A new career in health and wellness services
By: Hilary Parker
For Lucero Mejia, an early retirement package from AT&T brought with it the end of one career and the beginning of another. A lifelong devotee of fitness and nutrition, she had always dreamed of working in the health and wellness field, but had neither the time nor the training to do so.
After retiring from AT&T, Ms. Mejia finally got her chance.
She set about earning the degrees and obtaining training that would give her the background she needed to realize her dream. She started with a degree in fitness and nutrition from the International Correspondence Schools in Scranton, Pa., and then purchased commercial fitness equipment to set up her own personal training studio in the basement of her Lawrence home. After first advertising her services in 1998, she had secured a steady clientele by 2000.
"I noticed people having pain," she said, and remembers thinking, "These are very fit people, what can alleviate the pain?"
She ultimately found her answer at the Ohashi Institute in New York, where she earned her certification in Ohashiatsu, a form of bodywork that uses touch to work with the energy in the body. Shortly thereafter, while renewing her fitness certification in Washington, D.C., she first learned about Muscle Activation Techniques, another form of bodywork that helps form a connection between the muscles and the brain to correct their inability to contract properly. To round out her knowledge base, she earned a master’s in natural nutrition by correspondence from Clayton College of Natural Health in Birmingham, Ala. Ms. Mejia is now working toward a doctorate.
"In MAT, we don’t treat muscle tightness," Ms. Mejia explained. "We treat the muscles that are weak. We treat the biomechanical problems in the body. Typically, clients have problems in their core muscles. MAT therapy works to create the muscle connection to the brain immediately."
Now, Ms. Mejia has founded her own company, Feel Rejuvenated, offering four health and wellness services. Her clients are free to select any of her services, including personal training, Ohashiatsu therapy, MAT therapy and nutrition counseling. The aim is to provide a holistic approach to health and solving her clients’ problems.
"With just one MAT treatment, you see the difference," she said, which means that her MAT clients typically complete a full course of treatment within five sessions. Since pain commonly results in lessened productivity on the job, caused by everything from stress to repetitive-stress injuries, Ms. Mejia is now seeking to partner with corporations in the area to offer her services on-site.
Envisioning bringing aerobic steps and massage tables into corporate offices to offer classes, bodywork and nutrition counseling to employees during the workday thereby enhancing health, productivity and job satisfaction Ms. Mejia is currently in discussions with three area businesses while actively seeking other potential clients.
If all goes well, she may soon employ a nurse to provide more comprehensive medical testing services, and has an eye toward ultimately franchising Feel Rejuvenated into a network of centers offering her four services.
Ms. Mejia’s energetic "retirement" might not be what some people envision when they contemplate the end of their working days, but for Ms. Mejia, it is perfect.
"I am a motivated person," she said. "This was a tremendous opportunity to do more."

