Transitions

I have to be honest…there has probably been entirely way too much transition in my life over the past few years. From changing cities, to going through three significant losses and consequently changing careers, my life has been anything but “normal” for a while now. But, as they say, the only constants in life are change and taxes. And friends, both are too true. However, this change is a little more welcome than most have been for a while. I am not only changing my platform for how I do business (for scheduling, client information, website design/management, etc.), but I am also changing the name of my business.

You may ask, “Why on earth would she do that?” or think to yourself: But she hasn’t even been in business that long. Both are valid thoughts. The reason I’m changing platforms is to *hopefully* bring in more clients. I don’t love change for this reason; however, the fact remains that I need clients to be able to do my work. And, since I am changing platforms, it feels like the right time to also change my name to something more inclusive of some of the other work that I hope to incorporate for my clients.

You see, I just finished my 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) program at Buka Yoga (can we say “squeee!”?). So, I hope to incorporate yoga classes at the studio into my practice offerings. I also hope to incorporate sound healing into my practice at some point in the not too distant future (music has always been one of mine and my husband’s first loves). So, to be more inclusive of ALL of the work that I am doing/hope to be doing, I officially changed the name of my LLC (in case you didn’t know, that’s what my business was formed as) from El Roi Wellness, PLLC to AE Frees Wellness, LLC.

Yes, AE are my first two initials, and I feel that naming the business after myself tells my story in a more comprehensive way. While I loved the name El Roi Wellness (I had actually come up with it long before I even started massage school), it just doesn’t tell the whole story anymore. It was a beautiful beginning to my journey, but there’s more to tell now, so I felt I needed a change that reflected more space for the present and flexibility for whatever the future holds.

Now, the question you’re probably asking now is, “OK, that’s all fine and good, but what does this mean for me?” The short answer is, hopefully a relatively smooth transition on this journey with me. Once my new website is up and running, I will be re-directing to that website, and transitioning any current clients to that platform. I am hoping that I can work with the peeps on this new platform to make it pretty seamless for current clients. And, if you are a new client just joining on this journey, firstly, welcome! Secondly, I hope that this transition will mean more benefit for you, as I figure all this business stuff out more and add new offerings to my practice.

So, whether you are just joining or have been on this path with me for a little bit now, thank you, thank you, thank you for your support, and welcome to version 2.0 of this thing!

The Crazy Beginning to Something Good

Starting your own business is no joke. Between the paperwork, licensing, multitude of IDs and acronyms, I’m surprised that anyone does it anymore (and believe me, I fully see the irony in that statement as I sit here typing my first blog post for my own currently small business). However, despite the craziness, it is, sometimes, worth it.

El Roi Wellness started with the tragic loss of mine and my husband’s eldest, Judah Tyler Frees, when he was just four days old. I won’t go into all the details, but it was not only crushing for my family and I. It was earth-shattering, reality-breaking and completely changed the whole trajectory of our lives. During the craziest parts of the beginning of my healing process, I found that I needed something to continue on for, and I knew that honoring my son and his short but extremely meaningful life would be at least a part of that something. Having had a chance (divine? serendipitous?) encounter in the NICU with a nurse (or angel, who’s to say), that was apparently also trained in infant massage, I very clearly and intimately understood the power of touch. Sadly, my journey through the traditional healthcare system afterwards was a little devoid of it. But regardless, the impact that this encounter had on me led me to massage therapy as the vehicle in which I could honor Judah.

So here I am, moving forward through the paperwork, the licensing and the multitude of IDs and acronyms, all the while trying to remind myself to keep grounded, take care of myself and not allow things to spin out of control. And tonight I got a massage. Because what is the good of me “preaching and teaching” wellness if I’m not incorporating it into my own life, right? So, here’s your sign, dear friends and clients of El Roi Wellness: wherever you’re at in life right now, be it high tide or low, make sure you’re taking care of yourself. It doesn’t have to be through us, if we’re not your fit (although I’d be lying to not admit that this would be a fantastic opportunity for a shameless plug). But make time and space for you. Go get that massage you’ve been thinking about (it’s truly more than just a “nice when there’s time” sort of thing). Go schedule that mental health therapy appointment that you don’t think you need but you actually do. Sign up for that fitness class, dance class, art class, whatever-is-going-to-fill-your-cup class. We’re truly all on a healing journey of some kind, and you.need.(fill-in-the-blank).

As for us (namely me) here at El Roi Wellness, I think all this small business crazy-making (one of the favorite words of one of my favorite mentors) is the crazy beginning to something good.

Lovingly,

Abri