Today we’d like to introduce you to Erica Girardeau.
Hi Erica, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
Massage therapy came across my radar 6 years ago, within a year of moving to Dallas from Los Angeles, California. At this time in my life, I was searching for something meaningful to contribute to the world and something that would be fulfilling for me to do in a career. I hadn’t finished my four-year degree after a few years of attending community college and came to the conclusion that pursuing a trade would be best suited for me.
After moving to Dallas, I began to get back into practicing yoga at a local gym. Initially, I began practicing at the age of 18 while still living in LA – this was my first experience in recognizing the connection between the mind and body. When I joined a gym in Dallas and began practicing yoga more consistently, I met a yoga instructor who also practiced massage. This was a lightbulb moment for me and gave me the instinctive urge to start looking into massage schools in the DFW area. I found a small school in Plano in the summer of 2018 – Ke Kino Massage Institute. Everything happened very quickly for me once I visited the school. I had a good feeling about this specific school and felt like it was where I was lead and meant to be.
School started that summer, and several months later, I had a license to practice massage therapy in the state of Texas. It wasn’t until I was actively in school and learning that I realize the depth of massage, and it was nothing like I thought it was. I learned that massage was both science and art and an ancient healing modality that spans across time and culture. Not only did I learn about massage in school, but I learned more about myself and the gift I could offer to the world. Massage changed my life in more ways than one, and it deepened the value and respect I have for the human body.
Since getting my license in 2019, I’ve acquired experience in a number of different settings, including chiropractic offices and small massage studios. I never thought I would have my own business because it seemed like a lot of sacrifice and work, and I truly just wanted to focus on helping people with massage and not worry about running a business. In the summer of 2022, I found myself in a position of losing my job due to our small studio that I had been with for the previous 2.5 years. Although it did not come as a shock to me, I still was at a crossroads of what direction to go – either to find a new job or take a leap of faith and start my own practice. I felt the motivation to forge my own path, and several months later, Flourish Massage bloomed from my efforts. It has been quite the journey and learning curve since then, but I have so much gratitude for where I am today and for the people who trust me to take care of them. Massage and those it have brought into my life and business has blessed me beyond what I could’ve imagined.
Flourish Massage is now partnered with Radiant Life Wellness, a small chiropractic studio located in Old East Dallas. We are both passionate about wellness and bodywork and are so excited for what the future will bring for us and our community.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Nothing worth pursuing comes easy. Massage is a career field that can be harsh physically and mentally on the practitioner, and the typical burnout rate for massage therapists is 5 years. This can be due to being overworked and underpaid, physical injuries, and just a general lack of support from employers. There have been times early in my career when I felt so tired physically and had nothing left to give another person, yet I had to do one more massage. Pushing through the physical limitations can be challenging, and you don’t always know how to advocate for yourself early on. My best advice for new massage therapists is to find places to work that value your well-being and your gift. Make taking care of your body a priority -get regular massage and chiropractic adjustments, exercise and lifting weights, and general rest is all crucial to maintaining longevity in the field.
As you know, we’re big fans of Flourish Massage. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about the brand?
The name Flourish Massage came from a collaborative effort with another massage therapist and my innate love for flowers. The body flourishes when it is well taken care of and given space to feel and process intentional and therapeutic touch. The modalities I offer are myofascial release, combination deep tissue and Swedish massage, cupping therapy, assisted stretching, and prenatal massage. My techniques evolve with time and education, and since I consider massage an art, is unique to each individual and their needs. No two sessions are the same with me, and my goal is to have you feeling lighter and more aligned when you leave. My sessions are a combination of corrective and restorative work, meaning the goal is to correct issues as much as possible, while also being gentle enough to allow your body relax and naturally release tension.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
Hopefully, more people catch onto the healing that massage brings to the mind and body. There are so many who have never experienced therapeutic touch in their life and have no awareness of their physical body and the pain/tension they carry. There are so many stressors in this life, and the least we can do to address it is have a professional give their undivided attention to you and your body. I think as life gets crazier and we become more touch-deprived as a society, the need for therapeutic bodywork will increase. It’s hard to look into the future, of course, but I see ourselves taking more care of our well-being and pursuing services that are more natural and less expensive than Western medicine to solve our problem of pain and stress.
Contact Info:
- Website: flourishmassagedtx.com
- Instagram: flourishmassagedtx
Image Credits
Joe Johnson
