Hello- My name is Lisa Shelter. Where to start…Well, I have been a bodyworker for over 30 years. I grew up in San Jose, California and my family started going to a Chiropractor. Dr. S saw that i had a fascination with the body. He would answer my questions and give me books to read. When I was in high school, I helped him out in the office and he even let me feel what tight muscles. Then let me watch as he would “unwind” them. I was hooked!
After high school, I went to Texas and started working for a Chiropractor while going to school to become a P.T. The early 80’s was an exciting yet frustrating time for bodyworkers. The medical profession was not open to new thoughts but Chiropractic was exploding!! The Chiro I worked for saw my growing frustration with school and offered to teach me new things. So, I quit school to work full time for Dr. B. That was the best decision I made. He was a 2nd generation chiro in Texas. Both his parents were founding members of the first college there and pioneered the way. Dr. B’s mother, Dr. Mary was quite a healer and since she was the first woman Chiro in Texas and one fo the first in the nation, she had to know more than the average man. Dr. Mary taught me about these little “pesky things” called Trigger Points. She actually met and became friends with Dr. Janet Travell, the “mother guru” and author of the most recognized “Myofascial Trigger Point Manuals”. Of course, I did not realize the wealth of what she was teaching me. But to this day, I am so thankful for their guidance!
Ok, so fast forward…I get married.My husband goes into the Air Force, we move to England and I learn even more invaluable techniques and wonderful experiences. While there, the British Chiropractic Association asked me to speak to their assistants It was such an honor. So, moving on, we leave England in 1994 to Sacramento, California. Since there was and to my knowledge still isn’t a state licensure, I was surprised to learn that I had to go back to massage school and get ‘registered” in each county I wanted to work. I also taught at the school. Through a series of events, I was asked by the USAF to write a pilot program for massage in the military. This was quite a tall order but well worth it. Unfortunantely, the program never took off due to budget cuts but it caught the attention of the largest HMO in California. So, they asked me to adapt the program to their needs. However, my husband exited the military and sadly, I never was able to see the program get started!!
Again, fast forward. .. we find ourselves moving to Memphis. In 1998, Tennessee’s newly formed massage licensure board did not know what to do with me. So, they suggested I go back to school and I would be “grandfathered” into a licence. Again, I was a student. The owner of the school (no longer in business- Southern School of Massage in Collierville) asked me to teach a few classes, which I did until I graduated. At the time our children were young and I wanted to devote time to them, so I tried to only see a few clients/patients. That dis not work! My practice quickly grew and I started seeing patients (because most of them were referrals from physicians) in a Chiropractor’s office. He and I had a wonderful working relationship. SO, it will be 16 years in April and I am still here ! However, I am now iin my own office. My passion to help others get well has not dimmed! What a blessing to be able to practice all these years. I look forward to many more and learning, growing and helping more people get well. Recently, I was honored to be included on the Concorde Massage Advisory Board. I would like to eventually get back into teaching also. The future of massage has never looked brighter and we are on the hub of a new turn in healthcare. What a exciting time to be a Massage Therapist!
Memphis Massage Professionals 
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