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Meet Ella: A Q&A with Our Newest Massage Therapist

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MaM Massage & Spa is excited to welcome Ella Zellmer to its team of massage therapists! Ella has a fascinating background in agriculture and nonprofits. Her hobbies include gardening, painting, cooking, winemaking, playing games and hanging out with her friends and family. And, of course, her even bigger passion is massage therapy, and we sat down with Ella to learn more about the role this career plays in her life.

How did you get into the massage therapy space?

I had been a part of a nonprofit in West Africa for 4 years doing garden projects and micro-loans. I wanted to do something that would help the world, and sustainable agriculture helped feed local families. But then I came back to the States to farm and realized that making money through farming is just not a thing. Plus, because I was part of a nonprofits for an additional six years, I didn’t have any retirement. So I needed a job that would not only help people because that’s very fulfilling to me personally but also one that would be enough to make sure that I am provided for when I’m old.

What stirred the idea of massage therapy specifically, though, was that I would pass a massage school every day on my way to the farm. It intrigued me. So when I got to the point where I needed a new career, massage school came to mind, especially since I prefer more hands-on work.

Why are you passionate about massage therapy?

Massage is so cool because there are different aspects to it. It’s not only a self-care thing for people who want to relax and eliminate stress, but it’s also for people who have chronic pain, and you get to, in a small way, relieve that for people. It’s not the same as the dentist. When people go to the dentist, sometimes they feel good going in and don’t feel good coming out. But for massage, it’s the opposite.

You can’t always eliminate all the stress and pain from your life, but you can do things to alleviate some of it and get your body out of “trauma mode” and into “rest mode,” which also helps people’s mental health. I see massage as one of those things that helps the overall well-being of people.

What makes you stand out as a massage therapist?

I have a very intense desire to make sure I achieve results in each session. You can’t always fix everybody’s problems because sometimes they have medical issues that are beyond the scope of massage, but if it requires more effort, I’m not afraid to do that.

Some massage therapists are really here for the money, or they’re really here just to do fluff massages. There’s nothing wrong with fluff massages, but I’m more interested in making sure people walk out better than they came in, and not just relaxed but also physically better. That’s what MaM Massage & Spa is all about, and I think that makes all the difference.

Are you excited to be a part of MaM Massage & Spa?

I love the style at MaM. It’s unique and definitely relaxing. For example, we do a lot of deep tissue massages here, and in massage, we say you must have proper body mechanics, meaning that you’re protecting your body as you put a lot of pressure on someone else who needs it. I needed to figure out how to do that in a way that didn’t hurt me, and Margarita is helping me learn to do that.

Also, a lot of the massages I had given before didn’t really involve the extra mile things that Margarita offers. She doesn’t charge a whole lot more or even the same as other places and still makes sure there are hot towels, eye pillows with herbs in them, and essential oils to choose from that are included with the massage.

I’m really excited about the quality of care and high standards at this clinic too. I appreciate Margarita’s integrity, honesty and generosity. These are all beautiful things, and it’s a pleasure to work with someone like that.

What are your future goals as a massage therapist?

I would like to have my own clinic one day to be able to serve people with high-quality massage experiences. Margarita actually has this model in her business plan to not only train people and hire people at her clinic but also to help them become entrepreneurs and create their own businesses because she wants what she’s doing available to everyone.

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