Tara White

How long have you been a licensed massage therapist?

I have been licensed since 1994.

How many hours of training do you have?

I have over 1000 hours of training.

Why did you choose massage therapy as your career?

I have been interested in healing touch since I was a young girl. When I discovered that massage therapy was a career option while in a Stage Movement class in college I knew that was the career for me.

Where did you go to school for massage?

I studied in all three semesters available at The Lauterstein-Conway Massage School and taught advanced therapies at that school for 15 years.

How do you describe your massage/work to others?

I like to use a blend of modalities to address structural issues that contribute to pain patterns in the body. I have experience with many populations from elite athletes to the elderly and everyone in between. While I specialize in deep tissue modalities, I believe in using techniques to encourage the nervous system to release tension patterns as opposed to addressing the tissue in a mechanical way.

What are some examples of Continuing Education you are interested in and why?

I have studied a little Arvigo Abdominal Massage and would love to become certified in that modality. When my husband and I were trying to conceive our firstborn, I used Arvigo self-massage to encourage fertility. I feel that the self-massage helped not only with fertility but was a factor in balancing out my hormones and digestion as well. It is intriguing to me that touch therapy could have such a profound effect on so many body systems beyond the musculoskeletal.

How has receiving massage affected you personally?

I have used massage to treat my own chronic low back pain and SI joint instability. Massage has helped me recover from knee injuries, foot injuries, a disc herniation and countless other minor discomforts. I managed stress and pain during both of my pregnancies with massage. Massage has even been integral to my psychological work through modalities that blend psychotherapy and touch therapy.

What do you do to stay healthy?

I chase my two-year-old daughter all over creation, garden in our edible yard, and eat gluten-free, organic, sustainably-raised food whenever possible.

What do you like about working at Myo Massage?

I really enjoy the wide variety of people you meet through Myo. It is a fun challenge to creatively meet the needs of so many different populations in one work day. In my private practice I had before my children were born, my work was almost exclusively structural in nature. It has been refreshing to be reminded of the virtues of massage for stress relief.

How do you approach pain management massage?

When a client first comes for pain management I like to do a more in-depth interview asking questions about how they use their body and about events from their past that might be contributing to the pain that caused them to seek out massage. I will evaluate their structure both before and during table work to tailor my session to their specific needs. Often, I will give my clients simple exercises to support and enhance the work we do on the massage table. My ultimate goal is to help clients need my services less and less and to help them have the best possible experience of their bodies.

What techniques do you frequently use in pain management massage?

Myofascial release is the connective tissue most of my sessions are built around but I bring an integrative approach to every client. I often use a blend of trigger point therapy, strain/counter strain, orthobionomy, acupressure, Trager, active assisted stretching, Rich Phaigh’s Onsen therapy, Thai massage among others.