Today we’d like to introduce you to Aileen Judson.
Hi Aileen, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I think my story starts like it does for us all – unwittingly, in childhood. I am the youngest of a large-ish farming family. In many ways it was idyllic, loving, and fun, and in other ways there was a good deal of family drama, along with accidents, injuries, and traumas that have shaped the rest of my life, both personally and professionally.
Professionally, my journey has often felt like one happy accident after another, without much actual thought, purpose, or planning, as if the forces of the universe have always put me exactly where I needed to be.
When I set out on my own I was pretty shut down in many ways, dealing with PTSD, and fairly overwhelming anxiety and depression. I had to get myself kicked out of college for all of the partying, and everything that goes with it. I was drugging myself just in order to be able to be there, only to get sent back home, to realize all of the reasons I had to get out of there and the small town I grew up in – and stay out. In order to be allowed back to school, I had to change my major from Marketing – LOL, to Psychology with a minor in Social Work. That unplanned-for change, that was decided upon like throwing a dart blindfolded, opened my eyes and allowed me to start naming some of my childhood experiences, and sparked an interest in me in mental health that has stayed with me all these years.
I happened to land a job working in a hospital as a Social Work “Assistant” after having been beat up by a resident while working one-on-one in a group home. I was doing much of the same work as the MSW while getting paid far less, in an OB/GYN clinic. It was a job that sent me home crying most every day for over a year. It was there that gave this naive and sheltered farmgirl a horrifying first hand look at drugs, prostitution, domestic violence, child abuse, and poverty. I also had the unexpected pleasure of reading medical charts as part of the job which made me realize how fascinated I was with the human body.
After staying in that job as long as I could, I decided I needed to go get my Masters Degree, and if I was going to do that it was the perfect excuse to go somewhere else. I then moved from NY to Seattle, not knowing where I was going or what I was doing, even though I didn’t get accepted into the MSW program. I have no idea what moved me – literally, to go, except that same feeling of I needing to get out, and over time realizing, stay out. That decision, has turned out to be one of the best, and most heart wrenching one I’ve had to make. Shooting me out into the universe on the trajectory of forging my own life, and creating a vast geographical distance between myself and beloved family members. Forcing me not to continue on the path of enmeshed co-dependency, which is the only life I knew.
Still not knowing what I was doing, in any capacity, I happened to find myself enrolled in a massage licensing program. It was there that I realized I was exactly where I needed to be, even though it terrified me, and was bringing up all kinds of “stuff”: mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually… Massage, seemed to come to me naturally, so I just continued on. It turned out to be exactly what I needed to do. To begin the journey of healing my body, connecting my body and mind, and giving me a skill that would support me for decades while helping others feel better.
Immediately after graduation I was curiously offered a job at the massage school to run the student teaching clinic. That placement, which I felt wholly unprepared and unqualified for, has subsequently lead to about 25 years of teaching in my 31 year career as a Massage Therapist. The majority of that time has been while living in Flagstaff, Arizona. During that time I have pursued my other love, for myself primarily, but as with everything I find that helps me feel better, for others as well. This has involved immersing myself in both the teachings and philosophy of spirituality: aka life as we know it here on planet earth , through the study, practice, and instruction of meditation, yoga, and modern day neuroscience. Interspersed throughout my journey has been the study and practice of energy work which included psychic surgery, distance healing, chakra balancing, Reiki, and Therapeutic Touch…
Over the past 12 years or so I have been happy to incorporate more and more mind/body, body/mind services into my offerings, as I have become more comfortable and confident offering to others what has been so essential to me on my journey of healing. And right now, I’m super excited to be studying and preparing to for the biggest shift yet, into ever more help for people in that capacity.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road has been smooth in that all the right events and circumstances I have needed for my growth, healing, and career development have always presented themselves at just the right time, in just the right way, that made it obvious what the right next step should be. That isn’t to say that everything has been easy, it hasn’t, or that I have learned my lessons and been able to pivot quickly. I feel in many respects, I am a very slow learner and have clung on to what I pictured and hoped my life would be instead of what it has become; having to learn how to embrace the unexpected shifts and changes and really accept the precious beauty of NOW.
Having the distance that time offers allows me to see that the breakups, getting fired from the jobs, the nearly constant struggle with anxiety, depression, auto-immune disease, self confidence, and money, etc., has led me to exactly where I am. And where I am is a really great place.
It is certainly not without struggle, angst, or hardship, but now I am able to get myself out of the way a bit better and recover faster when I get knocked down. Recognizing that if I can accept that something isn’t what I wanted or thought I needed, it is perhaps, the best thing for me in the long run, and that helps me relax into whatever is going on.
Learning and practicing important yogic teachings along the way has really been a game changer… A few that really resonate with me out of the many are: Vairagya, Non-Attachment (learning to relax WITH things and people as they are, trying to allow life to flow), Ahimsa; Non-Violence (especially towards self), Svadhyaya; Self-Study(why do I do what I do when I do it, and why do I avoid this and procrastinate that), Santosha; Contentment (recognizing and honoring life’s blessings), and Ishvara Pranidhana; Surrender to the Divine (giving over both the big and little things that I know are not mine to solve, control, or manage).
We’ve been impressed with The Body Divine , but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
My business is and always has been a one woman show (until recently when I joined in collaboration Elevated Education of Northern Arizona as one of 4 founding members, providing continuing education hours for Massage Therapists, a place for instructors to teach, and Community Wellness Classes for the public). Working alone has been a great fit for me in so many ways and overwhelming in others. I’m terrible at taking care of business! “The books” for example, promoting myself, etc…
The heart of my business has always been providing Therapeutic Massage which breaks down in a few different ways. I’m known, mostly by word of mouth, for offering a very specific kind of massage, which over the years I’ve started calling Integrated Trigger Point Therapy. It addresses people’s pain, both chronic and acute, which is often accompanied by some kind of dysfunction, in an almost surgical kind of way. Many people come to me who have seen other massage therapists, physical therapists, doctors of varying specialties, have tried chiropractic, and acupuncture. Many are on a variety of medications. Some have already had surgery or are scheduled for it. Some people are debilitated, afraid, depressed, and some people have just given up.
So sometimes it is “just” massage. The session can be very specific addressing all of the above and it can be intense navigating it all along with their hopes and fears. I hear over and over that they didn’t really believe what I was doing would help because it is a simple and straight-forward process. I’m really happy to report that more often than not, they are happily surprised with positive outcomes.
Sometimes people only want to relax – which I take very seriously, as it’s been shown that the majority of doctor’s visits are stress related and people’s mental health is being critically challenged in ways previously unknown. Oftentimes, people’s nervous systems no longer remember how to truly relax, if they ever really did, which is another passion of mine; helping people learn tools to manage anxiety, overstimulation, stress, PTSD, rewrite false narratives, and find some peace in their lives through mind/body work.
So as you see, more often, the work I do is a combination of things… Listening is first and foremost. Being sure I hear them and understand what they most want and need. Making sure they understand that it is their session and that they are in control of it, and can stop me or change anything that is happening at any time. So, in addition to massage, based on what they have told me they want and what I find the body tells me, I might also offer some energy work, craniosacral therapy, transformational yoga coaching, breathwork, meditation practices, and nearly always the person is sent home with “homework”. This might be a combination of any of the above things we did in session, and include various stretches or self massage.
I find that a well educated client is one who is best able to understand what is going on with them and why we’re doing what we are in a session. They tend to become more invested in their own self care, and are better able to provide themselves what they need as they need it.
If I had to say what sets me apart from others, it is that I am well practiced in following my clients lead over the decades in this field. If they tell me their shoulder hurts, by gosh, I’m going to try my best and figure out why, with them. Oftentimes, I find myself and my hands, or my verbal prompts, going outside of any textbook training and it often brings both me and the client to an unexpected place in their healing journey. I am able to blend my massage training with that of my meditation and yoga trainings. This in conjunction with my undergrad work and time spent doing social work has really allowed me an avenue of doing mind/body work, before it became the movement it has today. I have not only let my clients shape our sessions and hone my skills, becoming my best teachers, but have used my own healing journey to guide and dictate what I am able to offer them next. I love to keep learning what makes me feel better, and I always want to share that to try and help someone else.
As for my brand… hmmmm… I guess that’s something that feels like it’s still in the process of becoming, 30 plus years in the making. I have always tried to find a box or a label for my work and have often found myself having a challenge with that. I haven’t quite ever known how to describe what it is I do… other than to say that I want to help people feel better and become more empowered in taking better care of themselves. Every-day people. Ones who maybe can’t afford to try a bunch of different things or aren’t interested in popping a bunch of pills with questionable side effects, or have surgery to “fix” what ails them, or buy into the very loud message that something is wrong with them.
I want people to know that they are perfect. Perfectly imperfect, just as they are. That their body/mind knows how how to heal, how to find balance, and sometimes it just takes a little course correction, sometimes a little more. A little effort on their part and a little skilled help from the outside.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Perseverance. So much of my professional journey has been created and ultimately challenged by my own personal one. For all of the years, decades in fact, that I have dealt with debilitating depression and anxiety and still managed to show up to work anyway, has been because of my dedication to help others and my pride and belief in the value of the service I provide. Quitting hasn’t felt like an option for a multitude of reasons.
The relationships I develop with the people I serve are invaluable to me. Wanting to show up for them has driven me in ways I can’t express. Being able to do that taught me so much about myself and my own inner strength and determination.
It has also taught me to be softer and kinder with myself. To really listen to my own inner voice and rest and take better care of myself when I need to, and establish better practices for self care that refuel and recharge me so I don’t get so depleted to begin with. Learning that for me, perseverance does not mean beating myself into the ground and giving my last drop of blood for someone else, which it has, most of my life.
Learning to make better choices and putting myself first has been an ongoing process and one I work at every day. Choosing joy. Seeking out beauty. Opening to love. Finding reasons to laugh. Trying to not take everything so seriously.
William James said, “The art of being wise is knowing what to overlook.” AKA, preserve your peace. Perhaps he was a Yogi!
A very wise client quotes a line from a movie I can never remember the name of, but it has become a motto of sorts – “Endeavor to persevere.”
One foot in front of the other. Keep on keeping on. Try to make today better than yesterday. Get help when you need it. And take time to smell the roses, or any other flower you happen to encounter along the way. And if you can put on some really good music and dance, even better! Om, Shanti shanti shanti… peace, peace, peace <3<3<3 Blessings!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thebodydivine.com
