We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Vanessa Plazola a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Vanessa, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

When I first decided I wanted to switch careers from auditing to massage therapy, I instantly knew that it was my calling. I always wanted to be in a profession where I could help people, however I somehow found myself in a job full of numbers and reports. Although i was grateful to have this opportunity, it was unfulfilling. I love people and I knew my place was to make others feel better. Once I started massage therapy school I fell in love with the work and caught onto it fairly quickly, it just felt right. Initially I didn’t think I would want to work at a fancy spa, I really wanted to help real people with concerns and chronic pain. However after graduating massage school and making my way from day spas to hotel spas to resorts, I found myself working my way up to two of the Forbes 5 star spas in San Diego. I fell in love with the spa world and how light and fun it was. In a way starting my own business seemed very scary, but I knew it was still the dream for me and I decided to start slow. I took a side job at a local day spa in hopes of building clientele slowly and maybe in years I would make my own practice. That was until the rug was pulled from under me and I was told after 2 weeks of starting that I would have to start my own business and no longer be an employee. What a shock! I can still remember calling my friend when I found out and panicking. Yes, this was what I always wanted, but I was not ready for it now. It was supposed to be a gradual process not right away out of nowhere! What if i don’t get enough clients to pay rent? What if I can’t do it? I was very scared, but I decided to take a leap and believe in myself. Luckily with the help of the spa owner, she gave me the opportunity to do something that I might have always been too scared to do, make my own massage therapy practice. She shared with me her knowledge of running a spa business and helped me so I wasn’t on my own at first. I then moved from that local spa in pacific beach, to north PB, to La Jolla and finally right in the heart of La Jolla Village having my own private space doing what I love. I have had my business since 2016 and I can still hardly believe that I have been living my dream helping people walk out feeling better.

Vanessa, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I started my career 11 years ago and it is my proudest moment. The best part of my career is working directly with each client who comes in. Massage therapy can be very intimate and involves a lot of vulnerability on the client’s part. I often have some people who have a very hard time letting go and end up tensing their bodies at all times. It takes a lot of trust and ability to allow yourself to be vulnerable and relax. I am always honored when someone says they are having their first massage with me. My responsibility as the practitioner is to let each person who comes in feel safe, comfortable, and know that I will help them with their concerns coming in. More often than not, daily stressors, depression, and anxiety can account for a majority of our muscular pains. Although I work on the body physically, the other half of what I do is to help quiet the mind and help the person heal mentally as well. I have some clients who cry and share their lives with me and it is my biggest honor of all. Life can be chaotic and unpredictable and I want to be the place where someone can go to rebalance themselves even for just an hour. My massage style has been adjusted as the years go by. My reason for wanting to build my practice is so I can help see the progress of someone who has chronic pain and see how getting steady massage can help their body. I believe in therapeutic work and I often tell my clients that I want to start with what I feel their body needs and we can adjust to whether they need/want more pressure. I want to work with the muscles rather than against it. I never want the body to feel like it is being attacked. I specialize in NMT (neuromuscular) therapy work which works on trigger points and balancing the musculoskeletal and nervous systems, I also specialize in Lomi Lomi which is a Hawaiian style massage that uses more longer fluid motions and forearms to help the body feel connected. My goal is to have a therapeutic massage be relaxing as well. This proves to be a pleasant surprise to my clients wanting a deep tissue massage. I believe that in order for the physical component of the massage to go further, the mental portion needs to relax and let go. That is the only way for the massage to go further and have a more lasting therapeutic effect.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I can’t really remember when I made this a habit, but as far back as I can remember my friends and family would call me a “workaholic” or refer to me as “so busy all the time”. I think of myself as an active person in all ways but balance has definitely been a weak spot for me. My biggest problem is that I like to prioritize everything at once. I usually would work double shifts with no days off, and I would stay out late or wake up early to make time for my family and friends after or before work. I never wanted to sacrifice one for the other. This lead to me not sleeping well, not being present for clients, and pouring from an empty cup. It wasn’t until 2019 when I started having sharp nerve pains in my arm that I realized, this couldn’t continue and I was setting myself up for injury and jeopardizing my career. I had to make a conscious decision to prioritize my wellbeing and self care. Today, I have made myself a self care routine of getting chiropractic adjustments, therapeutic massages, and acupuncture once a month to ensure that my body is able to keep up for years to come. I also made sure i have days off to disconnect mentally, energetically, and physically for two days in a row. It is a challenge to take the time to unlearn the habit of prioritizing others, but I am doing my best to put my well-being first so I can show up as my best self for my clients and their needs.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I first graduated high school I thought for sure I would be a counselor, until of course I went to a university that was very impacted and I had to switch majors. I never stopped wondering or wanting to do more though. During my work with clients and hearing their stories and being there to support them with my limited abilities, I realized that I truly wanted to learn to do more. I went to school for hypnotherapy in 2022 in Washington state and was amazed at the deep work I was learning. It was truly a way to allow clients to heal without having to talk over events and bring everything back. It made me realize how powerful the subconscious is and how to empower and help people through a different approach. I have since seen the changes that hypnosis has made of their lives and can’t believe I did not take this path sooner.    

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mahinabodywork.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mahina.massage.wellness/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mahinamassagewellness
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/mahina-massage-and-wellness-la-jolla

Image Credits
@black_moon_images Lani on instagram