About Me

Amy Lenardson, LMT

I have taken a long and winding road to get where I am today. At times, it seemed like some of the things I did were detours, completely unrelated to my nearly three-decades-long career as a massage therapist. But hindsight is always 20/20 and I can see now that every job I had before graduating from Bancroft School of Massage Therapy in 1989 helped to prepare me, to one degree or another, for the career I have loved continuously and passionately since day one.

As a young woman, wanting to expand her horizons, I served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala. As part of a Youth Development program, I taught children how to swim. I started a clown troupe with Jr. High students. We performed at local hospitals doing tricks and entertaining children. The whole experience was an awakening for me. I always felt drawn to helping people, but here my empathy and compassion for others flourished. I also learned a thing or two about endurance. Today, all of these qualities not only make me a better person. They make me a better massage therapist.

I also was a laborer on a construction crew. I made culverts. Using metal fasteners, I tied steel reinforcement bars together to keep them from separating. Then I poured the cement. As low person on the totem pole, I was enlisted for other menial jobs, too—like pulling nails from wood. On the plus side, I occasionally got to drive some heavy equipment—a backhoe, a front-end loader, a crane, a bulldozer and a bobcat. The job required a lot of muscle. I loved being able to handle it. Today, physical strength is a big part of what I do and I am proud of the strength I can still bring to the table.

Eventually, I wanted to branch out. I became a lab technician, testing chemicals for a company in North Carolina. I worked for a printing company, running two offset presses. Both of these jobs required great care and close attention to detail—two abilities I put to beneficial use every day of my professional life.

In addition to my training in massage therapy, I have a BA in physical education. Which comes in handy in all kinds of situations, but particularly for sports-related issues. As for how I occupy my spare time, I sing with Women of Note, a barbershop chorus. I read, draw, hike, and walk on the beach anytime of the year. I tend my garden, a perennial canvas to which my husband and I devoted many happy hours, and where I can still find solace and get my hands dirty. And I have two beautiful sons and a daughter-in-law who fill my heart with joy and love.