Hi there and welcome to Knot Me! I am Sharissa, the Creative Founder of Knot Me Practitioner Assisted Therapy. I thank you for taking the time out to visit my page. This is the story behind Knot Me-how it began, and why it exists. My hope is that as you read, something resonates with your own journey. Blessing to everyone who reads this :)

The Beginning

If I could give a title to my story it would have to be called “In search of my passion”. As a young girl, I was technically trained as a dancer in a variety of genres, my favorite of which was modern dance. I traveled competitively, won competitions, and partaken in masterclasses ran by well-renowned dance companies such as Dance Theater of Harlem and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. I continued on to pursue dance in the performing arts department at Cass Technical High School (Cass Tech Dance Workshop) where I determined I wanted to make a career out of the very thing that brought me the most joy, dance. This is where I came to the first of many pivotal points of my life, do I choose to join a professional dance company immediately following high school, or do I go to college just to chase after my dream four years later. Little did I know that choice was not mine to decide. My parents chose the college route.

Junior Year

In my junior year of college, I auditioned for a professional dance company in Chicago and was accepted. Still, I had to make a difficult choice. For the first time in life, do I stand up to my parents and hold my ground or do I succumb to their insistent urge to remain in school and complete my degree. It’s so wild to think that the life I wanted most was right there within reach, yet I chose another direction. That decision alone marked the beginning of a profound shift in my life. Now, as much as I wanted to buck the system, I did not know at the time that college was where I needed to be. I was always blessed with natural talent but combine that with technique and skill, I thought I was ready to take on the world. While in school, there was never an audition I didn’t make nor a role I sought out that I did not get, and I never knew the very things I would learn in college would lead me to one-day birth Knot Me, but I’ll save that story for later. In 2005, I graduated from Wayne State University where I received my Bachelors of Science in Dance. There I had the opportunity to study anatomy, kinesiology, and reflexology. I have always had an interest in the human body and how it functions. At the time I would just say I was curious about body mechanics but that curiosity would soon become a passion a few years later.

Bye bye Adolescence

Early on after college, I became a Detroit Pistons Automotion Dancer. This was a great time in life and also a chance to determine what my next steps would become. During my time as an NBA dancer, I had the experience of a lifetime and was given the ability to dance beside a variety of well-known artists such as Mariah Carey and Kid Rock, just to name a few. With all that I had assessable to me at the time, I still had a void. For me, nothing compared to the feeling I would always get when I stepped on stage in front of a captive audience. The stage was my home and as every reader would know, there’s nothing like home. After my time was complete as an NBA dancer, I soon took on the married life with the desire/hope to still pursue my childhood dream as a professional dancer.

Surprise

Two months after marriage I auditioned for Beyonce’s world tour (The Beyonce Experience). Severely sick at the time, I persevered and made it through every round of auditions. Upon returning home I was surprisingly shocked with the news that I was expecting my first child. Pregnant, me! This was yet another pivotal time in life I had to face. Without thought, I already knew I did not want to be a traveling mom, and with the dance carrier I hoped for, it was inevitable that the mother I never desired to be, I would have became. So now it was time to get serious about life.

You Gotta Do Something

What do I do now I thought. My first idea was start a non-profit organization teaching dance to inner-city youth in Detroit. The program went over well but it wasn’t great. When you have a burning desire to dance at a certain level no other form of dance can honestly replace that. In other words, my heart just was not in it. Once the program dwindled, I then needed to get creative and revamp myself. I pondered on all my training and education and thought what can I do to bring everything together. From there, I entertained the world of personal training. This was one of the most terrifying things I’ve ever done because it was different from my norm. But I did it and I loved it. I found a passion for something other than just dance and that very passion was the catalyst that brought me to where I am today.

The Birth of Knot Me

Now, let’s back it up for just a bit. After obtaining my personal training certification, I eventually got hired as a trainer at a prominent gym and was ready to begin a whole new field. Unbeknownst to me, I would tear my meniscus the first week of employment. Freak accident of course. All my life I would take pride on the fact I never obtained a single injury but this day was unlike any other day, surprisingly I would tear my meniscus getting my youngest out of her car seat. Using improper body alignment, I reached over twerking my knee, and suddenly heard a loud pop. Instantly I could not walk or at least not well. When examined I was given two options both of which were surgery. I was told they could either mend my meniscus back together (meniscal repair), meaning I would wake up in a full leg cast resulting in physical therapy or my meniscus could be shaved down or trimmed (partial meniscectomy), meaning no leg cast nor PT but my quality of life would not be as active as it once was. Plus I wasn’t given any certainty on how the procedure would go, given they were uncertain which direction to take until they were able to go in to determine the severity. Neither option did I like, and I knew those who underwent this sort or surgery were at a higher risk of arthritis, chronic joint pain, accelerated knee osteoarthritis and knee replacement surgery down the road. So, I cried, prayed and went home to do research on how to naturally heal a torn meniscus. Mind you, before leaving the doctors office, I had a surgery date scheduled (protocol of course). But I began training myself, eating and drinking the right things, and designed a stretch program to strengthen my joints and ligaments. For about a year and a half I stayed consistent all while pushing back my surgery dates. Eventually the aches and pains, weakness and sleepless nights came to a stop and I felt like my old self again. That’s when I decided to finally schedule a doctors appointment by faking an injury just so I could get an MRI. And to my amazement, by the prompting and wisdom of God, I healed (mended) my meniscus. I am a firm believer that God has given us everything we need to heal ourselves naturally but unfortunately we simply don’t know where to look or what to do. My story was thirteen years ago and to this day I have not had a single issue with my knee. I can dance, exercise, and even goof-off with my family with no setbacks. This is how Knot Me began.

God’s Plan

My entire life story taught me the human body and how it operates. Personal training and group fitness developed a desire within me to help others achieve their ultimate goals. Far too often I saw people destroying and causing permanent damage to their bodies from using improper body alignment, creating problems that have the potential to last a lifetime if left untreated. I wanted to teach and educate others that there are preventative measures available to them. Pain and injury don’t have to be their new normal. I’ve designed an integrative medicine studio that provides healing to real pain without the invasive approach of medication or surgery. Knot Me is an infused art of practitioner assisted stretching, acupressure and reflexology. Clients generally feel better instantly, no lie. However, I suggest that with time and consistency, you will become completely pain-free plus gain flexibility and noticeably move around with more ease and comfort. My passion now is every time I get the opportunity to assist someone in their health journey. Sometimes we just need a second opinion. Surgery is not always the final answer, as I came to know first-hand. I have lived this life. I’ve practiced what I am preaching and I’ve provided a place where someone can finally say, “I use to live that way but Knot Me anymore”. If you truly have a passion to actually live and not just exist, let me help you! 

The Ending you’re reading is only a doorway to what’s next…