About Me
A year and a half ago I moved to Ruidoso, NM with my husband Ron.
My first inclination that I wanted to be a massage therapist came when I was 18 and I had a dream that I was carrying a massage table around. The next day my grandma asked me "What are you going to do with your life?!?" in a very grandmotherly way, and not even thinking I said, "I want to be a massage therapist!" Though said spontaneously, it rang true. At New College, in Sarasota, FL I found a swedish massage class offered and jumped on it. In that class I learned the basics of full body relaxation massage, and though I wasn't certified, that's when my practice began. I was massaging everyone from friends and family, to people I met on the street. It seemed to come intuitively to me and I loved the work.
It wasn't until several years later that I had saved enough money and was presented with the opportunity for a proper training at a massage school, certification and all.
I got my massage certification at the Pacific Center for Awareness and Bodywork led by Lee Joseph and Carole Madsen on the island of Kauai in Hawaii. I moved all the way to Hawaii just to go to school there, and I was not disappointed. I am convinced that I chose the best school in the country, for my purposes. I wanted not only to learn detailed, effective bodywork, but also psychological aspects of dealing with Clients. I knew that working on people in a therapeutic way would give plenty of opportunities for clients to process through emotions and do healing work while they were on my table. I had talked to a massage therapist before who was concerned that one of his clients was "always crying! What am I supposed to do?" I knew I didn't want to do full-on counseling, and at the same time I wanted enough verbal skills to not hinder what a client might be ready to do on their own. This school gave me the tools for that, and more.
The program was 700 hours and 6 months long. I then completed their Teacher Training program, adding another 600 hours of classroom time to my resume. During that training I was not only a student, but also a teacher, assisting everyday in class, teaching massage and basic counselling skills. At the end of that school year, I taught a Spa Services workshop that was independant of the curriculum there.
That fall I attended the Forest Yoga Teacher Training in NYC, completing the intensive month long program which included physical yoga practice 8 hours a day most days.. I had been practicing yoga for 7 years and wanted to go deeper with my own practice, and also gain skills to help teach my massage clients and be a part time yoga teacher.
In January of 2006 I taught Swedish Massage classes and a series of yoga classes to the students at the Pacific Center for Awareness and Bodywork. My other work included teaching yoga classes at the Creative Yoga Center of Kauai, and working as a massage therapist at Hanalei Day Spa, Ayurveda Center of Hawaii, and Spa Makaiwa.
Since coming to the Ruidoso area, I have built a private practice and work as an independent contractor at the Body Bar. I teach yoga twice a week at High Mesa Healing Center.
I am the Director and Main Instructor at Mountain Meadow Massage School a new massage school opening in Ruidoso in September of 2008.
I am currently licensed in the state of New Mexico (LMT 5538, RMTI S-0392) as both a Therapist and a Massage Instructor. To work with me, please email me or visit my online appointments page and we can set up an appointment. My rates and descriptions can be found on the Massage Services page and the Ayurveda Services page.
Email me at shiva [at] presencemassage [dot] com