After the events of September 11, 2001 I lost my job as an airline employee and began my journey into massage therapy. Little did I know how much good this would bring into my life, and the lives of others.  More than two decades later, I am humbled by my journey into this beautiful industry of massage therapy.

At Ashmead College in Vancouver, Washington I trained heavily in medical treatments utilizing massage therapy. I chose Ashmead because of its focus on pathology treatments, and how using certain bodywork techniques can assist the human form back into proper health. It is my belief that the human body wants to be healthy, and it is our job to make the proper choices to keep homeostasis present so that we may live our very best life possible. Sadly, injuries do happen, disease (dis-ease) may occur and emotional storms brew within us.  I know from personal and professional experience that bodywork is one method to assist us to align ourselves physically, emotionally and spiritually.

I decided that Southern Oregon lacked a female medical massage therapist who was willing to take medical insurance and so I made the choice to become accredited and in June of 2003, I opened my private medical massage practice in Medford, Oregon. In 2005 I began teaching at the Ashland Institute of Massage (AIM), leading their first insurance billing course. In my 7 years as Business Instructor with AIM, I had the opportunity to facilitate topics such as bookkeeping, HIPPA, marketing, and Oregon Massage Law as well as teaching their chair massage courses.

While I was instructing at AIM I realized the need for corporate chair massage in Southern Oregon due to our many call centers and large companies. The birth of The Healing Chair stemmed from this need and for 5 years I was able to service some of the largest companies in our area, including but not limited to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oregon, Bear Creek Corporation, Musician’s Friend, Sprint/Embarq and Rogue Valley Medical Center.

I have also found the time to participate in special projects over the years, notably the PBA Tournament for the Earl Anthony Classic, treating up to 64 of their pro bowlers and Hall of Fame players while they competed in Medford. The best compliment was how these players would always look forward to visiting Medford, Oregon and would constantly tell us how Medford was their favorite stop on their tour. In 2005 I began the now annual donation to the Pear Blossom Run. Utilizing licensed therapists to assist current students makes this large donation possible. For licensed therapists, this is an opportunity to earn continuing education credit toward the renewal of their Oregon Board Massage license. The students from AIM and Rogue Community College learn how to run sporting events while using massage therapy to support their practices. All of these projects have been so very special to my heart and a wonderful contribution to our community as well as my industry.

I live a more simple life these days and it is a gift and an honor to share my art, my education and experience to people who will join me on my table. I am a part of the self-care professional community, who comes together to make effective change in an individual life and to simply be witness to those changes and hold the space as they navigate these changes.  One thing I hold dear in this life is that change is constant, and how we deal with the challenges that come from these changes will lead us down the path that will eventually become our life.  It is my life’s honor to be this person for my clients and my community.