Small Business Focus – Integrative Health and Wellness
Welcome to the February installment of my small business feature: Integrative Health and Wellness! Last month I introduced this feature to highlight another hard-working mompreneur that I have had the pleasure of photographing (check out her super-Zen practice below) and befriending.
Today I asked my friend Allison Kirk to tell me a bit about her business, Integrative Health and Wellness, a clinical massage and aromatherapy practice. Alli and I met when our daughters were in preschool together, and I was VERY pregnant with my youngest child. She overheard me saying that I was going to be induced in a few days and we struck up a conversation where she suggested that she could help me with my aches, pains and general feeling-bloated-like-a-whale-ready-to-get-this-baby-out-NOW prenatal complaints. I never had the opportunity to have her work on me before my daughter was born, but I did see her very shortly afterwards and all I can say is WOW – there is nothing like a pair of therapeutic hands on a sleep-deprived mama to make her feel like a million dollars!
I personally think she is the best massage therapist in town (she gets all the crunchies out of my neck and shoulders from sitting in front of this computer all day AND has saved me from chronic injuries due to my former distance-running hobby), but there is so much more to her than simply that! Read on to find out more about Allison and how she truly is a miracle worker for many people who suffer from chronic pain.
CHP: Tell me a little bit about about Integrative Health & Wellness.
AK: Integrative Health & Wellness is a clinical massage and aromatherapy practice that specializes in relieving chronic pain patterns. We treat anything from lumbar/hip pain, sciatica and plantar fasciitis to headaches and temporomandibular disorder (formerly TMJ). We work with several local healthcare providers to provide relief from many common chronic pain conditions.
We are located at 401 D Seacoast Parkway (In the Belle Hall Subdivision)
CHP: If there was one thing you would like others to know about you, what would it be?
AK: Every single patient receives FDA-approved pharmaceutical-grade essential oils with every treatment at no extra cost. Plant oils significantly enhance the therapeutic benefits of massage and dramatically elevate overall wellness, and we believe everyone deserves to enjoy this important adjunctive therapy! The oils we use are all for sale in our retail area, as well as hand-blended therapeutic Epsom Salt baths.
CHP:What is your favorite treatment to perform and why?
AK: My favorite treatment to perform is our signature TMJ and Headache support. The muscles of the face and neck are fascinating to work with, and the benefits tend to be immediate and profound. It’s also incredibly relaxing. Most everyone falls asleep during this treatment.
CHP:What is your training and background?
AK: My path to massage therapy is long and winding. I have a M.A. in English Literature, and was called into massage therapy after the birth of my first child almost 12 years ago. I trained at the Southeastern School for Neuromuscular & Massage Therapy in the Lowcountry, because it was the most clinical program I could find. Since graduating in 2003 I’ve attended many continuing education seminars and received certification in Prenatal/Postpartum/Labor & Delivery Massage, Massage for TMJ, Medical Massage, Natural Approaches to Menopause, and Aromatherapy, among others.
CHP:Do you have a specialty?
AK: My most popular specialty is TMJ and Headache support. I am one of the few practitioners in the area who specialize in massaging the inside of the mouth (with sterile exam gloves, of course!) to fully release the muscles that cause jaw and head pain, and I’m one of even fewer practitioners who know how to do it 100% painlessly. I am happy to work on referral from dozens of Lowcountry dental providers from oral surgeons to DMDs to provide relief to their non-surgical TMJ patients.
CHP:Why did you decide to become a massage therapist and/or found IHW?
AK: After welcoming my son into the world, I realized I needed to be doing something much more human, more profound than just pushing papers around all day. I also needed a field where I could be flexible and put my family’s needs first, as that was really important to my husband and I. I founded IHW in the summer of 2010 after being invited to move into Palmetto Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Center to provide adjunctive care to their TMJ patients. I worked out of their Downtown and Mt. Pleasant locations until 2011, when both of our practices got so busy that I needed to be in my own location. The rest, as they say, is history.
Get to know Alli – just for fun!
1) Favorite food – sushi
2) Favorite beverage – Can I pick two? Coffee and Cabernet!
3) Favorite item of clothing – Do pajamas count?
4) Favorite pair of shoes – My black patent-leather mary-jane Dansko medical clogs. Form definitely meets function here, as these shoes have saved my back!
5) Favorite movie/book/song – Ooh! Tough one! I’d say almost anything by Colbie Caillat. “One Fine Wire” is my favorite at the moment.
6) What three things could you not live without? – Sunshine, salt air and lip balm
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CHP: What is your favorite treatment to perform and why?.jpg "Integrative Health and Wellness - 3")
CHP: Do you have a specialty?.jpg "Integrative Health and Wellness - 4")
CHP: Why did you decide to become a massage therapist and/or found IHW?