I had just started massage school March of that year and we were encouraged, as student massage therapists, to create our own business cards. One evening at home, while scrolling through hundreds of images trying to find a symbol that resonated with me, I came upon a very simple drawing of a dragonfly. That was it! My search stopped there and my decision was made. The dragonfly was now my unofficial logo.

Could there be some significance for me with the dragonfly or was it simply a likeable design? I began doing some research on the symbolism of the dragonfly and came to find out that the dragonfly, in almost every part of the world, symbolizes change and transformation.

Hmmmm … change and transformation. Wasn’t that what I was doing in massage school, changing and transforming from a long-time western healthcare worker into a Holistic Practitioner? Little did I know, my life was about to turn completely upside down … or should I say, finally turn right side up! The dragonfly was my first clue. Second clue, was when I met my “forever” husband in massage class and we were married 2 years later.

When I had started massage school, in 2001, I was struggling with working full-time night shift, near burn out from an almost 20 year career as a Respiratory Therapist, divorced, unfilled, and quite frankly, very tired of dealing with all the sickness, death, and dying at work. There had to be a way that I could make a difference in peoples’ lives and well-being before they ended up in the hospital. Little did I know that when I stepped into the massage classroom that first evening, my life journey was already veering in a very different direction.

Ask any massage therapist and I bet they will say that going to massage school really does something to the essence of who you are. For me, it helped me see the meaning of my life more clearly and from a much more spiritual and enlightened perspective. I became more grounded, more aware of who I was and who I wanted to be. It was not an easy time in my life, but the dragonfly became my symbol of all the possibilities that change could bring.

I kept using my dragonfly logo after I graduated and when I started my private massage practice. After my first year in business, another dragonfly found me. It was a “more grown-up”, mature dragonfly image. How perfect, as I was also maturing into my role as a Holistic Practitioner. I was beginning to own who I was becoming and really seeing the possibilities of where this transformation was taking me. True self-realization.

My dragonfly journey started off being about me and my change and transformation. Now, it has evolved into my mission to encourage and support others with their change and transformation. My role as a massage therapist, and now as a self-care specialist, is about making women and their self-care needs a priority through connecting, sharing, and learning.

When we make ourselves a priority through self-care, our lives become more enriched with empowerment, self-love, and self-acceptance. For me, the dragonfly has become the symbol of the bringer of change and hope for a richer life journey.