My journey in the healing arts started in 1997, when I realized how unhappy I was in my job. I worked as an Editorial Assistant for a publishing company, sitting behind a desk all day at a computer, and generally feeling miserable! I was trained in publishing, but realized it wasn't my passion.

Massage Therapy was something that intrigued me. I had a strange "feeling" about it, so I took a short Introduction to Massage course at Kikkawa College in Toronto to see if it was the right fit. It was! I bravely quit my job, moved back to live with my mom in Ancaster, and started the Registered Massage Therapy program at Alexandrian Institute in Hamilton in January 1998. I was still nervous about this big decision, but somehow, I knew it was right.

After graduating in September 1999 and passing my Ontario Board Exams, I started working in a very busy multi-disciplinary clinic in Mississauga, where I was fully booked right away! I gained valuable experience there, doing deep tissue massage for 6 years. Then came a huge change in me, in November 2004 - my life shifted, definitely for the better.

At that time I went through a painful break-up and experienced a true "awakening" of my soul. I picked up Caroline Myss' book Anatomy of the Spirit (which I reviewed on this website in Recommended Reads), and my perspective on my career and my life shifted dramatically. I realized I was not living an authentic life. And that realization filtered right down to how I practiced as a Massage Therapist. I knew I had to leave where I was and transform who I was.

I began to enhance my education, reading every spiritually-focused book I could get my hands on, and taking further bodywork courses like Thai Yoga Massage and Craniosacral. What really kick-started me on change was taking Reiki. I realized how transforming energy work was, and knew I had to keep on this healing path. (To learn more about Reiki, Thai Yoga and Craniosacral go to my What is...) section.

In June of 2005, I came across the Toronto Healing Arts Centre, a beautiful place filled with practitioners in many varied healing arts. I knew this was the right place for me to build a new practice, with my new values in mind. So I made a big change again, left my Mississauga office, and started my new practice in September 2005. I also started my own personal therapy with a Spiritual Psychotherapist working at the Centre, and our work together has been amazing and life enhancing.

In September 2006, I enrolled in the Spiritual Psychotherapy program at the Transformational Arts College here in Toronto, where my own therapist went. While I enjoyed the program and learned a whole lot about myself in the process, I am putting finishing the program on hold. Sometimes a break from healing work is a good thing, and I'm happy with my decision. Plus I'm not sure if practicing as a Psychotherapist is what I want to do.

2007 was a year of huge change. I burned out physically, mentally, and emotionally and decided to leave my bodywork practice and do some exploration. I moved out of Toronto and began my WWOOF-ing (Willing Workers On Organic Farms) adventures, which lead me out West to volunteer at a retreat center. I then came back to Ontario and began working at a natural health foods store near my home town. What a year!

After taking this year-long leave of absence from my practice of bodywork, I have recently decided to return to Toronto and re-visit my skills as a massage therapist. I am excited and nervous about my decision, but believe it is the right one. I have learned so much in the last year, and I hope to integrate it into my practice, and create a more "mindful" experience for my clients. We will see where it takes me.

Soon, once again, I will be adding yet another discipline to my practice. I will be training to become a BodyTalk practitioner, which works at re-synchronizing the body's energy systems to enhance health and healing. Please visit www.bodytalksystem.com for more information about this amazing therapy.

So that's me in a nutshell! Please feel free to browse around my website...thanks so much for listening...

Peace, Jodie C. Lindley