Education and Experience

I graduated from East West College of the Healing Arts in 2015 completing an 850 hour massage therapy program which prepared me for working in clinical healthcare and wellness settings. My first job out of massage school was at a chiropractic clinic in Tigard, where I worked with clients to aid in their recovery from injuries, such as sustained from motor vehicle accidents and sports, and work related repetitive use. That is also where I first learned to work with clients recovering from major and minor surgeries under the mentorship of the chiropractors and experienced massage therapists.

I went on to work at an onsite corporate wellness spa in Hillsboro and Aloha, where I saw as many as 16 clients a day who had stress and work related tension and pain. I saw first hand the toll that hours of working while sitting and on a computer or performing repetitive tasks all day in the manufacturing facilities took on the bodies of my clients. There I was able to hone my skills in giving targeted sessions which were therapeutically beneficial while still helping my clients to de-stress.

I have since worked in other wellness and medical massage clinics in Hillsboro and Beaverton, working alongside some of the most experienced and accomplished massage therapists on the west side. I have benefited from the exchange of knowledge working with these massage therapists and other allied healthcare providers.

I love learning. I’m in constant pursuit of how and why massage and manual therapies work as well as taking a variety of classes, including trauma informed care, to learn new techniques and to better serve my clients. I am a perinatal (prenatal and postpartum) specialist, certified in Vodder-style manual lymph drainage, a certified lymphedema therapist, and proficient in a variety techniques to truly customize massage for each and every client to assist them with achieving their goals of pain reduction and more freedom of movement in their bodies.

Personal Experience with Massage

I was familiar with the benefits of massage well before my time as a liecensed massage therapist. I have had a lifetime of digestive issues dealing with chronic episodes of severe indigestion, bloating, IBS related symptoms, and other digestive disorders which were often painful. My elders used a Korean folk remedy that involved tapotement (a rhythmic percussive massage technique) and stimulating acupressure points to relieve the pain and other symptoms caused by the digestive disorders.

I’m also no stranger to chronic pain, and have lived with issues which have affected my mobility and limited some of my activities over time. Discovering what was possible with professional massage and bodywork has greatly helped me in managing those issues and rediscovering some of those activities.

The first instruction I received on massage was in high school. I learned to give an acupressure massage when one of my parents sustained a low back injury so severe they were not able to fully stand up without experiencing shar shooting pain. A friend of the family performed the acupressure massage they had learned at the community center, which greatly helped my parent get back on their feet. During the session the family friend taught me the sequence and I was able to provide followup care for my parent. Following that experience I was often called upon to massage other family members and friends, thus learning it was something I enjoyed and often received a compliment of being a “natural” at it.