Trained at East West College of the Healing Arts in Portland. Practicing in Lane County since 2014. OR LMT #34521 · AMTA member · CPR-certified. Solo studio in downtown Springfield, two blocks off Main, parking around back.
I came to bodywork after twelve years in another field that was quietly destroying my own back — which turned out to be the best teacher I could have asked for. I learned what it felt like to be held wrong, and what it felt like to be held right, and the difference has stayed with every session since. My practice is small on purpose: one room, one therapist, no overhead anyone else has to absorb. I keep my client list at a size that lets me remember your shoulders without checking the chart.
I take continuing education every year, usually two intensives — most recently in oncology massage at the OHSU partnership program, and in perinatal positioning through Nurture & Bloom. Evidence-informed means I read the literature and adjust. It does not mean I'll quote a paper at you on the table. The work is still hands.
One treatment room. ADA-accessible entry. Hypoallergenic linens. Sound-dampened from the street. The diffuser comes out only on request — many clients prefer it off, and I default to off for first sessions.
I combine evidence-informed techniques with clinical reasoning. Sessions start with a brief intake — what brought you in, what you've already tried, what your week looks like. Then assessment, then work. The pressure is conversational — too much, you say; not enough, you say. The right pressure is whatever lets the tissue actually let go.
I'll never recommend more sessions than the body needs. I'll never claim to treat anything I'm not licensed to treat. If your case is outside what bodywork can responsibly do alone — recent surgery, undiagnosed pain, oncology — I'll say so and refer. The fee is the fee; tip if you want to, skip if you don't, and nothing changes about how I treat you next time.
You're an adult who knows their own body. My job is to listen with my hands, then meet you there. — Lena Whitford, LMT