SYL is so excited for this opportunity! Join us in learning more about Jackie both professionally and personally. Jackie has been a Therapeutic Massage Therapist for over 23 years and specializes in horses and people including athletes of all sports and disciplines. Her modalities include Myofascial Release, Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy, Cranial Sacral, and others and is a Reiki Master/Teacher. She’s also been a Saddle Fitter for over 9 years. Her love of horses and everything equestrian has led her to find a career as unique as she is! Her work is intuitive, thought provoking and proven which has helped thousands of horses, riders, athletes and people from all walks of life extend their hobbies, careers and quality of life. She enjoys educating you to understand your own body better and begin to become aware of your biomechanics and what you can do to change and strengthen yourself to be the best that you can be.
What are some of the best and worst purchases you ever made?
Best: I think one of the best purchases I made was my education! It’s allowed me to follow my passion for helping others to feel good in their bodies again! And probably my next best purchase was any of the horses that I’ve owned. Horse ownership is expensive, time consuming and emotional. And yet, they are the most wonderful creatures You could ever imagine. Having a bad day? Just go get hugged by one of Your horse’s and the world rights itself somehow. They are my greatest teachers and I treasure every horse I’ve ever owned.
Worst: It’s funny because the worst purchase I ever made was something that I had researched for 6 months before purchasing. It was a vehicle! This car was going to be a very large purchase for me and my business and I extensively looked at Consumer Reports Magazine for auto reviews (all top notch!), Independent Studies (again-You could NOT go wrong with this purchase!), had taken one on test drives several times ensuring to the best of my ability that this would be a vehicle I’d have for a long time. It was/is considered one of the best and safest car manufacturer’s in the world. What I didn’t take into account was the fact that most vehicle manufacturer’s do not offer the most supportive seating that correctly allows You to stay in a safe “neutral spine” position. They have a tendency to place You in a forward head position which causes stress to Your low back and it crippled me after a couple of long drives. I couldn’t even drive it to the grocery store without struggling with the pain it would cause. I had to trade it in and we all know how fiscally irresponsible trading in a newer car is-I lost thousands of dollars in that venture unfortunately. However, I traded it in on another vehicle that I was in a serious car accident with. I’m convinced the new vehicle was what actually saved my life.
What are you excited about most now in your life?
I am SO blessed and am grateful every day for where I am in my life! I think there are a couple of exciting things that really stand out. The first one is I’m a newlywed! Since I met John, I’ve said that our meeting was truly through Divine Intervention! We were married 01/15/22 and are continuing to combine our busy lives together. We both love motorcycles/motocross, horses, travel and life! Secondly, I’m really excited about working at Stretching Your Life with Kim and all the other professionals that work at Central Remedy, Tallahassee. As a Licensed Massage Therapist in Tallahassee, FL, my goal has been to help people understand biomechanics and how it affects the body. I do this with not only people and athletes, but also horses. I had broken 2 vertebrae in my neck when I was 16 and suffered from severe scarring of the myofascial tissue around my neck. I looked into various treatments including Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Osteopathy, Chiropractic, Orthopedic Medicine and even Neurology. Nothing helped my condition and I was in severe pain every day. I lived with that for the next 16 years until a Therapeutic Massage Therapist worked on me. My neck rotation had been limited to about 30 degrees total and by the first treatment, it was 70% better! With a total of 5 or 6 treatments, I had my life back again and was totally free from pain! AND it created a fire in me to help others as well.
What’s a work lesson you’ve had to learn the hard way?
Unfortunately, I’ve worked alongside other people that weren’t as passionate about what they did or felt that this work isn’t as important as other modalities might be. It was truly life changing for me and many other people. I realize that not every modality will work for every patient. And years of practicing therapeutic modalities allows me to have the confidence to do what I feel is right for the patient-and that included referring out as well.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
I’m living the dream right now! And yet, I hope I never truly “grow up” because how boring would that be??? 😀
Contact a Tallahassee Stretch Therapist today
Interested in Massage Therapy in Tallahassee? Call or Contact us now and see how Kim Ortloff and the SYL team can improve your life!
