Barbara Gagnon has opened Healing Hands Massage Therapy, which is based in North Adams.
She opened her business in late August and offers massage at her home in North Adams. Licensed in North Adams and Pittsfield, she also does massage at North Adams Regional Hospital (NARH) in their Wellness Room, and also works at Patti's Hairport, on Tyler Street in Pittsfield.
Anyone wishing to schedule an appointment in Pittsfield or in North Adams should call Gagnon at 662-2033.
"I'm kind of on call everywhere," she said. "That's pretty much how it works."
Gagnon received training from Berkshire Community College and graduated in June. This training included anatomy and massage instruction, and labs where students would work on other people, first other students and then family and friends.
"And then the second half of the course we had to get 200 hours of working on people," she said. "So it's a 650-hour course, total."
She also has training in the art of Reiki, of which she is a master/teacher.
"So I'm able to teach people Reiki as well practice on them," she said. "It's a Japanese healing technique."
The hands can be on or above the person.
"It's a very relaxing method," she said. "And that's primarily what it promotes - relaxation, stress reduction. But it has been known to do much more."
"I like to combine it with my massage, if people are open to it. I usually ask them if they've ever heard of it, and then I ask them if they want me to try a little bit of it," she said. "That way it helps them to relax much more quickly, and then I can go on with my massage."
She offers Reiki classes at her home.
"They're given ... what's called an attunement that allows the energy to flow through them so that they can now do it," she said. "When you're level one, you can do it to yourself and others. And with this attunement, this allows you to then do this Reiki on yourself and others.
"And there's three levels with Reiki," she said. "Level three is when you become a teacher. ... You can actually teach other people to do it."
Gagnon intends to continue her education in massage as time goes on and is interested in infant massage.
"I just plan on taking more courses, too, to increase my knowledge about the body and the muscles and then maybe go into certain avenues like infant massage," she said.
She said business is picking up and she's hoping that advertising will help it pick up more.
"It's kind of spread out between the hospital, my house and Patti's," she said. "It's a nice, even amount right now."
Gagnon is a native of North Adams who has worked at NARH for five years. She is unit secretary for the Critical Care Unit. She also offers massage and Reiki in the hospital's Wellness Room.
Customers can opt for appointments of varying length for Reiki and massage. Healing Hands also offers gift certificates.
Gagnon said interest in massage has increased.
"Years ago, people used to think of it as primarily just a 'do-a-good-thing-for-myself' kind of thing," she said. "But now they're really finding that the studies show that it does a lot of good things for the body. Like it helps to lower sugar levels in diabetes, for diabetics. It obviously lowers blood pressure.
"It does a whole lot of really good things for people now. So people are actually seeking it out, trying it," she said. "If they have an illness, they want to try whatever they can do to make themselves feel better."
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Berkshire County Homes Celebrating Holiday Cheer
By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
There's holiday cheer throughout the Berkshires this winter.
Many homeowners are showing their holiday spirit by decorating their houses. We asked for submissions so those in the community can check out these fanciful lights and decor when they're out.
We asked the homeowners questions on their decorations and why they like to light up their houses.
In Great Barrington, Matt Pevzner has decorated his house with many lights and even has a Facebook page dedicated to making sure others can see the holiday joy.
Located at 93 Brush Hill Road, there's more than 61,000 lights strewn across the yard decorating trees and reindeer and even a polar bear.
The Pevzner family started decorating in September by testing their hundreds of boxes of lights. He builds all of his own decorations like the star 10-foot star that shines done from 80-feet up, 10 10-foot trees, nine 5-foot trees, and even the sleigh, and more that he also uses a lift to make sure are perfect each year.
"I always decorated but I went big during COVID. I felt that people needed something positive and to bring joy and happiness to everyone," he wrote. "I strive to bring as much joy and happiness as I can during the holidays. I love it when I get a message about how much people enjoy it. I've received cards thanking me how much they enjoyed it and made them smile. That means a lot."
Pevzner starts thinking about next year's display immediately after they take it down after New Year's. He gets his ideas by asking on his Facebook page for people's favorite decorations. The Pevzner family encourages you to take a drive and see their decorations, which are lighted every night from 5 to 10.
In North Adams, the Wilson family decorates their house with fun inflatables and even a big Santa waving to those who pass by.
The Wilsons start decorating before Thanksgiving and started decorating once their daughter was born and have grown their decorations each year as she has grown. They love to decorate as they used to drive around to look at decorations when they were younger and hope to spread the same joy.
"I have always loved driving around looking at Christmas lights and decorations. It's incredible what people can achieve these days with their displays," they wrote.
The Wilsons' invite you to come and look at their display at 432 Church St. that's lit from 4:30 to 10:30 every night, though if it's really windy, the inflatables might not be up as the weather will be too harsh.
In Pittsfield, Travis and Shannon Dozier decorated their house for the first time this Christmas as they recently purchased their home on Faucett Lane. The two started decorating in November, and hope to bring joy to the community.
"If we put a smile on one child's face driving by, then our mission was accomplished," they said.
Many homeowners are showing their holiday spirit by decorating their houses. We asked for submissions so those in the community can check out these fanciful lights and decor when they're out.
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