Recover Your True Self - Melissa Jean PT

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Melissa Jean, a physical therapist, hippotherapy clinical specialist, and equine specialist based in Redding, CT, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Melissa Jean PT is a privately owned physical therapy practice that partners people with horses to achieve the participants' goals. We have two customer bases: pediatric and adult.

Our pediatric clients are evaluated and partnered with a horse whose movement patterns will best improve their functional goals. The reason being when a participant is seated on a bareback horse, the movement translated from the horse's pelvis to the participant's pelvis imitates walking. Therefore the muscles can strengthen, and the participant's body can become comfortable with the sensory input of walking, all while having fun!

Our adults are also partnered with horses, however, for a different reason. Most of our adult population comes to us for somatic therapy and trauma processing. Due to horses being prey animals, they are always surveying the energy around them. An energy disturbance for them could be life or death in the wild. In our therapy sessions, this is useful as a horse will react to our internal state and not our external state. This means a horse may not immediately come to greet you if you are in an anxious state.

For trauma survivors and those with somatic issues, they may not be aware of this as it is their chronic state. When the horses reflect this back to the participants, it allows for true experiential learning to occur. Once this occurs, the participants can help identify how it feels to calm their nervous system in a safe setting. Many times chronic physical ailments will also start to improve as the nervous system is allowed to calm.

Tell us about yourself

I have been in the field of physical therapy since 1999 and began partnering with horses in 2005. Since that time, I have continued my education and become a Hippotherapy Clinical Specialist and an Equine Specialist in mental health and learning. I always knew I wanted to be in a profession that would give back and help others. However, I didn't realize that by helping others, I was also helping myself, as I am a trauma survivor.

Year after year, I noticed my PTSD triggers lessening and my body beginning to relax. Upon further investigation, I found research that told me exactly why! Horses and humans, when within a 4 feet distance, can obtain cardiac coherency. This means the heart rates can directly influence one another. With a horse's heart rate being so much lower than a human's, being near the horses allowed my own heart rate to drop and allowed my nervous system to relax. Further investigation and research led me to develop the program Finding Peace in the Paddock™.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

It is hard to say what the biggest accomplishment has been. I truly feel every victory that my participants reach is a huge victory. I do not believe there is such a thing as a small victory, as they all add up to great things.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

The very hardest thing about being a business owner is having to realize you can not do it all. As a person who wants to be of service to others, it is hard to know when to stop and allow yourself to rest. The balance between being helpful to others and being helpful to yourself can sometimes easily sway in the wrong direction. In those moments, I have to remind myself that my journey is a marathon and not a sprint. Rest is required to allow all great things to grow.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

1. Start by taking baby steps. You do not need to make a huge, over-the-top change overnight. If you place that pressure on yourself, you will fatigue. However, if you take baby steps, you will keep your strength up as you move forward.
2. Find a mentor or coach! Growing yourself professionally means you need to reach outside of your scope of knowledge. Finding someone who can assist you will speed up the process immensely! Not only will they help you grow quicker, but they will also want to celebrate your victories.
3. Give yourself lots of grace. You are going to make mistakes, hit hurdles, and have days where things just go wrong. But that is all part of the process, and by giving yourself grace in those moments, you will recover much quicker and keep moving forward!

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.melissajeanpt.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MelissaJeanPT
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melissajeanpt/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-jarzynski-mspt-hpcs-857b5028/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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