Matriarch of massage, Molly Sherman retires after 34 years

Long-time Tehachapi resident and massage therapist, Molly Sherman of Tehachapi Therapeutic Massage has announced her retirement after providing her healing touch to Tehachapi since April of 1989.

Before she was a massage therapist, Molly practiced foot reflexology, a type of therapeutic massage that she learned through books in the 1970s and practiced on friends and family. After experiencing a deep depression in 1984, she booked her first massage and immediately felt the physical and emotional healing that the experience brought her. This inspired her to further her training and open her own massage therapy practice. Molly says, "there is so much pain in this world, physically and emotionally, and this is how I wanted to help."

Molly studied at the Institute for Holistic Studies in Ventura in October 1988 following the death of her husband. She completed her certification in massage therapy in March 1989, and later went on to add ortho-bionomy to her massage therapy, a type of gentle massage that relieves joint pain and chronic stress in the body by combining compression and mobility. She opened her first practice in April 1989 in a private suite located on East Tehachapi Blvd., bringing one of the first massage therapy practices to Tehachapi. Molly made a total of two moves in her 34 years of massage therapy, once in 2018 after working out of the same suite for 20 years, and again after the COVID-19 pandemic, where she resided at Bee Good To Yourself Essential Oil until her retirement in May of 2023.

Over her years in massage therapy, Molly shared that she was blessed with the ability to talk to people. While her clients would come for a massage, they enjoyed the conversations just as much. She met many local people through her work and even inspired others to become massage therapists as well. As she influenced others to start their own practices, Molly lovingly earned the title amongst her community as the "Matriarch of Massage."

Though she did not intend on retiring any time soon, Molly experienced an injury in May of 2023 that pushed her to retire.

While Molly is not sure of what is to come for her retirement, she is embracing what the future holds for her. She is guided by her life philosophy: "Not to go away from something, but toward whatever is next."

Her positive impact and holistic healing will continue to be felt through those whose lives she has touched over the years.