She believes her hands can heal Originally published June 26, 2006
By Katy Brandenburg
News-Post Staff
Frederick, MD-- Some people might say May Wille is missing one of her five senses. But her sixth sense and her sense of touch are so finely tuned that they more than make up for her lack of hearing."Since my childhood, touch is very important to me," she writes on her Web site, www.soothingwaves.com. "Because I cannot hear, touch is what lullaby is to a baby, so soothing and relaxing. Massage is a form of touch that brings the mind, body and spirit together in harmony."
Ms. Wille, of Thurmont, began practicing massage with some friends while growing up in South Africa. "I saw the word in a newspaper headline and didn't know what it meant," she said. "Then I tried it and was addicted." Ms. Wille's family moved often when she was young, from Zambia to Zimbabwe and other countries in Africa, following her father's job as a farmer and forester. "I grew up in the trees," she said. "We lived with the wild animals and slept outside."
In 1944, she was sent to a school for the deaf 300 miles away from her family, where sign language was not allowed. All students had to learn to speak, she said. Although this time was lonely for her, Ms. Wille said her childhood in Africa greatly contributed to her love of nature and belief in the connection between man and the natural world.
Today, she said, modern society and a fast-paced lifestyle have separated humans from nature. Her passion is educating people on how to get back to their spiritual origins and tap into the powers of self-healing, through practices such as meditation and massage. Beyond reducing stress, massage can benefit those with pain or diseases and speed the body's recovery from an accident or illness.
Ms. Wille has eaten only raw foods for the past three years, as part of her holistic health approach. Her doctor originally put her on a diet of 80 percent raw foods as treatment for an illness and she felt so good, she never went back, she said. "Sometimes I wish I had a kitchen with equipment, but I gave it all away," she said.
Diet is one of the eight essential components of good health Ms. Wille lives by. The other seven are: fresh air/deep breathing, unpolluted water, sunshine, exercise, at least eight hours of sleep per night, fasting and emotional poise/clarity.
She sunbathes for an hour each day, and says it has improved her health, not damaged it. Skin cancer is caused by toxins in the skin, not the sun, she said.
Ms. Wille has practiced massage in Berkeley Springs, W.Va. and Sedona, Ariz., among other places. She now lives in Thurmont and owns Soothing Waves, where she practices many different types of massage, including Swedish deep-tissue, holistic and aromatherapy.
"The more massage I give, the more I want to give," she said. "It's beautiful ... the flow of energy from you to me, and the way people look afterwards. They have a sparkle in their eye."
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?StoryID=50072
News-Post Staff
Frederick, MD-- Some people might say May Wille is missing one of her five senses. But her sixth sense and her sense of touch are so finely tuned that they more than make up for her lack of hearing."Since my childhood, touch is very important to me," she writes on her Web site, www.soothingwaves.com. "Because I cannot hear, touch is what lullaby is to a baby, so soothing and relaxing. Massage is a form of touch that brings the mind, body and spirit together in harmony."
Ms. Wille, of Thurmont, began practicing massage with some friends while growing up in South Africa. "I saw the word in a newspaper headline and didn't know what it meant," she said. "Then I tried it and was addicted." Ms. Wille's family moved often when she was young, from Zambia to Zimbabwe and other countries in Africa, following her father's job as a farmer and forester. "I grew up in the trees," she said. "We lived with the wild animals and slept outside."
In 1944, she was sent to a school for the deaf 300 miles away from her family, where sign language was not allowed. All students had to learn to speak, she said. Although this time was lonely for her, Ms. Wille said her childhood in Africa greatly contributed to her love of nature and belief in the connection between man and the natural world.
Today, she said, modern society and a fast-paced lifestyle have separated humans from nature. Her passion is educating people on how to get back to their spiritual origins and tap into the powers of self-healing, through practices such as meditation and massage. Beyond reducing stress, massage can benefit those with pain or diseases and speed the body's recovery from an accident or illness.
Ms. Wille has eaten only raw foods for the past three years, as part of her holistic health approach. Her doctor originally put her on a diet of 80 percent raw foods as treatment for an illness and she felt so good, she never went back, she said. "Sometimes I wish I had a kitchen with equipment, but I gave it all away," she said.
Diet is one of the eight essential components of good health Ms. Wille lives by. The other seven are: fresh air/deep breathing, unpolluted water, sunshine, exercise, at least eight hours of sleep per night, fasting and emotional poise/clarity.
She sunbathes for an hour each day, and says it has improved her health, not damaged it. Skin cancer is caused by toxins in the skin, not the sun, she said.
Ms. Wille has practiced massage in Berkeley Springs, W.Va. and Sedona, Ariz., among other places. She now lives in Thurmont and owns Soothing Waves, where she practices many different types of massage, including Swedish deep-tissue, holistic and aromatherapy.
"The more massage I give, the more I want to give," she said. "It's beautiful ... the flow of energy from you to me, and the way people look afterwards. They have a sparkle in their eye."
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?StoryID=50072
