Community Highlights: Meet Courtney Spier of The Zen Chameleon

Today we’d like to introduce you to Courtney Spier.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
In 2016, I had recently moved to Nashville as a teacher and transitioned into the Wellness Industry after earning my Paddle Boarding Certification and Yoga Teacher Certification. I worked as a Middle School Teacher during the week, taught yoga at a few studios around town, and taught paddleboarding classes in the summers. I loved working with others and especially enjoyed being a part of learning and growing together.

In 2018, I transitioned from teaching to becoming a Massage Therapist. I had wanted to step into this path for several years after receiving bodywork from another practitioner and feeling the difference it made. So I changed careers, attended school in the evening while teaching during the day, and earned my Massage Therapy License from the Nashville School of Massage Therapy. I worked at two spas around town and offered out-call services. I still continued to teach yoga as well and incorporated gentle massage work in my yoga classes.

In 2020, during the shift of lift, a few clients reaching out still hoping to receive bodywork, and being able to still provide that service, I opened up this small business, The Zen Chameleon. My hope was to help others find more comfort in their bodies; be more zen (or present) in their skin. I believe we do our best when we feel our best. Routine self-care is part of the ever-ending balance and a really pleasant way to connect with yourself.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I think the things we really want in life are bound to come with challenges. For my journey, I knew that listening to my internal ‘north star’ was key to finding and maintaining happiness. If I feel in my body, it’s time to make a shift or change, then I try my best to tap into that. 

Transitioning from a full-time teacher (something I do truly enjoy) to being a yoga instructor and massage therapist full time was going to take time, patience, and perseverance. Unfortunately, teachers put a lot of time, energy, and care into their jobs and aren’t compensated accordingly. This made it difficult to support the life I wanted for myself. I felt fortunate to want to continue assisting others on their life path and to find a field that could still provide that.

After committing to the training necessary to accomplish taking the next step, putting in a few years of experience to master my craft a little more, and building confidence in my abilities, I was able to climb my way to where I am today. I am so grateful to be able to work closely with others on their healing journey.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about The Zen Chameleon?
The Zen Chameleone is about finding balance in oneself so that you can continue to live your life more comfortable in your skin. A long life can be happy and healthy if we focus on our daily, weekly, and monthly routines.

The services we offer include: Massage Therapy, Yoga Instruction, Meditation (and Painting), and Holistic Life Coaching. We have a home studio in East Nashville but also provide out-call services to your location in the Greater Nashville area. Occasionally, we host pop-up yoga and meditation events or team up with other organizations to create Wellness Events and Workshops.

Our massage modalities include Swedish/Relaxation, Deep tissue/Restorative, Sports and Thai stretching, Prenatal, Myofascial Release, Trigger Point Therapy, and Reflexology. We fuse our modalities in each session according to the needs of the client. We also offer Spa Day Packages if you have family or friends who want to have a self-care day together, too!

Our yoga lessons and classes range from Restorative to Vinyasa and Postural Alignment focus. Meditation sessions include visualization, mantra repetition, breath and body awareness, and self-compassion focus. We offer a Meditation and Painting combo class to bring together creative flow and stress relief.

If you are looking for Holistic Healing, our coaching services focus on the person as a whole being and include physical health, nutritional health, emotional health, and mental health.

What matters most to you?
Self-care matter most to me because we are each given one body to get us from start to finish. The relationship you have with yourself is one of the most important relationships you’ll ever work on and it is the longest relationship you’ll ever have.

It becomes easy to put yourself and your needs last when life comes with so many other responsibilities and priorities. However, it is important that you take care of yourself and learn to maintain a personal connection, otherwise, you’re wondering this planet looking for direction or looking forward to the next checkpoint. Everything in life seems to remain surface level if you don’t strive for depth and meaning in your being. If you’re not listening to the little alarms that go off in your body, mind, and spirit, you could miss the opportunities to invest in becoming the best version of yourself, which, in turn, results in others missing the opportunity to get to know that version, too.

Every person gets one life to live, if lucky, so taking care of that one life is a pretty extraordinary and rewarding job.

Pricing:

• Massage (In-studio): $75 and up
• Massage (Out-call): $130 and up
• Yoga + Meditation: $50 and up
• Meditation + Painting: $40 and up
• Holistic Life Coaching: $75 and up

Contact Info:

• Email: hello@thezenchameleon.com
• Website: www.thezenchameleon.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_zen_chameleon/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thezenchameleon/

Image Credits
Josh Early (Photographer)