Massage Therapy Journal Summer 2025

6 • Massage Therapy Journal

Letter from the

President

Deeper Roots and Standing Strong

Phew, we’ve been through a lot the past five years. It’s no wonder I’ve been thinking a lot about the word resilience . Anyone who knows me knows I am a logophile, a lover of words. According to Merriam-Webster.com : In physics, resilience is the ability of an elastic material (such as rubber or animal tissue) to absorb energy (such as from a blow) and release that energy as it springs back to its original shape. The recovery that occurs in this phenomenon can be viewed as analogous to a person’s ability to bounce back after a jarring setback. We are fortunate, especially this time of year, to have an ever-present example in nature of what it looks like to be resilient. I get to witness it in my own backyard. I have the joy of sharing my office backyard with an incredible, roughly 250-year-old copper beech tree. Her branches shade the entire yard. Each day I arrive, she greets me, as if saying “look, all things are possible.”

survived the significant alterations to the terrain that surrounds her, and has withstood the extremes of the ever-changing weather and climate. Year to year she springs back even more spectacular than the previous year, with deeper roots and standing stronger, showing off her beauty to the world. Research has shown trees have elaborate communication networks through their roots, bark and leaves that also serve as support systems. Thus, making forests giant tree communities. We Are One Another’s Strength As with nature, we also are designed to bounce back from jarring blows, with internal systems to help process the changes. Sometimes, maintaining homeostasis and overall balance is the best we can do on our own, and that is okay. Other times, we may need to reach out to our communities for added support. The community we have among the massage therapy profession—and especially within AMTA— is tremendously supportive. I liken AMTA to a tree: our national board and staff are the trunk, our 51 chapters are the branches, and our 106,000 members are the leaves. Our 82-year-old roots are expansive and solidly established. We have weathered many organizational and industry changes. With a sheltering commitment to the growth and protection of “our forest,” including the massage therapy profession and all those within it, our resiliency grows stronger with each changing season. If you are ever in Tucker, GA, you are welcome to visit beneath Beauty’s canopy. “How could you not be hopeful if you’ve got a tree around?”— Ross Spears

ENGAGE WITH AMTA AMTA’S local chapters are a great place to start getting involved. Find yours at amtamassage.org/ chapters.

In fact, the last day my office was open before the pandemic shut us down in 2020, I looked over at my magnificent tree one last time. I’d named her Beauty at our 20th anniversary open house the year before. In that moment, I knew all would eventually be okay. Beauty was (and still is) the perfect representation of resiliency. Centuries old, she has lived through historical battles fought nearby,

Cindy E. Farrar AMTA President

I am because We are.

amtamassage.org/mtj