Tarra Yaseen

When she first graduated from Soma, Tarra was treating private clients only and did some travelling back and forth to Los Angeles and New York working primarily within the entertainment and sports industry. Soma’s training in Kinesiology along with the Clinical Training she received helped her understand the body’s movement and how to develop a treatment plan that would help athletes function more efficiently and overcome their injuries. Last year she started working at the Elysian hotel in Chicago as well as taking care of her private clients and has really enjoyed the atmosphere at their spa.

The concept at the Elysian is to make guests feel like they are at home by personalizing their hotel experience and Tarra really enjoys the fact that guest’s needs are meant to be her number one concern. She is encouraged to take the time to talk to them to find a treatment that aims at helping them rather than just having them pick one from a fixed menu.

I asked Tarra what the education at Soma had done for her and she told me, “Soma has prepared me to take my work to the next level, providing more of a beneficial treatment. I can help whether performing a relaxation massage or if there are specific issues being resolved. I can take a more clinical approach with my clients if needed even in a spa setting where they may not expect a Massage Therapist to have those abilities. In my private practice I specialize more in deep tissue, sports injuries and rehabilitation and the training received at Soma has helped me develop protocols to treat each individual client’s need in order to see results.”

We then talked a little about what she liked best about her career and Tarra said, “Instant gratification. Whether it is after one visit or the culmination of a treatment plan I have the ability to change someone’s day by relieving stress or pain. At the end of the day I know that I have been able to help my client.”

On the subject of overcoming career obstacles, Tarra said the following, “Yes, there were several but the greatest obstacle I had to overcome was the 2008 economic downturn. I deal with a lot of high income clients who use massage as a luxury and as a precaution started to cut those costs initially. In the end though my practice really did come around again and those clients have come back and referred many others because they now see massage as a necessary component of their overall health care. The best advertising for any massage practice is word of mouth from a client whose general health has been improved.”