3 Minutes on a Park Bench with Elements Massage

Patch talks to John Alexander about Elements Massage and his personal history in the healthcare field.

Patch: Can you tell us a little bit about your background and experience?

John: Name-John Alexander. Born and raised in a small town in Alabama. I studied engineering in college, but ended up joining the Army and served as a medic. Shortly after the Army I took my knowledge of health and wellness and bought a personal training studio, Fitness Together. I strive to give clients the best experience every time and have grown rapidly as a result. Within 18 months of purchasing Fitness Together I was presented with the wonderful opportunity to purchase Elements Massage of Vienna. We have grown our client base at an extremely rapid rate and we are all excited about the continued expansion.

Patch:What services does Elements Massage offer?

John: We offer various forms of therapeutic massage techniques to alleviate different types of pain. We customize each clients massage to their needs and our services range from the traditional Swedish massage to deep tissue, sports massage, trigger point, reflexology, acupressure, myofascial, cranial sacral, lymph node drainage and even pre-natal massage. Additionally, we have add ons that include aromatherapy and hot stones.

Patch: How are you involved in the community?

John: We are involved throughout Northern Va, not just Vienna. We often do chair massage with fitness studios in town and support other small business's. We have a sister company, Fitness Together, that also joins with us to sponsor and support local runners and running stores such as Pacers. In addition, we volunteer and support the local boys and girls clubs as well as local schools with our time and donations.

Patch: If you had to recommend two books, what would they be and why?

John: Grant Cardone- The 10X rule. This book applies to anything and everything that you are passionate about. Essentially it gives you the ideas and the tools to be successful at anything from weight loss to finances. Maloclm Gladwell- The tipping point- This book also focuses on goals. It explains that with enough energy and persistence you can reach the "tipping point" and accomplish anything.

Patch: What is your definition of success?

John: I define success as following a systematic plan to reach your goals, and never getting stagnant. Goals are something that always evolve, and I feel that you should always be planning ahead to formulate a plan for the next one.

Patch: How did you get involved in the massage industry?

John: Elements Massage is my second health and wellness franchise. Elements is under the corporate umbrella of WellBiz Brands, Inc., which also owns a personal training franchise called Fitness Together. I got involved with Fitness Together 2 years ago, and found out about the opportunity to take ownership of Elements in Vienna in the beginning of 2015. Having experience in the fitness community, Elements and the massage industry as a whole seemed like a great move, professionally.

Patch: What would you say to someone who has never gotten a massage, but is considering one for the first time and may be a little apprehensive?

John: In my experiences, I have found that many people have either never gotten a massage, or have only done it a couple of times and don't really understand the importance of it. We need to think of our bodies like cars - we are complex machines, and just like cars, we require maintenance. If you don't change the oil in your car, you are looking at a hefty repair bill once your engine decides to break down. Most people would rather pay the $50 every 3 months to change their oil and keep their engine healthy and clean - that kind of preventative maintenance can save you a lot of money and headache in the long run.

Massage is like the preventative maintenance for our bodies, improving circulation and ensuring that our muscles don't get too tight or knotted up, and are moving fluidly through our every day functions. Tight muscles can lead to pain, imbalance and in the long run, injury of joints and/or tendons, ligaments and the muscles themselves. Whether you realize it or not, we are consistently programming muscular tightness and imbalances into our bodies through our every day activities, like sitting, driving, carrying a handbag, etc., and these imbalances need addressing before they contribute to injury or other complications Still, many people will spend money on preventive maintenance for what's in their garage and neglect to take care of what matters most - themselves!

Patch: What is your favorite aspect about your job?

John: The main thing I love about this position is our clients. Unlike a lot of businesses nowadays, we see a lot of our our customers on a weekly or monthly basis and know them all by name. Nobody is just a number to us and it's great to see people come in and ask about us and our families, and share their weekend plans, stories from their kids' athletic events, and things like that.

I also love working in a relaxing environment - the fact that our atmosphere is stress free (we need to practice what we preach, right?) makes it easy to get through the day. Patch: In your opinion, how does Elements Massage standout from the competition?

At Elements, we focus on one thing and one thing only: providing a perfect, custom massage experience for the needs of each individual client. Because of this, we're really good at what we do. By not getting distracted on other spa services, we're able to stay focused on what our clients come here for in the first place: to relieve pain and leave with a sense of relaxation.

Patch: How can readers contact you or learn more about Elements Massage?

John: We welcome readers to learn more about our company, our services and the introductory offers we have for new members through the web. Readers can also check us out on social media, or give us a call to answer any questions.

You can book an appointment here: https://www.facebook.com/ElementsTherapeuticMassageVienna/

To learn more: www.ElementsMassage.com/Vienna

Phone: 703-865-7676