• Advanced Neuromuscular Therapy Program
• Amazing Alumni
• Core Massage Therapy Training Program
• Massage Therapy
• NHI Life

As we continue to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, we recognize Raquel Anchondo-Lopez. Raquel graduated from the Core Massage Therapy Training Program at our Modesto Campus along with the Advanced Neuromuscular Therapy (ANMT) Program at our Sacramento Campus.

Discover how Raquel’s Mexican heritage laid the foundation of her intuitive touch which she built upon with the framework of knowledge and experience at National Holistic Institute.

If Intuition was My Foundation, NHI is the Frame

TexiCali Massage Therapy is my business’ name. I was born in Texas and raised in both Texas and California. I massage by instinct. I let my hands feel and my mind sees, in a way. First it was intuition, lead by the memories of the Old Curanderas, the Healers Mother would take us too in Juarez, Mexico. The quiet room lit by candles filled with the scent of incense, the sounds of birds and the rubbing and rocking. Later on, Grandma Lola massaging my calves to cure constipation or rubbing the temples for a headache. It seemed to me there was a form of touch that had the ability to ease pain from the body and mind.

Then with NHI came the knowledge and experience. If intuition was my foundation based on my Mexican upbringing and beliefs then NHI is the frame that helped me give it form.

Before I move forward, let me tell you about how I got to this point.

Nothing had Been Lost, Only Rearranged

The need for change came quick or rather, it caught me by surprise how the need for it was so final. I could no longer do what I had thought I wanted to do. If I loved my job why was I unhappy and why did it drain me so quick and when did I become so sick? Congestive Heart Failure; it was no longer just my job but my life. What was it costing me to maintain it? What was I giving out? Was the cost for control off all these things worth it? What would it cost me to keep it going? My life was off balance.

Is letting go of what I had been trying to control better? The thought of what I would be loosing and how it defined me, killed parts of me. Where would it leave me? How would separating from what had been my life make things better? My worth; how would I validate myself? My job as an Eligibility Worker tried, gave it my all, but failed. My family, beautiful and happy but being affected by my instability. So people and things took their natural place leaving me out of place.

It took three years of retirement, my depression vacation, my much needed healing time, to realize nothing had been lost only rearranged in a way where I was given a the chance again to focus on myself. A chance to build my own self worth, strong enough and stable to support, hold, appreciate and love all that had to be changed, moved or removed. Not a loss but an even exchange. So I gave that part of me that had never been given a chance, the opportunity to lead. The part of me that always kept quiet, I listened to that voice.

I Attended. I Enrolled.

I followed a feeling from a dream. It had drapes hanging from the ceiling and the air was healing. There was an advertisement on Instagram; Introduction to Shiatsu at the Modesto Campus. What is Shiatsu? Massage…. Okay, more on massage. When moms do Sana Sana Colita De Rana when you fall and hurt yourself. What I do to this hyperactive sack of skin and muscles that seems to always feel the need to remind me that I have nerves that feel pain constantly.

Pain Management…I’m sold. I attended. The Modesto Campus is beautiful and the entire staff was dedicated to helping us succeed. What is a new lifestyle, maybe career, worth? I enrolled.

My education built up my self-worth with the guidance and instruction of the people I met at NHI. After completing the Core Program, I went on to the ANMT Program fueled by the desire to know more along with the need to continue feeding that self-worth. Sometimes my words come out mixed up with an accent but that is okay because my knowledge is silent and I can collect myself and express it in many words. It can’t be taken away.

You Don’t Always Require Great Force, Just a Different Angle

With the ANMT Program, I was able to gain the ability to assess a client before they are on the table, while they are on the table and once they’re off the table. The lectures on muscles and pathology was in depth, leaving me with a better understanding of them.

I’ve learned techniques to protect my own body from wear and tear. How to use my forearm, elbow and stacked fingers instead of my thumbs. The use of a stool as a tool and how to become one with it. I am able to work in various fields, the knowledge and techniques can be used in a spa or physical therapist office along with many other medical and holistic centers.

The most important thing I learned from the ANMT Program is you don’t always require great force when working a problem area, just a different angle. 

Today, in addition to my private practice at TexiCali Massage Therapy, I work at The Spa at Wine & Roses in Lodi. It is a hotel, restaurant, spa and boutique sitting on beautiful grounds.

What I love most abut my career as a Neuromuscular Therapist is that I choose this and worked toward this for myself. I appreciate myself which helps me appreciate my career.

Connect with Raquel on Instagram at, TexiCali Massage Therapy.

Learn more about how you can pursue a career in massage therapy with National Holistic Institute. Complete this form to connect with an admissions representative today.