Coming Soon: Massage! A New Location! COVID Safety Protocols Info!

April 6th, 2021

Long time, no see, am I right? For those who are new here or might have ALSO been staying at home for the last…year? Yeah, it was a while. I’ve been gone, or at least not in the massaging business.  I went on “Pandemic Pause” in late March of 2020, and then in April of 2020 I packed up all my own things from the old office, gave the keys back to my landlord, and put stuff in storage for a while.  I knew it would be a long time until the science caught up, learned enough and told me that now massage was actually safe enough. Time enough for me to feel comfortable that my presence in the massage room would not be a vector to spread infection to my clients, family and community.

Where Have You Been? 

I’ve spent the last year shepherding my son through virtual school, cobbling together some online piecemeal work and personal savings to see me through without having to spend much time outside the house. I was in a good enough place and had several unique circumstances that allowed me to make that choice, and they weren’t the same choices or circumstances for many of my clients, colleagues, or friends. I know that, and I was frankly blessed that it was possible – but now things have changed again, for many of us.

Vax shot card pic, carefully covering up the important info

SHOTS! SHOTS! SHOTS!

So excited at the excellent work of the scientists, allowing the world to come together, sharing knowledge and technology that has allowed for very effective vaccines to be created, tested and distributed in record time.  Here in Florida, starting today, anyone who wants a vaccine and is over the age of 18 can sign up for an appointment or go to one of the first come, first serve sites.  And two weeks after your last dose (if it’s a 2 dose, or your only dose if it’s a single dose type), the CDC and scientists are saying that you are “fully vaccinated”. And that vaccinated people can come together indoors in much greater safety. So that means that I can finally feel more comfortable in the massage room again!

A terribly edited joke involving NSYNC, stolen from a Twitter hummus ad.

The New Location

So I am already preparing my new office space, which may be an adjustment.  My massage room will be larger and feature an in-suite bathroom, with a shower even (but still don’t come straight from a mud run 5k, please). The parking seems more plentiful, although the lot is gravel instead of asphalt. It will only be a block away from the old location, located at 10209 Gibsonton Drive, in Riverview, right at the corner of Gibsonton and Kendra Dr.  My business name isn’t on the building, and that’s okay – because I’ll be happily tucked inside The Ancient Wisdom of Yoga Holistic Wellness Center, or TAW Yoga for short.  They also feature yoga classes, and a host of other wellness services like acupuncture. Sharon and Henry Huta, the owners, are planning on reopening a couple of weeks before me, on April 19th.

I’ll update with some pictures of the new massage space as soon as I’ve got everything set up.

Picture of the driveway into TAW Yoga

Google Map Screenshot of location

COVID Policies and Procedures 

During that long “Pandemic Pause”, I’ve built on my skills, knowledge of how COVID works and am going to be working with your safety in mind.  Not only am I fully vaccinated and masked, I’ve added numerous safety and cleanliness protocols, like HEPA+ filtration with a good CADR for 5x air exchange. I spent part of that year training to become a contact tracer and obsessively following epidemiologists on Twitter, so I’m taking it very seriously.

Okay, tough talk here.  Just because it’s SAFER doesn’t mean there aren’t risks involved.  The pandemic isn’t yet resolved and case counts are still high. There’s going to be a survey with questions about your own Covid risks and behaviors as well as a liability release signed before every session. There are new variants on the rise, and the vaccine isn’t 100% effective. As suggested by the CDC at this time, I am concentrating on working with fully vaccinated clients and masks will be required for the safety of all clients and their family members as well as my own. This is a policy as of now, and may evolve as more information becomes available and as all the members of my own household and close circle are able to be vaccinated, and as the numbers of transmission, cases, hospitalizations and deaths trend upwards or downwards, the scientific recommendations may change as well.

I anticipate questions, so I’ll put out a FAQ over the next week or so.

So if you want to schedule an appointment, go ahead. I’m still working out the kinks, but we should be good to try.

I can’t wait to see you again, after we’re fully vaccinated!