An Asheville massage therapist explains.

Imagine finding an auto mechanic who was a successful racecar driver. Or discovering an eye, ear, nose and throat doctor who once appeared in Broadway musicals. Or meeting a beer brewer who previously worked as an exacting engineer? OK, maybe that last one’s over-the-top, although it’s true (see Oscar Wong of Highland Brewery).

The point is that a racecar driver already has a head start on becoming a mechanic because he (or she) learned all about cars in the first job. A Broadway singer already knows the mechanics and importance of your eyes, ears, nose and throat, giving her (or him) an advantage as an M.D.

Dancers and the Body

A similar transition occurred with local massage therapist Lawrence Hines. He came to his current calling after years as a professional dancer. And it shows in how he treats your body because:

  • Dancers understand how bodies are supposed to move and how they can move.
  • Dancers learn how to overcome injuries and what caused them in the first place.
  • Dancers are intimately connected with their muscles, tissue and bones.
  • In other words, dancers get to know the body very well indeed.

This knowledge can give an experienced dancer extra insight on the way to becoming a massage therapist. Like other therapists, however, Lawrence still had to pass the state boards. He still does the work necessary to maintain his license. But you can tell by the way his hands work that he possesses an innate sense of where the muscles are and how they work together to facilitate movement.

Introducing Lawrence Hines

During his 25 years as a dancer, choreographer and teacher, Lawrence earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree and a Master’s Degree in Modern Dance from the University of Utah. Long before he became an Asheville massage therapist, Lawrence performed physically challenging dance routines. He pushed his body to the limit.

Since 1998, Lawrence has been an active Asheville massage therapist. For the past 10 years, he’s owned his own massage therapy business, focusing on all people in pain, from the chronically ill to athletes and dancers. While he’s had a license to practice for 17 years, he has 40-plus years of experience working with muscles and helping people out of pain. It’s the dancer in him that makes him special.

Laban Movement Analysis

Just as his dancing career helps Lawrence understand the body better as an Asheville massage therapist, so too does his additional training in Laban Movement Analysis. That additional certification took almost as long as earning his license to do massage therapy. The movement analysis sets him apart from most other massage therapists practicing in Asheville.

The human body is a complex, interconnected, mechanical bio-energetic system. As a former dancer, Lawrence learned how muscles work together to allow the body to perform feats of movement magic. With the movement analysis training, he can now pinpoint issues within the body dynamic and treat those issues directly and effectively with a variety of techniques.

If you are in pain, if you need the relaxing treatment a professional massage can deliver, if you want to learn more about your body, schedule an appointment for 60 or 90 minutes with one of the most knowledgeable, insightful and healing Asheville massage therapists: Lawrence Hines of Asheville Therapeutic Massage.