Massage therapist
Marah James opens her new business in Blue Earth

Marah James is shown in her new massage therapy business located in the Faribault County Register Professional Building in downtown Blue Earth.
Marah James is passionate about her work.
James, who is a relatively new resident of Blue Earth, recently opened her brand new business inside the Faribault County Register Professional Building on Main Street on March 14.
It is called Restorative Massage Therapy LLC.
James recently moved to Blue Earth from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where she had been doing sub-contract work as a massage therapist at several Sioux Falls massage businesses.
“In South Dakota there are sub-contractors working at massage therapy businesses,” James says. “Here in Minnesota it is usually individual practices.”
So, after moving to Blue Earth, she decided to open her own therapeutic massage business.
James is a 2017 graduate of the South Dakota School of Massage Therapy in Sioux Falls.
“I had 650 hours of class in subjects such as Swedish, clinical and combined therapies,” she says. “As well as anatomy, kinesiology, pathology and zoologic anatomy.”
After graduation she took the MBLEX test (Massage and Body Licensure Exam), and currently holds a South Dakota massage therapist license. Minnesota is one of only four states in the nation which does not require an exam or license for massage therapists, James says.
She is a also a member of the AMTA (American Massage Therapy Association). It is that group where she has her liability insurance.
“They require a certain amount of continuing ed in a certain time period for that insurance,” James says. “I feel there is always room for improvement, so I would seek out continuing ed anyway. I want to continue to learn ways to help my clients.”
She got into this field, she says, to assist people on their journey to optimal wellness. If people attain wellness and better health, they will enjoy life more, she adds.
James uses a holistic approach for the whole well being, including emotional, spiritual, physical, intellectual and social health.
“Massage helps with motion and mobility, decreases stress hormones,” she says. “When body pain is decreased, memory is better, a person has better clarity, emotional peace and improvement in their mood. It creates a balance and helps you to enjoy life.”
Because of that, James says massage therapy is not a luxury, but is a self-care investment in health.
James offers massages of 30, 60 and 90 minute durations. (The first visit is an extra 20 minutes in order to complete paper work, ask questions, etc.) In addition she also offers aromatherapy, cupping, kinesio taping, hot stones, cold stones and prenatal massage, hot towels, lightly weighted blanket and more, with no additional charge.
The massage is done on a heated or non-heated table.
“The client can decide on that,” James says. “As well as other things such as the blanket, towels, back pad and neck pillow. Some like the weighted blanket which goes on their back while I massage their legs, then on their legs while I do their back.”
James believes in giving her clients background information, including policies, client bill of rights, her code of ethics and access to alternate care if needed.
“I want to help the client make an informed decision about their health,” she says.
When she is not at work, James says she likes to be outside as much as possible, tend to her garden and go fishing.
She has two adult children, a son and a daughter, who are out on their own, which gives her plenty of time to get her new business started in Blue Earth.
“I just decided, when I moved here, that it was time to do what I went to school for,” she says. “And help people.”
Her hours at Restorative Massage Therapy LLC are Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Fridays from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. The phone number for appointments is 507-526-2790. And, her website is at https://restorativemassagetherapyllc.amtamembers.com and she can be contacted through the website.