Meet Tonnia Glenn

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tonnia Glenn. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tonnia below.

Tonnia , so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

Well, I suppose you could say it found me. And I do believe that’s how it is for everyone. That we are all born with a certain something that not only serves the world and makes it better in some way, but that you actually love too. And that’s the sweet spot of our purpose. I certainly did not know this though when my mother would make me massage her feet OFTEN. I’d say “why me?! Why don’t you have my brother do it?!” And she’d say, “because he’s not any good at it!”
So it began when I was a kid. And looking back now there are lots of things that totally point to who I am and what I’m doing today.
I used to have nightmares so I’d be up at the wee hours of the night in the living room with PBS on watching knee replacement and hip surgeries and shoulder surgeries. And my Mom would come in and say “Tonnia Renee! What are you watching?!” lol
And I remember saying “look how cool a shoulder surgery!”
So growing up I did sports and orchestra and had friends in bands and sports and I could see pain. I could see a limp and where it was coming from. I would notice someone holding a shoulder etc. And I would gravitate over and put my hands on them and somehow they would feel better. It was fun to do! And it was natural. It continued as I grew older. Only for work I was doing carpet cleaning or retail or insurance or working in restaurants etc etc.
Until one night, at a concert of a friends band. I was there visiting and did my thing, basically pre show prepping tight limbs and things. Then as a friend and I made our way out to watch the show, she says “ you know you can go to school and make moneys for doing that.”
And I said “ noooooo”
And she said absolutely, you can be a legit massage therapist.
And truly from there the rest is history.
That’s exactly what I did.
And here I am 15 years later. Still massaging but what I do now, what I’ve created in the last 15 years is so much more than just massage.
The work I do is deeper. I call myself a Body Mechanic and Energy Expert. A master massage therapist at this point. And growing more and more and expanding more and more everyday. All to be able to help people heal in any way they need to.
Currently that’s what I tell people I do, I facilitate healing in people. It’s a team effort. We work together to allow people to receive exactly what they need from my sessions. My work is a combination of body work and nervous system, energy work. I address your physical body as well as work for your nervous system and over all wellbeing. I help your energy centers or chakras find balance and actually am able to balance your cerebral spinal fluid. Sometimes it’s “just” a massage and even then I’m always running energy. And sometimes it’s all of the above. Bodywork and still holds with Reiki. It just depends on what the session calls for. What the human in front of me needs. It’s not me making that choice. It’s their system and energy that guides the session. I just listen and flow accordingly.
I truly am obsessed with the human anatomy and human condition and all it entails. And most importantly it’s a true honor that I get to do this everyday. That it pays for my life AND fills my cup.
I promise you, we all already know what our purpose is, we maybe just haven’t put the pieces of the puzzle together quite yet. But if you look to your gravitational pulls and the things that you actually love combined with the life you’ve already lived, you’ll find the sweet spot of what I like to call, your Golden Ribbon Path. We all have one.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

So far I can’t imagine doing anything else for the rest of my life. Always adding to my repertoire in some way that involves helping us heal inside and out is what my days consist of. And I practice what I preach too. So as I write this, I just got back from Pilates. To which I rode my bike to. And I will proceed to do about an hour of foam rolling and stretching. What we consume affects our physical bodies as well as our mental, energetic, emotional and spiritual bodies as well. So our food and through our ears and eyes all makes a difference to our health and Wellbeing. This is what I’m on this Earth to do. To not only help by way of hands on work but also just living MY life in a way that keeps me healthy and maybe even shows others a little glimpse for themselves of how good they can feel and how happy they can be in their lives. We get to choose how we live. I for one will always choose my health over anything else. Our health and wellbeing is ALL we have. Without it we aren’t our best. Which means we can’t be our best, feel our best or act in our best interest fully.
Being able to and being trusted to help others in this way is probably why I don’t drink or need coffee everyday lol it just fills me with so much energy and joy!
Currently I do in home mobile sessions. So I come to you with all the things; table, sheets, tools etc. and I have an office Saturdays and Sundays in Pacific Beach. I travel for in home sessions from San Diego to Carlsbad and also Los Angeles once a month.
I’m always growing and educating myself more and more and I’m just excited to see where my expansion takes me.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

For me, all the traumas a dark depths of despair and sadness and pain are and have been my greatest teachers. My history is why I am able to help others in the ways in which I do.
That and also my relentless determination. I do not stop until I reach my goal. Then I see that there’s more I can do, more to contribute, more to grow. So I do. Because I can and I love it and growing everyday is what fuels my passion.
This one is very important to me: truly being you. Being WHO I AM. Being authentically myself. Always. No matter what others say or think. I’m not hurting myself or others in any way so who I am and how I live my life IS something for me to be proud of and stand firm in.
Getting here, to these 3 qualities took me 17 years I’d say. So I’ll help you maybe move a bit faster through:
We HAVE to heal. From our past. Our traumas. Our self sabotaging tendencies….which are caused by traumas. You see what I’m saying? We act how we act because of what we’ve experienced. We have no new emotions. They were all created in our youth through experience. So, today, as adults, we have the tendency to automatically go to old emotions and behaviors.
For example, I feel angry so I’m going to throw a fit and scream at someone….well that’s what we did as kids for whatever reasons, but we can’t and shouldn’t be ok with acting like that as an adult. Or we just people please constantly because that’s what kept us “safe” as kids, but as an adult that’s a huge disservice to WHO YOU ARE. To your souls and heart and life.
It’s not simple, but it’s easy. Choosing what’s best for you and your wellbeing is the way. Again simple, not easy.
People will push back. People will tell you you’re selfish or wrong or gosh you name it…you’ll hear it. And the key is always staying true to yourself. Again, we aren’t hurting ourselves or others actually. So our choice to do what’s actually best for us is not wrong or selfish. It will, in fact, make you a better human and you will be more available for actually participation in life and joy with people. And I will emphasize that in this new found sense of self and ability to choose what’s best for you, you will also contend with losing people possibly. Some people will never be able to accept you. And people pleasing didn’t help. Anger didn’t help. And nothing else has either correct? So sometimes it truly is best to let people fall away. So room is made for the actual people and life you WANT to be sitting in. We have to let go in order to receive. We have to close doors so windows can open. We have to stand in our authenticity and strength of self, grounded firm in your roots like a 1000 year old redwood. You too have those roots. That sway in the wind but don’t get pushed over.
We use those feelings of loss and grief and anger for fuel on your journey. Because that’s what it is. Fuel for OUR journey. I promise you, the joy and gratitude and happiness you can feel every day by choosing you, by choosing to have a good sleep routine, by choosing what you are consuming both internally and externally, by all the choices you make everyday that lend to the success and health of your future self, is a level of peace and happiness I can’t imagine being without. Living in deep gratitude everyday is such a wonderful feeling. Especially when it’s been hard earned.

What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?

When we go all in on just our strengths we lose a lot of opportunities. Because there are way more opportunities for excellence and expansion when we also focus on healing and developing our “weaknesses” When we choose to do something hard we not only expand ourselves but we are actually also expanding our brain’s abilities. We are creating new neuro pathways and therefore creating a more well rounded balanced system. This is where wisdom comes from.
The hard stuff we face or go into is where real wisdom is.
And then the most important part of growth, actual real growth is our choice and ability to embody those lessons and new ways. To integrate it into your life. If wha you are doing isn’t changing you or your life for the better, even when it’s challenging to do so, you are not actually healing or growing in any way. You are still in a resistant state.
Things don’t change if things don’t change.
When things change inside, things change outside.
So the key is true self reflection and then taking action. This stuff is not easy. And I do understand why more people don’t do it. I also do not understand why more people don’t do it lol
I know that a temporary time of being uncomfortable is my road to feeling better and happier so that’s what I do and how I live. And the good news is while we always want to be growing in some way, it will eventually not all be healing from trauma and dismantling ourselves! The challenges become welcome! They become easier. They become challenges we want to overcome because we know where it’s headed and we know where we are headed. Because when you heal something, when you go into the difficult places within, they dissipate little by little or a lot by a lot depending on the ferver with which you want to heal and expand and grow. How long do you want to continue to suffer?
And the best part is, you can literally snap your fingers and choose to start right now! Small steps lead to big leaps and bounds!! So don’t forget to enjoy the process and celebrate allllllll the little victories along the way. Like remembering to brush your teeth before bed, or making sure you’re drinking enough water every day. There’s always something to celebrate when you are on a growth and healing journey! Trust me on that!

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