“I didn’t even know how happy I was until a friend of mine who’s known me my entire life, six months into it was like, ‘Man, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so happy.’ ”

Before Jonathan Primack discovered massage therapy, he spent years wondering what he wanted to do with his life. Raised in New York, he grew up working in the restaurant industry and had earned a college degree but hadn’t yet found a career that truly resonated with him. When he moved to Portland in the late 1990s, he was ready for a change.

A friend had once told him, “When you find your station in life, you’ll know.” Those words stayed with him. Having experienced the benefits of receiving massage, Jonathan began wondering whether providing that experience for others might be equally meaningful. He explored several massage schools in Portland before choosing East West College, drawn to its comprehensive curriculum and the personal attention he received during the admissions process.

“I just felt like East West gave me the best opportunity,” Jonathan recalls.

Once enrolled, he found an environment that encouraged his enthusiasm for learning. He credits instructors Alex Sussbauer and Allie Lurie with helping him get off to a strong start. During his second week of kinesiology class, Jonathan experienced a moment of absolute clarity: He knew he had made the right decision. More than two decades later, he still remembers exactly where he was sitting.

“I look at that period of being in school and making the decision to invest in the career as truly one of the best periods of my life,” he says.

After graduating from East West in 2003, Jonathan initially considered leaving Portland to travel. But when his instructor TJ Ford offered him office space and encouraged him to start a practice, he decided to stay.

He approached those early years with determination and a willingness to try almost anything to connect with potential clients. That included offering chair massage at a Super Bowl party, where he quickly discovered that football fans were more interested in the game than receiving massage. At another event, he brought a Thai massage mat to a 24-Hour Fitness gathering, where curious onlookers began asking questions as he worked.

Within a couple of years, Jonathan had built a successful practice and was booking appointments a month in advance. Yet he sensed there was more he wanted to accomplish through bodywork.

His experience with Thai massage had opened his thinking beyond traditional Swedish techniques, and he began asking himself a simple question during sessions: “What if I did this?”

That curiosity led him to experiment, study, and gradually develop a more structurally focused, treatment-oriented approach. The transition wasn’t easy. Some of his existing clients weren’t interested in the direction he was taking, and there were moments when he questioned his decision.

But Jonathan continued deepening his understanding of kinesiology, anatomy, and the relationships between different structures in the body. Over time, new clients began seeking him out for the work he was developing, and referrals helped his practice grow in a direction that reflected his interests and strengths.

“Investing deeper and deeper and deeper into the work and what my capabilities can be. That’s what changed everything.”

Jonathan’s interest in teaching began while he was still a student, when he organized study groups and participated in East West’s tutoring program. After establishing his private practice, he began exploring opportunities to return as an instructor.

In 2006, Jonathan returned to East West to teach kinesiology, beginning what would become a 14-year chapter as an instructor. Teaching gave him another way to explore the questions that fascinated him. Students challenged him to think differently, research unfamiliar subjects, and deepen his own understanding. Meanwhile, his daily experience with clients brought practical examples into the classroom.

“Both of them, practicing at the tables, teaching in the classroom, they were constantly feeding each other,” he explains.

Over the years, Jonathan expanded his work into continuing education, developing workshops for practicing massage therapists and co-authoring four bodywork textbooks. His evolving interests also contributed to his Integrative Bodywork approach, which combines structural understanding, assessment, and a variety of manual therapy techniques.

More than two decades into his massage career, Jonathan’s curiosity continues to guide his work. He describes being curious about almost everything as a child, but massage therapy gave that curiosity a direction and purpose.

“I think I really learned that my curiosity goes to a level that I hadn’t really realized until I had a bucket to put that curiosity in,” he explains.

That desire to understand the body more deeply has shaped his continuing studies in structural bodywork, neuroscience, and pain science. It has also influenced how he works with clients, emphasizing collaboration and recognizing the complex relationships between the body’s systems.

“The truth of it is, it’s the difference between working on a client and working with a client,” Jonathan says.

For students and newer practitioners, Jonathan emphasizes the importance of experience, consistency, and continued learning. Massage school provides the foundation, but confidence and skill develop through time at the table and a willingness to keep asking questions.

“Most of the time, slow, consistent habit building and investment, that’s where sustainable change happens.”

Looking back, Jonathan’s journey has taken him from a career he was ready to leave to a profession that continues to challenge and inspire him. What began with a search for something more meaningful became a lifelong commitment to practicing, teaching, and learning. And perhaps his friend’s advice all those years ago was right. Sometimes, when you find your place in life, you just know.