Providing therapeutic massage to private clientele &
teaching loving touch to couples, parents, & caregivers.
(336) 782-8240
6201 Rolling Acres Drive
Gibsonville, NC 27249
Please note the new location!
Effective June 1st I will no longer be located on W Cone Boulevard. My new location will be in between Greensboro and Burlington in a town called Sedalia (even though the address says Gibsonville). Look for pictures and more information on facebook in the near future.
6201 Rolling Acres Drive
Gibsonville, NC 27249
Please note the new location!
Effective June 1st I will no longer be located on W Cone Boulevard. My new location will be in between Greensboro and Burlington in a town called Sedalia (even though the address says Gibsonville). Look for pictures and more information on facebook in the near future.
About Me
My name is Anika & I have been a licensed massage & bodywork therapist (LMBT) since 2008. I am certified in hot stones, prenatal massage, sports massage, Thai massage & Asian Reflexology. I am a certified massage therapy instructor & I love teaching massage to couples, parents & caregivers. I have had my own business since I was licensed. Additionally, I have 2 years of spa experience & I have also spent some time working in a chiropractic office.
I was raised in Athens, Ga in an eccentric family of actors & educators. I grew up on the stage where I fell in love with music, poetry, & the beauty of the written word.
In the year 2000 I traveled all over Europe & coast to coast in the United States singing opera. I also sang 2 seasons with the Augusta Opera. I find that music can bring the mind to a place of healing and can soothe the spirit.
I believe we all have a calling on our lives. I am called as a healer, & like the majority of my family, as a teacher. I served 4 1/2 years in the US Army as an EMT & a CPR instructor. I also spent numerous years as a veterinary technician.
Of all of the occupations that I have ever had, I love being a massage therapist the most! The calming, positive atmosphere it provides brings me inner balance & gives me an outlet to satisfy my desire to help those who are in pain in their bodies, minds & spirits.
I have a passion for working with couples and children who are in need of the
positive atmosphere that massage can bring. As the mother of a special needs
child, I have seen positive touch open doors and tear down barriers between
people and I am all too willing to share this skill with anyone who is willing
to learn.
Welcome to My Studio!
This private suite is designed with your comfort in mind. Every item was carefully selected to provide just the right atmosphere to enhance your experience.
The table is a Custom CraftWorks Athena model with 3" memory foam. It has breast recesses to accommodate any excess up top that would ordinarily interfere with the face down positioning. It is also equipped with the prenatal option, which means I can remove a round section in the middle & replace it with a sling forming a tummy hole. This allows a pregnant woman to have the rare opportunity to lay face-down.
19 Years in the Making!
Of this I am most proud! I achieved this Bachelor's Degree in Psychology in March of 2012. It took me the better part of 19 years, 6 different colleges, & countless hours of racking my brain to obtain it. With hard work & persistence I persevered graduating with a 3.66 GPA & consistently making the Dean's List. This honor hangs above my desk as a tribute to the value of education & the importance of continuing to strive towards excellence.
Why Agape?
I am often asked what Agape means and why I chose that particular word to represent my company. Agape (pronounced as though the “e” were a hard “a”) is a Greek word that means unconditional love. It is the kind of love we are supposed to have for one another.
A Lesson In Love:
There are several different kinds of love:
Storge is the Greek word for “natural affection.” It is also known as familial love because it is the kind of love parents have towards their children.
Philia is the kind of love we have for our friends or other platonic relationships. This is where the city Philadelphia gets its name and its nickname “the city of brotherly love.”
Eros is love that is romantic in nature. If you recall in Greek mythology, Eros was the winged god who went around shooting people with arrows to make them fall in love. He was called Cupid in Roman mythology.
My Mission:
I chose the word Agape because I am also a teacher of massage and it most closely represents the message I am trying to spread: that love is the foundation of our very beings. I teach loving touch to couples, parents and caregivers. Agape Touch is a mission to bring loving touch to the many; that it may spread amongst the population creating joy, peace, and stability, that it may save the unsalvageable, that it may unite the unlikely, and that it may heal the fractured in body, mind, and spirit.
My Theory:
Massage is a beautiful way to touch the body as well as the heart. In the book The Five Love Languages, Gary Chapman references 5 different ways that people receive love: physical touch, quality time, words of affirmation, acts of service, and giving gifts.
In my opinion, massage incorporates all 5 of those languages!
Physical Touch: nothing says physical touch more than massage! Touch is a language all by itself. How we touch someone conveys how we truly feel about them. Negative touch can be detrimental for everyone, but for those whose primary love language is physical touch, negative touch is intensively devastating! However, positive physical touch can tear down negative walls.
We are in a love-starved, touch-starved society! In the late 50's/early 60's, a psychologist by the name of Harry Harlow conducted some controversial experiments on baby monkeys. He removed the infant monkeys from their mothers shortly after birth and raised them in total isolation. They had no social interaction and experienced no physical touch. In the end, all of the monkeys suffered tremendous psychological repercussions! To put it nicely, they were severely disturbed and never recovered. There have also been accidental discoveries made on this phenomenon in human infants in Romanian orphanages who didn't get proper social interaction. It is sad to think about, but the babies had become unresponsive, aloof, and also suffered from developmental delays.
Quality Time: nothing is created without the investment of time. What better way to spend quality time with your loved one than putting them into a state of full relaxation? Technology is a wonderful, terrible thing! Massage does not involve electronics or technology, which ordinarily distracts us from the messages that our bodies (and sometimes our loved ones) are trying to give us.
Take a minute to look around you the next time you go out. How many people do you see with their heads down and eyes glued to some electronic device? It is sad to see people who have gathered together for a meal sitting across from one another each interacting with their respective electronics and not with one another. We do not even talk to one another anymore. Transactions are done through text messaging. How impersonal! (All of this being said, I have to admit that I am completely addicted to my iPhone and Kindle Fire and I am also a serial texter!)
Words of Affirmation: during a massage, words are often exchanged between the giver and the receiver that convey positive feelings and promote bonding. Words like, "that feels good, I like that, and thank you" are common exchanges between the giver and the receiver. I have had the experience of working with people who have opened up to one another and began peaceful dialogues during the session, which ordinarily might have been combative or hurtful in nature.
Acts of Service: as we lovingly touch one another, we are serving each other. We are giving of ourselves, which leads to the final love language:
Giving Gifts: massage is a gift for both the giver and the receiver because it creates a loving bond between the two people. It is a gift from the hands, but more importantly, it is a gift from the heart!
A Lesson In Love:
There are several different kinds of love:
Storge is the Greek word for “natural affection.” It is also known as familial love because it is the kind of love parents have towards their children.
Philia is the kind of love we have for our friends or other platonic relationships. This is where the city Philadelphia gets its name and its nickname “the city of brotherly love.”
Eros is love that is romantic in nature. If you recall in Greek mythology, Eros was the winged god who went around shooting people with arrows to make them fall in love. He was called Cupid in Roman mythology.
My Mission:
I chose the word Agape because I am also a teacher of massage and it most closely represents the message I am trying to spread: that love is the foundation of our very beings. I teach loving touch to couples, parents and caregivers. Agape Touch is a mission to bring loving touch to the many; that it may spread amongst the population creating joy, peace, and stability, that it may save the unsalvageable, that it may unite the unlikely, and that it may heal the fractured in body, mind, and spirit.
My Theory:
Massage is a beautiful way to touch the body as well as the heart. In the book The Five Love Languages, Gary Chapman references 5 different ways that people receive love: physical touch, quality time, words of affirmation, acts of service, and giving gifts.
In my opinion, massage incorporates all 5 of those languages!
Physical Touch: nothing says physical touch more than massage! Touch is a language all by itself. How we touch someone conveys how we truly feel about them. Negative touch can be detrimental for everyone, but for those whose primary love language is physical touch, negative touch is intensively devastating! However, positive physical touch can tear down negative walls.
We are in a love-starved, touch-starved society! In the late 50's/early 60's, a psychologist by the name of Harry Harlow conducted some controversial experiments on baby monkeys. He removed the infant monkeys from their mothers shortly after birth and raised them in total isolation. They had no social interaction and experienced no physical touch. In the end, all of the monkeys suffered tremendous psychological repercussions! To put it nicely, they were severely disturbed and never recovered. There have also been accidental discoveries made on this phenomenon in human infants in Romanian orphanages who didn't get proper social interaction. It is sad to think about, but the babies had become unresponsive, aloof, and also suffered from developmental delays.
Quality Time: nothing is created without the investment of time. What better way to spend quality time with your loved one than putting them into a state of full relaxation? Technology is a wonderful, terrible thing! Massage does not involve electronics or technology, which ordinarily distracts us from the messages that our bodies (and sometimes our loved ones) are trying to give us.
Take a minute to look around you the next time you go out. How many people do you see with their heads down and eyes glued to some electronic device? It is sad to see people who have gathered together for a meal sitting across from one another each interacting with their respective electronics and not with one another. We do not even talk to one another anymore. Transactions are done through text messaging. How impersonal! (All of this being said, I have to admit that I am completely addicted to my iPhone and Kindle Fire and I am also a serial texter!)
Words of Affirmation: during a massage, words are often exchanged between the giver and the receiver that convey positive feelings and promote bonding. Words like, "that feels good, I like that, and thank you" are common exchanges between the giver and the receiver. I have had the experience of working with people who have opened up to one another and began peaceful dialogues during the session, which ordinarily might have been combative or hurtful in nature.
Acts of Service: as we lovingly touch one another, we are serving each other. We are giving of ourselves, which leads to the final love language:
Giving Gifts: massage is a gift for both the giver and the receiver because it creates a loving bond between the two people. It is a gift from the hands, but more importantly, it is a gift from the heart!
Disclaimer
Massage is intended to provide relaxation and relief of muscular tension. If you experience any pain or discomfort during the massage please inform me immediately. I am not a doctor and therefore cannot diagnose or treat any injury or illness. Nothing said during session should be construed as such. I reserve the right to terminate the session at any time for any reason. Please keep me informed of any medical conditions and changes in your medical status. The massage lessons that I teach to the general public do NOT qualify you to offer paid, professional massage services.