About me:

My mother was a nurse for many years while living up north in New Jersey/Delaware/Pennsylvania. When she relocated to Tennessee (shorty after marrying my step father) she decided to attend Massage School and open her own Massage business in Mountain City. At the same time, I move from Delaware to Colorado for work. I stayed in Colorado for almost 7 years working in Call Centers and in Finance. At 26, that I felt I needed to do more with my life. Consequently, after many years of working with the public I switched gears and decided to pursue a career in bodywork. In 2006 I left Colorado and moved to Tennessee to attend Massage School in Boone, NC. In 2007 I became a Licensed Massage Therapist and began helping my mother run her already established business. I began my career working with more of the special populations such as work with the geriatric community, veterans, and those that were handicap. I also found a true passion for working with expectant moms as well as clients that were larger framed. As an individual who has personally struggled with weight my whole life I found a lot of enjoyment in providing comfort and care to those who were most responsive to the work and that included those that were anywhere from 300 to 500 pounds. I expanded my skills by incorporating Hot Stones as well as Asian Cupping into my approach for deeper work.

My Journey to Watsu:

Both being advent creatures of the water my mother and I discussed building a pool to incorporate aquatic therapy. In 2010 my mother happened to see a video on you tube of Watsu while searching for aquatic bodywork examples. She shared the video with me and we were immediately hooked. We attended a Continuing Ed class in Nashville that was only a 4 our glimpse of the bodywork. We knew at that moment this was what we were meant to do.

Education:

In 2010 my mother and I attended our first Watsu class in Wilkesboro, NC. The class was led by Watsu Practitioner and Watsu Instructor (James Orsi). It was a 16 hour course (Watsu Basic) followed by another 50 hours (Watsu I Completion). We instantly fell in love with Watsu and saw the incredible potential it had for our area.

Due to my father’s health however, my mother was unable to continue with the courses and I decided to pursue Watsu on my own. I went on to complete Watsu II in Wilkesboro with James. In November of 2011 I flew to Florida to train with Watsu Practitioner and Watsu Instructor (Minakshi - who trained with the founder of Watsu – Harold Dull and who still travels to teach classes alongside Harold). There I completed Water Dance I and Watsu III (Free Flow). After completing the remaining prerequisites I received my official Watsu Certification in December of 2011. Since that time I have continued to take Watsu courses and study abroad to keep my skills alive and active in hopes that one day I would be able to bring this powerful bodywork to the area. And as of today, I am the only Certified Watsu Practitioner in the state of Tennessee listed on the official WABA website. I now look forward to working alongside the Johnson City Wellness Center and offering Watsu beginning in 2018.

Credentials:

Licensed Massage Therapist since November of 2007 in the state of Tennessee

Worked as a licensed professional in a private practice from 2007 throughout 2014 working with special populations

Certified Watsu Practitioner since December of 2011

Elements of Life Therapeutics

Watsu Therapy at the TWC (member)