Today we’d like to introduce you to Paige Forrester.
Hi Paige, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I moved to Detroit in 2018 to pursue the path of teaching yoga and fitness. After a couple years of working at the Detroit Athletic Club and boutique studios, I took my first reiki classes and knew I wanted to have a career pivot and learn the body on a deeper level. That led me to discovering the Costa Rica School of Massage Therapy, an English study abroad program in Samara, Costa Rica.
During my time in Central America, I developed a deeper understanding for anatomy and learned techniques like Swedish massage, craniosacral therapy, Thai massage and a little bit of Chinese Medicine. I realized after the 700 hours that that was just my intro to this world- that my education would continue for the rest of my life!
Over the last 4 years I have become a Reiki Master, lymphatic drainage therapist, barefoot massage therapist, and taken classes in reflexology and craniosacral therapy from teachers all around the country. I opened my massage studio in September of 2024 and have been offering all of these techniques- keeping me busy and mentally stimulated.
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?
One of my biggest challenges was developing an autoimmune disease in massage school. I started school completely able-bodied, no allergies or ailments, and after a spinal injury compiled with getting sick, I struggled with finishing school but graduated and came home to Michigan with multiple nerve and joint-related injuries and several severe food allergies.
I took some time off at my parents home in Belding, Michigan and rested for the entire summer. I made it my mission to heal, but was in no rush to start my journey of pursuing bodywork until my health was stable enough to do so.
Eventually through starting an anti-inflammatory diet, getting diagnosed with fibromyalgia, and starting to take care of my lymphatic system, I slowly gained the strength to move back to Detroit and worked part time as a yoga teacher and personal trainer. About a year and a half post-graduation, the injuries were healed and I was ready to start massaging. I began at a spa and completely fell in love.
The start of my career was a slow burn, but now I hold appreciate for my autoimmune journey. Through my illness I learned how to listen to my body, how to hear when she was asking for rest. And now that is a core part of what makes me an effective massage therapist. It is a blessing to be trusted to walk alongside my clients as they face challenges with their health. And I make it a priority to be as consistent with my self care as I am with my clients’.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a massage therapist in Detroit, Michigan. I offer a variety of niche services including craniosacral therapy, reiki energy healing, reflexology and manual lymphatic drainage; however my most popular service is barefoot massage.
Barefoot massage, also known as Ashiatsu, is a deep tissue modality using the feet. This modality is so effective for deep work because the therapist is able to use pressure from their entire body instead of just the arms and hands. There’s been a handful of first-time clients who come to me saying “no massage therapist has ever been able to get deep enough” and mid-session I hear, “I’m going to start crying”, or “okay, you can go lighter now please.” It’s always satisfying to hear those reactions as someone who loves deep tissue massage and has also struggled to get real results before trying barefoot work.
I also have clients who prefer medium pressure and still recieve barefoot massage. The benefit of using the foot is that it has a larger surface area than the hand which makes it so the pressure is smoother, no matter how deep.
Many of my sessions involve multiple modalities. In fact, the majority of my sessions are Lymphatic Blends- in which I typically start with deep tissue work on the back, neck, shoulders and hips, and follow with a lymphatic drainage massage to the front of the body- stomach, face, limbs, and all of the major drainage sites. I also often do a full body massage followed by 15-30 minutes of craniosacral therapy, reiki, or reflexology- which are some of my favorite ways to end a session.
I created my practice based off what I wanted in a massage therapist. Everything I offer has a personal meaning to me- a reason why I recieve it myself, a story about where and from whom I learned, and intention behind every movement.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Switching from standard massage to barefoot massage was a total risk. Most of my clients hadn’t even heard of it when I decided to take the class, put bars on my ceiling, and switch most of my sessions to barefoot. I always go over the benefits of Ashiatsu and encourage people to try it- always including that if they’re not enjoying it, we go back to a standard massage. Thankfully, it’s been very well recieved. My deep tissue clients love the extra pressure, my medium-pressure clients enjoy the longer and smoother strokes. I love that my clients are getting better results than I ever saw before.
I think risk is totally important in business and in life. I think about the risk of leaving my life in Detroit to go to massage school in the first place. At the time I didn’t know if I would be successful at massage or if I would even enjoy it- and that gratification was delayed even further after being put on hold with a chronic illness. Going to Costa Rica was one of the hardest but best decisions I’ve ever made. Now I feel that if something is on your heart, it’s probably there for a reason. And even if it doesn’t make perfect sense in the moment, it might turn into an important part of your story.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.paigeforrester.com/booking
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@paige.forrester
- Other: https://share.google/WpuhZzy3Bxyd1GR35
