Karen Hinds offers a 'relax station' in the city

SINCE the pandemic, many have come to realise the importance of taking care of oneself both physically and mentally. And massage therapist Karen Hinds is making that a little bit easier for those who live, work, shop or pass through Port of Spain.

At Excellent City Centre, Independence Square, Hinds has opened The Light Centre, a "relax station" where people can pop in to get a seated, clothed upper-body massage of the back, shoulders, arms, hands, neck, face and head in ten, 20 or 30 minutes, or a 20-minute reflexology foot massage.

Reflexology is an alternative medical practice involving the application of different amounts of pressure to the feet, hands and ears. Hinds practises and teaches both massage therapy and reflexology.

“I named the business The Light Centre because I believe there is so much darkness in the world that we need a lot of light, and that’s what I’m trying to offer to people – a little light to individuals that would reflect to society at large.

“So many people need healing.

"I want to be the oasis in the city where they can get a little relaxation, a little quiet, and take a step away and outside of the busyness and stress of life, even if it’s just ten or 20 minutes.”

Hinds, 49, said everyone deserves to be pampered and experience the healing of a massage so she made her prices affordable, especially for those who do not think they could afford one. A ten-minute Swedish massage costs $60, 20 minutes cost $110 and 30 minutes is $160.

So if you are having a stressful day at work, you can run away for ten minutes or take 20 minutes out of your lunch to feel better. Or if you walked around town shopping and need to rest your feet, you can get a 20-minute foot massage to ease the ache.

The ambience has dim and soft lighting, relaxing music and an earthy, uncluttered space to encourage relaxation.

“I want people to be able to relax in the middle of town. I think the people who live, work and pass through the city sometimes don’t feel they have access to massage, because it’s associated with luxury.

"But those are the people who need the healing the most.

“Massage shouldn’t be a luxury. It should be part of your health regime, like drinking water. Any kind of massage – hand, foot, shoulders – would offer healing.”

She told Newsday in her studies she learned stress could negatively affect every system in the body, including the skeletal system. But when the body relaxes, the nerves relax, the brain relaxes and stress levels decrease.

And since stress is associated with numerous illnesses, including high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, immune and digestive issues, depression and more, she believes de-stressing someone equates to healing.

In 2002, Hinds went to London to do a foundation course in psychotherapy at the New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling. But she also wanted to give people physical aid, so she did a course in reflexology. She really loved it and studied more alternative techniques, including Indian head massage, deep tissue massage, Reiki and Seichem healing, and lymphatic drainage massage.

When she returned to Trinidad and Tobago in 2007 she worked in administration to pay the bills, but she knew she wanted to practise and teach bodyworks.

She started teaching certificate courses in massage at UWI Open Campus in 2009 and has been doing that ever since. Also in 2009 she registered The Light Centre, her massage school, which is accredited in the UK, and re-registered it as The Light Bodywork Institute in 2023. The school is now on Gaston Johnston Street, Mucurapo.

“I saw a gap in the learning in the north, so I wanted to do that. I wanted to offer a diploma in massage. And there were times in UWI my classes were so oversubscribed I had to split the classes and teach an extra day.

“Then, during covid, I realised there were many more people who were interested in doing massages. I had to find a way of teaching online, and it worked!”

In 2015 she completed her degree in psychology from COSTAATT, and a master’s in educational technology from UTT in 2017.

During this time, in addition to teaching, freelancing at spas and doing bodywork with her company part-time, she continued doing administrative work.

But when her contract ended in 2021, she decided to do what she loves full-time – and added a yoga instructor to her repertoire after doing remote training with the Sri Sri School of Yoga in India.

“I’m hoping this shop will sell itself, so eventually I’ll be able to open another Light Centre in Woodbrook also. Wherever people need a little bit of relaxation, I want to be there.”

She wants to keep training people in different types of bodywork even if she has to hire someone to teach what she can't. She also hopes one day to find a space to house the institute, a yoga studio and a bodyworks spa.

The Light Centre is open 1pm-5pm on Mondays-Thursdays, 10am-6pm on Fridays and 9am-1pm on the last Saturday of each month.