About me:
***** COVID UPDATE *******
When COVID struck I took 4 months off of work. When I resumed in June, 2020 I decided it would be safest to practice exclusively outdoors. I purchased a screened-in gazebo and erected it in a friend's field in Westminster, Vermont. Throughout the summer it was my outdoor office. Luckily, we live in a region of the country with relatively low COVID levels. With the arrival of cooler level, I have returned to my Bellows Falls office. I leave windows open while I work and run a HEPA air filter during and between sessions. Ventilation is key, and I am grateful that the primary heat source in my building is via radiator which does not circulate air. Safer. You will be toasty even with open windows. I use supplemental electric heat and the table is toasty thanks to a heated table warmer. I use hospital grade cleaners to disinfect between sessions. Both you and I will wear masks (honestly, it's not so bad!) and I am very selective about who I offer massages to. If you do not wear a mask when in public or practice social distancing, I won't work with you. The very act of giving massage puts both you and I in close proximity. I am committed to keeping you, me, and all of my clients as safe as I possibly can!
--KM, 2020
I have always loved massage. Giving it. Getting it. Everything about it. I firmly believe that most of us, certainly in this culture, are touch-deprived. In recent years, a wave of studies has documented some incredible emotional and physical health benefits that come from touch. This research is suggesting that touch is truly fundamental to human communication, bonding, and health.
One of the most powerful forms of touch is massage—a preventative and rehabilitative therapy that has been used in one form or another as far back as human memory and recorded history allow. When we have a sore muscle or if we bump an elbow, our natural instinct is to rub the affected body part. The first written words about massage date back more than 4,000 years to China. In ancient Greece, Hippocrates, renowned as the father of modern medicine wrote, "the physician must be experienced in many things, but most assuredly in rubbing.” Cave paintings, dating back to 15,000 years ago depict the therapeutic use of hands. In the east, massage was considered a necessity, and Roman emperor Julius Caesar enjoyed daily massages for his neuralgia. In fact, therapeutic massage was known as the “King’s Touch” in early France and England.
Modern massage therapy is the use of educated touch. The official definition of massage by the American Massage Therapy Association states, “Massage therapy is a profession in which the practitioner applies manual therapies and may apply adjunctive therapies, with the intention of positively affecting the health and well-being of the client.”
Of the five basic senses, touch is the most neglected one. Sadly, touch is also the one sense essential to life. The healing power of touch has been demonstrated by numerous studies: ranging from babies whose development is stunted when they are deprived of human contact to the elderly who enjoy better health when touched regularly, and patients who recover from their illnesses more quickly when they are touched often.
Touch, or the lack of it, affects us all. Healthy touch slows our heart rates and reduces anxiety. It makes us feel safe and nurtured. A lack of touch, though, can make us feel very lonely, depressed or ill.
I am a believer in the benefit of touch.
I graduated from Stillpoint Massage School in Hatfield, MA in 1996 and since then, have been practicing in my own office, first in Saxtons River, Vermont, and for the past 8 years, in Bellows Falls, Vermont. I have provided chair massage at The Oak Meadow School, Florentine Films, Bensonwood, The Walpole Savings Bank, for the musicians performing at the "Roots on the River" Music Festival as well as at the Bellows Falls and Walpole Farmers Markets.
I have taken continuing educational classes over the years in Thai Massage, Neuromuscular and Trigger Point Therapy, Shiatsu, Reflexology and P.N.F. Stretching.
During my 24 years of practicing as a Massage Therapist, I have developed an intuitive touch that draws on all of the above modalities as well as Swedish and Deep Tissue techniques. All massages are carefully crafted to respond to exactly the type of bodywork that is the best fit for you.
I live in Walpole, NH. I enjoy hiking, kayaking and yoga. An avid fan of music, I have produced several benefit concerts. A deep love of Italy led me to create "Karin Mallory Presents: Intimate Trips to Italy" a few years back.
