Today we’d like to introduce you to Becky Maddox.
Hi Becky, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I was twenty, working as a housekeeper at an inn near downtown Ashland, and going through my first time of upheaval as an adult. Spiraling. I was hanging out with the managers in their apartment late at night when a guest checked in that, after some intriguing conversation, was invited to the table. He immediately focused on me and started doing crazy hand gestures around me, never touching me. I didn’t even have a chance to feel weirded out because I was immediately struck by sensations of heat and tingling and profound peace. And it stuck. All the way through the deconstruction of the life I had started and the move back home to John Day.
I was consumed with the need to understand what he’d done, eventually learning he’d performed Reiki on me, along with the first level attunement that opens up self healing. I then decided that’s what I wanted to do. With the help of 2002 internet, I found a Master. She required I get licensed as a massage therapist before she would teach me. So, turning back to my trusty Packard Bell and dial up internet, I found and set my sights on Ashmead College in Tigard.
And, when classes began, I fell head over heels with all of it. I had never even had a massage before. When I was a small child, I had night terrors and the tax to crawl into my older sister’s bed was to rub her back. That was my experience. But I found a sensitivity to tissues that others appreciated profusely. It feels amazing to help someone feel better in their body. Kinesiology and posture/gait analysis satisfies my love for problem-solving. I entered massage school as a step towards a goal but unlocked an unforseen passion.
Afrer an intense year, I graduated top of my class, moved to Corvallis, was a licensed massage therapist and attuned Reiki practitioner and working full books at a day spa in six months. I stayed there 7 years, beginning my medical massage certification while spending special focus on prenatal massage and developing my headache management treatments. When My own health issues, chronic migraine, became a detriment to the business I loved being a part of, I set out on my own.
I’ve been centered on chronic pain management and honing my craft for 21 years now!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I’ve been lucky! My understanding of chronic, disabling pain? My patient but thorough tecniques? I’m not entirely sure. I’ve had very few days that aren’t full since I began. I am and have been performing bodywork every moment that I physically can. My struggle is my migraine. There were years in the first decade that I had a full attack every single day. The longest stretch was 13 months. I was 6 or 7 the first time I had one. I had hopes my education would help me resolve them, but it is a neurological disorder with environmental triggers beyond my control. So, I practice vulnerability with my clients with frank communication about my limits in regards to consistency. I can lose a day with little warning. Sometimes I can safely work in an attack, sometimes not. I’m not for everyone because of this, but my people find me.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Certifiably Serene was a decision to separate my self from my practice. I simply used my name for many years. And it was fine, but I feel like Certifiably Serene is the space, the ritual my clients and I dance through when we enter our sessions. Every person is met and accepted as they are in that moment and treated as they need, whether that means spiritual coaching and reiki or medical massage and silence.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.certifiablyserene.com
