KellieAnn Halvorsen, Licensed Massage Therapist. Photography by Mckenzie Deakins.

I  am fast approaching my 10th anniversary as a licensed massage therapist. I love the work I do. I love that I get to help individuals, in a very personal way, on an almost daily basis. Everybody and every body is different, so every session is different, and the work doesn’t get boring. Even if the work gets stagnant there is always a new modality of massage to learn and techniques to research and incorporate into my practice. Massage is great! I love to give massage as much as I like to receive a massage, but every once in a while I am startled to hear that someone doesn’t like to receive massage or aren’t even willing try it!

This used to baffle me, particularly since touch is so important to me in my life. But over the years, as I have informally interviewed these people, a pattern has emerged to their reasoning. There are generally three reasons why some people don’t like or won’t try massage. (1) Some people simply don’t like being touched, (2) some are not familiar, and as such are uncomfortable, with massage practices and ethics (thank you “Friends” and “Seinfeld” for misinforming a whole generation on massage therapy), but most of all I find (3) people are struggling with their own body issues, such as body shame and body image problems.

If someone doesn’t like to be touched I can’t really do anything for them, besides feel bad for them because touch is AMAZING! I can encourage them to seek out safe and positive touch and hope that maybe someday they will be able to enjoy touch and massage.

It is much easier to educate and familiarize an individual about massage practices and ethics and help them become more comfortable with the idea of massage. Most of the apprehension on this subject is understandable, with questions including whether the individual should wear underwear, how much of my body will the therapist actually work on/see, what is the sheet/towel draping like, what if I need to use the bathroom midway through the session, etc. None of these questions are stupid, each is valid and easily answered by a massage therapist. Believe me, we are ecstatic to educate and introduce you to the world of massage therapy.

Helping individuals whose massage-blocking-factor stems from body issues is a bit tougher and harder to isolate and address.

To clarify, body issues usually arise from the way we internalize and view our own physical body or body image. To have a positive body image isn’t necessarily to have a completely “positive” image of our body, but to have a realistic understanding of our body and a deep appreciation of what it can do for us. Having a negative body image is a negatively distorted view about your physical body, which can affect an individual’s self-esteem and feelings of self-worth. This negativity could cause an individual to focus on their own flaws and obsess over comparing themselves to the unobtainable figures we often see in media and entertainment. Furthermore, this internal dialog of judgment is often applied to our understanding of an external judgment from others.

People with a negative self-image often assume everyone around them is judging them just as harshly or harsher than they judge themselves, including any prospective massage therapist who would be seeing so much more of their body than the normal person off the street.

I have had so many people say they will see a massage therapist after they lose weight or fix some perceived physical flaw. I have had people express concern that they are just too smelly, or hairy or gassy to see a massage therapist. It breaks my heart when I hear these things! Let me tell you, you are not too fat, smelly, hairy, or anything to see a massage therapist!

Massage Therapists are there to literally lend a hand and help you feel better.
Image provided by the Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals.

When we meet and greet you in our reception area we are honored and excited to be helping you. We don’t see your physical flaws the way you do, we see people with physical and mental stresses that we can help ease. You are a full and complete person to us, you are human!

If someone were to ask me what I would like people to know the most about receiving a massage after my ten years of massage therapy experience, my instantaneous answer would be that “I don’t care if you shaved your legs that day or not, but I do care that you care.” As a massage therapist I put a lot of work in trying to ensure the comfort of my clients and if you spend your whole time on the table worrying about whether I am judging your leg stubble, you are not going to get as much out of the session and a large portion of my hard work will go to waste too.

If you are feeling nervous during a massage due to body issues, here are some things to remember:

• Everyone has cellulite, flatulence, and needs to use the restroom at some point. Don’t be embarrassed about any of this.
• If you are worried about smelling bad, take a quick shower before coming in, but you don’t need to. Often you will leave with messed up hair and lotioned/oiled skin and might want to bathe anyway.
• It’s okay to feel good! Please feel no shame or guilt about feeling good or taking time on yourself with a massage. Massage feels good because it is good for you! There are many physiological reasons for this, embrace it don’t feel shame over it!
• This is my job. I love it. I choose it. Don’t feel bad about “making me” work on you, because I don’t feel bad at all, I feel honored.
• Don’t feel like you need to entertain your massage therapist by talking the whole time. Sometimes too much talk can distract us and make the quality of the massage go downhill. But we also understand that talking could be what makes you feel comfortable, so we generally take a cue from you if you need conversation or silence, or a combination of the two.
• Be honest with your massage therapist! While massage therapist’s read the human body in their own way through experience, education, and touch, we are not mind readers! Tell us if you are uncomfortable with draping or our hands placement. Be honest on your intake form, tell us any relevant medical problems, such as recent injuries or medical conditions. If something pops into your head that you forgot to tell us at the start of the session, let us know when you remember it.
• Again the session is about you so let us know. If you need anything like a tissue, blanket or glass of water let us know. We want you to be comfortable!

Massage therapy is an amazing thing. It is one of the oldest forms of medicine and can help individuals in real physiological ways as well as mental/emotional and even spiritual health. I have loved my decade long career within the field so far and look forward to decades more. I hope that massage therapy can become available to more and more people, including those who might have fears that keep them away. Don’t let fear, unfamiliarity, or body image issues keep you from getting a massage. Educate yourself, talk to a massage therapist, give massage a real chance. You will be happy if you do!

One of the great benefits of seeking out a degree in Strategic Communications is the flexibility allowed in the major. While the focus of a Strat. Comm student is on public relations, advertising, and integrated marketing, my elective choices are varied. In order to be a more marketable graduate, I have purposefully chosen my elective courses to be broader than most. I have explored video, studio, and documentary filming and have honed my talents of a rhetorician. But some of my favorite courses have been in web design. You can even say that Web design is what drew me to communications in the first place.

A Disney’s Adventureland pages I did for an assignment in my Inrdocution course. It includes horizontal navigation with mouseover, blockquotes, google fonts and more.

Since 2009, I have been playing with building and maintaining websites through Intuit’s/Homestead’s interface. While the program is easy to use, it hasn’t offered me the creative freedom and features I want. So in fall 2014 I took an introduction course in web design at SLCC… AND IT WAS AWFUL! The course was disorganized and taught by a teacher who had literally been brought in last minute and held archaic ideas about coding. Lucky for me I was able to take introduction again from the U and loved it! My teacher was talented, ambitious and encouraging. Even luckier I find myself in an advanced class with another talented teacher eager to help me perfect my coding and design skills.

Final Project for Introduction to Web Design. It was a profile piece/blog for a fellow student. It includes multiple pages, sidebars, social media links, and forms.

I really would like to master my web design abilities so that I can be a well-rounded asset to my future employers and have the opportunity to code some of my own creative/entrepreneurial projects.

My first assignment for Advanced webdesign. This one is a multiple page website that includes a table and flipbook widget.

PDF preview.

Gospel-Topic Breakdown PDF.

This PDF is a handout I like to use in order to teach my Laurels to study different Gospel topics. It is designed to help prepare them for teaching as future missionaries, teachers, and parents. It not only helps dissect and support a topic, but it gets the individual to think about the application and blessings associated with the principles.

Feel free to save, use, adjust, and share this file.

Sacrament meeting talk given by KellieAnn Halvorsen, October 19, 2013.

Happiness in life is something semi-elusive that we all are searching for. No matter our life situation or current blessings we already have, we reach for this “Happiness Goal” for ourselves, our family, our friends. We in the church are blessed with the knowledge of having a loving Heavenly Father, who we learn wants only our Happiness in life and has established a plan and path that is to lead “Men that they may have joy.” (2 Nephi 2:25) During this past General Conference, this is the idea that seemed to permeate my thoughts as I listened to the apostles and leaders of the church.  That even amide the trials and tribulations of my life, God wants me to be happy. I would like to bear my testimony to you today brothers and sisters, that God wants you to be happy too.

We are taught this concept many times from the time we are small children. I can look back with fondness to when we were asked in primary to sing the song, “Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam.” (Children’s Songbook, pg. 60) I remember even as a little three-year-old how excited I was to participate in this my first ever memorized Sunday hymn. I loved waiting to spring out of my chair and become that spastic ray of sunlight “shining for Him each day” with my arms extended out and falling back down only to spring back up once more.

At that time I didn’t quite understand what the point of the song actually was, I remember graduating from my Sunbeam class and being confused that we would still be asked to sing the song even as we were no longer in the 3-year-old Sunbeam’s age bracket. I admit that it wasn’t for years that I understood that, besides using up the build up energy from attempting to sit quietly during primary, that the song was asking me to be a happy person.  To find and shine the excitement and joy that comes from learning and living the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

While writing this talk I couldn’t help but smile as I imagined using this song as a regular hymn during our sacrament services. In my mind’s eye, I could see the entire congregation, adults and children, bursting forth with the same energy that I witness during singingtime as a primary teacher. The congregation singing with hand and body movements proclaiming proudly how “Jesus wants me for a sunbeam to shine for Him each day.”

In the sessions of this past General Conference some of my favorite apostles talked on this matter of happiness, and conversely, matters dealing with sadness and depression. Pres. Eyring spoke of finding happiness in the gospel, in the keeping of commandments and creating it within the walls of our homes.  He gave these wise words, “Heavenly Father has made each of us unique. No two of us will have exactly the same experiences. No two families are alike… Yet a loving heavenly father has set the same path of happiness for all of His children. Whatever our personal characteristics or whatever will be our experiences, there is but one plan of happiness. That plan is to follow the commandments of God.” close quote. (Eyring, October 2013)

This plan Goes hand-in-hand with the knowledge of the plan of salvation. God is our loving Heavenly Father. He sent us to earth to become more like him. To be more like Him we needed to make our own choices and grow in our own understanding. Along the path of this understanding, we come across harsh trials and powerful blessings. We all stumble and become unworthy to return to Him. So in God’s wisdom, he incorporated into the plan, the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Wherein we can be forgiven of these sins, learn to live a righteous life, and return home to Him. This is the path of Happiness that the God wants us to live. To have faith, repent, and strive to keep the commandments, this will leave to long and lasting happiness. Not the fleeting and often hollow happiness of this temporal mortal life, but an eternal joy in the kingdom of God.

I know from personal experience, that happiness can be hard to find, even while striving to live a Christ-centered life. Sometimes the weight of our trials and sins, whether active transgression or sins of omission, can weigh on our lives and cause us great sorrow and depression. Blocking our vision of happiness and even our desire to reach out for it. When in this state of mind it can be extremely difficult to hear the encouragement or reprimand of others. It is in these times of darkness that we must turn from comforting ourselves by wallowing in our own misery, and actively seek for the light. The light that emanates from the life and atonement of the Savior Jesus Christ. To find and exude that ray of “Sunbeam” in our lives.

During conference Elder Holland in his amazing talk “Like a Broken Vessel,” spoke about the reality of depression, mental illnesses and sadness, adding through observation and experience his own advice on how to work through these times of doubt and darkness saying “Faithfully pursue the time-tested devotional practices that bring the Spirit of the Lord into your life. Seek the counsel of those who hold keys for your spiritual well-being. Ask for and cherish priesthood blessings. Take the sacrament every week, and hold fast to the perfecting promises of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Believe in miracles. I have seen so many of them come when every other indication would say that hope was lost. Hope is never lost. If those miracles do not come soon or fully or seemingly at all, remember the Savior’s own anguished example: if the bitter cup does not pass, drink it and be strong, trusting in happier days ahead.” close quote. (Holland, October 2013)

It can be hard to keep moving ahead, to keep the fires of hope stoked when our righteous desires seem to be coming to us to slowly or not at all. I must admit that I struggle daily with this, but I am still a happy person. When in doubt I often think of a marvelous talk giving by President Eyring to the students at BYU thirty years ago called “ A Law of Increasing Returns.” (Eyring, March 1982)  I listen or read this talk often, on what feels like a weekly basis having downloaded it even to my every handy kindle.

It speaks of working hard at your goals, even if the rewards are not coming to you a quickly or as often as you like.  Eyring speaks of  keeping a vision of the blessings and happiness you would like to achieve. Of working towards the “Late harvests” in life.  Near the conclusion of his talk he states that “There are some things you should work for and expect results now. But along with getting early harvests, I hope you’ll work and wait for the late ones. That will take seeing the law of increasing returns as an opportunity, not just a test. Delayed blessings will build your faith in God to work, and wait, for him. The scriptures aren’t demeaning when they command, “Wait upon the Lord.” That means both service and patience. And that will build your faith.

It may help you to watch both for the chance to smile and the blessings around you on the way. And it may help to picture both the future of the people whom you serve for God and his promise of peace in this life.” Close quote.

Brothers and Sisters, I ask of you today to watch for these opportunities to smile while working on finding your happiness in life. To remember that excitement of a youngster springing from a chair to declare that merits of “shining for Him each day.” Let us strive to live by the simple lyrics of this children’s Hymn.

Jesus wants me for a sunbeam,
To shine for him each day;
In every way try to please him,
At home, at school, at play.
A sunbeam, a sunbeam,
Jesus wants me for a sunbeam.
A sunbeam, a sunbeam,
I’ll be a sunbeam for him.

I bear my testimony that  happiness comes from continually striving to live the commandments of God, the little and the big. I also would like to bear my testimony that we all struggle with sadness along this path. That we all struggle with our own pet sins and vices. But that through the atonement of Christ and the power of repentance these weaknesses can become our strengths. Again I would like to bear my witness that God truly wants you to be happy and that true and lasting happiness can only come through following the promptings of the spirit and keeping the commandments of God.

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

– – – – – – – – – – –
References:

• 2 Nephi 2: 25, The Book of Mormon.
  http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/2

• Eyring, Henry B. “A Law of Increasing Returns.” Brigham Young University. March 28, 1982 http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=822

• Eyring, Henry B. “To My Grand Children” Fall General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. October 6, 2013.
  http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/to-my-grandchildren?lang=eng

• Holland, Jeffrey R. “Like a Broken Vessel” Fall General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. October 5, 2013.
  http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/like-a-broken-vessel?lang=eng

• “Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam” Children’s Songbook. 60

https://www.lds.org/music/library/childrens-songbook/jesus-wants-me-for-a-sunbeam?lang=eng

I love building things. dreaming, designing, welding, building, carving, you name it I love it. My father raised me to enjoy building things and I have my own set of tools and a purple leather tool belt to prove it.

KellieAnn carves foam by flashlight while the power is out.

Some of my earliest memories with my dad are curling up in his lap on a Saturday morning watching PBS’s “New Yankee Workshop,” and standing out in the garage handing him different tools as he built tables and furniture for the house. From my early teenage years on, summer has meant building season. We drag out the saw horses and extension cords and build various light-yet-strong set pieces for our local community theater. Alongside my father we have welded, built, and carved a mini-trailer home, spiral staircases, undersea grottos, clock towers, bathtubs, dozens of platforms and flats, currently a Lost Boys hideout and much more.

The Lost Boys hideout for Peter Pan Jr. starts to take shape.

When you build for a theatrical production you have one unique luxury, the “thirty-foot rule.” Meaning that the set pieces only have to look good from the audience’s point of view, 30-feet away. Sometimes dad would forget this, and he’d incorporate intricate details into the work. I’d remind him over and over, “We are not building a piano!”

The pieces didn’t need to be perfect, or even functional,  they just needed to be good. Then one show we ended up building two pianos. Dad was allowed to go a little overboard with the project designing two beautiful and unique pianos, complete with individually cut and placed keys. To this day, this has been one of my favorite projects to build with my dad.

KellieAnn’s Dad, Mark, stands proudly next to the stage piano he is in the process of building.

KellieAnn and sister Erica show off their Norwegian Christmas trees.

My ancestors came from the cold Scandinavian country of Norway, but it wasn’t until a family visit to Walt Disney World’s Epcot, some 4515 miles away from the actual country, that we really started to discover our Norwegian roots. Because of the Norway pavilion at Epcot, some of my first impressions of what is important to Norway were vikings, trolls, the land and the sea. But over the years our family has taken a special interest in trolls.

Trolls are mythical creatures of varying sizes and ugliness that live in the mountains, fjords, forests and the land. Their temperament can be mean, mischievous, or even benevolent. There are dozens of types of trolls and dozens of troll legends. From waterfall trolls, Fossegrimen, to Huldra  (a lady troll who seduced men), and common farm trolls, the Norwegian landscape seems to be dotted with trolls.

KellieAnn’s parents pose in front of a troll statue in the Norway Pavilion of Epcot.

According to the mythology, every farm has a Nisse troll. These trolls view the land as their own and sometimes can give farmers a hard time. But Nisse can be a good creature to have if a farmer keeps the Nisse happy by being kind to his own farm animals and offering gifts to the Nisse. Nisse enjoys porridge with butter, and as such a Christmas ritual developed where a farmer left a bowl of porridge and butter out for the Nisse to eat on Christmas. In the morning, the bowl is checked to make sure that the Nisse has eaten it and thus is pleased with the offering.

KellieAnn’s family enjoys Norwegian Constitution Day at the Norway pavilion in Epcot.

Around my house trolls have become the blame of problems such as spoiled milk and lost items. We imagine these creatures from our cultures’-past have followed us across the ocean to live with us in our mountain home. It might be all myth, but it is also all fun.

KellieAnn Halvorsen, Massage Therapist since 2006.

Do you remember when you were sick as a child and your mother would rub your back to help you feel better? Did you know that was not just a placebo effect, that there was a real physiological process happening to help sooth your misery? This process is called the Gateway Theory of Pain.

In order to understand this phenomenon, we need to understand the basics of the body’s Nervous System. The Nervous System is the most complex organ system in the body, not only is it our main internal communication system, but it monitors conditions inside and outside the body, integrates that sensory information, and coordinates voluntary and involuntary responses and movement.

The Nervous System

The Central Nervous System portion of the Nervous system consists of the Brain and Spinal Cord, which receive the incoming information, processes and integrates that information, decides what to do about it, and sends out a signal to the body to give a response.

Now back to our example of your mother’s healing touch. When you are feeling that upset stomach or fighting a fever, the pain receptors in your nervous system are sending signals up your nerves and into your spinal cord to be interpreted by the brain. When your mother rubs your back, the sensation is picked up by your nerve receptors which convey a pleasant signal to the brain, thus interrupting and modifying the pain signal on a spinal level. This is the Gateway Theory of Pain.

Massage Therapy can help manage pain. Picture provided by AMBP.

The Gateway Theory of pain is one of the ways Massage Therapy can make you feel better instantly. Even when a client is in pain, the pleasant sensation of touch can help the client feel better and relax, thus allowing the Massage Therapist to do their job.