Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Maureen Hughes. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Maureen, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.

I would have to say a defining moment in my life is when I realized how unfulfilled I was as a biotechnology sales person. I had previous experience in the “healing arts” from 2002-2006, when I was teaching yoga and just learning a little about Thai Massage. But, my bills were telling me I needed to do something else… with my PhD background in the sciences, I ended up in biotechnology sales. I was doing a pretty good job, making a decent living, traveling a lot and enjoying the amenities, but it seemed that something was missing. My stress levels were through the roof, and I was giving a presentation that I had given at least 500 times before, and I looked at the people in the room and I almost forgot where I was. I still had another three days out of town in Ohio for a big vendor show. I asked one of the other sales reps there about “burn out”. She had a few other types of jobs in the field, and she said, “maybe you should give your notice”. You see, I was waiting until I had a certain amount of money in the bank anyway, to be able to do this. But taking the risk of leaving a job, not having a steady paycheck, was scary.
So, I gave my two week notice. I cleaned things up, helped train the team, and that was it. No more work.
I felt empty, because I had forgotten my Soul’s purpose.
Luckily, I had someone in my life who really drove down deep with me. In a moment of extreme sadness and feeling lost, he asked me “what is it really that your Soul wants you to do, to become?”.
I had forgotten.
And I said “A Thai Yoga Massage Therapist”.
He didn’t know what that was… so I explained it to him.
He said “it sounds like you could really help a lot of people that way”.
I said “Yes, that’s true, that is ultimately what I want… to help people.”
So later that day I got on the phone to look for the school that I had trained at in Evanston, IL back in 2006. They were still in operation (this was 2013).
I re-took a beginner class, and while I was there, the Instructor said “You know if you want to work legally in MO, you should really get a massage license… like if this is what you really want to do for a living.” So, I contacted the Healing Arts Center and after a 40 day visit in India in 2014, I enrolled at the Healing Arts Center. While I was there, I thought to myself “what am I going to do to get out of winter this year?”, and surprisingly an answer popped in my head… go train in Florida for SomaVeda (it was a 27 day program at the time). I registered for my first CTP-1 program with Dr. Anthony James, and about halfway through the course they asked if I would be interested in teaching this work. It was a resounding “YES”! So here I am 8 years later, still practicing and teaching this amazing ancient healing work.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My background is as a PhD Scientist, so that discipline requires a lot of creativity with a strong root in observation and attention. While I was a Post-Doc at Wash U I was introduced to Thai Yoga/Thai Massage in 2005 as my yoga teacher had just completed a 100 hour course, and gave me a session. It showed me things about myself I never knew I could do! It also showed me how much pain I had in my body, and kickstarted my journey to figure out the “why”. So, this is what I do now. I help people release their pains. Mostly people come to me because they have unresolved post-surgical pain, which a lot of times is a result of unresolved emotional trauma associated with the surgery that is manifesting as pain. There are other deeper issues that may be resurrected in the process, though, so sometimes I use some of the many other healing modalitites I have been trained in. To be clear, I work as a Minister of the Native American Indigenous Church. I help facilitate healing, and help people regain their function on all levels. All in all, I help people come back to themselves. I mostly do this through the ancient discipline of Thai Yoga Therapy (also known as Thai Massage). The specific style I offer is called SomaVeda and it integrates all types of Indigenous and Traditional Therapies. There is a pattern embedded in this work that allows the deeper tissues to release thoroughly in a systematic fashion. It is an assessment and a treatment all at one time. The Pattern is around 940 years old, it is called the “Royal Method” or “Southern Style” because it is the technique offered to the Kind of Thailand.
What sets me apart from others is that I find “everything”, meaning pain and dysfunction, and treat a little bit of everything in a single session. I also have been able to develop this keen sensitivity and ability to palpate and help release the knots (or energy blockages, however you may want to look at it). I have conversations with the tissues, and with the clients about whatever they are feeling, and ask them to use their concentration to help energy flow and “push” the pain out of their own body.
Many of my clients have never received any form of hands-on work before, and many seek out my help because of their lack of flexibility. The age range of customer I typically draw is over 5o years of age, and are realizing that they have not taken care of themselves nearly as well as they intended to. I also work with a lot of Veterans and first responders, highly sensitive people, people with complex PTSD, and people in recovery from drug and alcohol abuse that are ready to take the next step in their evolution as a human.

If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?

I would absolutely choose this profession again. Becoming a hands-on therapist and working with people on a deeper levels has changed the way that I perceive the world. Working with people so closely and intimately, with the safe and consensual boundaries, has helped me towards the journey of developing known as ProMiiWihanSii — the Four Divine States of Mind which are Love, Compassion, Joy, and Equanimity. Once I learned to let go of the results of the work, and recognize that everyone is in their own process, that I cannot control how they are outside of the time that people see me, that was HUGE! It took a while, because I thought that I could change a person. It’s absolutely not true. They have to want to change themselves, all I can do is offer the tools to get them on the path. And my clients are my biggest and best mirror.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

Cultivating the skill of asking pointed questions, and then actively listening has been the most important thing for my continued success. What has been interesting, though, is that while a person may come in with a particular physical complaint, there are actually so many more “issues in the tissues” that need to be addressed. So, I have started listening to my clients bodies, in the sense that as I push on them, they learn about themselves, and I learn about them. I learn how they react to pain sensations, I see if they react, or don’t react. I do my best to coach them and let them know that it’s OK to express their discomfort. That it is OK to let their emotions flow, as needed. There are the words, for sure, but then there are the more subtle signals. Persistence has also been key. After a major knee surgery in 2018, a broken big toe in 2019, and then the Pandemic, I could have given up, and found something else to do that wasn’t so physical or involved closeness. But this is my passion. Helping others learn more about themselves and heal themselves, and training others to do the same has been so heart-opening.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.totalharmony.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/totalharmony11
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maureen-hughes-phd-lmt-9710a95/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP5NkLHAubIimS65nc5RLyA

Image Credits
Tree Pose Primary Image: Kevin Theole Thai Massage Images: Jeanette Falu-Bishop