Meet Melissa Herbst | Licensed Massage Therapist and Massage Educator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Melissa Herbst and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Melissa, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I have a had the great privilege of working for some fantastic employers throughout my career. Even so, I came to a point where I found myself wanting to grow and expand in a way that only going out on my own would provide. The massage industry is at a very interesting point and a lot of fellow colleagues are starting to branch out on their own. Since most of us in the healing professions are focused on gaining therapeutic skill sets, often the business side can be lacking. Before I opened Aligned, I was commuting for almost an hour and half a day. During these long drives, I found myself diving into any business podcast I could find. I read books, I took classes and I consulted with peers and mentors while I garnered the courage to open my business. I knew that I wanted to bring my unique background of skills to serve my community in a greater way. I knew that if I was to achieve the financial freedom and, more importantly, the flexibility of time freedom I wanted it was essential to open my own space. I get to be home every evening and weekend with my school aged kids while doing what I absolutely love to do in my work life. I am forever grateful that I pushed aside any fear and just did it anyway. I love being an entrepreneur and helping my clients live their optimal lives one session at a time.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
One of the things that sets Aligned apart is our commitment to elevating the massage experience for the individual clients and the profession as a whole. Massage can be so much more than just that yearly birthday gift or something you get on vacation at the spa. We specialize in prenatal and postpartum care and are thrilled anytime we have the privilege of supporting someone during that journey. Often people who open a business or create a product are serving a need they saw for themselves and I am no exception to that. When I was pregnant, I was so disappointed to receive a very subpar session. I was in physical pain and had a migraine that I could no longer safely take the medication I used to and was seeking relief. The therapist I saw was clearly uncomfortable working on me, the establishment did not provide a good bolstering system and I ended up getting what just felt like a lotion application instead of a treatment massage. I was already working as an LMT and knew that if this was standard of care, we needed to up our game and better serve pregnant clients. It is always a challenge to open a business. If it was easy, everyone would do it. But for lack of a better term, this is my calling. Like Anais Nin wrote, “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” I am certain I am doing what I am supposed to do. I hope to make a difference with my work and continue to share my passion with my community.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Tucson is just the best! There is so much to do here and amazing food. It will be hard to narrow it down. We love spending time at the Mercado district and the MSA annex. Kukai serves amazing ramen and sushi, Seis has delicious tacos and the bottle shop/bar called Tap and Bottle hosts an outdoor sunset yoga class on Tuesdays that comes with a drink ticket to be used at the bar after class as well as the class pass. Shopping in that area is delightful and fun with unique gifts to take home. The Desert Museum is a blast and really showcases a lot of what makes the Sonoran desert so interesting. The Tucson Botanical Gardens are lovely to visit. The Cup Cafe at Hotel Congress has the best breakfast potatoes ever. Hiking in Sabino Canyon and of course visiting the Saguaro National Parks are not to be missed. We recently had the best dinner at Bata if you enjoy small, interesting plates with locally sourced ingredients. If you want to satiate your sweet tooth, Flora’s Market Run has yummy slices of cakes and pies. If you need some sundries and snacks to take back to your Airbnb, Time Market has the best baguette and thoughtfully curated treats. Saint Philips Plaza is home to one of several open air artisan markets on the weekends. We love hopping in to Ren for coffee after a run on the Rillito Riverwalk before we hit the market there. Reforma in the Plaza makes a mean queso that is delicious. Taking a drive up Mt Lemmon is always fun for a little hiking or hitting the ski lift to see the sights.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My business would not be where it is today without Rooted Integrative Wellness. It was at that space I met the owner, Sarah Caifero, who I am fortunate to call my friend and view as a mentor. Sarah opened Rooted as a co-op type space where independent wellness professionals can rent space in a very supported manner. With flexible rental options, it makes starting or growing a new practice ideal. From there, you are welcome to move on (as I did once I had a full client load) or stay as long as you would like. It was such a special community of practitioners who really supported one another. I also have the great honor of working with Rachel Beider from Wellness Business Consulting as my business coach. I first read her book, Massage MBA, before hiring her as a coach and I cannot recommend her enough!

Website: www.alignedmassage.net

Instagram: @alignedmassage

Image Credits
Tommie Lorene