OCM - Jon Wood, LMT #10626

Jon began his intense interest in massage work rather late in life, and graduated from East-West School of Massage and Bodywork in 2003 at the age of 50. Although well accomplished in Swedish relaxation massage, he began his practice focusing almost exclusively on Thai Massage work, an eastern form of massage dedicated to releasing joint restrictions and increasing flexibility while improving whole body range-of-motion. He has a truly unique approach to his Thai Massage therapy by incorporating Western muscle reeducation techniques that give this ages old modality an even greater effectiveness. His experience and success with helping his clients regain the ability to do normal daily tasks from a variety of dysfuntions and old injuries led him to continue his education in motion improvement by logging over 400 hours, to date, of classroom study in manual therapy techniques, facilitated stretching, and neuromuscular reeducation techniques, which are effective in improving range-of-motion in even the most chronic states of muscle restriction. He received his certification through The Medical Massage Office and Associates (TMMO) as a Master Medical Massage Therapist in February of 2005.

Jon is easy-going and a very effective listener and communicator. He has a great and somewhat offbeat sense of humor and excels in making his clients and patients comfortable in their sessions together. His great talents include his compassion, curiosity, and dedication to the care and improvement of his patients' daily lives.

Jon's burning desire is to not only help you heal, but to help you heal yourself. "As effective as I am as a therapist it pales in comparison to you, the patient's, ability to heal yourself, when given the knowledge of why there is a problem, what to do to overcome it, and how to remain pain free afterwards. During our time together you will gain that knowledge and understanding."

He says "I feel blessed and honored to be working with such an accomplished and passionate therapist as Ariana, and the incredible dedication this clinic has to not only improving our patients' muscular functions and relieving their pain, but furthering the public and medical profession's understanding of how tremendously effective this work is in doing so."

After nearly a lifetime of "off and on" attempts at keeping in shape, his study of anatomy and kinesiology and subsequent fascination with the success he has had in improving other peoples' range of motion has inspired him to rededicate himself to improving and maintaining his own personal health. "After all," he says, "we only have one body and only one lifetime in which to care for it. Though it took me 50 years to get it, I am now in the best physical shape I've ever been in. I'm more flexible from regular yoga practice and have greater strength and stamina through almost daily workouts than ever before. In doing so I now 'get it' that as long as we can draw another breath it is never too late to learn how to take good care of ourselves. With will, desire, and belief in what is truly best for ourselves we can, over time, accomplish the previously unthinkable. My goal is not to help you live longer, but to help you ENJOY living longer. In addition to studying under Ariana to achieve my National Certification in Medical Massage, I am currently studying to attain my personal training certification through the National Council on Strength and Fitness, and I believe that with my unique understanding of the importance of joint flexibility and stretching techniques in overall health, I can bring a greater understanding and success to my clients in improving and consistently maintaining their own bodies' health."

For your appointment with Jon:

Please wear or bring loose-fitting, comfortable clothing, preferably with a sports bra and shorts underneath. We may check your posture, or have you on and off the table several times during the session, or turning over quite a bit. Wear comfortable shoes you have worn for awhile. I want to check them to see what your wear patterns are. Your comfort is the top priority, so if you need special accomodations, please ask.