Dear Readers:

Participants in my workshops usually have to sit through a few minutes of exposition while I explain a little bit about who I am, and, more importantly, who I'm not. So guess what: you do too.

I am a massage therapist. I am not a doctor, or a naturopath, or a nurse of any kind. I am not a physical therapist, an occupational therapist, or any other kind of therapist.

I am a massage therapist. 

I went to massage school in 1984, before there was any such thing as education requirements or national certification. While I was in school I was surprised to discover that I LOVED learning about anatomy-- as a theatre major in college, I had spent my academic career avoiding the sciences at all costs. I made another surprising discovery when I had the opportunity to tutor some students to get them caught up with the rest of the class: I have a talent for taking large, complex ideas, and breaking them down into small pieces that anyone can understand and put together. Massage education became my focus and my career path.

Early in my training I became convinced that massage therapists simply weren't getting enough information about massage for clients who might struggle with complex conditions or diseases. This compulsion eventually led to my book, A Massage Therapist's Guide to Pathology, which is now in its 3rd edition and is used in massage schools all over the world.

I share this information about my background and training (or lack thereof) to make an important point: my job is to wade through a lot of difficult, boring material to find the nuggets of information that could impact decisions for massage and bodywork. I have no formal medical training, just a passion for the information. And if I can understand this stuff, anyone can understand it.

The regular biographical information:

I have a Bachelor's Degree in theatre/literature from Reed College, 1982

I graduated from the Brian Utting School of Massage in Seattle, and got my Washington State massage license in 1985.

I completed the Advanced Training Program and Teacher Training Program with the Muscular Therapy Institute in Cambridge, MA in 1991.

I have taught at several massage schools, including the Brian Utting School of Massage (Seattle, WA), the Muscular Therapy Institute (Cambridge, MA), the Spectrum School (Snohomish, WA), the Ogden Institute of Massage Therapy (Ogden, UT), and the Myotherapy College of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT). 

In 1998 Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins published my book, A Massage Therapist's Guide to Pathology. It is now in its 3rd edition, and in use in massage schools all over the world. MTGP continues to be a work in progress; keeping it current and useful will be a lifelong commitment for me.

In 2006 I began a new and exciting phase in my professional life: I joined the Board of Trustees of the Massage Therapy Foundation (MTF) as the Education Chair. In 2008 I was honored to become the President-Elect of the Foundation; I will step into the President's role in March of 2010. The MTF is a charitable organization dedicated to promoting community service, research, and education for the massage therapy and bodywork professions. In this setting I am excited to work with many leaders in our field, and I look forward to remarkable personal and professional growth here. I encourage every massage therapist to find out more about the MTF, and to consider contributing the value of one massage (or more!) annually to this worthy cause.

Some personal stuff too...

I live with the Love of My Life (Curtis) and our two teenagers (Nathan and Lily) and a dog (Dundee) in a town about 30 miles north of Salt Lake City, Utah. While we love the mountains, we are eager to move (in about a year) to the Oregon Coast. When I'm not teaching, writing, or dealing with teenage angst, I am usually gardening or quilting.

Nathan Werner and Lily Werner, summer 2006

Curt, Lily, Nathan, at Nate's graduation