The Faces of the Golden Strip presents Trudy Messer…
Professionally, I am a local physical therapist with over 25 years of experience with multiple advanced certifications including an Orthopedic Certified Specialist from the American Physical Therapy Association, a Certified Kinesiotaping Practitioner from Kinesiotaping America and a Certified Functional Manual Therapist from the Institute of Physical Art. I am also an experienced registered yoga teacher of 200 hours and a Yoga Alliance Certified Education Practitioner.
Q: Please tell us a little bit about your family.
I am originally from Canada so all of my family still lives in Canada and I travel home yearly to visit them. John, my husband of 15 years, is born and raised in the south and we live in Simpsonville. Our two dogs are Eve and Florence and they are both rescues.
Q: Please tell us about your current, past, or future career. What do you love most about what you do?
I am owner and founder of HEAL Wellness and Therapy, located in Mauldin and on YouTube. The office in Mauldin provides wellness-based physical therapy and offers therapeutic yoga classes daily, either in-person or live virtually. HEAL Wellness and Therapy’s YouTube channel provides FREE physical therapy-based education therapeutic yoga classes with new content added weekly. Prior to founding HEAL in 2018, for 17 years, I provided physical therapy and managed two outpatient therapy offices for Bon Secours.
Q: What are a couple of your favorite restaurants in our community?
I’m a very fussy eater so when it’s time to go out to eat, we pretty much stick to one place – Stella’s Bistro. Their local food and Julia and her staff are the best!
Q: How long have you lived or worked in our community?
I have lived in the Mauldin/Simpsonville area since 1997. HEAL Wellness and Therapy is located in Mauldin and opened in 2021.
Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here in our community?
That’s a difficult question to answer. I have been so fortunate to cross paths with so many dynamic individuals through my 25 years of practice, I don’t feel I can just give a name. With that said, one of my favorite people is Dina Elm. I have known her for over 23 years and she is currently a local realtor and personal trainer who re-defines what it means to be a hard worker!
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be and why?
That’s a no-brainer! When you are originally from another country and all your family still lives there, you think about seeing them every day. So, Newfoundland Canada is the answer! The scenery will take your breath away and the people are the friendliest in the world…really! Have you ever seen the play “Come From Away” or read the book “The Day the World Came to Town” – that’s where I am from and proud of it!
Q: What advice would you give to people?
I live every day by one amazing quote by CG Jung: Know all the theories, master all the techniques, but as you touch a human soul, be just another human soul.”
Q: What is something on your bucket list?
I know this sounds crazy, by I would love to teach yoga until I am 100 years old! Tao Porchon-Lynn, who passed away in 2020, taught until she was 101 – I’m going for it!
Q: What current or former local business makes you the most nostalgic about our community?
Is it insane that my answer is the Simpsonville Post Office. Let me explain why a federal building. I became an American Citizen in August 2011 after a very long and expensive process – it is not easy to immigrate in case you did not know that! Every time I step foot in the doors, I remember like it was yesterday the day I got to go up to the counter and say “I would like to apply for a passport”. It almost makes me emotional right now thinking about. When you work so hard to achieve something like becoming an American, you never forget it!
Q: If you could choose anyone that is alive today and not a relative; with whom would you love to have lunch? Why? And where locally would y’all meet for this lunch?
First, let me say that I don’t watch or read any news but my choice here is actually a news anchor. Not for what he has done as a news anchor but for how he has changed my life with his books and meditation application “10% Happier”. The answer is Dan Harris…and of course, I would take him to Stella’s and introduce him to “Shrimp & Grits” like he will never taste anywhere else.
Q: What is your favorite thing or something unique about our community?
I have a huge love for animals and I have been going to the Simpsonville City park for 25 years now. Watching the evolution of changes is remarkable in the growth of the area but I can still go there every week and remember just like it was 1997.
Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years?
Hopefully happy and healthy like I am right now. I really am not a dreamer and I do my best each and every day to live like it’s the best day of my life. So, all I want to do is keep that ball rolling!
Q: (Even for friends or family), what is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?
I love puzzles and coloring. Most clients/patients and family/friends that really know me, know I work very hard at managing my high-functioning anxiety with mindfulness and meditation. Coloring and puzzles is one of the ways that I do that as often as I can. I don’t think it’s weird that I love doing coloring, but I just don’t share it with anyone. Outside my husband and my parents and brother, I don’t think anyone knows how much I love it.
Q: What is the most beautiful place you have ever been?
It’s going to sound redundant to a previous question but the answer is Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland Canada. The fjords for viewing and being on water and the tablelands for hiking and observing wildlife are like no other.
Q: Who inspires you to be better?
Such an easy question to answer and maybe a cliche – my husband, my brother and my parents! There is not a single day in my life that I don’t have contact with at least one of them – if not all of them. They make me feel alive, loved, supported and make me want to be a better person. None of them have ever asked me to be someone I am not and they only encourage me to continue to do what I love.
Q: Describe what “neighbor” means to you?
It means to be “connected”. The lady across the street that I talk to almost every day as we cross paths both walking our dogs, the guy next door that I say hello to from my deck, the couple next door that I never drive past their house without smiling and waving hello. Pure connection that you are not alone!
Q: Finally, what 3 words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word HOME?
Love, courage, and strength!
