Women In Wellness: Cheryl Victor of Vivrint Corporate Wellness on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Don’t be afraid to get help. You can’t do this on your own. When you first get started, you’re going to do it all. But you will soon find your weakness. If you can’t do it, don’t know how to do it or it takes you a substantial amount of time to complete a task, you help.
As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Cheryl B. Victor.
Cheryl B. Victor, the founder of Vivrint Corporate Wellness, is a Texas state-licensed massage therapist, instructor, and continuing education provider. She is a former massage therapy program director at Everest College in Illinois and Vista College in Texas, where she was granted the Teacher of the Year Award. As a Compassionate Touch Instructor, Cheryl has worked with special needs clients, clients with Alzheimer’s and dementia, as well as administering bedside massage therapy to hospitalized patients. With more than 30 years of experience, passion, and dedication to the industry, Cheryl is committed to educating businesses as well as individuals, on the importance of self-care and wellness.
Offering seated chair massage and wellness programs to corporations, hospitals and universities, VIVRINT aims to promote health and wellness, help eliminate stress, encourage a better quality of life, improve mental health, increase workplace productivity, and decrease employee turnover. Vivrint, LLC is registered in the state of Texas as a H.U.B. (Historically Underutilized Business).
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?
I have been a licensed Massage therapy for over 30 yrs. It’s more than what I do, it’s who I am. It’s my calling. I started giving my parents massages when I was about 8 or 9 years old. I would massage my mom’s back and my dad’s feet. I went on to study massage therapy. For about 10 years I saw it as a hobby, giving massages to friends and family. I began to take it seriously and pursued a career. After years of practice, I decided to teach. I realize after teaching for several years and then becoming a program director, the importance of wellness in the workplace. I worked 12–14-hour days. My days were full and non-stop from teaching, to meetings, to putting out one fire after another. I know how valuable massage, yoga and meditation is to me, so I decided to do a survey. The faculty and staff agreed to take my survey. Ninety eight percent of the employees surveyed believed that massage therapy and or a wellness program would be beneficial to their health and productively.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?
I’ve worked with hospice and children and adults with special needs. I had a hospice 95 yr. old hospice patient, upon arriving at her home for her initial assessment she was in bed unable to walk. I immediately addressed the caregiver with a few questions concerning the client. She quickly corrected me by saying why are you asking her questions about my body, you should address me, I know more about my body than anyone else. Please don’t do that to me. I immediately apologized to her and for the last 6 weeks of her life she taught all about tobacco farming, her life as a young wife and mother. And how to live your life to the very end with dignity. The takeaway from this story is don’t make assumptions. I assumed because my patient was 95 yrs. old and was in hospice that somehow her cognitive skills were impaired. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Now I approach each client/patient and life without assumptions.
Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
The biggest mistake I made when I first started was quitting my job too soon. I had money saved and decided I would quit my job because I could get more done working full time in my business. I thought because I had a great idea for a business that everyone else would think it was a great business and my sales would skyrocket. But I did have enough income from the business to sustain. If you are starting a business, you must strategically plan to exit your job. Do your research and seek help to design an exit plan that best suits your needs for success.
Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world? The work we are doing is making an impact on the world because we work directly with the people that are affecting the way the world functions. First responders, Military, Corporate and hospital employees all have some sort of impact on us, whether the local or global level. Massage therapy, yoga and meditation by offering restoration to the body and soul which in turn helps improve clarity and productivity.
Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.
1. Increase your water intake. Instead of carrying a gallon of water around, start slowly, try adding one bottle of water a day to your normal water intake for a week, then gradually add more water each week.
2. Say something positive about yourself to yourself every day. We say things about ourselves that we won’t dare say to our friends and loved ones. Words and thoughts are powerful. Speak love power and strength to yourself
3. Take a vacation or a weekend getaway. I find that taking a vacation, getting away from my day-to-day routine allows me to refresh and recharge.
4. Move your body. A body in motion stays in motion, a body at rest stays at rest. By moving you are strengthening your muscles, which improves stability, balance, and coordination. Walking and yoga are two great ways to keep your body moving.
5. Get some Sun. It’s not just in your head, there’s a scientific reason, being in the sunshine improves your mood. Sunshine boosts your body level of serotonin, which is a chemical to improve your mood and helps you stay focused. Try to get 15–20 of sunshine a day.
If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?
If I had to start a movement it would be “The Wellness through Touch” movement. Wellness is said to be in good physical and mental health. I believe in the eight dimensions of wellness which includes: emotional, environmental, financial, intellectual, occupational, physical, social, and spiritual. Often when referring to touch we think of the physical touch, but touch is much more. When we express words of kindness, we touch someone’s emotions. Educators touch students intellectually when teaching them calculus. When I offer a therapist employment, who has been out of work for a year I’m touching them financially. We can change the world if we modify our mindset of wellness and the power of touch.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?
1. It is going to be hard work. I thought just because I really love the work I do it would be easy. We’ve all heard it: you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. Well, the truth is your coming to work harder but it will definitely be more rewarding
2. Don’t compare yourself or business to anyone else’s. Everyone and every business is unique. You must be confident in what you are doing and the things you are trying to accomplish. Comparing yourself to others only causes more stress and anxiety. Focus on your goals and execute the plan.
3. Be true to yourself and your vision but don’t deviate from your mission and purpose. Write the vision down and refer to it to keep you on track.
4. Don’t be afraid to get help. You can’t do this on your own. When you first get started, you’re going to do it all. But you will soon find your weakness. If you can’t do it, don’t know how to do it or it takes you a substantial amount of time to complete a task, you help.
5. It is lonely at the top. Being an entrepreneur can be lonely. Not everyone can understand the long hours, late nights or drive you have to be successful. It helps to find a mentor to help you through the process.
Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?
I would have to say Mental Health. Mental health is so vital to our everyday life. It affects the way we receive, process and implement information. Basically, how we live our lives. I personally experienced living in a household with someone with mental health issues. My brother was diagnosed with schizophrenia. It affects not only the individual but the family members as well. Therapy helped our family dealing with my brother’s mental illness but definitely took a lot of work.
What is the best way our readers can follow you online?
www.vivrint.com IG vivrintmobilemassage
Thank you for these fantastic insights!
Women In Wellness: Cheryl Victor of Vivrint Corporate Wellness on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.