MAY NIBJ Massage therapists gain jumpstart as entrepreneurs

HAYDEN — Chancy Gill said she never intended to become an entrepreneur, but when she stumbled into a partnership with Jaclyn Cosper, the two took a deep dive into a niche area of massage therapy and never looked back.

After being a massage therapist for nine years, the job was taking its toll. 

"I worked a lot in deep tissue on bodies that required a lot of force and effort and I eventually got really burnt out on massage," Gill said. "It was staring to hurt my body and that was when I found barefoot massage."

She had started to feel adrift when it came to traditional massage and finding another application of deep tissue massage made all the difference.

"I got into it because I really enjoyed helping people feel better in their bodies," Gill said. 

The two owners met working at a spa in Coeur d’Alene together and for the last three years, they've opened the doors to barefoot massage therapy through Syringa Bodywork in Hayden.

Jaclyn Cosper had an at-home practice in Louisiana for about 20 years, but running a business was brand-new to Gill.

"I never had the want or drive to and having employees was a completely new endeavor, but our partnership is pretty steady and easy," Gill said.  

The business partners also began teaching in order to pass on the knowledge to other people.

"Finding barefoot massage kind of sparked a lot of joy being to be able to provide quality deep tissue massage for clients and also educate massage therapists in our community," Gill said.

Feeling more at home with using their lower body strength to apply body weight and gravity to deep tissue for their clients, Gill said the positive effects of the massage are long-lasting and are able to be very detail-oritented to work into problem areas.

The practice isn't a new on, but she noted that barefoot massage has only been gaining momentum in America for the last 25 years.

"It’s over 2,000 years old in different cultures, it’s just brand new to the U.S.," Gill said.