About Me

Certifications and Licenses

Reflexology: RF 60485849

Massage: MA 00004245

Nutrition: NTA 000688

My Treatment Approach

Reflexology is a touch therapy that influences many of the body’s energetic flows: breath, lymph, blood, nerve, and meridian flow.

My practice of reflexology is unique because I include biomechanics in my approach. I know that misaligned bony structures and improper joint movement can negatively influence reflexology points. Most reflexologists don’t understand this critical truth. Furthermore, the commonplace “foot massage spas” do not consider these complexities.

I take careful measurements of the feet, both standing and walking. I have a deep understanding of the anatomical structure of the foot as it is connected to the lower leg and the rest of the body.

My tissue work and footwear recommendations are based on 40 years of knowledge about how the body works.

My Biography 

I was introduced to bodywork and alternative healing at a young age. I was born with a clubbed right foot. When told how much an operation would cost, my mother instead massaged my legs, hips, and feet. Lo and behold, my foot straightened out.

In my early 20’s, I slipped on marble stairs and crushed the L5 vertebra in my lower back. However, the doctors told me I had just bruised muscles. Multiple car crashes followed over the next several years. Then I got the “flu” and it settled in all the injured areas of my body. This resulted in episodes of severe sciatic pain down both legs.

One episode sent me to get a pedicure, as I couldn’t cut my own toenails. I received a reflexology session for my lower back pain as a part of my pedicure experience. The immediate reduction of pain got me hooked. I left the appointment with the names of two reflexology books to read, so I could learn how to use this approach to manage my pain and improve my health.

It worked. My pain went away, and I was able to return to my job. My coworkers asked how I had made such a quick recovery. My answer was “reflexology.”

I continued studying reflexology independently for a decade, and finally decided to make a career out of it. I took several reflexology courses and then went to the Brian Utting School of Massage and got my massage license from the Washington State Department of Health in 1987. I continued to further my understanding of the human body by studying nutrition with the Nutritional Therapy Association. I received my certification in 2009.

Over the years I have studied with some of the reflexology greats: Dwight Byers, Chris Stormer, Inge Dougan, and Bill Flocco. I’ve also attended numerous international conferences and written articles about reflexology. In 1997, myself and six other women founded the Washington State Reflexology Association.

By asking the Washington State Department of Health to exempt reflexology from the massage law, I became politically active with the goal of distinguishing reflexology as a stand-alone profession. Then, in 2000, I testified about reflexology before the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

An influx of questionably professional “foot massage spas” to Washington State in 2012 necessitated more meetings with the Department of Health and Massage Board to revise the law regarding massage and reflexology. I continue to advocate for professional reflexology standards.