, but I do like to read. I like to listen to podcasts, so you're on my list, all right. All right.
Speaker 2:Awesome, awesome. And you All right, awesome, awesome. And you said you have six kids. Congratulations. And how many grandkids?
Speaker 3:Three.
Speaker 2:Three grandkids so far.
Speaker 3:So far yes.
Speaker 2:I told my wife we just had our first grandchild in December, and she's stressing that we're not there enough to see them, and I said look, we've got five kids. We could potentially have 16, 17 grandchildren, so you know it'll be fine. So, well let's switch gears for just a second. Tammy, can you describe a hardship or a life's challenge you've gone through, either professionally or personally, that when you came out the other side you were stronger for it? Anything come to mind.
Speaker 3:Well, again, it would have to be the life change of when I decided to become a massage therapist because of the fact that I was leaving six kids at home.
Speaker 3:Now my oldest was 18, and then fell right after that, you know 18, 16 and such. But the children the older children were having to care for the younger children while I went to school, the younger children while I went to school. And with the programs that Reflections have, we have a weekday, a weeknight and a weekend program. So I chose the weekend so that, you know, I was away from them a little bit less and I could study during the week. So I left my children older children in charge of my younger children while I went to school on Friday, saturday and Sunday. During that time you know it was a struggle. It was a struggle financially and you know to keep everything going and me be here at school than going and me be here at school. So that probably was my biggest struggle in life. But to finally get through the program and to be able to go out there and work as a massage therapist was a great achievement.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. I look at you now yeah, after all business, yeah, doing great.
Speaker 3:It's not a job. When you love what you do, you don't feel like you're going to work. You just enjoy what you're doing and you love being with people.
Speaker 2:Absolutely Couldn't agree more. That's so important, and unfortunately that comes to some of us late in life, and me specifically. But, yeah, couldn't agree more. Well, if, tammy, you could think of one thing that you'd like for our listeners to remember, what would that be?
Speaker 3:remember what would that be?
Speaker 3:Well, a lot of people approach me and say you know, we didn't even know that Reflections of Health School of Massage was here.
Speaker 3:So the one thing that I would like to do is and this is a goal of mine this year is to get our name out there a little more and spread the word that we are here to offer the education to become a licensed massage therapist, and that not only that, we do continuing education classes for the therapists who are licensed and for the general public. Our students perform clinical massages, so we offer that on certain days that the general public can come in and get one of these great massages that we offer. It gives our students, you know, the time to practice and learn what they need to learn before they go out into the real world, and they are guided with instructors. You have the privacy of a room where you're in there with a student, but we do check on them. So we we do offer that to the general public and just getting the word out that we're here and that's what we offer, that would be great.
Speaker 2:Very good when the students is that at a discounted price or cost $30 for a 50-minute student clinical massage.
Speaker 3:You can't beat that no tips. You cannot tip the students. So you know it's just, it's $30.
Speaker 2:Wow, you definitely can't beat that 30 bucks. Well, I will. I will definitely remember that Good thing to remember. Nice Cheap that's. That's very affordable. Well, if, if any of our listeners are as excited as I am and they decided that they want to come check you out and either from an educational standpoint and to, or just come get a really affordable massage, how can they learn more?
Speaker 3:well, you can find us on the website at reflectionsofhealthcom, or you can come by our facility. I'd love to give anyone a tour that would like to come in. We're at 1604 Lammons, l-a-m-m-o-n-s Lane, suite 207A.
Speaker 2:Johnson City, tennessee. Awesome, very good, okay. Well, tammy, I can't tell you how much I appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to be with us and tell us all about the school and what you do, and wish you and your family and your six kids and grandkids, all the best moving forward.
Speaker 3:Thank you so much, Skip.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, and maybe we can have you back again one day.
Speaker 3:That'd be great.
Speaker 1:All right, thanks so much. Thank you for listening to the good neighbor podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GNP try dash citiescom. That's GNP, try dash citiescom. Or call 4, 2, 3, 7, 1, 9, 5, 8, 7, 3. Btry-citiescom, or call 423-719-5873.