The Premier Massage Therapy School in Ventura, CA

JACALYN BOOTH is a Certified Colon Hydrotherapist, Certified Massage Therapist, Certified Movement Expression Facilitator and Certified Dance Alive™ Instructor.  She is the owner of Ojai Colon Therapy and brings more than 30 years of experience, working in various healing modalities, to the art, presence and integrity of her colon therapy practice.

 

CARYN CARROLL holds a Bachelors of Science in Physiological Psychology from University of CA at Santa Barbara. She earned her Masters of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine from the Santa Barbara College of Oriental Medicine where she served on the faculty from 2003 to 2006. She is certified as an instructor in shiatsu, yoga therapy and Tui Na. Caryn also teaches anatomy, physiology, pathology for massage, reflexology, aromatherapy, Pilates™, and dance for children. She currently practices a combination of acupuncture and acupressure in Ventura and specializes in pain management and spinal care.

 

NANCY DeLUCREZIA founded Kali Institute for Massage & Somatic Therapies in 1993 and served as Director of Academic Programs and Development until retiring in 2016. She also served on the faculty teaching massage, anatomy and physiology, energy mastery, rebirthing, ethics and other technique and business classes. She also founded an taught Neuro-Structural BodyworkTM (NSB), which combines fascial release, neuromuscular reeducation and breathwork. She studied anatomy, physiology, Eastern and Western somatic techniques, neurology, pathology and kinesiology at the Connecticut Center for Massage Therapy from 1985 through 1987 and received licensure from the New York State Education Department in 1987.  That same year she received Practitioner and Teacher Certification in MAHA Integrated Connective Tissue Bodywork from the Marshall Academy of Healing Arts in Lenox, Massachusetts, where she was appointed Director of Programs and Development. She also studied cranio-sacral therapy with the Upledger Institute.  In 1985 she began training in Integrative Breathwork (rebirthing) with the LRT in New York and Connecticut where she was certified as a rebirther and served as Manager of the LRT Los Angeles Training and Rebirthing Center from 1988 to 1991.  She also co-founded Clarity Productions in 1998, which produced the first rebirthing schools in Upstate New York and Mt. Shasta, CA. She also studied restorative Exercise with Katy Bowman and received certification as a RES Practitioner. In addition to her work with students, she maintained a private practice in New Yok and California for nearly thirty years, focusing on the use of somatic techniques and breathwork in clinical application with emphasis on musculoskeletal trauma and neurological disorders including spinal cord injury.  She has also worked extensively as a personal and professional coach facilitating emotional and birth trauma release. Her sessions often included the application of emotional release and hydro-somatic techniques in and under water. She also studied shamanic and world music and the use of sound and vibration as therapeutic tools in restoring balance to emotional and physical energy systems. She currently lives in the jungle on the Big Island where she paints pictures, teaches art, moves rocks and plants things.

 

DONNA FREANEY has practiced Lymphatic Drainage Massage for over 20 years.  She is a 1987 graduate of Heartwood College of Natural Healing in Garberville, CA. Donna has been certified by the Vodder School and Chi Nei Tsang Institute and continues to keep up to date through various workshops. She has studied in the US and Thailand. Donna currently teaches Lymphatic Drainage Therapy and maintains a private practice in Ventura, CA. 

 

MICHAEL GIBIAN is the founder and director of the Gibian Wellness Center. Drawing from over 18 years of international teaching experience, Michael has developed the Buddha Palm approach to Thai Bodywork. He is also an instructor of circulatory massage, deep tissue, neuromuscular therapies, bodhassage, chi nei tsang, sexual qigong, acupressure, hatha yoga, taoist qigong, anatomy & physiology, mindfulness, vipassana meditation and breathwork.  Michael is the author of texts for Thai Massage, Stretching for Bodyworkers and Bodhassage. He is a practicing Buddhist and is trained in Hakomi and Re-Creation of the Self, models of body-centered psychotherapy.

 

VONDER GRAY attended School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA. She also spent time at Montserrat School of Visual Art in Beverly MA and School of Visual Art in New York, NY. She received her AA in Design at Garland Junior College in Boston MA. Vonder believes that painting is an emotional experience - texture, brush strokes and color all enhance emotion and vision. Using a variety of techniques, she enjoys drawing the viewer into the painting to see what's behind the surface. She loves paintings that change as you walk by them or have little surprises as you come close or move farther away from the piece. There is always a story for the viewer to experience in the contemplation of her paintings. She has participated in art shows in the New York, Boston and Southern California areas and has owned several galleries on the East coast where she showed her work and the work of other artists. Vonder has been living in Ventura County, CA for the past 14 years after moving from NYC in Jan 2001.

 

TIM HARRIS is a certified Neuro-Structural Bodyworker and has practiced massage and bodywork for fifteen years. In 1990 he received certification in massage from the Institute for Holistic Studies in Ventura, and then completed the Sports Massage Clinic at the Monterey Institute of Touch where he served as the events coordinator for the Ventura County Sports Massage Team. Since then he has also trained in Myofascial Release, Touch for Health, Soft Tissue Release and Shiatsu, and is a Certified Restorative Exercise Practitioner. In addition to Neuro-Structural bodywork, he currently teaches musculoskeletal anatomy and sports massage. Tim practices yoga, Ta’I Chi and is an avid cyclist.

 

PETER HURLEY is a Certified Integrative Breathwork Trainer and Practitioner who began working with breath in 1989 in the practice of Sidharshan Kriya with Ravi Shankar. In 1985 he received his BA from the University of California at Santa Barbara in Liberal Studies with concentration in psychology and anthropology. He is also a graduate of the Santa Barbara College of Oriental Medicine and received his license as an acupuncturist in 1991. He studied with the renowned Dr. Robert Jaffe and graduated in 1994 from the School of Energy Mastery where he studied Awareness Release Technique (A.R.T.)™, the chakra system, and a variety of breathwork and emotional release techniques. He has served on the faculties of the School of Intuitive Massage and Body Therapy Institute in Santa Barbara, teaching Energy Anatomy and Qi Gong and he served as the Director of Intuitive & Energetic Healing at Kali Institute for Massage & Somatic Therapies in Ventura. He currently maintains a private practice in acupuncture, Integrative Breathwork, nutritional counseling, Qi Gong and flower essences in Ojai, CA.

 

OCEANNA KIDDIE brings 13 years of practice into her Lomilomi trainings. Living on the islands in deep transition points, her association with the aina and teachers there have been profound. As an artist, dancer, and bodyworker, the sense of beauty in space and presentation is considered an important piece of Lomilomi.  This practice is her meditation and joy of offering. “Come, hele mai, I would love to dance with you.”

 

KIM LOIACONO is a Certified Craniosacral Therapist and a Certified Presenter for the Upledger Institute. She has worked closely and studied with Dr. John Upledger and Dr. Jean-Pierre Barral. Her studies also include Lymphatic Drainage, Visceral Manipulation, Oriental Medicine and Reiki. Kim is a certified Study Group Leader for other therapists in her area and teaches Introduction to CST classes to parents and healthcare professionals. As a member of the International Association of Healthcare Practitioners (IAHP), American CranioSacral Therapy Association (ACTA) and the Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals (ABMP), Kim is dedicated to sharing Craniosacral Therapy with the community.

 

 

GERRY MARR has been studying and practicing Polarity Therapy since 1971 and presently directs the activities of the Polarity Center of Santa Barbara. He is a Registered Polarity Practitioner (RPP) and a member of the Ethics Committee for the American Polarity Therapy Association (APTA). He conducts trainings in specialized populations as director of the Touching AIDS Massage Project, since 1990 and has taught T’ai Chi Chuan in Santa Barbara since 1980. He is currently an MFT Intern at CALM (Child Abuse Listening and Mediation) and is a Masters graduate in Psychology.

 

LIZ MATTHEWS was born and raised in Ventura and graduated from Biola University with a B.S. in Sports Physiology in 2005. After a period of teaching and traveling, she went on to study physiotherapy for two years at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen Scotland. She graduated from Kali Institute in 2013 with studies in Massage Therapy and Neuro-Structural Bodywork and now incorporates her physical therapy-bodywork background with high power laser therapy and orthopedic shockwave therapy. Her knowledge base also includes injury rehabilitation, pain management, posture optimization, and preventative sports medicine.

 

MATT MAY is a graduate of the University of Michigan, with post-graduate studies at The University of Edinburgh in Scotland. He is a California certified and Nationally Registered Paramedic since 2000 and has been a Professional Firefighter since 2001. Matt has over 10 years of emergency 911 response experience. He is a nationally certified instructor for wilderness emergency medicine and is accredited for both Advanced Cardiac Life Support and Pediatric Advanced Life Support. Matt is an American Heart Association Instructor for CPR/AED courses. He was the owner of 4Points Expeditions which provided wilderness and emergency medical training as well as wilderness adventure trips across the US and internationally.

 

ABBY NIELSEN is the Director of Academics at Kali Institute for Massage & Somatic Therapies where she has completed over 750 hours and received an Advanced Somatic Therapist Certification. She maintains a successful private practice for therapuetic bodywork in Ventura called Embody Wellnesswhere she specializes in pain management and subcontracts to eight other Kali Institute graduates. Abby also teaches massage and business classes at Kali Institute where her practice and teachings are based on her passion for giving and receiving regular bodywork. Her philosophy is that everyone needs regular bodywork to prevent body breakdown and maintain mobility and health. Abby strives to educate her clients and students that living in daily pain and accepting that pain as “normal” is unacceptable.

 

SHIREE PAZ is a graduate of the 600-Hour Somatic Therapy Program at Kali Institute and has taught Western Massage and Chair Massage for eight years. She maintains a successful private practice in Ventura, CA.

 

MICHAEL PECK, D.C. is a licensed chiropractor, certified chiropractic sports practitioner and graduate of Palmer West in San Jose, CA. He has practiced in Ventura for 25 years.

 

DR. SAGE RAINBOW is an author and holistic practitioner, employing a variety of techniques and training to treat the individual as a whole. Chiropractic, Reiki, Therapeutic Touch, and Eastern Medicine influences and blends to create a system of health for all. Dr. Sage Rainbow shares his vast storehouse of over 45 years knowledge with other practitioners and the public through his workshops.

 

STEPHANIE SABOUNCHIAN was born and raised in Germany. After three years of training as a medical assistant, Stefanie worked for eight years in the general practice of a medical doctor in Germany. She studied and practiced Foot Reflexology in Germany for several years before coming to the United States in 2000. She earned her Professional Reflexology Certificate in the Flocco Method - Integrated Foot Hand Ear Reflexology from the American Academy of Reflexology in 2002 and is nationally certified with the American Reflexology Certification Board. Stefanie has a thriving full time private Reflexology practice in Southern California. Since 2008, she has taught Foot Hand Ear Reflexology at several schools including Kali Institute, the American Academy of Reflexology and the Hands on Healing Institute where her professionalism, passion for helping others and her genuine sincerity has endeared her to all of her students.

 

FRANCIS SPALLUTO graduated from Los Angeles Hellerwork in 1988 and went on to take a Somatics Instructor Course in 1992. He has taught the Somatics course at Kali Institute since 2000 based on his past trainings and Thomas Hannah’s Somatics work.

 

KERRY SWIFT is a graduate of the Advanced Practitioner Program at Kali Institute for Massage and Somatic Therapies. She was introduced to Hot Stone Therapy in 2007, which is now one of many modalities that Kerry provides for her clients. She incorporates the use of stones into almost all of her massage, finding that her clients love it and the benefits are far reaching. While working at a spa in Santa Monica, she learned the Himalayan Salt Stone Massage, which she has adapted and uses in her private practice in Ventura. Kerry then introduced and taught the Himalayan Salt Stone Massage at a local spa, where it has become a favorite treatment for guests. Kerry is passionate about the use of stones in massage and has created a style that is as enjoyable for the therapist to give as it is for the client to receive.

 

PATTY URIBE graduated from Bellingham Vocational Technical Institute in 1977 and worked as an LVN until 1997. She then attended Kali Institute for Massage and Somatic Therapies and began teaching at Kali from 2000-2008.  She continued on to teach at Alive Institute from 2008-2010.  Patty has had her own massage practice since 1997 and has specialized in pregnancy massage for almost 20 years.  She also practices, Swedish, Deep Tissue and Energy Love.

 

ALIAH WHITMORE integrates nutrition and health into her practice, opening the world of wellness through self-examination and practical means (diet, exercise, communication and authentic expression). Her prayer is that her practice will serve as a building block in a major paradigm shift or awakening in the way our culture views and experiences health and well-being. She offers one on one sessions where all elements (nutrition, movement, verbal vocalization and state of mind and heart) are discussed and expressed. Aliah believes that all of these elements come together to help guide an individual to a greater sense of integrity between the heart and one's actions which create and a greater experience of happiness, health and ease in one's life.