3 minute read
Joannie’s Two Hands
from Woman magazine
SAN DIEGO IS OFTEN REFERRED to as America’s “Finest City” for its weather, its beaches, and its people. Joannie Lee is among those people, hardworking, astute and spunky.
Joannie grew up in Los Angeles, and at the age of 19, she moved to San Diego to attend design school. Somewhere along the way, she decided to use her two hands to heal the body instead of drawing the body. She chose the healing art of massage to help people in San Diego relax from their daily grind, to help injured athletes and to help ease the pain of people suffering from a terminal condition. Later she sought work with companies who provide their employees with the many benefits of massage and wellness.
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So, when I use words like hard working to describe Joannie, I mean she works 10 to 12 hours a day, most of those hours she is on her feet. She told me “giving massages is not work to her because she is passionate about helping people.” There is an exchange of energy anytime someone places their hands on another person. That energy can take many forms, but in the hands of a trained and compassionate massage therapist, that exchange can be magical.
I also called Joannie astute because she saw a need and decided to fill it, ergo the birth of her business, ‘Two Hands Mobile Massage and Wellness”. The name describes her enterprise but doesn’t begin to depict all that goes into such an endeavor. Joannie employees 11 massage therapists and three yoga instructors. Each therapist has their own expertise to provide custom massage therapy. Therefore, you can request a Swedish, Thai, Deep Tissue, Sports, even a Pregnancy Massage or a blend of your choice.
Each therapist is put through a thorough job interview, including giving Joannie their designated expertise massage. Then, if you pass the grade, you can become one of Joannie’s independent contractors. She books the appointments and assigns the equitable therapist for each requested appointment. You have your choice of the therapist coming to you, or you going to them, but why would anyone want to actually have to get off a massage table, get dressed and drive home in traffic? Talk about a buzz kill or defeating the purpose of the massage in the first place.
This you see is the gap that Joannie saw in the industry and decided to take the plunge and opened her business, and that is why I call her spunky or gutsy is probably a better word. It takes a certain amount of guts to take the plunge of leaving your very comfortable little domain to go forth into the world of being an entrepreneur. But that is what Joannie Lee did in 2012 when she opened ‘Two Hands Mobile Massage and Wellness..’
Joannie’s passion goes beyond massage however as in her free time she does yoga as part of her regime of staying healthy and fit. That is why she offers yoga as part of the services her business provides. She can send out one of her three yoga instructors for private lessons or to a corporation for group therapy. Yes, yoga is therapy too and is one of the oldest and most accepted ways of relaxation known to humankind.
I asked Joannie if she ever got scared or worried about sending a therapist or going herself to an appointment. She explained that many of her clients were regulars or referred by other clients. When a new client called for an appointment, Joannie puts them through her paces. She screens them thoroughly on the phone and can pretty much tell if they are the type of client she will accept. Joannie’s business practice is to charge the client first before she goes or sends out anyone for a massage. That practice she has found weeds out the majority of people that are not on the up and up shall we say.
At this point in her career Joannie most likely would not have to do massages anymore, but as this is her passion she told me she would never stop doing massage therapy. As I said earlier in this article, there is something about the exchange of energy when you lay your hands on another person. It can be draining if the person is sick or in a very negative place, but it can also be energizing if your client is a positive, upbeat person sharing their energy with yours. Either way, it is always magical to know that your two hands have helped another person on their healing path.
By Carol Heath
Photo courtesy of Joannie Lee
