Reflections of Health Massage School Podcast

The Kestner Legacy: How One Couple Built a Massage School That Feels Like Home

• Tammy Cox • Episode 5

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Meet The Founders: John And Karen Kestner Talk About The History Of The Massage School

Ever wondered if those impromptu shoulder rubs you give to family and friends could transform into a fulfilling career? In this candid conversation with John and Karen Kestner, founders of Reflections of Health Massage School, we uncover the remarkable journey of two natural healthcare practitioners who built an educational haven for aspiring massage therapists.

The Kestners take us back to 2002 when they asked themselves a simple yet profound question: "How can we help more people?" This led to the founding of their massage school in 2004, which has since graduated 600-700 students. Their timing proved fortuitous when they sold the business in 2019, just before COVID hit, though they've since returned in supportive roles to keep their legacy thriving.

What truly sets Reflections of Health apart is their individualized approach to education. "When you're teaching massage to a student, we take them as an individual," Karen explains. Rather than forcing standardized techniques, they adapt their teaching to each student's unique physical capabilities. With Karen's 38 years of hands-on experience, her emphasis on proper body mechanics has helped countless graduates build sustainable, decades-long careers without the physical burnout that plagues many therapists.

For those concerned about entering a saturated field, Karen offers reassurance: "There are never too many massage therapists," explaining that physical limitations on how many clients one person can treat creates continual demand. Plus, with endless continuing education opportunities, "it's always a career that blossoms."

Whether you're seeking escape from the corporate grind, looking for flexible income during college, or ready to transform those casual family massages into professional skills, the message is clear - your healing hands could be the foundation of a powerful, purpose-driven career. Ready to explore this path? Your future might be just one massage away.

To learn more about Reflections of Health School of Massage, Inc. visit:
https://www.ReflectionsofHealth.com
Reflections of Health School of Massage, Inc.
1604 Lamons Ln, Ste 207a
Johnson City, TN 37604
423-804-3067

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Reflections of Health Massage School Podcast, where healing hands become powerful careers. Whether you're looking to escape the 9-to-5 grind, earn extra income during college or finally get paid for all those family shoulder rubs, massage therapy could be your next big move. Join us as we explore the power of touch, the path to purpose, and why starting your journey in massage therapy might be the smartest decision you'll ever make.

Speaker 2:

It all started with a shared passion for healing and a bold dream to build a school that felt like home. John and Karen Kester opened up about the origins of the Reflections of Health Massage School and what continues to set it apart today. Welcome back everyone. Skip Monty, here, co-host, slash producer, back in the studio with two very special guests, founders of the Reflections of Health Massage School, mr John and Ms Karen Kestner. Nice to see you guys. How are y'all both doing?

Speaker 3:

today.

Speaker 2:

Very good. It's a beautiful day today and spring is in the air. Hopefully, summer won't be hitting too fast. So, john Karen, as the founders of the Reflections of Health Massage School, you're probably the best folks to tell us all about the history. Would you mind telling us about the history of the school?

Speaker 3:

Sure, we'll drop back in the years and go back to dated about 2002. And we'd been practicing, both of us, in the natural healthcare field, helping a lot of people with their health, healthcare field, helping a lot of people with their, with their health. And we started looking at each other and saying, well, how can we help more people, how can we really get in to a profession that can help people? And so we looked at massage therapy and said, you know, this is probably the field we can get into and we can give more back from what we've learned, what we've done in a profession, teaching it. And so we looked at the possibility of schools. So, within those next two years, we developed a school massage and it opened up 2004. And it opened up 2004. And from that time on we implemented a lot of the modalities that would work with massage and set it up so that that school would see more people and that way we'd get more groups of people through the years.

Speaker 3:

And so, fast forward, 2019, 2019. We decided our gray hair would desire, desired a little bit of. Let's take a break. So we decided that the school, we could find somebody that could buy the school or run the school and then we would kind of step aside, and so we probably and I haven't really done the exact numbers, but in those 15 years, 16 years, we pretty much put out about 600 to 700 students in massage, wow.

Speaker 3:

And so then COVID hits, and I think it's a blessing from up above that we had sold the business during that time. And so once they got through that, the school did. They were calling saying can we get some help? And we said we're sure that we've always been here for help and we've always been giving you as much educational information as we could make the school go. So that's where we're at. I've gone back in as an administrative officer and also physiology teacher. So we continued, so we got, even though we got the COVID, and we called that a break. So you know it is where we are working again at the school side.

Speaker 2:

So keeping things going keeping it going very good. So both of you are still still working.

Speaker 4:

John is more active than I am. I do mostly continue education. I'm in that department more and I'm I fit in when someone needs help with something, like you know one of the teachers out sick or or you know one of the teachers is out sick or or you know that kind of thing, or they need help with a certain class. I step in after you know, after being in it for so long, it's like their problem is new to them where to me it's old hat, so I can just step in and fix it quicker.

Speaker 2:

Guide, guide, guide. Yeah, that's right. Well, karen, from your perspective, how has the school evolved since you guys first opened the doors?

Speaker 4:

Well, it's like anything else, any profession, we have ups and downs, right, you have a period where we're flowing like crazy and then you have a down period when things get kind of the government starts changing things or the environment starts changing, or you get the word out there's too many massage therapists out there. All that's false information, because there are never too many massage therapists as a person. How many can you do? You can do 20 to 30 to 40, and that's breaking your back at 40. The involvement of it is like it's a continuum. There is no stop to it. You're never going to get too many, nor are you going to get tired of it, because with massage you may start off just being a student and learning, but when you take a CE class or continuing education class, you learn new modalities to add to it. There's always something you can do in massage to change, to make it new for you. It's always a career that blossoms.

Speaker 2:

Wow, very, very nice. Well, what, as far as the reflections of health school specifically? What makes it stand apart? What is it different from other schools?

Speaker 3:

what makes it stand apart? What is it different from other schools? Well, you can go with two ways that you can go with the statistics and basically what the state regulates us on is statistics of passing a state board and, of course, getting your diploma. So you can go that route and say okay, what's the statistics? That's a good word to my tongue today so anyway statistically.

Speaker 3:

We made it a very important part of the school to say look, you got a national board to take. When you get out, you have to pass that in order to get your license. This is the important part. How do we put together a school that can have high passing rates and until COVID, I mean, we pretty much could could say we put together a school that can have high passing rates and until COVID, I mean, we pretty much could say we really had high passing rates and it's still ongoing that we do. If you think of what sets us apart from other massage schools, I think basically it has to do with our history of the modalities and things that we've done in natural health care the ability to be able to network people into those arenas because it's like, like any healing profession or any profession in health care, there's not just one thing that heals you.

Speaker 3:

So you have to have that availability to be able to say, okay, we have some contraindications here in massage that we may need to refer you out to somebody who's that going to be so our years of working in the arena of a lot of other modalities brings that forward to able to tell students this and that with a pathology or something like that that faces them sometimes.

Speaker 4:

The other part too. When you're teaching massage to a student, we take them as an individual. We take what they can accomplish, because there's some of the strokes that you do in massage that don't feel right to someone, so you adjust that to that person instead of saying you have to do that. You have to do that because that's the way it has to be. It isn't that we adapt to make sure that you get through and understand what you're doing so that you can be a better massage therapist, because it's got to really be in your blood. It isn't something you can just say I go to the store and I buy it. It isn't that you have to feel it in order to do it.

Speaker 2:

That's what.

Speaker 4:

I think the school really accomplishes being able to take you apart separately and still make you get to be part of the school.

Speaker 2:

Custom fit for everybody. Yes, Well have you guys put much thought into what you want your legacy to be like as far as through this, through the school, what, what your legacy you would want it to be?

Speaker 4:

well, that's a really good question I like statues, a whole lot we'll talk to tammy about that the biggest thing, I think, is to be remembered what we did for you. We have students that come back to us and they're like, for an example, I used to get behind the student and if they held their legs straight all the time, I would come back and knee it so that they would bend their knee. Well, some students come back and they said you know, when I start doing that, your face comes up and you remind me that I need to let it go forward, and there's other little things that they hear in their back of their mind.

Speaker 4:

Oh, karen said not to do that, you know, or something that that they do consistently, that they shouldn't do.

Speaker 3:

And of course, if they don't, that's called body language. It's not good. They're going to have health problems from that. So very important.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, we, that's my big peeve. My peeve is body mechanics. I'm a big one on. I've been in the practice for over 30 years, so he keeps telling me at 38 years.

Speaker 4:

I know it backwards and forwards and I can see. When I watch somebody do something I can see the trouble they're going to run into. So I correct it quick and if they stick to it it's good. Sometimes they don't, but that's, I can't do anything about that. But it gives them that opportunity to realize what they really. If they want that longevity because that's what I've done I've had that longevity and they can do it.

Speaker 2:

So you can, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink.

Speaker 3:

Oh, absolutely.

Speaker 2:

You could tell them they need to bend their knees. That's really important in a lot of different things. Well, I can't tell you, John Caron, how much I appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule retirement schedule when you're working.

Speaker 3:

We're on the farm down here. Appreciate you guys giving us a little here. We're on the farm, very good.

Speaker 2:

But appreciate you guys giving us a little insight into the history of the school and hope you guys have a wonderful rest of the day.

Speaker 3:

Thank you, Skip.

Speaker 2:

Thank you, and we'll have to have you back sometime. Great, great idea All right, sounds good, y'all have a good one.

Speaker 1:

Think you've got the touch, let's make it official. Call or text 423-804-3067 to schedule your tour and consultation, or visit reflectionsofhealthcom. Your future could be just one massage away and, let's be honest, being everyone's favorite stress reliever isn't a bad gig.