The business of life

Words GAYLYN AITKEN

I never set out to be a businesswoman and that label still feels like it doesn’t quite fit, but I guess that’s what I am after 30 years creating and managing a massage and movement business in Gympie. It began as a need to take control of my life, not just my income. But I was primarily driven by the desire to learn what I was capable of and to make good use of my time, so when I take my last breath I’m celebrating rather than regretting my life.

I began training in massage in 1990 and as soon as I completed the first four-day Swedish massage module, I put an ad in the local paper. To my amazement, on my first day, I had four bookings and two of those clients rebooked. I rested my massage notes on their pelvis as I struggled through the sequence, and I still smile at that memory.

That was the beginning of this journey that has turned out to be one of self-discovery. For the first time in my life I found I was good at something and I couldn’t get enough of learning – aromatherapy, kinesiology, acupressure, anatomy, physiology, chemistry, physics, yoga and all styles of massage. It wasn’t until I found my teacher, Kahuna Abraham Kawai’i, that I learnt how to pull all that information and experience together into a format I could use to help others learn to know themselves through bodywork and movement. I’m still learning; I don’t see an end to it and encourage others to continue seeking new experiences to promote personal growth.

I understand that my business is a part of me and reflects my inner life; therefore, the prime focus of Kahuna Mist is promoting self-responsibility by owning and inhabiting one’s body with awareness and compassion. Learning how your body naturally moves, while sensing it in motion and rest, will teach you how to restore its functions and, in doing so, expand your awareness of your capability to courageously fulfil your potential.

My toolkit for a successful and enduring business are life principles:

• Be honest in your dealings with yourself and others.

• Be clean with money matters.

• Pay your bills with joy.

• Be real. Sooner or later, the mask of insincerity will slip.

• Do what you do first for you, then others will benefit.

• Be humble and say yes to learning. No one knows everything.

• Mistakes are an opportunity to refine.

• Never take anything personally.

• Lead by example.

• Know what is your business and mind it.

• Be adventurous without being foolish. It’s a short life, live it to the full.

www.kahunamist.com