Today we’d like to introduce you to Jill L’Esperance.
Hi Jill, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My career journey has been an interesting one with some unexpected turns.
I became interested in bodywork after seeing a local chiropractor who helped me with whiplash symptoms from a car accident back in 1985. After the accident, I had chronic neck pain and frequent headaches that the doctors did nothing for. The chiropractor would work out the muscle knots before doing an adjustment, and I started picking up on that and started working out knots for family members.
In the early 2000’s I was in need of a career change from my first career in mechanical engineering. I dabbled in a few at-home and self-employment adventures for a few years, until I heard an ad for a Medical Massage school. I had an eye out for a massage school for a while and finally found one that taught something other than traditional/Swedish massage.
This school, Blue Heron Academy, taught Medical Massage and this sounded very interesting to me. Through this school, I became a National Board Certified Therapist in 2004.
Through ongoing continuing education programs from various instructors and programs, I learned a form of neuromuscular release therapy and various light-touch neuromuscular therapies.
For a few years, I worked for a massage clinic and at a couple of chiropractic offices. The pay wasn’t great, and because I did something other than the massage most people were not aware of, it was up to me to recruit and educate my clients. It didn’t take long for me to figure out I was better off working for myself. I started renting part-time space with a couple of other therapists in 2008 and went totally on my own in 2010.
Shortly after going on my own, I met my now ex-husband. He was dealing with intense chronic pain throughout his body. I worked on him often with decent results. During our time together I continued to look for ways to help him. This led me to the Bowen technique and later the Emmett Technique which is what I’m primarily using and teaching today.
Since the start of my work in the bodywork field, I’ve always offered something different than what the average client was aware of. I’ve enjoyed the process of educating the client to let them know that there is something different out there that may be able to help them in ways that other methods have not. To see clients’ faces and hear their excitement when they feel the changes provided, is a joy and blessing every day!
My practice currently stays comfortably busy through word-of-mouth referrals. I get an occasional client through my website, but most have been referred from other happy clients.
Along with a busy clinic, I am now one of a hand full of instructors for the Emmett Technique here in the U.S.
After taking a number of the Emmett Technique module classes, I was approached by the founder of this technique to become an instructor in the U.S. I never thought of myself as a teacher, but when the founder of a technique approached me, it made me stop and think. The founder, Ross Emmett resides in Australia and shares the technique throughout the world. He visited the U.S. a number of times during my training program, and I had the privilege to learn directly from him.
I still (and probably always will) continue to learn other ways to help my clients. At the moment I am studying to become a Certified Posture Expert. As a part of this program, I will be certified in the structural and neurological aspect along with ergonomics and pediatrics. This has already proven to be a great addition to my practice.
I’m looking forward to offering posture-related workshops and introducing the way the Emmett Technique can help improve postural distortions and overall health for all ages.
I don’t think my story ends here! I can’t wait to see where it goes.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road has certainly not been smooth.
Upon completing my training as a Medical Massage Therapist and seeing the benefits I was able to offer people, I, in a way, expected the line to just show up at my door. I came out of school with a lot of dreams and expectations for where I could go with my business. I guess I was still pretty naive in the business world at that time. It didn’t take long to realize that it would take work and educating the potential clients.
My first job was with a gym/personal training facility. I thought it wouldn’t take long for the trainers to refer clients to me and they would come without question. Well, that didn’t happen!
I tried various methods to attract clients. I handed out postcards and coupons to local businesses; I hung flyers in stores and placed them on car windshields (which I later go in trouble for); etc., but to no avail. I moved my location to a health food store, but that was no easier.
During this struggle, I was offered a job back in the engineering field and I really considered taking it! It was a tough choice to make, but I did decide to pursue a career in the massage industry. This is when I moved to Minnesota from Michigan and went to work for a massage clinic.
I thought they would keep me busy without my having to do all the leg work, but that didn’t happen here either. So, I tried a couple of chiropractic offices. Same story.
This is when I realized that if I wanted to make this work, I had to do the educating and recruiting my own clients and found the best way to do that was by getting out there and actually showing people what I do. I started doing sample treatments on people to let them experience how it was different.
After various events and networking get-togethers, I made a few great connections who began to refer clients, and the word-of-mouth referrals started to happen.
There have been, and still are, a number of hills and valleys in my 12-year solo career. There have been times when I’ve had to decide how to split $20 between gas and food, but the journey has been well worth it.
We’ve been impressed with Restore Muscle Health, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I provide a couple of forms of light-touch therapy that are fairly new to the area and not very well known. I offer a form of neuromuscular therapy called The Emmett Technique for relief from a variety of pain and discomfort issues. This technique originated in Australia by Ross Emmett. I’ve had the privilege to learn directly from him for most of my training.
This technique helps to reset the muscle-nerve communication and allows the body to then correct itself. I have seen amazing changes with many clients. Some clients had tried a variety of other treatment methods with little success, some were told there was nothing more that could be done, and some accepted their pain issues as something they would have to live with, before coming to me.
I also provide light-touch scar tissue release. This method, MSTR (McLoughlin Scar Tissue Release), has also provided amazing change for clients in areas where they were not finding relief. MSTR, not only helps soften the surface scar tissue, but also help to relieve restrictions in the surrounding muscles, nerves, lymphatic system, etc.
Relief from scar tissue release has often been very unexpected and can show up in areas in other parts of the body. When things are not responding to the neuromuscular therapy, I will ask about scars anywhere else on the body. I have seen immediate relief within minutes of working on a scar as small as a needle injection, like from an epidural.
Both of these techniques have provided immediate relief. This is not always the case and does depend on the client and their situation, but they are designed to help correct the problem and not just provide temporary relief. They are also designed to look at the body as a whole rather than just addressing a symptom.
I continue to learn and study ways to improve the treatments I provide and to help clients overcome pain and become healthier.
I would love to put myself out of business. I’ve been told by health coaches that repeat customers are more valuable and easier than finding new customers. I do have, and love my repeat customers, but that is not my goal aside from maintenance plans when needed.
I want to help people overcome their issues and get back to living the life they want to live – regardless of age – and then come back if and when they need me. This has worked very well for me and has provided a flood of word-of-mouth referrals over many years.
I am proud of the fact that I can provide clients relief in a very short amount of time compared to many other treatment methods. Approximately 80% of my clients experience a significant change in 1-2 sessions. If we don’t see progress by the 3rd session, then this is probably not the treatment method for you.
So, from common pain issues like low back, neck, shoulder, knee, etc. to headaches, TMJ, plantar fasciitis, digestive, etc., along with surgical scars, burns, and muscle tears, I am happy to see if I can help you.
I’ve helped clients with up to 40+ years of chronic pain as well as acute slip and falls. I’ve helped clients avoid surgery, along with rehab, post-surgery. I’ve helped newborns and the elderly and every age in between.
Lastly, I am one of a handful of instructors for the human classes for The Emmet Technique in the U.S. We have very few therapists providing this work across the country, and we’d love to train more.
For more information on the techniques or classes, feel free to contact me at jill@restoremusclehealth.com.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
Holy Bible
DarrenDaily from DarrenHardy.com
“Business Made Simple” by Donald Miller
Pricing:
- $80-$90/session
- $200-$450 classes
Contact Info:
- Website: RestoreMuscleHealth.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/restoremusclehealth
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFhKmV4mF_6bBsztLWoIRlw
