We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sarah Joy Klingenberg a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Sarah Joy, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the backstory of how you established your own practice.
I had planned to open my practice in January of 2022. The main step I had to take was pretty much left to finding a building, since I had already established an LLC, website, logo, business cards, scheduling system, and clientele within my first year of practice. My stipulation for a building was that I wanted it within walking distance of my home. I wanted to continue to be in my community, serving my community.
When I found my building, I was challenged by unexpected pushbacks in renovation.
In the end, it served me well though. Instead of opening my practice in January, I opened the end of April.
What transpired in this liminal space was me creating a room in my home for friends to come see me. I decided to keep my hours limited in order to keep my home a sacred space that wasn’t always effected by my work. I made my availability 9am to 4pm Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
AND IT WORKED.
My schedule was filling up and I wasn’t pushing my boundaries.
So, when I opened Joyful Vitality in April, I kept my hours the same and I was blown away. I was getting booked out two months in advance and then at the end of 2022 decided to book out my regular clients for the whole year of 2023. I had created not only boundaries, job security for me, and ease of scheduling for my regulars, I had defied what I was told being a business owner would look like; that I’d have to work nights, weekends, and shift my life for my clients.
Obviously, my clients are incredible. I could not be in the position I am in without their persistence and patience. Folks were willing to wait for me even after I gave them other resources including referring them to other massage therapists.
They were ready for my email to arrive and they were excited to see what I had created. I am beyond grateful for the community I serve and they have been my biggest teachers.
Honestly, I wouldn’t have done anything differently. Challenges are not something to use a magic-eraser on. Challenges are an occasion to rise up to. They take resilience, patience, and flexibility. Learning how to move with what I cannot control was a tool I was sharpening and will continuously do so.
My advice to any other massage therapists starting up, is to look at the big picture and ask yourself questions;
What is it you want for your life?
What will help you show up the best that you can?
What are your needs and how do you meet them before helping other people meet theirs?
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 background and context?
Truly, massage has been calling me for the majority of my life. One of the biggest reasons I did not pursue it was because of atopic dermatitis covering my body, but, once I moved onto a path of healing, which ultimately was me tuning in and listening to my body, my whole life shifted. I detoxed from toxic thoughts, beliefs, foods, and environments.
What sets me apart is my level of presence, love, trust of intuition, and continual pursuit of knowledge.
I know what it’s like to have a nervous system that is trying to get my attention and not understand what it’s saying, a body that I felt disconnected from, and deep grief that was interwoven in most interactions.
To be witnessed in less-than-ideal states is a vulnerable thing; to be seen with loving awareness and guided with deep presence through the waves of old stress responses is crucial in freeing our nervous systems.
I am proud to have understanding of how our nervous systems store our experiences and work with many people who have trauma inhibiting their lives.
Once people are willing to trust me to witness their past, their body begins to shift and release what’s being held.
Internal Family Systems model is a great resource for understanding these parts of us that stopped growing at the time of a traumatic event.
The Body Keeps the Score is another fabulous book to grasp the stress response cycle that is stuck.
I integrate Craniosacral into every massage, which induces a still-point for the body to take its natural course back to homeostasis. Sometimes, this is difficult for clients who are used to a typical massage, where the body is the only focus and forcing muscles is standard protocol.
I, on the other hand, see the body as an access point to our whole being, unlocking holding patterns set by our past experiences.
Waking The Tiger is another great book to reference here, because Dr Peter Levine notes that a gazelle being chased by a prey, goes into a seizure to release the stress response that it took to survive. You try running from a tiger, surviving, and going back to eating. Our digestive systems don’t work that way. Why would we expect normalcy without having purged our trauma? That stress response is stuck and our bodies will suffer for it, until it’s released.
Dis-ease that is chronic is known as disease.
Yes, sometimes it’s incredibly difficult to witness and hold space for my clients as they unwind their past, but it is important, sacred, life-giving work that is worth it.
It is my belief that we are souls housed in bodies. We are born and we die on this earth, we know that much. I think the in-between is our souls being embodied. Learning how to do so is a life-long pursuit and I’m on this journey with you.
The intersection of your body, mind, and soul is where I’ll meet you.
I have clients who will say their sessions with me are sacred; a space where they experience their soul being touched, not just superficial muscles being manipulated.
If I can offer that, why wouldn’t I?
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
Being taught by society that I have to fit a mold, a box, a specific framework is a continuous unlearning. I can only be myself, how that shows up in the world isn’t going to be a good fit for some folks, and that’s okay. I don’t like everyone, so why would I think that everyone should like me?
Intentionally choosing my values and my expression will create tension with others who oppose them.
What’s important is that I utilize self-reflection and an open curiosity along the way, since I am continuously growing and changing as a human being.
Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?
A consistent lifestyle of wellness.
I don’t recommend anything to my clients that I don’t do.
Therefore, I do my best to pursue eating well, moving well, resting well, and loving well.
The more nourishment I offer to myself, the more overflow I can cascade onto my clients and those around me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thejoyfulvitality.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thejoyfulvitality?igsh=MTA0ZnhjdzNya2t1MA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
Image Credits
Jaclyn Diane Photography