Today we’d like to introduce you to Robin Duffy.
Hi Robin, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I began my career as a licensed massage and bodywork therapist (LMBT) in metropolitan New York in the early 2000s. My initial intention was to do massage as a side hustle, but while attending massage school at The Swedish Institute, I was downsized from my job as Assistant Director of The Center for Japan-US Business and Economic Studies at New York University.
This was an important crossroads for me because I had already invested a lot of time and effort into the field of International Relations. I had spent two years teaching English in Japan and another year traveling in Asia and Europe. I had earned a Master’s degree in International Education and had seven years under my belt as a cross-cultural educator.
After some soul searching, I decided to throw caution to the wind and dive headlong into the world of the Healing Arts. Because of my existing experience in Asian culture, I felt very drawn to acupressure, an Eastern bodywork technique that activates self-healing mechanisms in the body on the physical, mental, emotional, and energetic levels.
I never looked back.
I spent a decade working in a variety of settings throughout the city—gyms, spas, hotels, chiropractic clinics, and wellness centers—before eventually setting up a private practice on the Upper West Side.
In 2012, I decided to move back to North Carolina to be closer to family, and now have a private practice at The Wellness Alliance in Carrboro.
During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, I began experiencing insomnia and anxiety on a nightly basis. One night after my 3 a.m. sojourn the to bathroom, I grabbed two throw pillows from the couch on my way back to the bedroom.
I got back into bed and put one pillow on each side of my face, leaving a space in the middle to breathe. Instead of tossing and turning indefinitely, as per usual, I drifted right back to sleep. I began doing this every night and found that the pillows were comforting somehow: they blocked out the external world and quieted my mind, allowing me to sink back into slumber. It dawned on me that I could create one pillow that might perform this same function. It was the perfect quarantine project.
After several prototypes, I came up with The Face Cloud (TFC), a weighted pillow that lays directly on the face with a breathing hole in the middle. Inside the pillow are bead pods which are arranged in a pattern that conforms to the natural contours of the face. Similar to the effects of the weighted blanket, this gentle pressure calms the mind and helps the body relax.
I began using TFC as a sleep aid on a nightly basis, and then during the day, as a tool for meditation. It became a ritual that prompted me to create a Personal Sanctuary in my home: a space solely devoted to self-care and self-healing. It was here that my meditation practice really took off and where I taught my partner basic bodywork techniques so we could work on each other.
This was another pivotal juncture for me professionally: I had spent the past twenty-five years facilitating the healing of others through my work as an LMBT, but now I felt it was time to show others how to heal themselves by creating a Personal Sanctuary in their own homes where they and their significant other(s) could practice self-care and perform partner massage on one another.
I now curate home and office sanctuaries for clients via my Mobile Sanctuary Project, teach partner massage/bodywork, blog about my experiences with self-healing and personal development, and perform integrative acupressure sessions at my office sanctuary at The Wellness Alliance.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
One challenging aspect for me has been the way massage and other bodywork therapies are perceived by the general public, not to mention its lack of representation in the U.S. health care system. Massage is still a luxury for most people–something to be experienced OUTSIDE the medical setting. It’s often a supplement to other complimentary therapies that ARE covered, like acupuncture and chiropractic, but it’s largely an out-of-pocket option. In many countries, however, massage and bodywork are not only integrated into the medical system, but are a core component of basic heath care, in general.
Unfortunately, health and wellness are so commodified now. The shift began in the 1980s with the rise of corporate wellness programs and fitness culture. Wellness became more about consumer-driven status symbols (like having the latest lululemon leggings) than actual holistic health practices that could be incorporated into the heart of our health care system. Health and Wellness became The Wellness Industry.
But good shifts were happening too. NYC hospitals like Memorial Sloane-Kettering Cancer Center and Beth Israel Medical Center began offering Reiki and other subtle energy techniques as complimentary therapies in as early as the mid-1990s. The Osher Center for Integrative Medicine was established at Harvard Medical School in 2001. Now, about half of the 125 medical schools in the US offer some form of education in complimentary and alternative therapies. All good milestones.
Massage and bodywork therapy has come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. I feel that it is part of my job to educate people about the benefits of massage and bodywork therapy, and to increase awareness about how alternative and complimentary therapies can be integrated into people’s lives on a daily basis, so that ultimately, we can learn how to facilitate healing in ourselves and each other on multiple levels. Hopefully someday, it will be covered by health insurance so that everyone can benefit from it.
As you know, we’re big fans of Robin C. Duffy, Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork for Mind-Body Balance. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
My services include two onsite and two offsite options:
1. Onsite at The Wellness Alliance (Fridays, Saturdays, Sunday mornings, and Mondays only)
Integrative Acupressure Bodywork Sessions: my technique is a blend between the Eastern practice of acupressure and traditional Swedish massage. *Seniors/students take $10 off
30 min session ($65)
45 min session ($95)
60 min session ($120)
2. Partner Massage Instruction: Instruction and practice per participant using basic techniques. *Please visit the Partner Massage blog on my website for more details.
Basic Swedish Massage : $200 per couple (2.5 hours)
Basic Bodywork Session: $150 per couple (2 hours)
Offsite at Client’s Home/Office
1. Mobile Sanctuary for the Home/Office: a free consultation to discuss the parameters of your Sanctuary: vision, accessories, budget, purchase options, and other details.
Packages include: (Prices are on a case-by-case basis)
Basic Set up (with or without massage table)
Set up with instructions for breathwork, guided meditations, sound healing, and other self-regulation techniques
2. Mobile Sanctuary for Home with Partner Massage Tutorial: a free consultation to discuss the parameters of your Sanctuary: vision, accessories, budget, purchase options, and other details.
Package includes: (Prices are on a case-by-case basis)
Set up with Partner Massage Tutorial and practice for each participant
Set up with Partner Massage Tutorial, practice for each participant, plus instructions for breathwork, guided meditations, sound healing, and other self-regulation techniques
*Please visit the “Creating a Sanctuary for the Home and Office” blog on my website for more details.
Basic Guidelines for the Home Sanctuary
Naturally, every person’s aesthetic will be different for how they envision their Sanctuary. When I was developing my own, it slowly became clear to me what it would be and what it would not be based on my own intentions. I share it here to give you an idea:
What The Sanctuary IS NOT:
A she shed, man cave, game room, or any other type of space with an “occupation” in mind. The goal here is to BE rather than to DO.
A place to eat or drink. No food or drinks (except water).
A place for electronic devices (unless small and used as a meditative tool, like a cell phone or tablet with apps for guided meditations, sound therapy, etc.).
A meeting place for friends and family to hang out.
A place with too much stuff.
What The Sanctuary IS:
A clean, quiet, comfortable space with ambient lighting and a minimalist aesthetic.
A natural space that incorporates the elements in nature (air, water, earth, fire) and soothes the five senses.
A healing space with a massage table, yoga mat, floor cushions, sound healing instruments, or other vehicles for self-care and self-healing.
A room of intention, that is, conscious unwinding. Whether the intention is to calm the mind, relax the physical body, or delve deeper into the inward processing of personal issues, this space is about leaving the external world behind, engaging the internal world, and ultimately, raising your vibrational frequency.
A holy place, that is, a safe haven to hold space for yourself. You can incorporate an altar (or some other type of focal point) to place symbolic objects on to be used as tools to aid your personal development or spiritual journey.
The Sanctuary is your own private bubble in your home—a dedicated space solely devoted to self-care and self-healing on the physical, mental, emotional, and energetic levels.
Please call me at (718) 415-4610 for a free consultation. I would love to discuss your vision for your Sanctuary, help you bring it to life, and teach you self-healing methods.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Happiness for me is when I’m in the “flow state” of a creative endeavor, like writing, sewing, or designing something.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.robincduffy.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robin-c-duffy-94146720/
Image Credits
All images were taken by me except Photo #2 of woman’s face is from KoolShooters at Pexels.com. Photo #7 (last photo) is an AI generated photo from Google Gemini using the prompt: sanctuary with massage table and natural elements
