MegHands Massage & Reiki celebrates one year anniversary at Whitehall location - shorelinemedia.net

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Meghan Olson is celebrating one year of service at the Whitehall location of her business. MegHands Massage & Reiki has been operating at 223 E. Colby Rd. since March 1, 2021, and Olson’s business is expanding after finding success in the White Lake area.

Olson has had an interest in becoming a massage therapist since she was young. “I knew I wanted to do it for a long time because I was a home birth in my grandmother’s massage room,” she said. She is a 2014 Montague High School graduate, and felt that this area could benefit from her services. “I can tell that my work is making a difference,” she said.

Olson graduated from the Institute for Massage Education, formerly known as the Kalamazoo Center for Healing Arts, in the summer of 2017. She spent 600 hours practicing before she could take the test for her certification, which she must renew every three years.


She also spent time earning certifications for Reiki. Reiki, Olson explained, is a healing technique that focuses on anxiety and stress reduction through gentle or no touch.

Since earning her license, Olson has established relationships with 150 clients. As a massage therapist, Olson chooses to respect her own boundaries, and only schedules four or less massages a day. “I want my last client to receive the same energy as the first, so I limit myself to four,” she said.

This is part of the reason why she has expanded the business, and brought in Matthew Pickard as a practitioner. Olson explained that Pickard has lived in the White Lake area for 16 years and has been a practicing massage therapist for seven years in the rehabilitation area. “I would consider myself to be more well rounded, while he focuses on the rehabilitative side of things,” said Olson.

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With plans to keep expanding MegHands Massage & Reiki, Olson shared her goals for the next couple of years. “I plan on attending a school in Grand Rapids to get an esthetician license to expand my services,” she said.

She hopes to one day open a holistic health center in the White Lake area. Olson said that this facility could include services such as massage, acupuncture, psychical therapy and talk therapy. “I have high hopes,” she said.

“If money was no obstacle, I could see myself becoming a holistic doctor,” Olson said.

Olson puts forth a great deal of effort in her business, and also spends time considering her impact on clients and the community as a whole. She knows that her business can be a safe place for people, and wants to make her clients the most comfortable that they can be.

“The most challenging thing has been finding out what I want to portray to the community,” she said, “I want to make people comfortable.”

Services from MegHands Massage & Reiki are by appointment only. Hours of operation are: Monday from 1-6 p.m., Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wednesday from noon to 6 p.m., and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. They are closed on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.