Our Therapists
What makes Yoga Tree’s massage therapists the Bay Area’s best? Their yoga practice! Our therapists, educated by the finest schools and teachers in the nation, understand more than the muscular structure of the human body. They carry with them true knowledge of the mind-body connection, that relationship we work so hard to unify and understand on the mat. Lie down and let the passivity of massage, coming through the hands of masters in the art, integrate and intensify your yoga practice.
Ali Grabel
Ali is a Rolf and Massage Practitioner with an educated and compassionate touch offering professional therapeutic and deeply healing sessions focused on results. She has devoted many years to the study and practice of the healing arts, and believes that we all hold the potential for perfect health and wellness. Ali spent 6 years on Kaua’i, HI studying The Rolf Method of Structural Integration with Emmett Hutchins, one of Dr. Rolf’s first anointed teachers. Structural Integration is a 10–step scientifically validated therapy that aligns and balances the body by lengthening and repositioning the fascia (connective tissue). When all the parts of the body fit together, move freely and are functioning properly, then health and well being become our natural state instead of pain and discomfort. Whether she is helping someone with chronic pain or helping athletes increase their performance, this basic principle is the underlying foundation for all of her work. Her extensive and on-going studies in Yoga, Ayurveda and Herbalism add to her rich perception of the nature of healing. Ali delivers all her sessions with Aloha and is grateful to be assisting in your journey to balance and expansion.
Ali offers: Swedish, Deep Tissue, Sports, Myofascial Release, Pre-Natal, Hot Stone Massage and Rolfing.
April Hirschman
April started her journey into the art of massage in the sunlit room of the Kathmandu Center for Healing in Nepal. She then studied in a prestigious Chaing Mai Center. Her Swedish and Deep Tissue studies were through The SF School of Massage and Aveda where she was the trainer for hot stone massage.
April considers her work transformational massage because she assists with re-patterning the body to remove chronic problems. This restores the body to its natural balance and tranquility. She integrate Thai massage stretching techniques in her Swedish and Deep Tissue work to approach tight muscles from many different angles.
April’s modalities are Deep Tissue, Swedish, Thai Massage, Hot Stone, Reflexology, and Prenatal.
Book A Massage with April
Erica Geller
Erica Geller has been a practitioner of the healing arts for the past eleven years in the San Francisco Bay Area. Erica’s work integrates massage, spiritual and emotional counseling, meditation instruction, and energy work. Her massage specialties include Swedish, deep tissue, and prenatal.
Erica believes that it is through profound states of relaxation that our bodies can truly begin to heal. She strives to treat the particular needs of each individual in order to assist in achieving all levels of balance and health. Erica’s touch is a combination of uniquely attuned nurturing care and great physical strength.
She received her Certificate of Holistic Healing Studies from San Francisco State University where she also completed her degree in art therapy. Erica received her certification for massage therapy from The Heartwood Institute in Garberville, California. She completed a five-year course of study and earned her certification from the Surya Program at the School for Enlightenment and Healing and Center for Rational Spirituality, in San Diego.
Darby Palmer
Darby was born & raised in Wyoming & her fascination for connective tissue & bodywork came to her at a the age of 4 while helping her dad skin a deer. She was an Athletic Trainer in High School & attended Crystal Mountain Apprenticeship in the Healing Arts in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1997 to become a Massage Therapist. At age 21 Darby opened, owned & operated Body Essence Day Spa, Salon & Boutique for 10 years in Jackson, WY. In 2002 she attended The Academy of Cosmetology in Bozeman, MT & Vogue Beauty School in Idaho Falls, ID to gain licensure as a Cosmetologist, Esthetician & Nail Technician.
Danielle Biechner
Our body has the potential to be our greatest teacher in life when it comes to our health and wellness. Each individual can be faced with different challenges along the way with their own unique way of communication that surfaces as signs, symptoms, and areas of dis-ease in the body. Danielle combines advanced training in abdominal massage, Swedish deep tissue, structural bodywork/injury treatment, and acupressure massage along with her own deep experience in the healing and detoxification process to create treatments that support transformation from the inside out. Like all great teachers, our bodies need to be heard.
Danielle has been practicing massage therapy since the Fall of 2003. Along with specializing in the treatment of the digestive and female reproductive systems, she excels in pre- and post-natal massage, structural deep tissue, injury treatment, reflexology, and of course, the beloved, overall relaxation. She is currently earning her Master’s degree in Traditional Chinese medicine at ACTCM.
Jamie Leigh
Jaime is a Holistic Wellness Practitioner who is firmly rooted in the East. She has studied extensively in India and Thailand and incorporates the bodywork from both cultures onto her massage table. Jamie received additional training in both Reiki and Massage at the Esalen Institute as well as San Francisco School of Massage, bringing a sense of awareness, balance and flow to her clients.
A Dancer her entire life and a Yoga Teacher since 2003, Jamie has a deep understanding of the Human Form; it’s beauty, as well as it’s quirks. Her studies and styles include Ayurveda and Pancha Karma, Swedish, Thai, Deep Tissue, Lymphatic and Reiki I & II.
“I facilitate healing. I’m not a healer, I’m not a yoga guru, I don’t hold the magic cure in my hands. I create a space for you to do the healing, whatever shape that may come in. Within my own history of chronic pain and dis-ease I learned that there is no “cure” because there is no disease. We create dis-ease and we have the power to change it. I can help you do that.”
Joe Grant
Joe is a Deep Tissue, Reflexology, Reiki, Thai-Yoga Massage Therapist
Professional Experience: Ten years as a New York City Licensed Massage Therapist. Administrator of Gay Men’s Health Crisis Client Wellness Program, Medical Massage Therapist to The Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services AIDS Day Treatment Clinic, and Staff Massage Therapist at Jackie Haught’s Blue lotus Healing Center.
Education: 1990 Graduate of the Swedish Institute of Massage Therapy New York City, regular ongoing “continuing education” at The New York Open Center Reflexology Program, Introduction to Thai Yoga massage with Kam Thye Chow @ Danu Enterprises The Healing Arts of Bali, and an eight month Montana ranch retreat with a spiritual advisor. 1985 Bachelor of Fine Arts Graduate from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Professional Goals: Pursue a Masters in Somatic Psychology at The California Institute of integral Studies, Aquatic bodywork (aka watsu/waterdance) at Harbin Hot Springs, and Shaman Trance Work.
Jordie Martin
Sometimes, because of the weight of human experience, we forget our true, expansive, spiritual natures and become trapped in habits, postures and emotional states that drain our energy and create pain. The aim of the work that Jordie does is to deconstruct and unwind the rigid forms and emotional armor we create around the sacred vessels we call bodies. He does this primarily through the mediums of deep tissue massage, trigger point therapy, stretching, myofascial unwinding, and applied Qi Gong. He received his training from a number of gifted teachers and healers at schools in British Columbia, Hawaii, and California.
With a sensitive touch, keen understanding of functional anatomy, and attention the the specific needs of every individual, Jordie works with the musculature, breath and energetic pathways to release tension, decrease pain and rehabilitate injuries. Compassion and non-judgment are the principles behind which Jordie stands in his work. He believes that the combination of informed touch and holding nurturing space is the key to peeling back the constricting layers of stress to allow one’s true nature to flourish.
Juliann Collins
Juliann has been practicing and learning massage for more then a decade. She believes that you can never really know all there is to know about such an amazing peace of art of the human form. Having been raised holistically by a mother that constantly sought to educate herself in the ways of natural healing, Juliann developed her own innate desire to learn more, grow more and share more early in life. Her path of service lies in sharing all that she has learned using touch and essential communication. Her massages offer more then a well studied knowledge of the human body, they offer her compassion and astounding human spirit, creating a specific massage that not only addresses physical discomfort but often gives direction to the emotional and mental causes that underlay the physical symptoms.
Juliann is also trained as a yoga instructor. Studying humanity: the physical, mental and emotional from a yogic perspective has deepened her passion for the human “being”, giving her even more tools to delve into. Juliann is educated in many modalities including, but not limited to: Rieki, Swedish, Sports, Pregnancy, Hot Stone, Lymphatic, Deep tissue and more.
Justine Quart
By blending sessions of both Western therapeutic techniques with ancient Eastern bodywork styles, Justine strives to bring clients into the dynamic power of their own healing capabilities. Through her experience in the fields of Massage, Holistic Health, and Yoga she assists clients improve flexibility, restore balance, recover from injury, and relieve chronic stress patterns. Justine’s time studying in Thailand with traditional masters Pichest Boonthumme and Homprang deeply influence her heart-centered approach to bodywork and health. She also draws upon her diverse Holistic Health learning experiences from Mueller College of Holistic Studies, Brown University, Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, 10 years of yoga practice, and the healers she has met around the world to bring you a unique wellness experience. When she’s not helping clients on the table, Justine writes as a Bay Area freelancer, photographs yummy food, and attends graduate school at Berkeley where she blends her interests in writing, community health, and environmental stewardship.
Justine practices: Swedish, Deep Tissue, Thai, Acupressure, Shiatsu, Tui Na, Pre-Natal, Therapeutic, and Hot Stone.
Lance Centanni-Sachs
Lance’s practice as a bodyworker began when he learned about Reiki and energetic healing modalities because of his own health problems as a child. Since then he has a completed a 600 hour license in Florida at the Pensacola School of Massage therapy as well as multiple yoga teacher training programs. Currently he is pursuing his M.S. in Traditional Chinese Medicine to further his ability to provide methods for balancing the body-minds of those in the communities he is part of.
As an avid student of yoga, meditation and circus contortion, Lance brings his understanding of his own body and where the stresses of stretching, yoga and sitting collect and intuitively brings them into his massage practice.
Malka Lew
Malka, a certified massage therapist, trained for 770 hours at Twin Lakes College of the Healing Arts in Santa Cruz and continues her studies at the World School of Massage. Through her practices of yoga, dance, and massage and her studies of Somatic Psychology at the California Institute for Integral Studies, she has come to the realization that an integrated self is necessary for health and well being.
In Malka’s massage sessions, she provides a safe, nurturing space that allows the client to let go, relax, and leave the session feeling renewed. She treats every client individually and addresses any needs expressed prior to the session. “Massage is my joy and passion. I like to make people feel good. I feel like I am helping the world person by person.”
Areas of expertise:
Swedish Massage
Table Shiatsu
Pre Natal Massage
Geriatric Massage
Acupressure
Reiki I and II
Clinical Massage
Essential Oils Massage
Hot Stone Massage
Nicole Casanova
Nicole is a Certified Massage Therapist and has worked as a bodyworker for 7 years. In Austin, she attended both Texas Healing Arts Institute, where she studied massage, and the University of Texas, where she studied biology and psychology.
Nicole’s massage style is best described as a delicious blend of intuitive energy balancing and targeted deep tissue work. She is passionate about supporting your evolution in whichever ways are currently most needed. Nicole has the well developed talent and gift of communicating messages your body and spirit may have for you in a way which encourages action.Specific therapies Nicole is trained in and employs include myofascial release, triggerpoint therapy, lymphatic drainage, passive stretching, active release, prenatal massage, and energy work.
Nicole understands that people are wonderfully dynamic beings and that the overly sedentary yet high stress lifestyle of today can translate into energetic blockages, muscular pain, and the less than optimal use of the body in general. Massage sessions with Nicole bring back balance in the direction of health and well being. Regular sessions will especially aid the body and spirit in releasing unnecessary holding patterns and facilitate your own unique and natural healing process.
Theresa Blackner
Theresa Blackner, a certified massage therapist, offers methods of bodywork including Thai Massage, Ayurvedic Treatments, Pre and Postnatal and Deep Tissue. Theresa began this work in 2004 and enjoys discovering what people are dealing with so that she can assist in them having a new experience of being in their body. Her touch is careful and purposeful inviting the body to let go and deeply unwind. Her approach is complete in addressing the organ systems, lymph, circulation, hydration of the joints and tissue as well as mental and emotional states to facilitate a greater connection to the self and others. Her goal with her clients is to create an opportunity to unravel habitual holding patterns enabling them to feel greater ease, fluidity of movement and joy!
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My training in the healing arts began in 2001 with the bay area’s first Kundalini Yoga Teacher Training with Sat Santokh Singh Khalsa. The course was 220+ hours and studies included: Pranayama, Meditation, Kriyas and the yogic lifestyle. After completing my certification, I lived in the Hargobind Sadan Ashram in San Leandro while I was the Teacher’s Assistant to the course in 2002.
Through my yogic community I was led to The Pacific School of Massage and Healing Arts, run by Fred and Cheryl Mitouer, in the summer of 2002. I became certified after completing their 110+ hour massage certification course. Since then I have taken all seven of the advanced courses in Transformational Bodywork and have been a regular Teacher’s Assistant to the certification and advanced courses. I have earned over 600 continuing education hours at PSM&HA and my studies included: Deep Tissue, Swedish, Jin Shin, Cranio-Sacral, Reiki, Anatomy, Physiology and the overall human condition.
Through my training I have developed the skills to offer a holistic, heart-centered approach to facilitate a healing space, and be a conduit for the life force of energy that flows through and around us. Sessions are typically a blend of techniques tailored to the specific needs and desires of the client, while also leaving space for the intuitive nature of the work.
Wanda Pierce
Wanda has been happily practicing massage therapy since 2002, offering her clients a unique combination of styles in which she has trained, including Swedish/Esalen, Deep Tissue, Myofascial Release, and Zen Shiatsu. She received her certification at Diamond Light School of Massage and Healing Arts in San Anselmo, California, which training perfectly matched her desire for a heart-centered approach to healing bodywork. She also holds a 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training certification and has a passionate curiosity of nutrition and food as medicine. She incorporates all these practices and knowledge into her work.
Wanda holds a degree in Broadcast Communications from San Francisco State University. A San Francisco native, she worked for several years in Silicon Valley before transitioning to bodywork. Wanda understands the physical manifestations of stress caused by commuting, computer desk work, and managing our lives and provides support and encouragement to her clients so that they can sustain a well balanced life.
