"Where Olmsted County News Comes First"
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Tuesday, May 21st, 2013
Volume ∞ Issue ∞
- 5:36:49, May 15th 2013 - Frank Hawthorne - Though I hated to see you reference Glenn Beck by name [Three Times ... [Read More]
- 11:42:07, May 10th 2013 - yenken - I feel very sorry for those who have commented do far, as when you stand fa ... [Read More]
- 12:10:25, Apr 26th 2013 - Frank Hawthorne - Mr. "Cabtrom's" garbage-out[burst]--in response to Ms. Reisner's w ... [Read More]
- 9:51:50, Apr 24th 2013 - jeff pischke - To Jerry Grehl, the number to the fillmore county sheriffs office is 7 ... [Read More]
- 9:27:24, Apr 22nd 2013 - Cabtrom - Blah blah blah, garbage in garbage out! ... [Read More]
- 7:00:49, Apr 11th 2013 - Donald Pierce - Col. Stan Gudmundson hit most of the important nails squarly on the h ... [Read More]
- 12:44:54, Apr 4th 2013 - Frank Hawthorne - My compliments to Ms. Hammer for giving us well-crafted "Rachel Rea ... [Read More]
- 5:09:06, Apr 3rd 2013 - truthiness - I see this is dated April 1. That explains it! ... [Read More]
- 12:04:33, Apr 3rd 2013 - Frank W. Hawthorne - Say WHAT?!? Stan's American-Pie [In SKY] is Falling--Not Again? ... [Read More]
- 12:40:21, Mar 29th 2013 - Jacob - It's a shame that so few people care about making their voices heard. If we ... [Read More]
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How will you keep your kids busy this summer vacation?
Healing Touch Massage Celebrates 25 Years of Business in Rochester
Sun, Apr 1st, 2012
Posted in Rochester Features
Posted in Rochester Features
Comments
April 1st marks the 25th anniversary for Healing Touch Massage and Spa in downtown Rochester. A pioneer for the massage industry in Minnesota, owner and founder Mary Jo Majerus encountered an unfavorable business climate for the massage industry when she moved from Philadelphia, PA to Rochester, MN in 1987.
When Majerus first applied for business space in the Kahler Hotel to start her massage practice, she was surprised that they insisted upon performing a background check on her. Upon further investigation, Majerus came to understand why she faced such strong suspicion.
In the local phonebook under the heading “Massage,” Majerus found six listings that purported to offer massage services.
“I called every one of them. Now, I’m a female calling to get a massage. At every place, a female answered and I said ‘I’d like to schedule an appointment for a massage.’”
Majerus said that at all but one, the appointment secretary stuttered and stammered at her request. The woman on the phone would eventually admit, “’Well, we don’t really do that.””
That was when Majerus realized the rather sordid state of the industry in Rochester in the 1980s.
“Massage parlors were places of prostitution, they weren’t offering massage.”
So not only was Mary Jo, a single mother of two daughters, endeavoring to start her own business from the ground up in a new town in which she knew not a single soul, she was going to have to change the general Midwestern public opinion of massage therapy as a whole.
An acquaintance at the time told her, “You will never be successful here. Rochester is too conservative.”
Majerus, however, was not so easily discouraged. In fact, that particular comment stands out in her memory for its paradoxical effect.
“For me, that was like waving a red flag in front of a bull. Somebody tells me I can’t do something? By golly, watch out.”
Majerus decided the best way to change the public perception of massage was through community education. She volunteered to speak for service organizations like Kiwanis and Rotary of Rochester. Majerus also offered classes about massage therapy through Community Education.
Her role as a massage educator expanded when she opened The Healing Touch Massage and Spa Professional Academy in 1999. She found that the professionals she hired to help her were not well-trained. Most states have licensure procedures and qualification criteria to certify massage therapists. Minnesota does not offer state licenses for massage therapists, but Majerus felt it was important to set her own high standards, and so she chose to personally train her own employees.
The Healing Touch Academy graduates twelve to fifteen graduates per year on average. Students that enroll in the day programs study for 6 months, while the night/weekend program takes a year to complete. The academy requires students to complete 600 hours for graduation, when many other massage schools only require 500 hours.
Due to Healing Touch’s unique beginnings, Mary Jo Majerus claims that her spa is unique from some of the other salons in town.
“Our focus is on wellness and offering a treatment program for our clients. So that, especially for people who are my age—the baby boomers—if they want to stay active and healthy and avoid injuries, that is what we are about.”
To celebrate Healing Touch’s 25th Anniversary, for appointments booked by Monday, April 2nd, the spa will offer their 1987 prices: one hour massage for $30. Also on April 2nd, at their University Square location next to Barnes and Noble, Healing Touch will distribute product samples and the staff will be available for free chair massages from 9 a.m. -9 p.m. Additionally, for the entire month of April, the salon will offer $25.00 discount coupons for use through Labor Day.
Call (507) 287-6162 to schedule an appointment.
When Majerus first applied for business space in the Kahler Hotel to start her massage practice, she was surprised that they insisted upon performing a background check on her. Upon further investigation, Majerus came to understand why she faced such strong suspicion.
In the local phonebook under the heading “Massage,” Majerus found six listings that purported to offer massage services.
“I called every one of them. Now, I’m a female calling to get a massage. At every place, a female answered and I said ‘I’d like to schedule an appointment for a massage.’”
Majerus said that at all but one, the appointment secretary stuttered and stammered at her request. The woman on the phone would eventually admit, “’Well, we don’t really do that.””
That was when Majerus realized the rather sordid state of the industry in Rochester in the 1980s.
“Massage parlors were places of prostitution, they weren’t offering massage.”
So not only was Mary Jo, a single mother of two daughters, endeavoring to start her own business from the ground up in a new town in which she knew not a single soul, she was going to have to change the general Midwestern public opinion of massage therapy as a whole.
An acquaintance at the time told her, “You will never be successful here. Rochester is too conservative.”
Majerus, however, was not so easily discouraged. In fact, that particular comment stands out in her memory for its paradoxical effect.
“For me, that was like waving a red flag in front of a bull. Somebody tells me I can’t do something? By golly, watch out.”
Majerus decided the best way to change the public perception of massage was through community education. She volunteered to speak for service organizations like Kiwanis and Rotary of Rochester. Majerus also offered classes about massage therapy through Community Education.
Her role as a massage educator expanded when she opened The Healing Touch Massage and Spa Professional Academy in 1999. She found that the professionals she hired to help her were not well-trained. Most states have licensure procedures and qualification criteria to certify massage therapists. Minnesota does not offer state licenses for massage therapists, but Majerus felt it was important to set her own high standards, and so she chose to personally train her own employees.
The Healing Touch Academy graduates twelve to fifteen graduates per year on average. Students that enroll in the day programs study for 6 months, while the night/weekend program takes a year to complete. The academy requires students to complete 600 hours for graduation, when many other massage schools only require 500 hours.
Due to Healing Touch’s unique beginnings, Mary Jo Majerus claims that her spa is unique from some of the other salons in town.
“Our focus is on wellness and offering a treatment program for our clients. So that, especially for people who are my age—the baby boomers—if they want to stay active and healthy and avoid injuries, that is what we are about.”
To celebrate Healing Touch’s 25th Anniversary, for appointments booked by Monday, April 2nd, the spa will offer their 1987 prices: one hour massage for $30. Also on April 2nd, at their University Square location next to Barnes and Noble, Healing Touch will distribute product samples and the staff will be available for free chair massages from 9 a.m. -9 p.m. Additionally, for the entire month of April, the salon will offer $25.00 discount coupons for use through Labor Day.
Call (507) 287-6162 to schedule an appointment.
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