Meet Our LMT: Aaron
Our LMTs are awesome. We know it, our clients know it. I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard the words “that was the best massage of my life,” or “my body has never felt this good before,” or “I didn’t think my neck, back, whatever would ever have this mobility again” echoing throughout the studio. And then there are the radio silence people, like me. My words fail me -- too blissed out. I actually have to decompress in the waiting area for a significant amount of time because a post-massage crosswalk could be fatal. The therapists at Massage Greenpoint are highly skilled, intuitive, and responsive. It’s no coincidence. Rachel, owner of Massage Greenpoint, hand selects these therapists from hundreds of applicants, because they are the best. But what often goes unseen are their other talents, aspirations, and activities because at work they’re 100% here for their clients -- to give the most kick-ass massages imaginable, to apply all their energy and knowledge, to take care of people. I’m lucky enough to work alongside these masters of massage and get a glimpse at their “other lives.” It’s astounding and inspiring that someone so skilled in one art, could hone such proficiency elsewhere, and in just one lifetime!
Meet Aaron, an outstanding massage therapist and much, much more ...
You’ll know Aaron for his rhythmic and energetic work that launches you into a deeply relaxing state. It’s no surprise he’s also a practicing musician and yogi. He found a way to incorporate all of his lives into his massage work, combining the regulation of breath and rhythmic percussion techniques that have an incredible effect on your mind, body, and SOUL.
When he’s not working as a massage therapist, he spends most of his time with his daughter. He and his wife work opposite schedules to optimize the family time for her. She’s turning two in March and already showing signs of musical inclination, a family tradition. She’s an amazing little girl, I’ve met her. She’s so special. And she has a great role model - one who has a lot of art to share with her.
Aaron grew up in a very artistic family. His father was a musician, and by the age of four Aaron had already picked up on several instruments, other toys resembling instruments even earlier than that. He’s been an active musician for over 30 years, to the point where everything he does is approached the same way he would with music -- harmony, pitch, and tempo are qualities he adapts to anything he’s doing. Music was what he wanted to do all the time, so he was able to make everything musical in some way. He describes muscle fibers resembling strings, the low strings on a piano or bass guitar. This lifetime passion of his awards him a unique insight on how to work with issues of the body, one that only a truly proficient musician could hone.
Aaron was always interested in massage, and is a long time recipient of massage work himself. As a traveling musician, he was always a little envious of friends who had gone into the medical field, the knowledge they had of the human body. He wanted to be in a position where he could help people in that way, but didn’t necessarily want to be a doctor. As an artist, he was constantly having to take other jobs to fund his craft and it got to a point where the overwhelming need to help others was becoming a prominent driving factor in those choices.
He remembers 15 years ago, packed tightly in a van on tour, being that guy everyone asked to dig an elbow into their shoulder or work this kink out. At that point he didn’t know what he was doing so much, but he knew that whatever it was he was helping people feel better, and that felt good. His improvisatory spirit lent itself to the element of problem solving, and he went with it. He felt a shift, a lot of change converging into a next chapter, post artist rat race. Right around that time he got a massage that was a transformative experience. He felt like a new person and wanted to share that with others. The timing was right, and over the years, Aaron has developed an incredibly unique and effective style of massage, one that derives from hard work, insightful touch, and an artistic vantage point.
During our interview, Aaron recalled a special memory: After years of developing as a musician, he reached a point where he was good enough one day to play with his dad. They shared a lot of stage time together, and would practice together all the time. He said “When you have an art that can be shared with family or close friends (but family in particular), especially when you learn from them like I did from my dad, interacting with that figure is so fulfilling.” As his daughter is growing, he’s anxious to see how that unfolds with her.
As a New York State Licensed Massage Therapist:
He has been avidly practicing medical massage since 2015 when he graduated from the Swedish Institute, and is honored to join this ensemble of gifted therapists at Massage Greenpoint. To treat more effectively, he often combines modalities to suit the client's individual needs, drawing from Swedish massage, deep-tissue, myofascial release, trigger-point therapy, and shiatsu. A casual yoga practitioner and a born musician, Aaron embraces a holistic lifestyle and views the art of massage as a natural companion to nutrition, herbology, meditation, and traditional movement practices (such as yoga and qi gong) - a comprehensive view of wellness. With his grounded, calming demeanor, Aaron's work is often described as relaxing, intuitive, and precise.
