Welcome!
I am a Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Manual Lymphatic Drainage Therapist, and Certified Watsu® (warm water aquatic bodywork) Practitioner with over 20 years of experience, currently based in Austin, TX. I also have extensive study and experience in oncology massage, scar tissue management, and visceral manipulation.
I love water. Whether swimming in the warm oceans of Florida where I grew up, or the cold waters of the Puget Sound and Pacific Northwest lakes where I spent 15 years, or Barton Springs, my happy medium and current swim spot, I am at home. My love of water led me to Watsu® in 2001. Watsu is an incredible bodywork therapy practiced in warm, body temperature water, in which your body is moved with the flow of the water, freeing the spine, warming up joints, sometimes submerging into an underwater world to process emotions, and calming your entire nervous system. I became a Watsu Practitioner through the School of Shiatsu and Massage in Middleton, CA, and then became a Licensed Massage Therapist at the Northwest School of Massage in Seattle WA. Before relocating to Austin, I had a private practice in Seattle where I worked, mostly in the water, with physical abilities of all kinds: amputees, paraplegics, cerebral palsy, brain injury, PTSD, children on the autism spectrum, as well as common complaints like stress, pregnancy discomfort, surgery rehab, etc. Watsu is beneficial for almost everyone, all ages and abilities.
Watsu is also great for moving the lymph, as the hydrostatic pressure of water when you are submerged is a perfect amount of external compression needed to stimulate lymph flow! I decided to become certified in Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD) after relocating to Austin in 2012. There has been cancer and lymphedema in my family, so I have a particular passion for helping people who have to deal with lymphedema or swelling and pain after chemo or cancer surgery, as I know how frustrating and painful it can be. I also work with clients with post surgery swelling(liposuction, knee, hip, dental, etc), autoimmune disorders, allergies, and anyone wanting to detox their systems and give their lymphatic system a boost.
Read more about me here in a recent interview with Kathleen Lisson, author, Lymphedema therapist, and premier instructor for post plastic surgery massage in the country,
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