PlanetJoy: My Mission and My Story

My mission: 

1. Otherworldly Massages for Women:

My personal goal is to make women feel safe and cared about. I want to grant busy women the permission to see self-care as a necessity and not an indulgence and empower them to be their own advocates. I want them to feel connected, appreciated, and (of course) RELAXED.

2. Planet-Friendly Collages for Everyone:

I encourage people to have fun as they create collages in order to better understand themselves. Collages are very simple and there are hardly any rules but by tapping into your subconscious you can see connections, discover passions, and the process can help you succeed in your life and make your dreams actually happen. 

Ultimate goal: 

I want to work with “busy” women. The ones who are moms or business women or teachers or caretakers. The ones who are always trying to do it all and don’t feel like they have permission to take time for self-care. I want to empower them to prioritize themselves and see massage as a necessity and not an indulgence.

My dream is to travel and help women feel seen and understood despite language barriers–touch is the universal language. 

My story: 

I’m so honored to be a part of Stauntons LARGE group of women business owners. 

I am a massage therapist and I work from my home here in Staunton. 

My business is called PlanetJoy because people say they feel like they’re transported to another planet when they are on my table. 

PlanetJoy is set up specifically for women because women tend to stay busy giving and giving to others without allowing themselves time to fill their energy back up. They feel guilty allowing themselves the “indulgence” of self-care. 

My intention is to make women feel as safe as possible when they are on my table. 8 out of every 10 women have experienced some kind of abuse throughout their life: physical, emotional, sexual, mental….so, when women get on my table I want them to feel like they can actually relax. 

I’ll never forget the first time I had a woman come back to me when I was helping out in a spa downtown. She had called to specifically request me because when she had been on my table it was the FIRST time she had been able to relax during a massage due to past abuse. When she told me told me a little more about her past experiences, I made sure to make her feel even MORE secure during her next massage and she actually fell asleep. When you get a massage you are in a very vulnerable position so sleeping is the ultimate sign of feeling safe. I’m proud to say all of my clients have fallen asleep on my massage table at some point. 

I also want all women to feel beautiful and be able to understand and respect their bodies. Self-love, self-respect, and body-confidence are so important. I have had the honor of being an art model for Beverly Street Studio School for the past 9 years and I have learned from the fabulous women artists there that every body is unique and interesting and full of radiant beauty. 

We as women need to use our strengths to support other females in our lives. We can always do a little something to make other women feel loved and safe. And we should always encourage each other to take care of ourselves. We simply cannot love others as efficiently if we are not taking time to love ourselves. Strong women lift each other up. Together, we can rise higher.