Marla Gold’s wonderful wellness all began several years ago. I was lucky enough to sit on Marla’s (@marlagold) massage table and appreciate every minute of her trained hands as a certified massage therapist. Patient, a good listener, and intuitive to what my body needed. I left her feeling refreshed, relaxed, and taken care of.
When I was choosing the list of mentors for my book Get Up, Marla was on my mind. The time that we spent together was above and beyond the typical massage time that I have experienced. There was more knowledge. More wisdom. I had to find out more about Marla. Especially when I asked her the question:
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO YOUR TEENAGE SELF?
Marla Gold’s wonderful wellness practice will make sure that however you spend your day, your physical and mental state will be taken care of. From your head to your toes, to your keyboard to your nose. 😉
Who is Marla Gold?
An innovative thinker. Ergonomic Specialist. Director of flow. Yoga instructor. West Coast Swing Dancer. An authentic human being. Loves the outdoors, connecting with nature and people. Founder and CEO of Gold Wellness.
How did “Marla Gold Wellness” begin?
Back in 2001, I was a conference planner. I hired all kinds of tradespeople, like florists, musicians, and caterers. Mostly everyone who worked at these conferences was stressed out and admittingly so was I. Except for a massage company called Relax to the Max. These people were always so happy, relaxed and a pleasure to deal with. They made my job easy and reminded me to have fun. When my career as a conference planner came to an end I was asked by a friend what was next? I said, “Whatever it is, I want to bring happiness to whatever I do just like the people at Relax to the Max.” Then I began following my interest in studying massage therapy, reflexology, and ergonomics.
What is involved in an Ergonomic Assessment?
An office ergonomic assessment usually involves assessing you in your workspace; I watch you work, take measurements, and ask a lot of questions about your work habits! This allows me to uncover the root cause of any risks to Myoskeletal injuries… you know, those aches and pains you feel after working at the computer every day. Then based on my findings and guided by ergonomic principles I make suggestions for setting you up in your workspace in a healthy way. All of this can be done online if need be.
What is the most challenging & rewarding part of Marla Gold Wellness?
Challenging: Prioritizing things that need to get done. I’m a very detailed thinker and I like to spend the time to do things right. I love being in the creative process and can easily get caught up working on projects. I even sometimes forget to have lunch!
Rewarding: I get to be part of positive change in people’s lives. Working online makes it easy to assess people wherever they are in the world. Marla Gold’s wonderful wellness at its best!
What has been the greatest transition you have seen someone go through?
People often jump to the conclusion on what they think the problem might be with their workspace, but then I point out the correct mistake and they are completely surprised! It’s not always common sense. There is a scientific way of figuring all this out. It’s what I like to call the “A-ha” moment. I do love the study of ergonomics and the “Desk-Do-Over”. That combination is so gratifying. It’s hard to see the forest from the trees, but from my perspective, it’s so helpful.
Let’s unpack your quote:
“Travel and experience the world outside of what you know. The school of life is a great way to learn. Always have a curious mind, especially when you are met by what may seem like a roadblock. It will most likely only be an obstacle to creatively find a way around or to even change your mind about. You will always learn something in the process. Lead with a compassionate heart. Leaning in and helping others is always more gratifying than not. You will get the same in return when you are in need.”
There are three separate quotes in here! Time to divide it into three parts:
“Travel and experience the world outside of what you know. The school of life is a great way to learn…“
You don’t know what you don’t know…yet! When I was younger, I took a year to travel throughout Europe and a whole new world opened up to me. I became more open-minded and open to new experiences. Traveling to somewhere unfamiliar put me out of my comfort zone and those are the moments I was most challenged. I learned there was so much more to explore about life and myself. Travel experiences are my souvenirs of life that have helped shape me into the person I am.
“Always have a curious mind, especially when you are met by what may seem like a roadblock. It will most likely only be an obstacle to creatively find a way around or to even change your mind about. You will always learn something in the process.”
Change is the only thing that is really constant. Once I figured that out, navigating through life and keeping my expectations in check resulted in less disappointment about certain outcomes happening the way I wanted and I had experiences that were completely unexpected.
“Lead with a compassionate heart. Leaning in and helping others is always more gratifying than not. You will get the same in return when you are in need.”
An old friend once said he was confused as to why we call ourselves “Human beings” when we really are “Human doings” We get so caught up in things we have to “do” that we have forgotten how to just “be”. Showing compassion for another person is showing up as a human being, present in the moment for someone in need.
Three cheers for Marla, who listened to her gut and realized that the life she was living needed to change. She took a risk, paid attention to what she saw, and wanted to feel every day of her life, which helped her create Marla Gold’s wonderful Wellness. Appreciated by so many, including herself.
