Daily Inspiration: Meet Joi Edwards

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joi Edwards.

Hi Joi, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I am a dual-licensed massage therapist and physical therapist. One day while working at a part-time physical therapy job, I was shockingly introduced to cupping therapy. Cupping therapy is where a trained therapist uses suction cups to help relieve tension and pain in muscles. A woman came in with what appeared to be bruises on her back and I thought that she was being abused so I went on this cape crusading rant about getting her to a safe house. The woman explained to me the marks were a result of cupping therapy and they were not painful.

I later researched cupping and found it interesting so I began studying it professionally. I received wonderful results with cupping with my physical therapy patients and massage clients and decided to try my hand at teaching a class.

The class was well received and each year the number of participants enrolling and locations requesting the workshop grows. It has allowed me to branch out and teach other classes including a human cadaver anatomy course and a light-hearted, comical, written and illustrated ethics course for allied health professionals.

In order to maintain licensure, all allied health professionals must enroll in a certain number of workshops per year, called continuing education workshops. These are professional development workshops that ensure therapists are keeping up with advances and developments within their fields. The classes I teach count toward continuing education credit for these therapists.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Overall my journey has been a blessing. As with life, there have been obstacles along the way. Slow completion of projects by contractors has cost me profit and more importantly than that made it so that I didn’t deliver on timelines that I have to my audience which sucks more than losing profit. But my contractors are human and have lived as well so the upside to that is that it has taught me patience and that everything in life is “figureoutable.” It has also taught me how to “pivot” in times where one path may not be available.

I’ve also run into some poor hosting locations that weren’t the cleanest or that weren’t run as professional as I’d like them to be. Even though I am a separate entity, their poor professionalism still casted a shadow on my brand. I learned how to do my research prior to selected a host location and to make sure that the energy within that location and the staff was positive and genuine before agreeing to teach there. Energy and spirituality is everything for me. If the place and staff don’t have good vibes, I feel like I am shorting my participants on their experience.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I work full time as a physical therapist at a wonderful facility where I get to see patients with all different ailments. My side hustle though is that I am the founder and owner of Owlchemy Education, a continuing education company that teaches professional development workshops to people in the allied health field (physical therapists, occupational therapists, athletic trainers, nurses, chiropractors, etc.)

My specialty and what sets me apart from other therapists is that I am both a massage therapist and physical therapist; I have been certified in orthopedic manual therapy and I use silicone cups to treat orthopedic injuries.

I am most proud of remaining authentically me and having people gravitate toward me and what I offer. My followers are so kind and funny and smart…just dope individuals. I am proud of the sense of community I am creating. I am proud of being able to bridge the gap between physical therapists and massage therapists. And I am proud of my growth; growth in numbers, but also growth professionally and personally.

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
In the next 5-10 years, there will be other advancements within both the physical therapy and massage therapy fields which is super exciting. Anytime there is an advancement in medicine it is a super exciting time.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: Owlchemyeducation.com
• Instagram: @owlchemymassage
• Facebook: @owlchemymassage