Massage therapy is a calling for Richmond man

by Greg Cryns

10.4.05

Photo: Evan Blossom(left) -  Earl Connor(right) – director for CSMT in McHenry County

 

 

 

Recently, Evan Blossom celebrated when he received his diploma in massage therapy from the Chicago School of Message in Crystal Lake.

 

Earl Connor, primary instructor for the McHenry College program of the school, said, “143 million people were given massages in 2004. This is up 50% from 10 years ago. This translates into about 12% of American adults who regularly receive massages. Massage therapy is the most unselfish of professions because it requires someone to give 60 minutes of nurturing touch to clients. It is a calling.”

 

As part of their service requirement, Blossom’s class performed massages at Fount Springs Nursing Home and the Women’s Residential Services in Lake County. The class performed over 17,500 hours of volunteer services as the completed graduation requirements. Graduates are eligible to sit for the national examination that will lead to Illinois licensure.

 

“As a child I would always play with the cats and get them to purr,” said Blossom. “They showed me what they liked and didn’t like. After high school. in the mid 70’s I took some massage classes along with dance classes with the Movement Arts Foundation in New York. My sister had migraines at that time and I was able to help her get rid of the pain using massage technique. She became a massage therapist 25 years ago.”

 

He became a professional ski instructor and toured the world to teach his craft. That is where he met his wife, Ginger, who was also a professional ski instructor. They were married by ski patrol at the top of Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico where they both worked. “We taught together on three continents, four countries, five languages, over 60 winters combined,” says Blossom. “I settled down in Richmond with Ginger. She imports ethnic art and crafts for sale including rugs, furniture, drums and many other interesting items.” Her business is located at 3016 Rt 173 and is called  “Ginger Blossom”.

 

Blossom is also currently a professional ski/snowboard instructor, trainer and race coach    at the Wilmot ski resort since 1994. His world class experience makes him a valuable asset at Wilmot.

 

Blossom decided to begin a career as a massage therapist when he found out that the Chicago School of Message Therapy holds classes in Crystal Lake.

“For years my students and colleagues encouraged me to write a book on skiing/snowboarding,” said Blossom. “The curriculum at the Chicago School of Massage Therapy was a missing piece of the puzzle. Massage therapy taught me how to hone my skiing skills. It also gave me a tremendous background about how the body works and moves and how to be centered and move from the core. The same skill of being centered is also helpful in performing any task from alpine skiing to shoveling snow to washing the dishes.”

 

Blossom said he intends to continue as a ski instructor. “The ski instruction and massage therapy dovetail into each other so well that I hope to be able to continue both. So much of skiing and snowboarding is based on how we move our body and relate to gravity, our surroundings and especially the other people on the slopes. The main cause of injuries is collisions and body strains.”

 

The future is bright for Blossom. He is looking forward to enriching the lives of many others using his massage therapy techniques.