Sore Spots is always in my mind, the ‘little clinic that can’. Just as in the children’s book, ‘The Little Engine That Could’ it is always with this company that I’ve tried my hardest, kept my mindset to ‘I think I can’ and searched for inspiration to stay ‘on track’ when times got tough. So while this pandemic has brought us challenges we could have never anticipated, like many businesses we are continuously assessing how best to pivot and ready ourselves for the adventure of growth that lay ahead. It’s with this spirit and certainly some mixed emotions that I announce the closure of our Halifax clinic at the end of June 2021.
I was 24 when I first took over as the lead RMT and owner of Sore Spots. I had just spent a Summer working on a dairy farm in New Jersey and previous to that working and living in Northern, rural Quebec practicing French and working at a health store. Homesick, I knew I had to come back to Nova Scotia to properly launch my massage therapy career.
I lucked out. The place where I had received my first-ever massage, before I had even started massage therapy school was looking for a new, spirited, entrepreneurial massage therapist. Sore Spots started with a repurposed 164 sq foot linen closet turned cozy massage cocoon in a downtown Halifax hotel within the heart of the business district. A space where clients could retreat for 60 minutes or so from their hectic work day. On the other side of that 60 minute treatment is where clients find relief from pain, stress and greater ease in movements for all their daily activities.
I was grateful. Our little starter clinic in that hotel gave me a bird’s eye view of the world. I knew at the time what a gift it was to meet people from all over the world. While most sessions are a space of therapeutic quiet, as a massage therapist I am honored to be a medical service that holds quality time and space with each person that seeks care. It is inevitable that I learn a little and in a sense, get to travel to discover the landscape of tension patterns unique to each person on the table.
This hotel based healing space delivered so many interesting stories. Meeting indigenous persons from around the world and learning about their stories, similarities and parallels to that of our own Canadian climate. Working with musicians and the marvels of how humble, talented & kind people can be in the midst of the chaotic charm that can come with being a ‘celebrity’. Treating people from across Nova Scotia and indeed developing a cherished Atlantic Canada client base.
I am grateful. Sore Spots has been nourished not just by me, but by the therapists with whom we’ve partnered and the clients we’ve shared space with. I’ve been blessed to be mentored and welcomed into a space of growth from our hotel partners and on-site management team. They’ve listened to my ideas, given me space to make mistakes, flounder a bit and of course I am also eternally indebted to them for the sum of our success over the years.
I am blessed. Sore Spots will continue to service HRM & beyond in the years to come. For now, it is at our Dartmouth clinic that we will continue to act as a quality massage therapy provider and cultivate unique therapeutic experiences that broaden the horizons of healing & healthcare. While we close the doors of our Halifax clinic, we plan to stay ‘on track’ and focused to continue the best version of ourselves and ‘our little clinic that can’ here in our beloved city of Dartmouth. There’s more growth ideas & development brewing, but for now we know that sometimes you just gotta ‘contract to relax’.
As we wind up our Halifax services, it’s clear that we are leaving behind a downtown district in the beginnings of what we hope will prove as a sort of resurrection. The downtown centers of our cities need the vibrant flow of office workers, city goers & travelling spirits to keep the urban web of community woven. Let’s all keep a keen eye on the businesses who live there, so that they can, in turn thrive in our city centers.
From Jamie Lynn, Cashew & the entire Sore Spots Crew, a very grateful thank you to all of our clients & colleagues who have allowed us to offer a helping hand in their health and wellness & of course, supported our own journey along the way. See you all at our Dartmouth clinic very soon.