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Therapists
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Amy L. Thompson, Licensed Massage Therapist Having been a professional dancer for eight years, Amy is in tune with her body and the needs of those around her. She has a natural affinity to help and nurture others, which led to a desire to study massage; it seemed like a perfect fit to an already active and creative lifestyle. While working at the Folies Bergere at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas, Amy studied massage and graduated from Northwest Massage School. She soon decided to return to Reno to build her massage business and be with her family. Amy has been licensed in Reno since 1999, and continues to be inspired by the evolving world of massage therapy and how it has changed her life. Amy brings a caring and generous energy to her work; she provides a safe, nurturing, and relaxing environment for her clients to experience a greater level of peace. Over the years, Amy has found her niche with both Prenatal and Relaxation massage, which combines Swedish and Deep Tissue techniques to provide an individualized massage treatment. She also offers Hot Stone massage and body treatments. After the birth of her son, Amy became a CAPPA certified Labor Doula in 2007. Her joy of working with pregnant women led her to pursue a future as a Labor & Delivery nurse. She is excited to attend TMCC's Nursing Program beginning Fall 2009 and will continue to see clients on a limited schedule. Massage therapy and the people it represents have truly enriched Amy's life and led her in directions she never dreamed possible. She feels blessed to help others each day and to share her passion of massage with them! [Top] |
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Mandy Cholico, Licensed Massage Therapist & Owner Spirituality and healing work were a major part of Mandy's upbringing, so it was natural that she pursue a career in the healing arts. Searching for such an education lead Mandy to a healing arts school in Salt Lake City that met her demanding criteria. She graduated in 1999 and moved to Reno to establish herself and has been providing massage therapy to the Reno/Sparks community ever since. Mandy's dedication to assist mind/body balance through a hands on therapeutic approach is truly prevalent in her work. Specializing in deep tissue and injury rehabilitation, Mandy also enjoys pre/postnatal massage, infant massage, hydrotherapy treatments, and offers instructions to couples and parents wishing to bring the healing benefits of massage into their homes. Those who know Mandy recognize her goal orientation and her natural gift of knowing what people need to recover from the effects of our fast-paced everyday lives and bring the well-being connection back to the soul. One of Mandy's ultimate goals was realized with the opening of Perfect Balance Therapies. Mandy says, "Being able to help more people in our community connect back to the soul, feel balanced and return to a healthy everyday life is truly divine." [Top] |
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Diane Huleva, Licensed Massage Therapist After working in a demanding, deadline driven environment at an advertising agency for more than a decade, Diane gained first-hand knowledge of how detrimental a high stress lifestyle can be. Born to nurture others, Diane gave countless neck and back massages to friends and coworkers, then finally listened to her heart and followed her calling to study massage therapy. A graduate of the Baum Healing Arts Center School of Massage, Diane focused her training on stress reduction, relaxation and rehabilitation for repetitive stress injuries. She uses a variety of massage techniques including Swedish, deep tissue, prenatal, medical massage, therapeutic and sports massage. Diane encourages clients to participate in the co-creation of their massage session as much or as little as they prefer. She is able to provide very deep tissue work for those who desire it, or a mixture of therapeutic and relaxation massage, according to the client's needs and preferences. Helping clients physically and mentally to bring them back to good health is the ultimate reward for Diane. Eager to learn all she can, Diane is committed to continuing education. [Top] |
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Denise Montagne, Physical Therapist Denise graduated in 1990 from the University of North Dakota with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy. Denise believes in hands-on healing arts, which she uses through her training in osteopathic manual therapy including cranial sacral treatment. She is a Level II Reiki practitioner, a certified instructor in Pilates exercise through Polestar Education and a Level 1 certified instructor of the Gyrotonic Expansion System® and Gyrokinesis.. Denise has a personal interest in artistic movement and recreational activities, which contributes to her creative treatment style for restoring function and improving the quality of life of her patients. Denise is currently developing a health and fitness program for equestrians, featuring Pilates. It is designed to benefit horseback riders on and off of their horse. [Top] |
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Beth Cunningham, Wellness Coach Beth is a 25 year veteran of the fitness industry with extensive experience in group exercise, personal training, health program design and management. She is also a licensed physical therapy assistant and utilizes a holistic approach to healing and wellness with patients using the Pilates method as means of theraputic treatment. Beth holds certifications with ACE group exercise, AFAA personal training, Spencer Institute for Wellness Coaching, NASM - performance enhancement specialist, indoor cycling, and Body Pump. She is certified in the Pilates method hrough PHI Pilates and is a national trainer and presenter for Pilates education. She has undergone the pretraining course for Gyrotonics training. Additionally, Beth has completed a Bachelor of Science degree for Sport Management - Fitness and Wellness at California University of Pennsylvania. Believing in a lifestyle of health, Beth stays active by running, cycling, hiking, motorcycling, snowboarding and thoroughly enjoying the benefits of living in the Reno/Tahoe area. [Top] |
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Jeramie Lu, Licensed Massage Therapist Jeramie spent 10 years in the hotel and restaurant industry in Reno, observing the high levels of stress in his co-workers and customers. These experiences inspired Jeramie to seek a career where he could assist others in managing their stress. He enrolled in the Nevada Career Academy to study massage, and graduated in the fall of 2004. Jeramie's education and dedication to massage has grown over the years, and he became a massage instructor at the Milan Institute in July 2008. At Perfect Balance Therapies, Jeramie offers a full range of massage services. He especially enjoys sports massage and deep tissue massage. Many of his clients come from an athletic background. These clients report that with Jeramie's help they are able to train harder without the risk of injury. Jeramie combines each massage with aromatherapy and reflexology to take advantage of his continuing education focus. Jeramie's motto is, "I want you to leave feeling better than when you came in!" Jeramie feels that massage should be relaxing with long-term, positive results. [Top] |
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Tarrah Hodges, Licensed Massage Therapist A Reno native, Tarrah always knew that her life's work would be in the healing arts. Realizing that she could not answer this calling in the traditional medical fields, she began to look to other mind/body career paths. In her search, massage therapy .clicked. and she moved to Arizona to attend Phoenix Therapeutic Massage College. She had many great teachers in Arizona who truly shaped her massage career by teaching and inspiring her in many ways. Tarrah specializes in trigger point and deep tissue. She believes that it is necessary to work out the knots in order to improve circulation and achieve overall balance in the body. Tarrah excels at her chosen art because of her belief in harmony between body, mind and spirit. Recently returned to Reno, Tarrah looks forward to providing massage therapy to her home community. [Top] |
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Dr. Karen Allison, DC Born and raised in Reno, Karen studied at UNR and then moved to the Bay area to study chiropractic medicine at Life Chiropractic West College. After graduation, Karen began her practice in the Bay area, but eventually, she moved to Las Vegas and started a practice that spanned 20 years. 11 years ago, Karen became a mother to her fantastic little boy Connor. As much as she loves chiropractic work, being a mother is even better. With climate, sports programs and education in mind, Karen returned to Reno with Connor. She and Conner make their home with their dog Kissy and are happy to be living here. After living in big cities for so many years, the friendliness and kindness of Reno's residents amazed her. With 23 years of experience, she is eager to share skilled Chiropractic with you and return the kindness she has been shown in our community. [Top] |
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Jessica Greene, Licensed Massage Therapist A native Nevadan, Jessica was born and raised in Sparks. When Jessica was 5 years old, her father suffered a severe back injury during a truck accident and she wanted to touch him to relieve his pain. Ever since, Jessica tried to relieve pain through her touch. She never thought much of this as a career until moving to Las Vegas in search of her path in life. A talk with a close friend finally switched the light-bulb on, and within two days Jessica signed up at the Nevada College of Massage Therapy in Las Vegas. After graduating in December 2005, Jessica moved home passionate to share her new skills. She has been providing massage therapy to the Northern Nevada community ever since. Early experiences in her career made Jessica realize the large spa and resort environment was not for her. Her passionate desire to connect with her clients and assist with deep healing massage led her to Perfect Balance Therapies. Here she plans to help each client find balance through a hands-on therapeutic approach in her work, using all methods from deep tissue and injury rehabilitation to gentle, relaxing massage. Jessica believes we are constantly changing and evolving and that it is important to remember this in the bodywork she provides. Always client focused, she is forever evolving and changing which allows her to provide the exact service needed in the moment. [Top] |
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Karen Surrett, Aesthetician Building on 20+ years of experience in the dental industry, Karen Surrett began her career in aesthetics in 1999. Karen joined Perfect Balance Therapies in June of 2009 with a desire to help others look and feel better. A medically trained esthetician with over six years of experience working in a plastic surgeon's office, Karen provides peels, micro-dermabrasion and other advanced skin care solutions. She enjoys educating clients about their skin, recommending personalized products and treatments, and building professional friendships. Committed to providing the most comprehensive skin care, Karen continues to pursue extensive training in the most current methods of treatment available on the market today. [Top] |
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Cheryl Bruce, Yoga/Pilates Instructor (RYT) A former ballet dancer and teacher for over 22 years, Cheryl Bruce now focuses her teaching on yoga and Pilates. Cheryl studied yoga from the time she was a young girl. She found both Pilates and yoga to be the fundamental foundations in maintaining her body's strength, stretch, health and integrity both during her dance career and as a teacher. A certified yoga instructor, Cheryl has a love, joy and passion for teaching people of all ages and welcomes you to her classes. [Top] |
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Kia Brown, Licensed Massage Therapist Always passionate about working to help people with their health, Kia worked in the orthodontic field for seven years educating patients on oral hygiene and the importance of taking care of their teeth. Often patients and friends mentioned the quality of her touch. Growing up with a strong sense of spirituality, Kia has always believed in alternative healing, which is why she delivered her son at home. While she was pregnant, she received massages regularly and developed a deep appreciation and passion for the mental and physiological benefits of massage. Because of the desire to provide a deeper level of hands-on care, her passionate belief in natural healing, and her personal prenatal experiences, she decided to pursue her career in massage therapy. She specializes in deep tissue, hot stone massage and energy work. Kia graduated in December 2007 as a massage therapist, has passed National Boards and holds a Nevada license. Kia believes everyone deserves to be happy and balanced, "The more I can contribute to this way of life, a happier universe it will be." [Top] |
Instructors
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Amy Monette, RYT/ Pilates Instructor/ Nutritional Counselor/Owner Amy Monette began her practice of Yoga in 1996 and became a teacher in 2000. She became a National Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga Teacher in 2003. Combined with previous Yoga teacher training, Pilates certification and attendance at workshops that focused on Yoga for fitness, specialty populations, and structural alignment, Amy has completed over 600 hours of training in a variety of approaches and traditions in both Yoga and Pilates. In 2007, Amy completed her Bachelor's Science in Nutrition through Clayton College of Natural Health. Post-graduation, she received her Professional Certification in Nutrition for Optimal Health, Wellness and Sports through the University of Nevada, Reno in December 2007. Amy shares these effective practices with the Reno community in her desire to help others improve their overall health, reduce stress and physical pain, and develop self-understanding and appreciation. [Top] |
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Molly Burnsky, Pilates Personal Trainer / Physical Therapy Aide Molly has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance, and was a professional dancer for 20 years. She has been a certified Pilates instructor through Polestar Education for seven years. She is also a registered Yoga instructor and a Level 1 certified instructor of the Gyrotonic Expansion System®. Molly teaches Pilates mat classes and yoga-on-the-ball at Dynamic Movement. She enjoys the outdoor environment that the Reno/Tahoe area has to offer and takes every opportunity to hike, bike and downhill ski. [Top] |