Meet Jillian Wright | Medical Massage Practitioner & Acupuncture Student

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jillian Wright and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jillian, we’d love to hear more about your end-goal, professionally.
My end goal is longevity. As an acupuncture student and massage therapist, I am always coaching my patients to find lifestyles that are sustainable, and not just sustainable in a way that supports the environment, but in a way that supports their own energy. I want to do something that I love every day and have the capacity to be endlessly curious about what I do, for me that’s helping people. My end goal is to be able to help people for as long as I can. Yes, I’d like to retire one day, but not until I’m like 80 years old. (at my acupuncture school we have a professor who is very active and can keep up with a busy Saturday clinic, I believe she is in her late 70’s, I really look up to that!)

I want to hold my body with such self-esteem and support in my younger years that I can be a leading example for my patients for what health is supposed to look like. By the time I reach that age, I want to be able to teach and share the wisdom I’ve gathered. No information should be kept hidden, and with the age of the internet, everything is at our fingertips. Health, wellness, and longevity is something everyone can achieve. I have a gift for communication and teaching, I want to be able to reach the level of mastery where I can teach other people how to heal.

Traditional Chinese Medicine is thousands of years old, it’s such a beautiful and persistent medicine. I always tell people that if it didn’t work, it wouldn’t have stuck around for so long. In an age like today where Western Medicine dominates the medical sphere, people are looking for real answers to their health. Answers that they can’t get from their medical doctors. I want to create a social environment where it is the norm to seek help from your alternative health practitioner for a chronic health problem. I believe that in order to create a social paradigm shift like that, you have to be a compassionate and communicative leader. My end goal is to be this person. To leave a legacy as a pioneer woman in alternative medicine.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
In the past five years, I’ve gone from lifeguard, to swim instructor, water aerobics instructor, swim coach, military medic, patient care technician, civilian EMT, front desk secretary (for both chiropractors and acupuncturists), and now a massage therapist… and eventually I’ll be a Chinese Medicine Doctor. I don’t know if I have a career, if not just a bunch of tryouts for different positions to see if I’d like them or not. People always laugh and say that I’ve done so many things, but in all honesty, I’m not afraid to quit something and switch to another thing. If something doesn’t sit right with me in my heart about what I’m doing on a day to day basis, I don’t want to do it. I want to be passionate and excited to go to work. It has taken A LOT of time and trial/error to figure out what I’m good at and what the heck I actually want to do. It wasn’t easy to generate enough courage to go against the flow of what other people were doing around me. I am immensely proud of the internal work I have done to search for my specific niche in the world. If I hadn’t done that work, I wouldn’t be here today doing work I totally and completely love. I had to learn self-autonomy, self-confidence, and self-trust even. I mentioned in a previous question that for a lot of my life I just gave my energy away to things I didn’t care for. Now, I have no tolerance for things that waste my precious time and energy. I want the world to know that literally anyone can do what they love for a living. I love the Japanese concept of ikigai (spelling?). Find something that you love doing, that you’re good at, and that you can make good money doing. Everyone has this potential. What makes my brand different (working as a medical massage therapist for veterans) is that I speak to a large crowd of veterans who are trying to find themselves in the civilian world. Many of them have terrible chronic pain that prevent them from doing the things they want to do. Every day, hourly, I get to coach them into positively re-wiring their brain-body connection so that they can find wellness and awareness of their body… and eventually plant a seed so that they can live fulfilling lives. I want people to feel that someone is listening to them, that someone cares and genuinely wants them to find success in or out of the military. The military is such a phenomenal group of people, I am so proud to be a part of a community so centered on commradery. Another thing that sets my business apart from other massage therapists (or even acupuncturists) is that I am in the military. There are not a lot of service members doing what I do in the alternative health community. I want to be that bridge for them, and hopefully, I can create that paradigm shift I mentioned earlier a reality for veterans and service members at the beginning of their careers, not just when they retire 20 years later.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
For me, I am mostly drawn to the outdoors. I find that working with people every day can be socially draining and by the end of the day, I need a break from people. Houston has a plethora of outdoor activities and luckily it’s warm here for the majority of the year! As someone from the north, I love that. I would take them to the various hidden parks around Houston. I would take them to Galveston State Park, Brazos Bend, Sam Houston State Park, Buffalo Bayou… and so many more places! I think the biggest thing we are missing in modern life is out connection to nature. Our bodies came from this Earth so it’s important to live within it and alongside it. As far as food goes, you literally cannot go wrong with any type of cultural food in Houston. I like in the Spring area and I’m pretty sure I could try a new type of cultural food every night if I wanted to. I would say they should explore new types of food. Another place I’m constantly telling people to check out is the Gangnam Spa, it’s a gigantic Korean spa. It’s amazing!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Most of my life, I lived under the guise of doing what other people told me to do. For a long time, I couldn’t get out of that pattern. I was constantly unhappy and on the verge of burnout because I was doing things to make myself be perceived a certain way or to make someone else happy.

I grew up as a military kid, so this theme plays a heavy role when your father is an officer and a professional reputation is expected. I always knew I’d end up in the military, too, but I think a small part of me did it to make my parents happy. When I enlisted, my dad was present and swore me in. It wasn’t until I left for basic training that I realized what a large commitment that was. Somehow I found “Can’t Hurt Me,” by David Goggins. He truly inspired me to get my act together. I can’t really give my shoutout to him, because what his book really did for me was inspire my own self to step up to the plate.

His book allowed me to dig deep within myself to figure out what I really wanted. I’d like to give myself a shoutout. The biggest lesson I’m learning right now is that if you don’t toot your own horn, no one is going to toot it for you. If you don’t speak, no one is going to hear your message. David Goggins gave me the power back to myself to push myself to be who I wanted to be and nothing else. Of course, this is always a work in progress. His mindset has allowed me to complete basic training, complete a half ironman, complete massage school while still undergoing acupuncture school, and even create a successful business providing medical massage for veterans. David Goggins allowed me to take control of my own life.

Website: https://wellnessbywright.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561295713618

Other: https://www.plutosparadigm.com

Eventually, I’d love to incorporate spiritual counseling to my work. Astrology has been an integral part of my health and self-understanding. This is still a work in progress 🙂