I wanted to personally say hello, and thank you for visiting my website! I thought I'd tell you a little about myself, as an early stage of getting to know each other. :)
I am a Licensed Massage Therapist, and Licensed Esthetician. I have been in the field for over 12 years, and I am the previous owner of R and R Massage & Day Spa in Canton, CT. It was a large spa, and a lot of work. Over the seven+ years I was in business I employed over 75 people. I've since moved to Middletown, and started fresh with clients in the area.. I've always love meeting new people and truly look forward to making new relationships with clients at Synergy.
This is not my first career. Honestly, I wasn't one of those girls who painted her nails and sprayed perfume while dreaming of opening a spa one day. I was a bit of a tomboy! ...To be truly honest I was a full on adult (and parent) before I had my very first professional full body massage.
I grew up in upstate New York (Woodstock NY- yep! Land of the hippies), and after attending grade and high school there, I went to college in Syracuse, NY. After graduating with a degree in Travel and Tourism, I moved to CT and worked for American Airlines for several years as I found my love of travel was leading my way. I had the opportunity to travel a lot, for which I am still profoundly grateful. I've traveled all over the country (all 50 states!), the Caribbean, South America, Antarctica, Canada, the UK, several parts of Europe, and I even visited South Africa for a month (amazing). There came a time however, where I found a new passion - motherhood. :) I left American to raise my two amazingly smart and beautiful girls; Samantha and Sydney. After they were old enough for me to not worry about them (so much anyway) ;).... I was looking for a new career path. ...and at that time, I was a bit lost for a while without a direction.
The man in my life treated me to a trip to Cancun, Mexico - to relax, have some fun, clear my head and re-focus. He took me to an amazing high end spa, - I had never been to any kind of spa before in my life - so for my first experience to be that one.. lets just say, WOW! He booked us a couples massage - and yes, I was leery at first.. 'what do you mean I have to take my clothes off? - like, ..all of them?!?' LOL, yes.. that was me not that long ago.
---------well..------this vacation, and that massage... changed my life's direction. I knew EXACTLY what my path was and I was SO excited to get started. Yes, it was an amazing massage I had in Cancun, but during that drooling massage experience, all my brain was saying, was.. I could do this. And not only could I do this, but I'm pretty sure I could be great at this! I was so blown away by how good it felt - and how amazing I felt after, I knew I wanted to help other people feel that way!
When I got home from that trip, I signed up for massage school immediately, (seriously, within a week).. and never once have I regretted the decision. (Not even through all those Anatomy and Physiology, or Kinesiology classes!) LOL ..and not to toot my own horn or anything - but I had a perfect 4.0 grade point average, perfect attendance - and received the Directors award at graduation; most likely to succeed. Not too shabby if I do say so myself lol.. (okay, my arm is starting to hurt with all this patting myself on the back stuff) ...in any case.. yes, I'm still proud of myself for this accomplishment! After massage school, I worked for a while solely in massage, but found I was hungry to learn all things spa! I found skin care was also of interest to me, and my clients! I then went to Esthetics school to learn skin care, at the International Institute of Cosmetology. I then became a Licensed Esthetician and then continued my skin care education at the International Dermal Institute where I earned the title Skin Care Expert.
Somewhere in the middle there, I learned what my true purpose/passion was.. it is in helping others in reducing their stress, helping them re-set, re-balance, re-lax. The world is stressful and we need to put aside time to de-stress, and that is where I come in. Getting a massage, getting a facial - both are incredibly relaxing and beneficial in many ways. Both are a perfect reset button. I am always hungry to learn, and wanted to do more, so I started to truly dive into other areas that help people relax. Hello Reiki, and Sound Healing! We feel energy, we know its all around us, it is us. When our energy gets depleted, or overwhelmed, sometimes we need a little help in getting its flow back to a healthy place. My journey with the love of sound and its healing abilities has been with me since I was a young girl. I've been collecting sound instruments all my life, and when I saw the calming effect it has on others, I knew I needed to learn all I could. I've since taken two reiki master programs, and 4 sound master programs - I have found combining these two together is where the sweet spot in healing is. Add these two after a massage and/or facial -and you've just treated yourself to some first class self love. (By the way - I'm offering sound training at Synergy-please email if interested!)
I love what I do, and I'm proud of the practice I'm building. It definitely hasn't been easy, ;).... I've certainly made many mistakes.. but they are all learning experiences to make the best experience I can for my clients. I have been fortunate to work with and learn from very talented people, and meet some truly incredible people.
I have every hope and desire to help de-stress and relax every person visiting me at Synergy! Leave your worries at the door and let the pampering begin! Aches and pains can be eased.. Skin care concerns can be corrected...STRESS can be reduced! Time, dedicated to you and only you. This is what I help you do. Help you reconnect with your body and your true self.
Well there you have it, a little about me. I do still have a true love of travel - so don't be surprised if/when that disrupts my availability sometimes.
Now - I'm looking forward to learning a little about you! If you have any questions for me - please text me any time, at 860-595-7881 or email me at laura@laurasebastianLMT.com
