As a massage practitioner of ten years, I’ve learned a little bit about what works for people.
- I’ve learned that listening to you and what you want from a massage can provide me with a lot of information about where I should go in a session.
- I’ve learned to pick up on clues you give me that you might even not know about, for instance, lots of people start rubbing their own neck while talking to me.
- I’ve learned that sometimes even though you say you want deep tissue work, what your body really needs is lighter work that allows us to ease into the deeper work that you are craving. Or it might be the other way around. Either way, we’ll get it right.
- I’ve learned that your weight, hairy legs, summer sandal feet, and the state of your pedicure are the least interesting thing about you, so please don’t apologize.
- I’ve learned to pick up on subtle cues that tell me something needs to be different - if you are cold or too hot, uncomfortable on the table, if you need to bring something up or just feel nervous about the massage in general, I can usually tell, and I’ll do what I can to fix it.
- I’ve learned that my clients are incredibly brave to allow me to touch them in a way that we don’t experience very often. It can be a big deal to take off your clothes and let someone help ease tension that you’ve been hanging on to. Massage can bring up a lot of stuff, and I’m sensitive to that.
- I’ve learned to give a pretty good massage. I’ve honed my skills with years of hands on work, and my loyal clients can attest to that.
- I’ve learned that it’s helpful to you to have a basic understanding of what I’m working on, and how you can help in between sessions. If I see something that could use stretching or attention in between massages, I’ll show you what the anatomy looks like and how to access it with a stretch or two.
- I’ve learned that I enjoy getting to know you. I like to check in about what’s up with you before the massage. I see you an hour out of many hours that you are living your life, and I like to know what you’ve been up to.
- I’ve learned that I like creating a warm and inviting environment that you look forward to coming to.
Regardless of whether I’m giving a relaxation massage or a more therapeutic focused massage, I emphasize a non-judgmental, safe environment for all of my clients. I enjoy sharing the knowledge of the body that I have learned in my training and hope that you will find your body and the way it works as fascinating as I do.
Training and Experience:
- Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies, Oregon State University 2004
- Certificate of Massage from Lane Community College 2005
- McMenamin’s Edgefield/Ruby’s Spa, Massage Therapist 2005-2010
- Miss Fit, Massage Therapist 2006-2008
- Business Foundations course MCNW 2007
- Watershed Community Wellness, Owner, Massage Therapist 2008-current
- Hot Stone training in the Lomi’ili’ili style 2008
- Lomi Lomi training 2008
- Shiatsu training 2008
- Body Rock/Serpentine stone training 2012
- Gua Sha training 2013
- Advanced Business course MCNW 2013
- Advanced Gua Sha training 2014
- Current CPR training
- Advanced Business course MCNW 2013
- Mentored by Wendy Ward and Stephen Morrell