Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Hiles.
Hi Emily, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I have been a licensed Massage Therapist since 2007. I was a certified nurses aid for several years before that, working mostly in the nursing home and for a couple years in the hospital on the cardiac care/med surge floor. Originally, I wanted to be an RN and was accepted into a great nursing school right after high school. As I sat there on day one of orientation, they discussed all the reasons the program may not be for you. I sat there thinking, “they’re right” lol and I left. It really does take a special kind of person to be a nurse. It was at that moment that I realized that I wanted to help people and work in the health and wellness field, however that was not it for me. I changed my major about a hundred times before I found the massage therapy program. Having never had a massage before in my life and realizing that basically half the class you give a massage and half the class you get a massage, I dove right into signing up for the massage therapy program, anxious to learn the techniques of massage therapy, the oldest form of holistic healing! I realized on day one of the program, that I found what I was meant to do. A job where I can help people stay well mind and body with a skilled touch. A field where I could help people out of aches and pains, who were having side effects for what they were prescribed to help it and without much luck. A field where I could make people feel better naturally. A field Where people look forward to their appointments and relaxing for a bit, now realizing that by taking time to do something good for themselves and relax, their body is going to naturally feel better, as western medicine proves, 75-90 % of disease is caused by or exacerbated by stress. All stages of life are capable of massage therapy and there are endless styles and things to learn with a holistic art that dates back thousands of years. There is a reason it is still being used today. It’s not a fad. It works. With a thirst for knowledge, and a mind that won’t let it go if I don’t have the answer, if you come to me with a problem I can’t help, I promise you I will research and find a way. I’ve been doing that for almost twenty years. After working for a spa for over 13 years, I decided to open my own private office. I was limited as to what I was able to offer at the spa, as far as massage therapy styles and having just “fixed” my husbands back with a fusion style of massage therapy I designed, I wanted to be able to help more people. My husband suffered severely from sciatica. In just his early thirties, my husband had already been off work an entire month in crippling pain. Working in construction, he needed to be able to lift and move more a significant amount. He injured the L4, L5, S1 of his back and had ruptured discs. He ended up having surgery and the area immediately reruptured. He wasn’t having luck with back injections or physical therapy. It wasn’t til later I realized why the physical therapy wasn’t helping much, but we can get to that later. I started taking massage therapy continuing education classes like crazy. Brainstorming for what may help and it hit me that if I combined a few styles and added heat and cold therapy along making some other adaptions that it may help him. He has been back to work doing construction ever since! Occasionally, his sciatica may flare up if he works overtime, as he should know not to do, he will need to see our chiropractor friend Michael Vero at Vero Family Chiropractic, but he has not had to miss work for that since due to us maintaining his sciatica with massage therapy. I never saw myself teaching. I love my job. That’s necessary. Love your job so you never have to go to work! But I had many doctors and other health care professionals telling me that I needed to teach the style of massage I do. I was busy right away after opening my office with all word of mouth referrals. I never even had a sign up for my company til this past November. I was hidden in a suite located in the Grandballroom in Butler, PA for almost the first five years of business. In November of 2025, I moved to a suite within that building with a store front and I now am licensed to teach three Steps Towards Healing Courses I designed, a continuing education class for Licensed Massage Therapists in Pennsylvania.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been a smooth road. Before my husband‘s back injury, I was a part-time licensed Massage Therapist at the spa. We have two young adult children, one diagnosed with autism, and we struggled with traditional school. I was homeschooling both children at the time my husband got injured and he was suddenly unable to work. Having lived through a traumatic event as a teenager, where my father was suddenly unable to work, due to congestive heart failure in his late 30s, I was really panicked about how I was going to be able to work more hours and juggle homeschooling. My mother was a stay at home mom until my dad was not able to work. Watching them struggle while she completed school at that time and watching their lives suddenly being changed taught me a lot. I was proud of my mom for her accomplishment, as she even made the Dean’s list, even with having the rug pulled out beneath her at that time in life.They struggled and it was hard, but I always felt they did the best they could with what they had. It’s things like this that happen in life that can make or break you. I was 17 and at that time told my dad had six months to two years with the damage from what they called a “Widowmaker heart attack“. Knowing heart disease ran in the family, and seeing it hit my dad, my mind wouldn’t stop, and I wanted to find a way to be healthier, so it may miss me and hopefully my children if I could teach them the skills I learn. My grandmother, my dad‘s mom, died of a silent heart attack at 54. As I seen my husband with his sciatica so severe and in his early 30s, I had to look at us objectively. We were both overweight and out of shape. You don’t meet people by accident, I truly believe that. Immediately upon opening my office I was blessed with meeting the best group of pro local athletes in the area, that all became clients. IFBB Pro Theresa Ivancik being the most inspiring woman I’ve ever met, Jeff Harlan with continuing to train and work out in bodybuilding in his 50’s, though he has had a few health bumps along the way he doesn’t take “no he can’t do it” as an answer. And Kyle Walters with his degrees and fitness and nutrition. with Kyle’s help, I lost 120 pounds, losing fat and gaining muscle in less than a year. This lead me into competitive physique competitions, where I won a contest for biggest transformation and did my first bikini show. At almost 40 years old I was in the best shape of my life, wearing a bikini on stage and enjoying a healthy lifestyle with great food and fun movement. I never saw that being me! My husband also joined in, losing 90 pounds with Jeff and Theresa, joining me. We are now a couple that competes together, working out with Jeff and Theresa has really helped strengthen his body as he lost fat and gained muscle helping his back injury. I really believe if I hadn’t been surrounded by these inspiring people and guided with their expertise and encouragement that I too probably would have had some kind of a heart issue by now. You often hear that it can’t be avoided because it “runs in The Family“. Well lifestyle is taught by your family to you starting from the time you’re a small child. I didn’t come from a family that put aside time to do focused wellness maintenance, such as doing cardio for the health of your heart and lifting weights to keep your body strong and protect your skeletal structure, or get a massage to help with stress related disease and other issues. The fact of the matter is, if you don’t take that time today to take care of your wellness, tomorrow you’ll be forced to take that time to take care of your illness. It’s not selfish, it’s necessary health maintenance. Many people seem to think that developing health issues as we age are part of aging. What we need to distinguish between is the difference between natural aging, and neglect. If you are not being mindful of what you are eating and what it is doing to your body, and if you are not being mindful of doing cardio for your heart and weight training or some other exercise specifically for your wellness. You may not be aging. That may be neglect. I look back at the days I worked as a certified nurses aid in the nursing home. I learned a lot from the experience. I was 16 working in the skilled unit of a nursing home taking care of elderly. You can tell who aged with healthier habits, and who did not. There is no magic pill, there is no shortcut to healthy lifestyle. If something is a fad diet, you can pretty much guarantee it’s not going to work. Eating healthy, exercising and massage therapy are just a few lifestyle habits that have been around to stay healthy for thousands of years. Not a fad. Tried and true. Sometimes you have to say all these things run in the family, because no one runs in this family lol. You learned something from everything and the fusion style of Of Massage I teach is not only good for sciatica, but so many other issues. Healthy diet and exercise take down inflammation and being sure to stretch before or after helps with range of motion. Pain is typically from lack of range of motion or inflammation. By combining the massage techniques that I have, it gives the Massage Therapist the ability to work deep but gentle, thoroughly relaxing your muscles by combining thai massage techniques, Ashiatsu massage, hot and cold stones and more, customized to the individual. I do believe struggles in life shape you as a human being. If there’s a will, there’s a will, there’s a way. Don’t give up.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
The first thing people notice upon entering my office is the decor. I often joke that I like to decorate everything, including myself lol. I’ve truly found my niche in life and will actually be adding makeup artistry in the near future as well. There is a saying by Maya Angelou, “ people won’t remember what you said, they won’t remember what you did, but they will remember the way you made them feel.“ everything you see, hear, taste, touch and smell is part of the experience when you walk through my office door. I pay careful attention to detail and my decor gives a cheerful and relaxing feeling. As you enter Muscle Whisperers Massage and Bodywork, the first thing you will notice are the soothing sounds of the ocean, the beautiful aroma of an essential oil blend pumping out of the diffuser that I created with intended purpose to promote relaxation and a cheerful uplifting feeling. As you look around, you notice all the relaxing, yet cheerful shades of blue and green, you are submerged in the ambiance, from the relaxing feeling from the blue carpet, to the green paint and the ocean backdrops lining the walls and the whimsical flickering fairy lights on the ceiling under the sheer green curtains, giving you the feeling of the ocean. An escape, from the busy outside world.
I am a licensed Massage Therapist, bodywork practitioner, Pennsylvania licensed massage therapy continuing education instructor, with many diplomas, such as in health assisting, and sound healing. I add music to all my sessions with healing intent based off my knowledge, as well as conduct Sound Baths.
I took an amazing course with Jim Donovan, the drummer from the band Rusted Root to earn a certificate as a certified Drum circle facilitator. Drum circles are great for all ages. they bring community together, and are great as we age for pattern recognition and hand eye coordination, as well as many health benefits associated with healing the Vagas Neve.
Im a certified lymphatic drainage. Therapist, a certified neural reset therapy therapist, Thai Therapist, Ashiatsu therapist, sculptural face, massage therapist, as well as certified in bamboo massage, certified in hot Himalayan salt stone Therapy, cold stone therapy, reflexology, touch therapy for the terminally ill, infant massage teaching, and many more. If I find a new class that I feel will help a client or someone in my community, I’m sure to sign up. Currently, I am attending the Butler Beauty Academy Esthetitian program. I will be completing that shortly and with that License I’ll be adding esthetic skin care services to what I provide.
How do you think about luck?
I often joke that god gave me an amazing guardian angel and he’s probably exhausted. I don’t preplan anything and go in the direction in life I feel guided or pushed.
Pricing:
- Monday through Friday I charge $80 per hour service. My menu is unique, as I do not offer each individual massage style as a service as you typically see. I don’t see how a client can come for therapy and know what exactly it is that will help their ailment the best. Having a very extensive education on the subject, I will do a consultation and combine all my skills proving for you the best possible session for your issue, without upcharging for utilizing cupping, tuningfork therapy or whatever massage style you may need.
- Outside those hours, I charge $90 per hour.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.vagaro.com/musclewhisperersmassageandbodywork/services
- Facebook: HTTPS://facebook.com/emilyhileslmtandbodyworkpractitioner
