Penticton massage therapists enjoys creatively solving the 'puzzle' of helping her clients feel better - Penticton News - Castanet.net

[massage]

Photo: Contributed

"Okanagan Inspired" is a weekly series of profiles offering a peek into the stories and inspirations of South Okanagan residents who hold creative roles in the community.

A former Brit who has made Penticton her forever home calls massage "a puzzle," using her creativity to help her clients feel better.

Originally from Buckinghamshire, England, Emily Mason explored the world before choosing Penticton.

“I met people from Penticton when I was travelling in Thailand. Being from England, most people don't know a lot about Canada ... I Googled Penticton and the first thing I saw was people floating down the channel and I thought ‘That looks like a cool place to go,’” explains Mason.

After visiting, Mason fell in love with the city.

"People ask me why I wanted to stay here, but to me it’s an easy answer. There are two lakes, bike tracks and the mountains and so much to do. It’s a great place to be with a great vibe. People warned me it could be hard to find work here, but I just made my own!” says Mason

With extensive training in sports massage from England, Mason decided to open her own business in Penticton, Fighting Fit Sports Massage.

“I was a personal trainer in England and taught boxing and self-defence in schools. I like to learn and wanted to keep building on what I already did. I thought sports massage was a good next step so I went back to school. As soon as I learned about the body and anatomy, it’s like an explosion went off in my head. I was like ‘This is amazing.’ I immediately knew I found my place, and what I should be doing,” she says.

Mason has researched and trained in diverse techniques tailored to her specific clients' needs; for example, reflexology for some of her paramedic clients, and she is even trained in reiki for some of her more unique clients.

"I learned that reiki can really help cats, so I learned and practised on [my cat Bo] and cats at Critteraid Animal Sanctuary. Bo really turned around after getting reiki treatments, so I pursued learning it and am taking my test to get my Masters in a week!” says Mason.

“If I hadn't come here, I wouldn’t have learned as much as I have."

At Fighting Fit Sports Massage, Mason now offers a mix of massage, reflexology and reiki, saying the techniques complement each other.

Her passion for learning is just one reason Mason has found her perfect fit.

“You can study it your whole life and still not learn everything, and I wanted to bring that knowledge to Penticton,” says Mason.

“I love everything about it. I don't know how to put it into words. I really love helping my clients. I want to help people and make their lives better. I feel like I'm living my dharma, which means I feel like I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing; helping someone become pain free or helping them manage it."

Creatively finding solutions to help her clients is what Mason is best at.

“Massage is like a puzzle, you look at the whole body. Sometimes the problem isn't where you think it is. If you have an injury, other parts of your body will compensate. It’s like someone has stirred up your puzzle and I have to put it all back together. I love what I do, I’ve had people cry in gratitude because I was able to help them."

Mason also trains and coaches at Beach City CrossFit, explaining she loves being able to help people deal with pain, and also get stronger through her drop-in boxing class there Tuesday nights, nicknamed "Fight Club" — but everyone is allowed to talk about it.

"Everyone is welcome to Fight Club. All ages, all abilities and no egos. People of all shapes and sizes come and they say it also helps with their mental health too because it's so empowering. It's a partner workout and we do different combos and techniques. They're learning proper boxing skills. Some could go in the ring and fight right now!” Mason says.

Mason says anyone with pain or injuries should seek help right away before it becomes chronic. The pandemic led to a lot of shut downs for services like massage therapy and physiotherapy, and many people had to wait.

"The window gets smaller and smaller and things become chronic so it's important to be your own advocate for your body ... get a massage done, see a naturopath. Just find someone that will help you,” Mason says.

Coming up with creative ways to help people excites Mason.

“One of my clients is a nurse and she was experiencing knee pain and had been diagnosed by a doctor with arthritis. We both felt that was not the case so we worked together to find the cause and a more probable diagnosis by examining the joint. After talking with her, we discovered she was experiencing lactic acid build up behind the joint due to a repetitive motion caused at work. We worked the joint and she was immediately better and doing lunges in front of me. It was so exciting," Mason recounts.

"I am so passionate about what I do. I helped an older lady, and she sent all of her many friends to see me. I love helping them to the best of my ability. I have networked with the best people here, and if I can't help, I send them to someone who can."

You can often find Mason in the gym blasting her boxing playlist, with her favourite song being Come Out Swinging by the Offspring.

Find Emily at Fighting Fit Sports Massage online here and on social media @fightingfitsports.

Are you a South Okanagan resident with a creative position interested in being featured?

Email [email protected]