When she was a young girl, lifelong Cabool resident Jennifer Crowl would sometimes sell her parents and friends massages for a quarter.
“But I never thought about doing it as a career,” Crowl said.
Nevertheless, her life path would lead her to do just that, and Crowl now owns and operates Blissful Nirvana Massage in Houston.
After graduating from Cabool High School, Crowl managed pizza restaurants for about 10 years. Then in February 2009, something happened that set in motion a life changing series of events.
“I was in a car accident and broke my neck in two places and my back in one,” Crowl said. “I was fortunate to be alive, let alone walking. I was really blessed – there was no spinal cord damage, so I had no surgery or physical therapy.
“But it was a wakeup call. I felt like I was given a second chance and I needed to take advantage of it. I knew I needed to find a way to help people and make a difference.”
Not long after she returned to work following the accident, some of her employees bought her a gift certificate for a 30-minute massage from Ruth Carter in Mountain Grove.
“I saw her diploma on the wall and it said ‘Springfield,’” Crowl said. “Until then I didn’t know where you go to become a massage therapist. I got my massage and I thought, ‘I could do this.’”
From there, Crowl went on to become a licensed massage therapist by completing a 900-hour, one year program at Professional Massage Training Center in Springfield. She’s also a member of the American Massage Therapy Association.
Crowl, who lives with her husband Kenny and four children, started Blissful Nirvana in July 2012. Its original location was inside New Concepts Hair Design (on Grand Avenue in Houston), but out of necessity, the business moved last October to the former Community Betterment building on U.S 63, next to Hardee’s.
“I just outgrew the first location,” Crowl said. “It was great being there while we were; it’s a very busy hair salon and everyone was so great to work with.
“But we’ve just been going nonstop here since we moved.”
Blissful Nirvana serves dozens of customers each week; Crowl said it’s not uncommon for her to do five massages a day herself and staff members Dakotah Elliott and Tiffany Frock to do several more. Massage options include (but are not limited to) Swedish, Thai, prenatal and deep tissue, and other services are available like body scrubs and wraps.
“About 90 percent of our clients come to us for pain management, so that’s our main focus,” Crowl said. “We do a clinical-style massage in a spa setting to promote relaxation so people don’t feel like they’re in a doctor’s office.”
Crowl said each massage is oriented to fit the needs and desires of a client, and that a wide range clientele comes through the doors.
“We customize each massage to the individual,” she said. “We get all sorts and all age ranges, but I would say the most common client is in the 30 to 60 age range. A big question we get is do we work on men, and of course we do. But I’d say about 60 percent of our clients are female.”
In her quest to help and make a difference, Crowl tries to maintain a low pricing scale.
“I’ll never get rich off of this; we try to make it affordable because we want to help the working man and woman,” she said. “We have several packages and memberships available to help just about anyone.”
Massages can last anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours, and the popular hot stone technique is available.
“It’s wonderful,” Crowl said. “We lay warm stones down for you to lie on under your back, and place them on the front of your body, in the palms of your hands and between your toes. Then you get a full body massage.
“People typically say they should have brought a designated driver, and we’ve had some who had a hard time finding the door on their way out. It’s the ultimate in relaxation.”
Crowl said massage and chiropractic services can go hand-in-hand for certain clients, and that massage fees can be reimbursed in many cases by workmen’s compensation and auto insurance.
One male client who regularly comes to Blissful Nirvana is Tyrone resident Ed Toohill, a retired Navy officer. He speaks highly of what massage has done for his condition.
“I have Parkinson’s and Addison’s disease and it got so bad I could barely walk,” Toohill said. “I started seeing Jennifer and in six months I’m pain free and I’m mobilizing pretty good.”
In addition to her in-house business, Crowl also serves home-bound clients every Monday afternoon. She also recently began a chair massage program for employees at Texas County Memorial Hospital and will later this month participate in a fundraiser in conjunction with another community business for a local girl whose leg was recently amputated.
Blissful Nirvana is open Monday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Tuesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday from 8 to 11 a.m.
“I’m very grateful to the community – it’s been amazing,” Crowl said. “Everyone asked me if this could be done in Houston, and if I could survive. But Houston is very supportive of small business and I’m just glad people have been open-minded and given massage therapy a chance.
“We have clients who said they would never get a massage and they come here once a week now.”
For information or to make an appointment, call 417-254-4301. Blissful Nirvana Massage can also be found on Facebook.
We have clients who said they would never get a massage and they come here once a week now.”