Let the Body, Mind and Spirit Heal Together
Experience the art of whole body connection and rejuvenation with our expert bodywork services. Our certified therapists are committed to enhancing your well-being through personalized treatments tailored to meet your individual needs.
Meet the team
Brooklyn Strand, RMT
Registered Massage Therapist
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Being born and raised in the Cowichan Valley, Brooklyn is pleased to announce that she is currently accepting new clients in the City of Duncan.
She has been a Registered Massage Therapist on Vancouver Island, based in Langford, since the summer of 2023. Her practice focuses on treating a variety of conditions including chronic pain and tension, headaches and migraines, postural imbalances, and subacute injury rehabilitation.
Brooklyn utilizes modalities such as general Swedish massage, trigger point therapy, myofascial release, and joint mobilizations. She takes a patient-centered approach, adapting treatment plans and pressure to the specific needs of each client. She is committed to working with clients to develop a plan that supports their individual goals for rehabilitation, mobility, and optimal function.
In her free time, she enjoys spending time outdoors exploring Vancouver Island, hiking, gardening, and playing with her dog, Penny.
Sarah Slade, RMT
Registered Massage Therapist
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Sarah has been working as a Registered Massage Therapist (RMT), since 2013, graduating from the West Coast Massage Therapy program in Victoria, BC.
She has devoted her practice to a dynamic and intuitive practice. She believes strongly in working with clients to create the most beneficial treatment plan possible. Sarah’s practice is entirely based around a myofascial approach, which includes deep tissue, craniosacral and meditative techniques. Scroll below to read more about myofascia, myofascial work and how it can benefit clients.
Sarah carefully tailors each treatment to each patient's particular treatment needs and when necessary recommends various strengthening or stretching exercises. She believes deeply in a team approach and encourages patients to take ownership of their care by building the best care team possible. We thrive through connection, not isolation. Reaching our full potential requires the support and growth fostered by a supportive community.
Outside of work, Sarah loves to be outdoors. When not out on the trails walking her dog or riding her bike, Sarah can be found in her studio splashing around acrylic paint or in her garden soaking up the Vancouver Island sunshine.
Judy Lamontagne
Certified Hanna Somatics
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Judy began her life’s journey as an athlete seeking adventure and fitness, and has recently begun the adventure of discovering herself through Somatics, Yoga, Mindfulness and Meditation. She currently works as a Personal Trainer/Wellness Coach, a Somatics practitioner/educator, and her recently completed her Yoga Teacher Training.
Somatics is about experiencing the body from within. As she began to explore her body somatically, Judy has been able to release old uncomfortable habitual physical patterns of movement as well as behaviors and attitudes. She had no idea that such gentle movements could create such profound emotional releases. Releasing chronic tightness in the body releases chronic restrictions of the mind.
Somatics is mindfulness; Judy sees the beauty and joy in the simplest things, and feels more accepting and less judgemental of all things, including herself. Loving compassion for herself allows her to have loving compassion for all things.
Then Judy discovered yoga. Yoga has brought a sense of peace into Judy’s life. Coming to her yoga mat each day is a discipline in self-care. Yoga and somatics together have developed a mindfulness and a softening that is an incredible gift.
Judy has taught somatics in yoga for 4 years, and as she watches the class participants soften and let go as they progress through each class, She is grateful to have the opportunity to pass on this life-changing information. As a new yoga teacher Judy is filled with a sense of gratitude, and feels honoured to be able to pass on what she has learned.
Somatics and yoga have allowed Judy to return to her authentic self.
Her purpose as a somatics yoga teacher is to educate those who are ready to experience themselves. To shed what is no longer needed, and to learn to love and accept what is. To begin this journey to the self takes courage and trust.
Judy honours each and everyone who starts this somatic yoga pathway.
Lindsay Rusk, RAc.
Registered Acupuncturist
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Acupuncture is the insertion of tiny sterile needles into specific areas of a person’s body. It helps support almost any health concern clients may have.
Lindsay is passionate about making sure each treatment is personalized to specific needs, therefore no two treatments are the same. She uses Iyashi No Michi Acupuncture which is a style that originated in Japan. Using the most powerful diagnostic tool on the planet - palpation - Lindsay is able to find the areas where the body needs support. Her clients love that this Japanese style of needling is rarely felt, because the use ultra thin needles.
Lindsay also employs a very hands on approach in her treatments. Her focus for any health concern is treatment of the whole body: Aiming to get the vital fluids (blood + lymph) to move and circulate to nourish tissues, and release waste. Treatment may include acupuncture, palpation, moxibustion, massage, and/or cupping.
Lindsay also utilizes Hanna Somatics, a gentle yet powerful approach that unbinds tension within our Soma (body). Using slow, guided, intentional movements, Somatics helps us to reconnect our body to our mind, allowing us to overcome pain and discomfort so we can move with freedom. These sessions are deeply relaxing to the nervous system and therefore the body. True, deep healing can only happen in a relaxed state.
Lindsay combines Somatics with Acupuncture for maximum benefit.
Myofascia
Connective tissue, and so much more
Myofascia, fascia for short, is the connective tissue that holds us humans together. Speaking strictly anatomically, myofascia is the cling wrap that keeps muscles working together, but separate. Like a complex network of pulleys and springs, fascia constantly adjusts as we move, connecting the whole body from the arch of the foot to the scalp allowing for all planes of movement. Fascia also surrounds and is continuous with other tissue such as bones, tendons, the spinal cord, and organs. Basically, fascia is what allows humans (or any other mobile lifeforms) to function and move dynamically through life.
On a more abstract level, connective tissue is one of the body's subconscious ways of storing experiences (namely trauma, fear, shame, generational stress) for later processing. These experiences, regardless of physical or emotional stress, are held in patterns within the connective tissue; Most often in seemingly unrelated or disconnected ways. To quote the movie ‘Shrek’, Ogres and connective tissue are a bit like onions. We peel back layers of things to process, only to reveal more different layers.
It’s not unusual for a client to process huge feelings in the course of a single session, however, it usually takes a series, sometimes years, of gentle, intuitive working with patients to help them through the tangle of holding patterns, feelings and healing. There is no real “completion” to working on ourselves, especially when processing trauma. It is encouraged to seek the professional guidance of a counsellor or psychologist when navigating mental health concerns.
In treatment, Myofascial release (MFR) is a technique that involves applying sustained pressure, tension, and stretching to muscles and connective tissues. This method typically feels like a slow, controlled passive stretch, though it can sometimes be quite intense. Importantly, the individual receiving treatment always dictates the level of pressure applied, and open communication is essential to remain within their comfort zone. MFR is a highly effective approach for addressing a wide range of issues, including relieving neck tension associated with chronic headaches, resolving abdominal adhesions, and alleviating hip and low back pain. It also is very effective for the treatment of scar tissue from injuries and surgeries.
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