Christopher Szarke studied Swedish massage and deep tissue massage before discovering the Acupressure Institute. He took the Acupressure Basic Training and two advanced programs in Traditional Asian Therapy and Women's Health. The Women's Health Program enabled him to help many of his pregnant or menopausal clients. Fifty percent of his clients are female in an industry where most male massage therapists have less than ten percent female clients. He was practicing in San Francisco at the time, and integrated what he learned at the Acupressure Institute into his growing practice: a combination of Swedish massage, Shiatsu, and specific acupressure points tailored to the symptoms of his clients.

Developing a Private Practice
     Christopher's first year of practice, focused on educating people and marketing. After returning to Minnesota, to be close to his family, he worked part-time as a volunteer coordinator. He quickly built up his practice through direct mailings and through joining a business association. Christopher published educational articles about the benefits of acupressure in two local newspapers and created a quarterly newsletter. He discovered that writing potential client's addresses by hand increased his response rate dramatically. One of Christopher's spring mailings to clients included a packet of seeds, symbolizing the growth clients can receive through his acupressure sessions.
     About fifty percent of his clients come through referrals. Christopher's livelihood is solely from massage and his practice continues to steadily grow. Christopher has worked with a variety of clients, from work related stress to sports event preparation, and has had several clients with cancer.

Working with Cancer Patients
     After studying at the Acupressure Institute, Christopher volunteered half-hour sessions at an AIDS Day Care center, four hours once a week, which gave him the confidence to work in hospitals. He was offered a paid staff position at the AIDS day center, one of seven in the United States, and provides massage and acupressure on a part-time basis. The day center is administered by Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis.
     Christopher also practices acupressure and massage part-time at the Methodist Hospital Cancer Center in a Minneapolis suburb. His hospital chaplaincy background made him familiar with the hospital environment.
     One patient told him, "Chemotherapy is so much easier due to your treatments." Another patient said she "received more pain relief from acupressure than from morphine." The center also has a Reflexologist and a Chi-Gong instructor who bill the patients directly. Christopher likes working on the patients' family members and employees who work in the hospital. Many of his clients are caregivers, such as social workers, teachers, and those caring for family members with cancer.

Intuition & Inspiration
     Christopher found the Acupressure Institute's teachers to be "the most dedicated staff of anyplace I've studied." Michael Gach, who taught his entire Basic Training, encouraged him to trust his intuition to heal. He recalled working on a woman in class; "When I placed my hands on her stomach, I felt a kick, like someone ready to give birth." Later she said, "I forgot to mention, I just found out this morning that I am pregnant!"
     One of Christopher's acupressure clients, a very smart young woman who was disabled from fibromyalgia, was able to return to her full-time job after he collaborated with her doctor for over a year. She received an award for her work and at the ceremony she credited Christopher for helping her heal. This experience acknowledged the value of Christopher's work and empowered him to realize how this healing path has contributed to his personal growth.