McKinnon Faculty
John Norikane,
John has been training in bodywork for more than 10 years. Much of his study was at Body Therapy Center. He has extensive training in Sports Massage and Clinical Deep Tissue. He served as an assistant for many years in various courses before becoming part of the teaching team. He teaches in our level one Sports and Deep Tissue courses as well as advanced Clinical Deep Tissue, Sports Training and Recovery and Sports Events and Rehabilitation.
Selena Lee, MA
Selena's passion for integrated health and an understanding of the importance of healing has been at the core of her work at the McKinnon Institute. Her work ethic, strong communication skills and dedication led her to her current position as the backbone of the McKinnon Institute. Her undergraduate degree in Cross-Cultural Healing Systems and Communication provided the foundation for her Masters Degree in Holistic Health Education. Her education and her life experience allow Selena to thrive in a role that creates, serves and participates in the community. She teaches the Advanced Business & Ethics course at McKinnon. In addition to her roles at McKinnon, Selena is the Director of Touch Health Association, a non-profit that offers services to pregnant and parenting teens in Alameda County. [ Touch Health Association ]
Jeannie Achuff, ND
Dr. Jeannie Achuff, ND runs her primary care Naturopathic medical practice, Origins of Health Natural Medicine, out of the Berkeley Naturopathic Medical Group's clinic. She has been passionate about supporting the body's own wisdom to heal ever since her teenage years when she injured her back playing field hockey. While Dr. Jeannie does not herself practice bodywork, she has received almost every type of treatment that exists and has grown and healed tremendously while working with talented bodyworkers. It is with deep appreciation that she teaches students at McKinnon to support their mastery of the art of therapeutic touch.
Dr. Jeannie received her Naturopathic training in Portland, OR. During her time in Oregon (as well as during her undergraduate years) she developed her skills as a teacher of anatomy and physiology. She has a passion for helping people to learn and to find their "calling" through their work. Her Naturopathic practice ranges from giving people physical exams and charting healthy children's growth to supporting people along the deep process of recovering health. She has a special interest in working with women to become their best in the months prior to conceiving a child, as well as women with chronic health conditions such as multiple sclerosis, endometriosis, or menstrual irregularities. When Jeannie is not "geeking out" studying the mysteries of the body, she and her husband enjoy hiking, biking, cooking, doing Gyrotonics, and learning to speak French.
Carl Johns, Professional Bodyworker
Carl is a graduate of the McKinnon Institute. He made
the transition from financial district work to a
successful career as a massage therapist and teacher.
His practice includes Swedish massage, shiatsu,
reflexology, and craniosacral therapy. He is part of
the wellness program at the Cerebral Palsy Center in
Oakland, and is very passionate about working with
chronically ill and disabled clients and the benefits
that touch work can provide. Carl has a strong
background in the arts. He is a graduate of the
Academy of Art College in San Francisco, is a
life-long jazz musician, and is a great believer in
the creative process of intuition and improvisation in
bodywork. As current co-owner of McKinnon Body
Therapy Center, his goal is to continue to bring touch
into as many lives as possible, and to continue to
provide the best education for future bodyworkers.
Linda Aldridge, MA, MT
Linda has been practicing massage since 1981 and teaching in the field since 1983. She is licensed by Arkansas and has studied a wide range of modalities. She holds a BA in English and an MA in Holistic Health Education. As an instructor in the Swedish certificate program and Understanding Human Science at McKinnon she brings enthusiasm for caring through touch and commitment to student's personal growth through bodywork education. [ www.lindaaldridge.com ]
Mark Bauman,
Exposed to the work of Milton Trager while in massage school in 1977, and consequently studied with Dr. Trager for many years. During this time he was also intensively studying aikido, which synchronistically taught him a great deal about working with movement and energy. He has been a Trager Practitioner since 1980, and has led workshops since Dr. Trager selected him to do so in 1984. He has been teaching Chi Nei Tsang since 1992, having studied extensively with Gilles Marin of the Chi Nei Tsang Institute. Mark was also given certification by Taoist Master Mantak Chia.
Rich Brown,
Rich has been a massage therapist since 1991 and a professional educator for over 25 years. He has a Master of Arts degree in Integral Health from California Institute of Integral Studies and has studied manual therapy at the Wat Po Traditional Medical School in Bangkok, Thailand, the Massage School of Santa Monica, and the Acupressure Institute in Berkeley. He is a licensed massage therapist in San Francisco and specializes in Eastern modalities as well as Swedish, Deep Tissue, & Chair massage. He has worked in the massage therapy department at UCSF Medical School and in private practice. In addition, Rich teachers qigong, tai chi, and martial arts.
Stacey Brown, MT
Stacey has been practicing massage since 1987, when she graduated from a program in Virginia. in 1989, she continued her training in Sports and Deep Tissue at the Connecticut Center for Massage Therapy. Moving to the Bay Area in 1992, she has enjoyed working for local chiropractors, fitness centers, spas and establishing a private clientele. But something was missing...teaching! After 20 years of bodywork, Stacey now shares her passion and experience with others. She teaches in our Swedish Certificate with a commitment to bringing compassion and humor to the classroom.
Maeve Jordan,
Maeve Jordan tiene mas de siete anos trabajando con los artes terapeuticos. Recibio su primera certificacion en el Masaje Terapeutico en el ano 2000 en Body Therapy Center, y hasta la fecha ha recibido certificaciones en el Masaje Avanzado, la Terapia CranioSacral, y Acupresion. En el 2001 ella encontro Pilates, un metodo de exercicio que le cambio el cuerpo y el trabajo profundamente, y se hizo Instructora Certificada de Pilates en el 2002. Maeve tambien estudio aromaterapia y el cuidado natural de la piel y el cuerpo. Desarrollo y hizo productos y servicios especializados y 100% naturales para About Face and Body Salon and Spa en Berkeley, donde tambien trabajo de terapista del masaje y como Gerente de Operaciones. Maeve ha sido asistente al instructor en programas de la certificacion profesional del masaje, y hoy en dia ofrece clases del masaje en espanol. Su pasion y su trabajo se base en reconocer profundamente a la inteligencia maravillosa del cuerpo, y esta muy orgullosa de la versatilidad de su trabajo, lo cual se ha desarrollado a traves de experiencia extensiva con una gran variedad de gente, incluso atletas, mujeres embarazadas, gente con disabilidades, y los ancianos.
Maeve Jordan has been involved in the healing arts for over seven years, beginning with Certification in Clarity Breathwork. She received her first certification in Therapeutic Massage in 2000 from Body Therapy Center, and has since received certifications in Advanced Massage and Bodywork, CranioSacral Therapy, and Acupressure. In 2001 she discovered Pilates, which deeply transformed her body and her work, and she became a Certified Pilates Mat Instructor in 2002. Maeve also studied aromatherapy and natural skin and body care, eventually going on to develop and create 100% natural custom spa products and services for About Face and Body Salon and Spa in Berkeley, where she also practiced massage and worked as the Operations Manager. Maeve has worked as a teaching assistant for professional certification programs in massage, and currently teaches Spanish language beginning massage classes. Her work is centered in deep honoring and recognition of the astounding intelligence of the body. Maeve is proud of the versatility of her work, which has developed through her extensive hands on experience with a great variety of people, including athletes, pregnant and postpartum women, people with disabilities, and the elderly.
Holly Edson, BSN RN
Holly teaches craniosacral therapy at McKinnon and has special interest in anatomy and physiology. She works as a nurse in San Francisco at UCSF and St Mary's Hospital integrating western medicine with a holistic approach. Holly has over 1000 hours of training in massage modalities including Thai, Shiatsu, myofascial release, and therapeutic touch. Her skilled touch has deepened with Upledger Institute seminars and an apprenticeship with an osteopath. She is a volunteer for Zen Hospice Project, a student of permaculture, and a life long lover of the environment. [ www.iahp.com/Holly--Edson/ ]
Marlene Elbin,
After graduating with a B.S. in dance, Marlene Elbin started her study of massage and bodywork in 1974 in Washington D.C. where she practiced and taught massage for 15 years. In 1986 she received an M.A and was licensed as an acupuncturist. Soon afterwards she moved to California where she established a practice as a massage therapist and acupuncturist. Special interests are connection between mind and body demonstrated in her long time involvement with yoga, mediation, stress management and qigong. She also specializes in facial rejuvenation massage. At McKinnon she has taught courses in acupressure and currently teaches Swedish and Working with Fibromyalgia.
Keith Eric Grant, Ph.D.
Keith has trained extensively at Esalen Institute in many holistic modalities including sports massage, deep tissue, trigger point, Ericksonian hypnosis and metaphor, and working with trauma survivors. He has studied orthopedic massage with Tom Hendrickson, Onsen technique with Rich Phaigh, and Lymphatic Drainage Technique with the Upledger Institute. He holds a BA in Physics and a Ph.D. in Applied Science and presently works as an atmospheric physicist and numerical mathematician. Keith has trained in Tai Ji and martial arts and has co-taught women's self defense classes. Avocationally, he is a dancer, runner, and backpacker. He has also developed our sports and deep tissue classes as well as teaching in them.
[ www.ramblemuse.com ]
Susanne Fluer, MA, MT
Susanne has been practicing massage since 2001. A native of Austria, her interest in and passion for health brought her to the Bay Area to study Holistic Health Education. During a summer class at McKinnon, she fell in love with bodywork. Since then she has worked with chiropractors, in spas, and has built up a successful private practice. Her modalities include Swedish, Thai Massage, On-Site Chair Massage, and Hot Stone Therapy. In her sessions, she aims to provide bodywork that is both therapeutic and relaxing. Susanne teaches Swedish here at McKinnon.
Jason Frye,
Jason is a graduate of the Acupressure Institute . His focus of study has been Traditional Chinese theory. Tui Na is his major medium of application although he is trained in Jin Shin Jyutsu. He has been practicing Tai Chi and Qigong since he began his acupressure practice in 1999. He is teaching in our Acupressure program, both level one and two.
Matt Green, DC
Matt Green is a massage therapist, chiropractor, and teacher.
In 1994, Matt received his first massage in the clinic at the Advanced Training Institute in Santa Barbara. Immediately after the massage, he put down his tuition for the 200 hour course they were offering the following week. Bodywork was his purpose and he knew it right away.
For the next six years, he was a massage therapist for Club One, Body Kinetics, Piedmont Chiropractic, and for his own massage clients in San Francisco.
Eventually, Matt realized that he wanted more tools to help people in pain and discomfort. Due to the fact Matt had been seeing chiropractors since he was twelve and the fact that the chiropractor he worked with was so successful with healing people; he decided to become a chiropractor himself.
Matt has been a licensed chiropractor since 2002. His practice is in Berkeley at Ashby Chiropractic and Health Center. Due to his experience as a massage therapist, his specialty is dealing with soft tissue injuries.
Finally, Matt has been teaching anatomy and physiology for the past five years at Life Chiropractic College West, Kaiser Permanente School of Allied Health Sciences, and McKinnon Institute. He has found a real passion in translating the language of the body to students in a way that has them feel more confident with taking care of people on their table.
Jason Garcia, MT
Jason Garcia has been a massage therapy instructor and practitioner throughout the Bay Area for the past eleven years and is owner of Hands-On Massage & Wellness Center in Millbrae. www.handsonwell.com. He has trained numerous instructors and hundreds of practitioners in Deep Tissue, Sports Massage, Trigger Point Therapy, Myofascial Release and Neuromuscular Techniques. His skills in working with carpal tunnel syndrome, athletic injuries, sciatica, muscular pain and recovery, neck impingements, tendonitis, tennis elbow, headaches and many other pathologies are highly respected in the field. He's also a certified Awareness Through Movement (ATM) teacher in the Feldenkrais Method and nearing completion of the 4-year program as a Feldenkrais practitioner.
Jason is passionate about bringing his unique insight of massage and other manual therapy techniques into a variety of environments. He has worked with the Touch Health Association by teaching teenage mothers how to massage their babies and build close bonds through positive touch. He coordinates the Cancer Awareness Resources and Education (CARE) program and brings over fifty volunteer practitioners to the SF General Hospital to massage and educate cancer patients and survivors about massage's role in their health. He also has designed the curriculum of a number of deep tissue courses at various massage schools and actively participates with the schools in maintaining a high standard in their curriculum.
[ www.handsonwell.com ]Lucia Knight, BA
Lucia graduated from McKinnon in 1985. She is a Rosen Method Practitioner since 1991 and a Rosen Method Introductor teacher. She has also studied Reiki, soft tissue mobilization, sports and myofascial release. Her interests are in the connections between thoughts, beliefs and the impact of the health of the body. Lucia includes Hand Analysis and shamanic dreamwork in working with the unconscious. She teaches in the Sweidsh and Touch for Diverse Populations programs.
Paula Koepke, MA
Paula is a senior instructor here and has taught since 1982. Paula holds an MA in Somatic Psychology from Antioch. She has studied various modalities of bodywork including craniosacral therapy at Upledger. In private practice she works with trauma survivors. She teaches Swedish, Reflexology, and Subtle Systems here at McKinnon.
Fred Lewis, Bodywork Speacialist
Fred graduated from McKinnon in 1990. He teaches Shiatsu and chair massage. He is especially interested in Asian systems. His private practice is made up of On-Site massage as well as individual clients.
Joan Lohman, MT
Joan is a Rosen Method Bodywork Practitioner and massage therapist who has a 20-year practice providing touch for elders in the Bay Area. She has clients in retirement and convalescent homes and teaches seated stretching and movement for frail seniors, based on Tai Chi Chuh. Her photo-essay on elder massage is available online at the link below.
In Nicaragua and Guatemala, Joan has trained and taught with Capacitar, an international organization that brings healing arts to marginalized and traumatized women, men and children in the U.S. Latin America, Europe and Africa. With Capacitar, she co-facilitated a healing Tent at the NGO Women's Forum in China in 1995. Joan's teaching is informed by twenty years of Buddhist meditation practice, a belief in the innate healing gifts of every person, and a commitment to bringing touch to the undertouched. Joan finds renewal in wilderness experience and recently spent 17 days backpacking and river rafting in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
[ Read Joan's essay at AMTA ]Ramona Moody French, MT
Ramona Moody French is a graduate of Mueller College of Holistic Studies in San Diego, California. She also trained at the California College of Natural Therapy in San Diego, and Guang An Men Hospital in Beijing, PRC. She has extensively studied lymph drainage massage, acupressure and deep tissue massage over the last 27 years. Ramona was the director of Somatherapy, a massage training institution in Palm Springs, California for 17 years, and a member of the International Society of Lymphology (ISL). She currently offers certification training in lymph drainage massage and provides continuing education classes on various hands-on modalities. She is the author of Introduction to Lymph Drainage Massage and Milady's Guide to Lymph Drainage Massage.
Felix Payomo, MT
Defined by his passion and love for family, community, the visual arts, and in the creation of music and melody, Felix's natural lure into massage was a merger destined to intertwine... The spark into the world of massage began in 2004 when he finally gathered the necessary strength and courage for a career and lifestyle change. His leap of faith and desire to refine his interest landed him at Mckinnon where he continues to evolve, learn, instruct and share his passion for Massage and Bodywork.
Irene Smith,
Irene Smith introduced massage into hospice care in 1982. Since that time she has worked with hundreds of people in home and facility care settings. She is founder and director of an educational outreach program called Everflowing, teaching touch as an integral component to end of life care. Irene has been acknowledged by the media the health care community and by the ABMP for outstanding contributions to the somatic community. As a west coast assistant for over 10 years to Dr. Elisabeth Kubler Ross, the foremost authority in the field of death and dying, Irene brings extraordinary depth and wisdom to her field. She is an internationally acclaimed author, educator, and healer having taught in Europe, New Zealand and Australia. Irene's classes are intimate in nature, personal in approach, and spiritual in essence. [ ]
Helen Morgan,
Helen Morgan is a Rosen Method bodywork practitioner, massage therapist, and Comfort Touch® practitioner with a private practice in Berkeley. Her interest in healing—especially the forms where mind, body, and spirit meet—began when she discovered the Bach Flower Remedies in the 1980s. Helen works mostly with elders. She volunteers at the Charlotte Maxwell Clinic in Oakland and has been a hospice volunteer and a crisis line volunteer. She practices Buddhist meditation, is an experienced editor, and loves to dance and tell stories.
Rose Scott, MT
Rose loves to explore working with the mind-body connection and sees clients wholly. She came to the massage field with experience in suicide prevention and counseling for severely emotionally disturbed youth. Rose transitioned to a career in bodywork by volunteered as a massage therapist for organizations like Project Homeless Connect. In addition to her private clientele, she enjoys working at a somatic therapy office, and at the McKinnon Massage Clinic in her private practice at Be Well Integral Health Center. She currently teaches Shiatsu and Swedish at McKinnon.
Valerie St. Louis, MT
In 2002 Valerie traveled to Chiang Mai, Thailand where she first trained in the Eight Essential Postures of Tai Chi Chuan. Upon her return she enrolled at the McKinnon Institute of Massage where she studied the Swedish style and was introduced to Acupressure. Valerie has over 1000 hours of training in a variety of massage and acupressure techniques. She received her advanced training in acupressure at the Acupressure Institute in Berkeley, CA. Valerie enjoys her private acupressure practice in Berkeley and continues to study Tai Chi and Qi Gong.
Ellen Mossman,
Ellen Mossman has been practicing a wide range of bodywork modalities since 1985. She had the great fortune of working with an innovative neurosurgeon for the first seven years of her career. This inspired her ongoing work with chronic pain and traumatic conditions. After graduating from NHI's 1000-hour program, she continued trainings including orthopedic massage, deep tissue, Lomi Somatic work (one of the original body-mind approaches), lymphatic and visceral massage, trauma recovery, and Aikido based energy work.
In 2001 Ellen shifted her focus to craniosacral therapy. She began studies with the Upledger Institute, completed a Biodynamic cranial training with Scott Zamurut, and is a certified practitioner of the Milne Institute's Visionary Craniosacral program. She continues to explore and synthesize these different perspectives in craniosacral therapy, is passionate about anatomy, and brings a sense of inquiry and humor to her teaching.
Arthur Munyer,
Arthur Munyer "(Shambho)" is an Esalen® Certified Bodywork Therapist, Certified Sivananda® Yoga Instructor and Trigger Point Specialist with over 30 years of experience as a practitioner and teacher of various bodywork at Esalen® Institute in Big Sur, CA and around in the world. In addition he maintains a private practice in Carmel, California. Over the years I have developed an enormous respect for the wisdom of the four energy bodies and approach somatic work as a process of unfoldment, not pushing for change but allowing it to happen, much as a rose unfolds when it's ready. In my work I invite and allow the body itself to communicate its state of being, to reveal to the conscious mind the unspoken truth it carries in order to promote a deeper state of awareness and well being.
Craig Toonder, MFT
Craig Toonder is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. He received his master's degree in somatic psychotherapy at John F. Kennedy University. He received his certificate in Swedish massage at McKinnon. He has studied Craniosacral therapy and Chi Nei Tsang (Taoist Abdominal Massage) as well. Craig teaches Anatomy and Physiology and leads workshops in psychosomatic education. His background in mind-body integration offers students an alternative understanding of anatomy as a living, interconnected, and Self-directed system. [ www.craigtoondermft.com ]
Michael Curnett,
Michael Curnett is the founder and director of SciatiCare® -- a breakthrough in rehabilitative science for healing of spinal disc and nerve impingement conditions. He has 25 years experience in bodywork and the healing arts, and has studied and worked with many notables including Dr. Arthur Pauls, Bob Rasmussen, Joseph Heller and Anat Baniel. He is a Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner cm, and has an extensive background in movement and somatic studies, neuromuscular re-education modalities, energy medicine and martial arts.
Michael developed SciatiCare in response to his personal struggle with and recovery from severe sciatica and disc injury. In 14 years of specialization with these conditions he has helped hundreds of people to avoid surgery and return to active lives. His articles on SciatiCare are published in leading professional journals. Michael's teaching is infused with heart, humor, and passion for this work. He leads SciatiCare Professional Training® in conference, clinical and educational settings nationwide and maintains a private practice in Santa Cruz, CA.
Art Riggs,
Art Riggs is a Certified Advanced Rolfer® and massage therapist who has been
teaching bodywork since 1988 and now sells Myofascial release videos and
manuals worldwide. A lifetime of hard physical activity and high level
athletic pursuits including ultra-marathons led him to bodywork, first as a
grateful recipient, and later as a student. The fulfillment he experienced
in both receiving and performing bodywork led him away from his graduate
studies in Exercise Physiology at the University of California, Berkeley to
a full time career as a Rolfer and teacher of Deep Tissue Massage. He has
conducted numerous workshops for health spas and for medical professionals,
including physical therapists, and has assisted in Rolf Institute trainings.
For the first ten years of his practice, he specialized in myofascial
release at a physical therapy clinic where an interest in the treatment of
injuries was cultivated. He has worked with several Olympic athletes,
professional football and basketball players, and professional dancers and
musicians to treat injuries and to improve performance. However, his
teaching and the practice of working with the general population to provide
a better awareness of their bodies and allow more ease and comfort in their
everyday lives remains the most gratifying aspect of his work.
Nina Stavinga,
Coming from a family of medical professionals with a BA in Studio Art/Art History, Nina was drawn to bodywork as a place to further explore the poetry and mystery of the body. She began at the San Francisco School of Massage, studied at the Sunshine Massage School in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and then was drawn to with McKinnon's Touch For Diverse Populations, Asian Systems, and Cranio-sacral programs. Although most of her practice is based in Swedish, Deep Tissue, and Shiatsu, her approach and deep listening style is informed by these more subtle modalities, and she loves having the opportunity and challenge to learn from different kinds of bodies. She has volunteered massage for sex workers at the St. James Infirmary in SF, and for developmentally disabled adults at Claussen House in Oakland, and has also been a regular volunteer with the Touch Health and CARE programs. She teaches Swedish and Deep Tissue and balances her massage practice with her love for costume, performance, art, writing and cooking.
Char Pias,
Char facilitates individuals and groups in learning new skills, discovering their sacred nature and cultivating pathways to aliveness.
On the faculty at Esalen Institute since 1980, certified to teach Esalen® Massage and Reiki, Char is also a Movement and Expressive Arts facilitator and a Raja Yoga teacher. She teaches various workshops, certification courses, and retreats nationally and internationally.
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