For Jonathan Grassi of Colorado, winning third place in the freestyle category at the 2018 World Massage Championship in Denmark was an exciting highlight in his 12-year massage career, but he says even more rewarding is the feedback he gets from teaching his colleagues and making a difference in their careers.
That sentiment makes a lot of sense when you learn that Grassi’s first passion was teaching. He was attending Cornell University and planning to become a professor when he received his first massage, a massage that would quite literally change his life. He says, “As I walked away I thought, ‘Wow, if I could provide this relaxation and nourishment for other people, that would be awesome!’ Three months later, I started my training at the Finger Lakes School of Massage.”
His love of teaching also colors his educational path in the massage field. He’s sought out training in an array of disciplines that are complementary to his massage training, including advanced training in somatic studies and master instructor certification in the Phenomenal Touch modality.
Grassi says when he was first starting out, he made a commitment to himself to stay in the profession through the tough early days of building his practice because of his belief in the work and its potential. That commitment to stay the course has been one of the biggest keys to his long-term success.
Grassi has developed his own bodywork approach, Bodywork for Liberation, and now trains other therapists in the modality. He says, “I am always exploring the mystery of the body, and I find that at the deepest level, the body offers a pathway to peace.”