About - Early TMBW - The Mind Body Whisperer Massage & Mobility

I’ve had crazy things happen in my life and yet, more than anything,

I’m incredibly blessed.

I grew up quite the tom-boy – I loved climbing trees and playing catch. During football season, I pretended to be the Raider’s Kenny Stabler – yep, I loved being “the Snake” – and took pride in consistently passing the perfect spiral to my brother, then pretending to be Gene Washington of the 49ers. It was “important to me” that I didn’t “throw like a girl.”

I started my career as a nerd in California and added “geek-dom” to my repertoire as soon as possible. ☺ I mean, I was the nerd that loved dissecting a cat in biology class. It wasn’t that I didn’t think about our two own cats at home and that I didn’t feel a twinge about what I was doing, but I LOVED exploring those muscles!

I was so fascinated that muscles, just like those, were responsible for the speed that I used to round the bases and assure the accuracy of the ball that I could field and then burn into the 1st baseman’s mitt – I so loved getting the runner “out” – not that I have a streak of competitiveness in me!

Yet early on, “I got practical,” and rather than a career in bodywork, I was first a corporate banker. My first job out of college was with Bank of America in LA. My favorite position, however, was later as a VP in Acquisition Finance with CIBC.

With my own apparent career ADHD, I next worked in the marketing department of a software firm. I went from working drawing loan documents for EDS’ Taiwanese subsidiary to writing copy for our next big software product – Savage Warrior.

While there, my primary job was orchestrating our merchandising presence in retail stores across the country. My biggest job was orchestrating our company’s presence at E3 – and my favorite part of that job was creating video trailers for our software titles.

From there, I went back to grad school and worked as a psychotherapist, primarily working with children. I have a MS in clinical psychology and advanced to candidacy for my PhD.

Quite the crusher, I couldn’t complete my dissertation because of an equipment malfunction which meant that I wasn’t able to capture the data from my 92 breast cancer survivor participants – even though my programmer assured me that “all was well.”

Admittedly, I’m eager to get back to my research some day. My favorite part of that job was interviewing my participants after the data collection portion of the experiment was completed. My fellow breast cancer survivors were and are a pretty incredible group of people! And yes, I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007 – I’ll share that story in another post on my website.

While working as a child and family therapist, I became a Delaware certified trauma therapist and loved working with my clients. I also loved studying the brain. Frankly, my own “nerd within” still loves studying neuropsychology and I participate in a “brain study group.”

Curiously, I was slow to appreciate massage. In fact, it took a head-on auto accident and difficulties with my recovery before I dared to venture beyond conventional medicine and to try my first massage session and chiropractic appointment.

My determined mantra, at the time, was that I was “too young” to be in so much pain and “feeling like I was 99.” I had and still have so much life to live that I was willing to try practically anything to get better. And ultimately, I’m so grateful that I did! So much of my healing happened via massage and in time, I decided to study massage – first in 1992. Based on my own personal outcomes and those of my clients, it’s so easy for me to say that I love my work as a licensed massage therapist!!!

I also enjoy and have found wonderful successes when I work in conjunction with health care providers – including MDs, chiropractors, and physical therapists.

In my own practice, I also find wonderful successes as I combine orthopedic massage with corrective exercise – including releases, stretches and integrative exercises.

Through these experiences, the Objective of my practice at The Mind Body Whisperer Massage & Fitness is helping you Find & Unwind the kinks in what would otherwise be your optimal muscle mechanics so that you can achieve Pain-Free living and Your Best Mobility and Competitiveness for your Favorite Sport. This focus on helping you optimize your body’s posture, movement, and mobility, as well as, for those interested, your sports competitiveness became a primary factor in my decision to become an ACE Certified Personal Trainer.

What has Become My Approach to Orthopedic Massage?:

And what is my approach to orthopedic massage therapy? I work diligently to therapeutically connect with you and to understand the muscular stresses and strains of your body. And as a Delaware Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT) professional and “Muscle Geek,” I am intent on listening to and understanding how I can best work with your body and its current state to facilitate your ability to get pain-free and to reclaim your best posture, muscular alignment and functioning. Admittedly, the older I get, the more I am also interested in perfecting the skill set that will make “Aging Pain-Free” an important reality for my clients, as well as myself.

Having said all of that, I’m most proud of my son Luke. I love being a “Proud Marine Mom” and am in awe of his choice to serve our country. And yes, Luke’s pacifist-minded mom, AKA ME, still works to get her head wrapped around his future assignments, yet, I’m so incredibly grateful to all of our service members – military, police, fire, EMTs, emergency dispatchers, MDs, nurses, etc. etc. Thank you all for providing security and service to my life and to that of my family and friends.

Just for Fun – A Bit More about Me:

I always loved the Pivot questions that James Lipton asked each guest at the end of each “Inside the Actor’s Studio” episode. While all of the questions are probably not appropriate for this format, the following are my favorites:

1. What is you favorite word?
– Joy though admittedly, I still delight in the word “Hey-Day.” Perhaps, this affinity for Hey-Dey reflects my farm family roots and the “Spud-Blood” (from my Idaho family) that runs through my veins. ☺

2. What turns you on creatively, spiritually, or emotionally?
– I love photography on the sidelines – particularly, of a good lacrosse game. I love catching the vibe of the game, anticipating how it will play out, AND I love being there to capture the critical moment of the drive to the goal.

I particularly love capturing eyes – focused with intent – and the movement of the body with muscles taut with the strength and flow that make scoring as well as defending possible.

I also love going out to a garden and letting the “fairies of nature” guide me to the best shots. It’s fun to finish my shoot – figuring that I have some good shots. Yet, the fun and magic comes from sitting in front of my computer, not knowing for certain what I’ve captured, and getting lost in the beauty of the flowers and the process of finding and uncovering the treasures hidden within. My art credo is – if the finished image doesn’t pull at your heart emotionally, I don’t print it.

3. What sound or noise do you love?
– Deep full-bodied laughter – a laugh that fills the body is phenomenally wonderful!

4. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
– Photojournalist or sports photographer. I had a wonderful time on the sidelines photographing Division I lacrosse and baseball games – I also love the adrenaline buzz of being that close to the game play.

As an homage to surviving breast cancer, I also photographed the floral pieces in my office as well as the “healing hall” that leads to my office.

Actually, I’d also love to work as a television director. I love a good story and the right drama. During my time working in the software marketing department, I loved creating video game trailers. I loved the creativity and the synergies that came together during those long and crazy production hours!

About the same time, I also thoroughly enjoyed directing public access television programs while working through Viacom’s community program. I loved directing television programs – my hallmark was close-ups – once again, I loved capturing the look and the emotions conveyed through one’s eyes.

5. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
– What a wild ride, eh? So glad you’re back – Let’s talk story! (PS That’s an homage to my wonderful semester in Hawaii. I felt a huge affinity for Hawaii, and to ancient Hawaii in particular.)

“Back to what I’d love to hear God say at the Pearly Gates”: Christine, I have so looked forward to hearing about the life you created, what you’ve learned, what challenged you the most, what new perspectives about life and living you’ve gained, and of course, all about the joys of your successes.