PHOTO BY PAULA MULLER
Monique Illona, co-owner of Hand in Hand massage, works on a client.
BY GAYLA CAWLEY
MARBLEHEAD — After 25 years of business, two massage professionals are walking hand in hand into the next chapter of their lives.
The couple, Monique Illona, 55, and Blane Allen, 52, have owned Hand in Hand Massage, which specializes in massage and body work for stress management, relaxation, injury, post-surgery work, headaches, migraines and digestive issues.
But the pair decided to leave their latest location on Washington Street, where they have rented space for four years, to head for New Zealand. They will be house sitting for a former client, exchanging rent-free living for caring for the woman’s home, Illona said.
They will give their last massage on July 22. Before then, the two are selling nearly everything they own, including their car, before packing up their bags and heading to North Carolina for a few days. From there, they’ll fly to New Zealand. They plan to stay for at least six months, but don’t intend to return to the U.S.
“For me, I don’t feel that it’s in my nature to be in one place for too long,” Illona said. “I feel like I’ve been here a long time.”
Allen said the decision to move on also stemmed from the pair needing a break from working and living a vacation-free life. Business would never be bad, but it would never be more or less than it is, he added.
“It basically boils down to, we were kind of in a rut,” Allen said. “We want to go now when we can enjoy it and have an impact on ourselves, maybe a little bit of an impact on the world.”
After their house sitting stint is up, they will seek another living arrangement. Illona said it could be another similar situation, but there are also opportunities to exchange work for somewhere to live. People can choose what country they want to do that in and what type of work, she added.
“We like not having it planned, being open to opportunity, surprise and discovery,” Illona said. “That seems part of the whole experience to us.”
Clients said they’ll miss the impact the couple has had on their lives.
“I am extremely sad to see them leaving,” said 39-year-old Abbie Stevenson. “They’ve had a profound influence on my life and have helped me through some big transitions in my life. They are just very generous, kind, insightful, holistic, whole people and I’ve been in denial about them leaving. I just saw Monique and started crying saying goodbye because she’s really been just tremendously helpful.”
Nora Falk, 51, of Marblehead, said she’s been going to them for nearly a decade, following a knee injury. She and her husband also used massages to help them with their weight loss.
“Our weekly massage was our treat,” Falk said. “It started a new feeling or friendship with our bodies.”
Falk is sad to see them go, but is happy for the couple to go on their adventure, she added.
The pair remains optimistic about their plans to travel indefinitely.
“I’d rather live a magnificent life until 70, instead of a bitter, diminishing life until 99,” Allen said. “What an opportunity.”
Gayla Cawley can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @GaylaCawley.
