We were lucky to catch up with Michael Annaian recently and have shared our conversation below.

Michael, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

4 years ago, in February of 2018, I found myself at a pinnacle crossroad in my life. After 30 years in the landscape/lawn care industry I was extremely tired, rundown, feeling burned out, and acutely aware that my career was no longer serving my healthiest interests.

I had moved to Florida 2 years prior and embarked on a deep soul search. A soul search to clear internal clutter I had been carrying with me for many years. After the passing of my parents in 1999 and 2000 I was somewhat lost emotionally. I was in deep grief and mourning for a decade. I felt I was living a life to survive and not necessarily thrive. It had started taking a toll on my health and I knew many areas of my life needed change. When I moved to Florida in 2016 it put me face to face with the many areas I wanted clarity and growth. It was a very uncomfortable time which I find to be times of the greatest growth. I reached a peak which culminated in this moment.

Not one for leaving a job or a profession without a plan, I took a leap of faith. I abruptly left the last landscape job I was working and decided to retire. Not knowing which direction I was heading or what I wanted to do, I prayed. I prayed for clarity, for calm, for insight on where I should be going. To serve my truest self. Throughout my life I have always connected with God and my faith in all experiences I have gone through. Both positive and negative. But this was a different kind of surrender and belief. I was spending my days exploring internet job listings. I saw several listings for massage therapists and that’s when the light bulb went off. I immediately googled massage schools near me, immediately scheduled a tour at the Cortiva Institute, and an hour after that I walked out having signed up for school. I was scared and nervous as to what I just did but had a deep belief this was the direction for me. During a 7 month program I learned and connected to more than I could have ever imagined. I learned so much about the make up of the human body and systems that it connected me to my own areas I wanted healthier. And I learned many massage modalities to target different areas of healing.

Upon graduation I embarked on my integrative bodywork practice in December of 2018. It’s the greatest move I’ve ever made. I’ve always known I am here to help people and now I am connected to the path to best serve others and myself. I help people get out of pain, increase flexibility, move more freely, calm their emotions, and just feel more comfortable within their bodies.

I dove deeper into my own personal health practices as well and really started cleaning out my personal clutter. Through essential oils and essential oil supplements, changing my diet with more organic superfoods, the use of stem cell activating patches, and the discovery of new levels of exercising, I have been changing the entire face of my health. I am 30 pounds lighter, less stressed, less anxious, happier than I’ve ever been, and overall stronger and more balanced in all bodies, I feel I am in the healthiest state I’ve ever been. I feel I am actually growing younger as opposed to growing older. I feel younger now than I did 20 years ago.

This has become my mission and purpose. I want to share what has changed me and helped me grow with the world so everyone can find their healthiest qualities of life. I have combined my bodywork practice with my personal health habits to focus my business as an overall health and wellness business.

In these times of the world continuing to change and shift, people are seeking insights and practices on how to build their health and quality of life. I am simply sharing what I have learned in school and over the past 3 years of building my bodywork practice, along with my personal health habits.

I know what has helped me can help others and has already helped many of my clients. I care about people, I care about our world, and I care about growing the healthiest future possible for everyone.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I am a Licensed Massage Therapist. I specialize in integrative therapeutic bodywork by way of using a combination of massage modalities and movement. I approach each session unique to each client’s needs and seek the most functional approach for gaining the best results.

I feel getting people to move more freely is crucial to eliminating chronic aches and pains while also creating overall comfortability within their bodies.

We carry more than we realize within our bodies. Chronic conditions of physical discomfort and/or emotional distress can impact our daily lives greatly. Using the combinations of myofacial release combined with neuromuscular therapies and stretching are my approaches. My clients appreciate the diversity and gives them new insights to the work I do to give them the most optimal results they seek.

Anytime a client leaves a session and feels immediate differences from when they first walked in gives me the most fulfillment with my practice.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

To have success and happiness in any field I find it extremely important to be truly connected to your “why”. Why do we do what we do? We can go to school and gain knowledge, exercise our crafts in beneficial ways, but the real value is living with genuine intention with why we are doing the practices we offer to others.

In order to have sustained success we must have true passion and love for what we are doing. I think having that drive to continue wanting to learn and grow is paramount in offering our very best.

We can have success at different levels but truly loving what you do is something special.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

My first year in practice was interesting. I was starting a brand new career in an area where I did not have a large network of people I knew. So not having the benefit of reaching out directly to people I had close relationships with in order to launch and spread the word seemed challenging.

It all comes back to that intention and I knew the only way to grow and be seen was to get out there. I started going to local businesses introducing myself, offering chair massage, and handing out business cards. Chair massage has proven to be one of my strongest marketing tools. It’s all about getting hands on people, educating people on my specialties, and show my work. Once my book started filling up and the more people that came into see me, the more word of mouth started to grow.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Michael J Annaian LMT
• Email: [email protected]
• Facebook: Michael J Annaian LMT
• Other: https://linktr.ee/MichaelAnnaianLMT

Image Credits
Liz Vazquez