By Lisa Bakewell
Esther White was one of the winners of ABMP’s Massage Is for EveryBody 2023 contest. As we close out Massage Is for EveryBody week, July 14–20, 2024, we wanted to share more of Esther’s story, which exemplifies the inclusive values of this campaign. Please join us in celebrating Esther!
Esther White’s journey into the massage profession came as a gift from a church-going friend: “God told us to send you to massage school. Pick the school and we will pay for it.” This is how White received her massage therapy mission.
“My family was going through a challenging time,” she says. “I was a stay-at-home mother of three—ages 9, 8, 7—[and] pregnant with my fourth of five children.” That’s when the gift was offered, and White accepted.
“Since I didn't know what I would do with it, I went to a 100-hour course—not wanting them to spend a lot on me.” She says the goal at the time was to make a little extra money. Little did she know that accepting her mission would lead her to personal training and Pilates certifications, an osteopathic manipulation certification, and a bachelor’s degree in Complementary Alternative Methods and Sports Nutrition. “It [also] opened up adventures of ultra running, hiking, mountaineering, rock climbing, and century rides.”
Today, White feels her most sacred calling is to serve her clients for the entirety of their days—including their final hours. “Recently, while attending my client in her final hospice days, she was restless, and her comfort meds weren’t calming her. So, I asked if she would like her back massaged, and her eyes lit up as if to say, ‘Oh, would you?’ So, while the familiar massage music played, we spent our last hour together, as we had for so many years. When I had finished, she had drifted off to sleep, so I tucked her in with her favorite blanket. I knew that would be our last massage.”
The health challenges of clients and family members led White to earn a death doula certification “to get tools to help my clients prepare for end stage.” And as her business grew, she adapted her practice to support her clients’ lifestyle goals. “Over 30 years, my clients aged, and I supported their health and medical challenges—educating them [on] how to integrate nutritional support and alternative methods with their medical care, while [also] doing their bodywork to address body, mind, emotion, and spiritual needs.”
White says she feels blessed to have served her clients and family for over 30 years—partly because she has the honor of still serving her first massage therapy client and many others who have been with her for more than 20 years. “Together we have weathered illnesses, surgeries, and accidents. I have been invited to attend and serve clients before weddings, in labor, when hospitalized, or in rehab. I have served the disabilities community, from quadra and paraplegic clients to those with head trauma, cerebral palsy, and polio, and [those] on the autism spectrum. I even have clients that bring in their cats and dogs or ask me to work on their horse. Truly, massage has been a key part in enriching the quality of each life.”
Though technically retired, White is helping her 94-year-old mother through hospice, caring for her deceased sister’s special needs son, and still working two to three days per week out of her home in Modesto, California, when she isn’t in Santa Cruz caring for her mom to give the caregiver days off. “After my mom passes,” she says, “I would love to do retreat weekends, offering a place to rest, get fed, get a massage, get out in nature, garden, and teach people self-care in emotional healing, mindful movement, and breathing—but mostly offer a place just to hang out and rest to heal body, mind, and soul.”
White says she found that massage and bodywork are an expression of who she is. “As we grow in our knowledge and experiences more holistically, body, mind, and soul, we heal others more holistically. Everything we love is a part of us. In turn, it becomes an expression of love to those we are blessed to serve. Using our hands to enhance healing, nurture, and comfort is a privilege, healing us as well as those we touch.”
Related Content:
• Massage Is for EveryBody is ABMP’s annual celebration of massage therapy and the philanthropic efforts of our members. Read more about the event and the guiding principles that drive it.
• Read the winning essays from 2023’s Massage Is for EveryBody celebration.
• Enter your essay or video submission for the 2024 Massage is for EveryBody event.