Born in Paris, France, Henschen met her future husband, Brian, in 1995 in Hawaii and moved to Kentucky in 1997, where she lives with her family in Hebron. Although she had a knack for languages and earned a Masters degree in American Literature from Institut Charles V, Paris VII, what Henschen truly believed she was meant to do was help people.
“I have always been interested by the human body, how it works, how it gets sick, how it heals and how you care for it,” she says. “As a kid, I enjoyed caring for the sick. I always took it to heart to ensure whoever was sick in the house got their medicine, took their temperature, lay down in bed and got plenty of TLC.”
In fact, Henschen spent so much time caring for those around her, her grandmother called her “Ra,” after the Egyptian sun god who represented light, warmth and growth.
Three years ago, Henchen could no longer ignore what she believed was her calling. Employed full-time at Sun Chemical, where she is a team coach in the North American customer service department, and a busy mother of two young children, Henschen enrolled in a 20-month program at Self Health Integrative School of Medical Massage and Acupuncture in Lebanon, Ohio. For the next two years, she commuted to classes twice a week, spent Saturdays at a clinic for hands-on learning and completed her outreach program work at the pain clinic of the VA hospital in Cincinnati.
Now licensed by the Medical Board of Ohio, the State of Kentucky and the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage, and a member of the American Massage Therapy Association, she feels she is finally fulfilling what she sensed as a child was her purpose.
“We all come to Earth to fulfill a purpose,” says Henschen, a Reiki master who often integrates the principles of this Japanese healing technique in her massage practice. “Mine is to help people reconnect with themselves and get to a state where there is compassion, care and love.”
Hanging out her shingle
With license in hand and therapeutic massage, including Swedish, deep tissue, and Cranio-Sacral as her specialties, Henschen set up shop on Houston Road in Florence at Laura Lander Massage.
“Even as a therapist, as soon as I open the door, the smell, the waterfalls, the relaxing atmosphere and positive energy wrap me up and take me to a place of deep relaxation.”
Henschen named her business Touched By An Angel and routinely calls on these celestial beings in her practice.
“I call on my clients' angels, to bring balance, well-being and deep care for the person I work on,” she says. “I do not run my grocery list in my head nor worry about dinner. I spend my full hour feeling muscles, sensing energy so that I can attend to my client's unspoken needs.
“I believe when I set my intent to be a conduit of the Divine, the angels are the ones sent to help me help my clients. I know I am deeply connected to them and I wanted to honor their work through my business name. ”
Henschen also honors her clients and their needs. Each massage session is unique, with Henschen blending techniques according to what is needed by an individual at the time of the session. Techniques may include elements of the long gliding strokes of Swedish massage, the firmer pressure of Deep Tissue massage, the gentle method of Cranio-Sacral massage and Reiki, the “universal life energy” that is channeled through the practitioner’
“I grew up seeing my grandmother being a confidante to a lot of people. I witnessed her being a source of comfort, a life coach of sorts. She was not judgmental; she was love and care. This is what I strive to be for my clients.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION about Touched By An Angel, visit Karen Henschen’s website at www.touchbyangel.net. Henschen’s therapy room is located at 7000 Houston Road, Bldg. 400, Suite 39, in Florence, Ky. To schedule an appointment, call 859-663-7271 or email Henschen at khenschen@insightbb.com.
