Monday, September 8, 2014

Celebrating a 15 Year Collaboration!

Happy Anniversary to you and me!


September 1999 marked the beginning of the greatest collaboration of my life. This month is the 15th anniversary of my God gifted vocation as a FL state licensed massage therapist. Sharing the expert knowledge I've accrued throughout the years with you, was only possible because of you.


I've had the privilege of getting to know you, listening to your needs, sharing in small victories of better health, less pain, achieving your athletic PRs, more comfortable pregnancies and enhanced family bonding.  

I want to thank each of you for trusting me to be involved in the most precious asset you have in life, your health.  It is hard to find words that convey the satisfaction that comes from helping others to live my motto "keep moving in the game of life." It's an intangible essence of feeling that I have a purpose.

The 15 year journey along this road has been blessed with the support of many individuals.  I wish to share my gratitude and appreciation of life-long friends Tim Tillery, Catherine Kleber-Lohr and Kerrie Rideout that stood by me even when in doubt. 

My Mom, Barbara Pizzo who simplified my life as I was  working full-time and going to massage school at night.  She still simplifies my life in many thoughtful ways.  Also, unfortunately for her, she offered me a wealth of knowledge and confidence in working with rehabilitation post-op clients through her own laminectomy recoveries!   

My mentor, Kirsten Snellenburg LMT, MPT, DPT. that has selflessly offered knowledge, support & encouragement throughout the years.  First as my anatomy professor in school, then most recently in 2013 she was a daily consultant when I served as the volunteer crew & bodywork support for Nels Matson's 1200 mile Ultra-Run.  As a former Olympic Coach & crew support for endurance athletes the value of her input was priceless.  I'm fortunate to enjoy her friendship to this day.

Another notable contributor to my development into a quality therapist came from an unlikely source, my landlord.  Paul Franklin, LMT allowed me to rent office space within his own massage therapy practice.  He willingly educated me on his vast expertise in Core Structural Integration, allowed me to serve his clients while on sabbaticals to his homeland in Australia, fostering my confidence, knowledge & skills.

Also, through the fortunate chance meeting of Nels Matson in 2007 later in 2009 my career had a vast expansion into volunteerism.  We united our strengths, he the endurance athlete and I the massage therapist to do grass-roots fundraising through ultra-endurance events to spot-light the needs of the congenital heart disease community.   Today we maintain the Tri4Number1 Foundation to continue our efforts to impact CHD.  The thousands of people we encountered and acts of kindness we witnessed helped sustain my belief that serving human kind is the greatest gift one can give to oneself.

I thank you all for your loyalty and support and promise to continue to serve you to the best of my abilities.

Sincerely,
Zolla