In light of the recent unfortunate chaos and unrest happening in our nation, Truckee Massage would like to post their stance on human equality.  Our views come from a place of professional and cultural integrity. Truckee Massage does not and will not tolerate inequality of any kind in or outside of the workplace. There is no place for racism, sexism, or discrimination in our career motto to “do no harm.” Nor is there a place for those things in the basic human code of ethics.

Our hearts go out to the loved ones of the individuals who have recently been victims of police brutality. Violence and mistreatment of our nation’s people of color has been going on for centuries. George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor are only three names of the many thousands who have suffered from systemic racism in our country’s history. Truckee Massage denounces structural racism, social injustice and will speak loudly and proudly to participate in improving the wellbeing of all citizens of the world. We deeply wish that the repeated abuse on minority populations terminates and our collective consciousness can transcend into an equity-based society. 

If human rights became the shared core belief of our society’s foundation, acts of violence, oppression and judgement would dissipate greatly. The consequences that result from these painful events of discrimination are detrimental to the mold of our nation. In the last few weeks, businesses have suffered further loss of income, people have lost lives, and politics have harshly divided us. If we can agree to look past the current rubble and dust in our streets we may be able to see that the root problem lies in the structure of our institutions and historical timeline. Truckee Massage sincerely supports the rebuilding of our nation’s principles to include uniform treatment for every individual, regardless of age, class, ethnicity or gender.

Our nation is very young and full of potential for change. Massage is only a small piece of a large puzzle in making a difference. We are delighted to help people take care of themselves on a physical and emotional level, but we are deeply honored to participate in the bigger drive for social modifications. When we all feel we have equal opportunities as everyone else, only then will our minds and bodies rest in contentment. With movement comes change. 

Truckee Massage’s Vision Statement: To provide wellness services to individuals of all economic and cultural backgrounds knowing that taking care of ourselves is of extreme importance. 

UPDATE: Stage 3 will begin June 12th in California but massage is not yet included. We are hoping by the end of the month! In the meantime, we are taking every care to be mindful of the safety and health of our customers and our staff.

Here are pieces from a letter I sent out to our staff today with an update of our future opening.

Hello everyone, 

I hope this email finds you all healthy and safe. I've been asked if/when I plan on opening the office again and wanted to give you all an update. As we all know this pandemic has been a day-by-day rollercoaster of emotions, rules, and information, which makes it hard to give any specific dates of re-opening. I do NOT plan on closing down permanently. I plan on making it work and bouncing back from this. In the meantime, I'm trying to learn more about our new online scheduling software, our phone service and other business features to improve Truckee Massage when we return to work.  

As of now, the national stay-in-place order has been extended until April 30th and my insurance company also recommends following government suggestions. This means (I think) that May 1st could possibly be the soonest to re-open a non-essential business? However, if that date gets pushed later again, then so does our re-opening date. I feel practicing our "do no harm" policy as massage therapists and respecting the current public concerns regarding COVID-19 is the most professional and ethical thing to do at this time.

I will continue to stay up to date with the local and federal regulations being implemented on non-essential businesses. If you guys find any information, please pass it along as I'm happy to research other sources and opinions and don't want to miss anything. 

Please stay in touch with questions or concerns. This has been a very challenging and eye-opening process to navigate through and I will continue to make the best choices I can. 

Thank you for your understanding, 

Kendra

The current government mandate of social distancing is also a social experiment. It is requiring people to not be physically near each other if possible and to keep socializing at a minimum and at a distance. Judging by all of our experiences in the grocery stores and photos of beaches on social media, it appears this is bit of a challenge for humans. We are innately drawn to each other and we naturally want to socialization feel human connection. What I find most interesting is there are two sides to this social distancing challenge; one being the battle to actually maintain distance, the other being the ability to express boundaries when distance is not being maintained. I’ve noticed some people cannot help it and slowly keep inching toward you as they are talking (the natural need to connect with others). I’ve also noticed people inching away from the person approaching them as to keep the distance and themselves safe. This is a tricky dance because there are many feelings that creep up from the different ways people are interacting with each other. I personally have felt anxiety, resentment, anger, relief, anticipation, and guilt, all cycling within me at once. What I have come to observe is that each person who decides to leave the house for whatever reason, has to choose how they conduct themselves in public. We all must find the safest place possible within us and try to communicate those boundaries to others respectfully. If we are on the other end of the spectrum, we must welcome others to express their boundary needs so we may respect them.

Everyone sits on a different level of paranoia with this virus. Some people aren’t too worried about it for themselves and/or others and therefore may not realize they are passing very closely to someone in an aisle. Some people may be in a high-risk category and are very worried for their health or that of others so they stand really far apart and feel anxiety the whole time. The “un-worried” people may feel judged and like they are walking on eggshells when they go out. The worried or vulnerable people may feel stressed out about other people’s lack of care. As humans, we will always disagree or have different perspectives in life. These disagreements can be treated in various ways and it is up to us to decide how to work through this new world.

Many of us do and say crazy or weird things when we are uncomfortable or disagree. I, for example, felt a woman was way too close to me in the Safeway the other day so I took an empty, hand-held shopping basket and put it on the floor behind me in line and lightly kicked it towards her feet to force her to not walk closer. She was on the phone and didn’t seem to care about physical space and this angered me because I felt uncomfortable. I immediately felt bad once I got to my car. My reaction was a bit juvenile and passive aggressive. I easily could have nicely interrupted her and asked her to please give me some space, but I chose the silent cycle of emotions route instead. My point in all of this is we are all allowed our own personal opinions and journeys through this time. However, it is extremely important we maintain a level of respect for one another. This is a very sensitive time for a lot of us. If we are feeling uncomfortable with the social distancing around us, we have other options than allowing negative emotions and actions to consume us. We can remove ourselves or we can kindly make requests of others to give us more space. On the other end, if you are a person who is not feeling uncomfortable in public, it would be easier to respect giving people space if they communicated nicely and did not push baskets at your feet.

When humans are experiencing incredibly challenging situations, they have the biggest opportunity to grow and be a better person. Life is full of tests. We are all on our own journey through this time, but let’s allow each other to feel through it respectfully and give each other not only some physical space, but emotional space. Life is a bit of a roller coaster right now, and having metaphorical and physical safe spaces to be thrown around in is very comforting. That is what will bond us as a community and a nation right now. Let’s give each other the space to feel and socialize safely and let’s do it nicely.

Life constantly brings us opportunities for growth. Whether splayed out in front of our faces or disguised in trauma and hardship, humans are always faced with challenges we can either learn from or divert away from. This time of quarantine can be seen as a devastation, and by all means it is, but it can also be welcomed as a chance to hang out with yourself. Most people in our world today seek outside of ourselves to find purpose, fulfillment, and self acceptance. This could be through social media, friends and family, entertainment, and much more. However, that usually leads to disappointment or un-met expectations. Deep down, we may not truly feel the connection to happiness we are looking for.

As a world traveler and lover of multiple hobbies, I constantly get stuck in the cycle of searching outside of myself for things, places, or people that will “make me happy,” or help me find my purpose. That’s not to say one cannot find happiness or purpose in other people, places or activities, but in order to do so we must be in alignment with ourselves. We must understand our truth and own up to the responsibility that nothing in the world except ourselves is in charge of our happiness and purpose. Traveling and engaging in various events and people can enhance our inward journey, but we must not forget to acknowledge that, “everywhere you go, there you are.” My grandma told me that :). There is definitely no escaping yourself.

I believe as difficult and saddening this quarantine and the aftermath of this virus will be on the world, it has given many of us the beautiful opportunity to check in with ourselves and be silent. We have less distractions now that we can’t go out, less noise, less responsibilities to put first over ourselves. If you still hear the noise (in your head) and find yourself glued to the computer or watching movies, perhaps that is still you wanting to run away from yourself and put off this inward journey? Maybe now is the perfect, ironic time to just chill out and stop the noise; listen to what your subconscious tells you, or don’t listen at all and just be silent. Even if this time to be silent is just for ten minutes between homeschooling the kids, cleaning the house, applying for unemployment, and cooking dinner, that is enough. May this quarantine teach us to find our purpose within and come out stronger and more secure in the world.

We will be closed until work sanctions are lifted and the curve of COVID-19 is flattened. Let’s all contribute to the greater good of humanity and be smart! To keep the cash flow coming in, we will be offering virtual reiki sessions and selling our remaining stock of CBD and high quality essential oils we use during massages. As we will not be answering the office phone daily, the quickest way to contact is via email. Please follow us on Facebook and Instagram for more recent updates and posts! We are not going anywhere and will bounce back from this! We all appreciate your business tremendously!

Truckee Massage

info@truckeemassage.com