My Story

Thank you for visiting my website and for your interest. What an interesting journey thus far. I’ve found myself moving in directions that bring me happiness and joy, leading to a more holistic approach to life, changing how I chose to spend my day, who I spend it with, how I relax and how I make a living. Although my path may seem to meander, it leads to my opening a massage and bodywork practice in Asheville, NC. I hope you enjoy the story of my journey as much as I do…

I began actively following my passions in 2005, after earning my Masters in Business Administration from Virginia Tech University. The MBA took about 5 years of night school to complete while working full time by day for a fortune 50 company located in Northern Virginia. This path was viewed as prestigious but I was not feeling fulfilled.

After experiencing the corporate world for 11 years, I began thinking about how to better tap into my creative side. I pursued an opportunity to work with a prominent interior designer and took the leap from my secure corporate job into a sole proprietor enterprise.

Just shy of two years while working with this talented designer, I learned that anything is possible in creating inviting living spaces. If you work with master crafters, beautiful dreams and grand visions can become reality. It opened my mind towards what could be, not just for an interior space but how I lived my life.

During this time, I was also adjusting from a divorce. Although as amicable as possible, learning to be single after an 18-year relationship was challenging. One benefit I’m very thankful for is the opportunity this change allowed to get to know myself better. Thus began my inner journey.

I started spending quality time with myself. I enjoyed journaling, walks around the lake, yoga, reading, movies, good food and wine. I found myself getting back into cooking as a creative outlet and began to study wine more seriously. My friends and family seemed to like it too, saying I was good at hosting, providing a comfortable place to relax and rejuvenate over a really good meal. The combination of good food and wine shared with friends and family became food for my soul and I began to imagine how to make that become a part of my everyday life.

I found a wine studies program in San Jose, CA that was designed to prepare their students to take the Certified Sommelier Exam through the American Chapter of the Court of Master Sommeliers. The program was a 10-week intensive and a substantial investment. If I was entering a new industry, I felt having good knowledge and a globally recognized certification would provide a more stable foundation. I decided to go for it. Not only did I want to learn about wine but I was also drawn to San Francisco and Napa. I wanted to live in a food and wine culture, to nourish my mind, body and spirit.

My intuition gave me the confidence to “trust” and to “know” that this was the right move. That was tricky to explain to some of my family and friends who had questions like, “Your going by yourself?”, “Do you know anyone there?”, “You’re going without a job lined up?”, “Are you running away from something?”, “How long are you staying out there?”…

I drove to California from Virginia in June of 2007. I enjoyed the cross-country trip and had many nights hosted by friends and family along the way. I studied wine that summer and passed the Introductory and Certified Sommelier Exams (Levels 1 and 2 of the 4 Levels at that time). Afterwards, I made my way to Napa and fell in love with its magic. I was immediately “at home”, knowing no one upon arrival.

Napa felt so “right” living there. I’m extremely thankful for the small family multi-winery where I had the pleasure of working for almost 4 years. What a treat to work with such talented winemakers, learn first-hand how the growing season develops, how wine is made and the joy of sharing their creations with guests traveling from all over the world.

Napa was a place to heal, to re-group, to begin allowing love back into my life, to truly nourish my mind, body and spirit. I met amazing friends who were also on transformational paths. We all were fellow students on our inner journeys that loved being in Napa, surrounded by the valley’s beauty.

In the fall of 2012 I met my current love, and now husband, Brett, who lived in Sacramento. As our relationship grew, it was time for another major decision that involved my moving from Napa. Again, I trusted my intuition and “jumped”. We lived together in Sacramento beginning the summer of 2013, married in the fall of 2017 and continue to support one another in creating a life we enjoy.

The move to Sacramento allowed me time to think about what I wanted to do next. I decided to pursue my study of massage therapy and bodywork, with the goal of running a private practice. I had been reading and practicing a variety of energy healing techniques and mindful meditation practices while in Virginia and Napa and was drawn to study more formally. I loved the idea of being able to provide healing touch as a service to others, while continuing my own inner journey.

My massage training was from the Massage Therapy Institute in Davis, CA and I was certified as a Massage Therapist by the California Massage Therapy Council in June 2014. My studies include a blend of Eastern and Western modalities with the emphasis in Swedish, Therapeutic Deep Tissue, Reiki and Acupressure.

My further studies in Reiki were with Reiki Masters in the United States and in Japan, blending both Eastern and Western lineages. I completed my Level III Master Reiki Practitioner training (also called Level 3a, Advanced Reiki Techniques or ART and Shinpiden) in Tokyo the Spring of 2018. I'm thankful to have had the opportunity to study from both Eastern and Western Master Teachers and found my Western Reiki lineage was very traditional and a close match to my Japanese teachings.

I enjoyed building my private practice in Carmichael, CA and had the pleasure to rent my studio space in the Baratta Holistic Center, practicing among other healers to include a Chiropractor, an Acupuncturist, and another Reiki Master. I practiced privately as Joann Wetherill Bodywork from 2014 - 2020. As my practice was beginning, I also worked part time for Massage Envy and a Chiropractor. As my business steadily grew, I discontinued my hours with the Chiropractor after 13 months and discontinued my Massage Envy hours after almost 2 years.

In my private practice, I loved building relationships with my clients, many of them becoming regulars who would see me weekly and monthly. My calendar was filled with a variety of clients and I was working full time. I paid off my start up costs and was operating in a profit and investing back into the business.

In 2020, in response to the Covid 19 Pandemic, California mandated massage services be shut down beginning in March, lasting many months. There was a brief time of a reopen but then closing down for a second time. Brett and I were also planning to sell our house and relocate. So much upheaval and change during this time. Brett was also retiring early from his long time employer of more than 20 years of service. After much thought, I decided to close my massage & bodywork business late summer of 2020, as the mandated closures were still in effect and knowing we needed to prepare our house for sale and a potential move out of state. It was difficult to have such a cold and unexpected ending to my business and an end to all my client relationships I'd built over almost 6 years. Although I knew closing the business was the best decision given the circumstances, I moved through depression, fear and a lot of grief.

Although it was a difficult time, we felt grateful to have Brett be able to work remotely, both while he finished his time with his previous company and as he started a new position for a company in Raleigh. And I was able to refocus my time towards my meditation and spiritual studies and also began learning watercolor painting and digital drawing.

We were able to sell our house in Sacramento quickly in the summer of 2021 and lived briefly in Grass Valley, CA and then in Napa, CA before making our way to Asheville, NC. The cross country move in late 2022 from California to North Carolina was a big experiment, another jump into the unknown, which is going well thus far.

We love the beauty of the Asheville area and all the layered views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. After renting in Asheville for 10 months, we found our new home in Weaverville, NC in October 2023. We feel so lucky every day as we walk our property filled with trees and a beautiful long ridgeline view. Our front west facing balcony is the best place to enjoy sunset and deeply appreciate our landing where we are. After moving 4 times in less than 3 years, we hope to be here for a long while.

Given all the changes in our lives, I wasn't sure if I'd want to open another private practice but, when the rental of a massage space presented itself in the Spring of 2024, I began getting excited again. I've since made the space my own and look forward to beginning this new chapter in massage & bodywork in Asheville, NC.

I'm operating as a sole proprietor and my studio is located within Manor Gate Salon. I'm excited to have my studio and business alongside 3 talented hair stylists. The four of us are all business owners and care about providing quality service to our clients. It will be exciting to begin establishing rewarding client relationships again. Here's a nice picture of us all enjoying lunch at the Sunset Terrace at the Omni Grove Park Inn Summer 2024. It was a fun day with great fellow business women in a most beautiful setting. Awesome time - Thanks Norma Jean!

Thank you for taking time to learn about me and my path thus far. I'm grateful for my journey, which now allows me to combine those experiences and skills learned into bringing 100% of myself to the “office”, which feels fantastic.

I invite you to my studio to begin or continue your own healing journey and together we can help each other on our paths towards more joyful living. In the meantime, wishing you well.

Please reach out with any questions.

Cheers!

Jody