Each Tuesday, The

Citizen features a health professional from the

Finger Lakes community

in The Banks:

This week, we spotlight Rose M. Borza.

Rose M. Borza

Age: 53

Hometown: Auburn

Occupation: Massage

therapist, energy practitioner

Q: What is the most rewarding part of your job?

A: I love my job. I love meeting the people and connecting with them. So many people look at massage and energy work as pampering. They associate it with spas, and they don't realize how much it should be part of their preventative health practices. I really feel it helps reduce your stress, and stress can be a contributor to other things. We're also affecting all the systems of the body. And energy is something people just know they feel is off balance.

Q: What is the most challenging?

A: Getting people to quiet the mind. You don't realize how much that mental chatter really affects the rest of the body. You really don't feel what your shoes feel like because you're always up here. Then, the next day you wake up, and your feet are killing you and you don't realize why.

Q: Is that something that you can tell when someone comes through the door, whether or not they are distracted by that mental chatter?

A: Sometimes it is the way they are speaking, or sometimes it is their jitteryness. I'm sure you can feel the energy of people. That energy is more prominent than we think.

Q: What is the most common reason people come in?

A: Sometimes people are in pain or uncomfortable. There is a pain in their shoulder, and they don't know why. Stress is another one. Those I think are the two main ones.

Q: Describe your ideal patient/client.

A: They are open and surrender to what it is, and are ready to be open enough to try something new opposed to living with it every day.

Q: What is the best piece of advice you could give someone to stay healthy?

A: Drink water, lots of water, all day long. So many people don't drink enough water, and I'm talking about eight, nine glasses of water a day. A large percentage of our body is made up of water and they need to replenish that.

Q: What's the most common misconception you hear from patients/clients about both massage therapy and energy therapy?

A: I work in your personal space, so when I say people are open, they have to be open to allowing me in their personal space. We are a society that does not touch, and there is so much research about the benefits of touch. It is so valuable.