We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kirsten Guilliams. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kirsten below.

Kirsten, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Looking back at internships and apprenticeships can be interesting, because there is so much variety in people’s experiences – and often those experiences inform our own leadership style. Do you have an interesting story from that stage of your career that you can share with us?

Attending my first continuing education class was a nerve wracking experience. I was less than a year out of school, still trying to find my footing, and totally unsure of my technique/capabilities as a therapist. Now I was about to be surrounded by a dozen practitioners that had been in the field for 10, 15, 20+ years, longer than myself. So there I was, sitting in my seat, desperately trying to subdue my anxiety, and fear judgment. That’s when Carrie Taylor introduced herself and started our day. I was blown away both by the seemingly unending wealth of knowledge that she possessed, and the confidence in which she carried herself as she lectured. Was it intimidating being in class? 100%. However, instead of feeling discouraged or overwhelmed, I found myself surrounded by kind, like-minded individuals, and a teacher that despite the obvious superiority of her craft, never made me feel insecure. You could tell immediately that she really wanted us to grow as therapists, she wanted to make us better, thereby growing our own practices. After my first class I was like- yup, this is what I want to do, this is how I want to practice massage therapy. I want to be like Carrie when I grow up. The material, the techniques, everything was so intuitive, and it just felt right. Any class Carrie offered I signed up for, almost obsessively. She was always so warm, welcoming, and supportive. I was absolutely thrilled when she asked if I would be interested in training to become a Level 1 Instructor of her Myofascial technique. So 3.5 years later, hundreds of hours of continuing education, TA-ing, and plenty of guidance, I am now certified to share and teach this work to other massage therapists. It has revolutionized my practice and been such a wonderful experience thus far. I am just so thankful to have crossed paths with Carrie and to have her as a mentor.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I have been in the health and wellness industry for about 15 years. Starting as a CrossFit athlete, I transitioned into becoming a coach, and to eventually becoming a co-owner of the my own gym, BGB CrossFit in Fayetteville, Ga. As an athlete I have suffered my fair share of injuries, which caused my need for physical therapy, dry needling, chiropractic adjustments and massage therapy. In my experience, massage provided the most relief and improvement, and really sparked a curiosity in its healing potential. It’s more than just slapping lotion onto a body for an hour. Massage therapy can affect real change in the tissue, even impacting the nervous system. Right before the start of Covid I went through a major life change, going from a dual income household and relationship, to becoming single and on my own, for the first time since college (2009). It was an extremely tumultuous time, full of stress and uncertainty, but it also left me in a position to be in complete control of my life and what I chose to do with it. I decided immediately that I was finally going to pursue massage therapy, something I’d been considering for some time, but just didn’t have the encouragement I thought I needed to do so. Four years later, and not only is my practice thriving, but I have also just hit another milestone. In 2025 I became an instructor of Level 1 Taylor Technique Myofascial Therapy, which allows me to act as a continuing education instructor. It’s been a wild ride, and I have loved every second of learning and developing my skills as a therapist. I think what sets me apart from other therapists is how I combine of a variety of modalities in my treatments. My practice’s focus centers around relieving pain, restoring function, and improving athletic performance. I mainly use myofascial release, but also incorporate some Neuromuscular (trigger point) therapy, sports massage, and IASTM (cupping and scraping). I also provide personalized corrective exercises and mobility programming for clients looking to correct muscle imbalances, improve flexibility, and increase athletic performance. My dual background as a CrossFit athlete/coach and LMT has allowed me to see firsthand, the importance of proper movement patterns in combination with soft tissue therapy in injury prevention. For years CrossFit has gotten a bad rap for being too intense, with the risk of injury being too high. I’ve heard many PT’s joke about CrossFit providing “job security”. Becoming an LMT has given me the tools to help ensure a significantly low incident/injury rate in my gym and allow our members with significant injuries like rotator cuff tears, disc pathologies, and other joint issues to work out safely. Every day I am eager to learn more, gain more experience, and treat more clients. It’s amazing to know that my clients place their trust in me so much so, that I run almost entirely on referrals and recommendations. I love being my gym members and massage clients first person they think to contact when something in their body goes awry. I also really enjoy educating my clients as I treat them, briefing them on the muscles to be treated and the problems that they can cause. Being able to provide pain relief, comfort, and healing is the most indescribable and fulfilling sensation I have ever encountered.

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

If I could go back in time I would 100% choose this career path. Honestly, I should have chosen it a lot sooner. Becoming a massage therapist has been more fulfilling and rewarding than I ever could have imagined. Yes, some days are long, and it can be physically and emotionally taxing, but the look of relief at times mixed with surprise (those are the most fun) makes it worth it every time.

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

The type of massage I perform, requires a strong anatomical knowledge base. Almost daily I review some kind of anatomical structure, on a note card, app or in a book. I am a firm believer that you must fully understand what you’re treating to provide the best care. I also think what sets someone apart from a being good therapist even one with a strong knowledge base, from great one is empathy and compassion. Yes, our clients are coming to see us (massage therapists) to treat their physical bodies, but many are also looking for a non-judgmental listening ear. Our treatment rooms become a safe space for our client to decompress, vent, and maybe have even have a little part of their often times, weary spirit, healed.

Contact Info:

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Image Credits

Alisa Lockwood @alisa.lockwood.livelife
Davison Wheeler @dailycompmedia
Jonathan Ortega @j_tega_