Vital Health and Wellness // Kirstin Schumaker, LMT

Kirstin’s practice is focused on helping active people who have pain or discomfort that is getting in the way of what they want to do. Her clients are often seeking expert care that will get to the root of their issue.

Kirstin welcomes people who are dealing with old injuries, chronic or recurring pain, and physical issues that haven't responded to medical strategies, physical therapy, and massage. Her ability to see and address bigger structural patterns, and to relieve specific areas where nerves are being physically stressed, can lead to significant improvement of symptoms.

Kirstin also enjoys working with yoga practitioners, movement instructors, and athletes who have specific training goals. Fine-tuning one’s body through guided exploration of current limitations, coupled with specific manual work that targets and releases those restrictions, can be a pleasurable and interesting learning experience.

Whether your goal is to resolve pain or to ease restrictions, each session is necessarily a participatory experience aimed at balancing your structure: client and practitioner work together to release and open “tight places” and then integrate those changes through movement.

Through a series of sessions—three to twelve sessions, tailored to your individual needs—Kirstin can help you to find long-lasting relief from pain, discover life-changing improvements in posture, and ultimately move through life with greater energy and ease. Even one session can provide you with relief and a new sense of freedom or lightness, a feeling that a doorway to change has been opened.

Experience and Training
With more than eleven years of bodywork experience, Kirstin is able to offer creative and integrated strategies based on insightful observation, compassionate listening, and a detailed and broad-reaching understanding of human bodies.

Kirstin graduated from The Evergreen State College in 1991 with a BA in Environmental Studies. She later attended the Oregon School of Massage, specializing in Shiatsu, and was initially licensed to practice massage in 1998. She completed the KMI certification program in Structural Integration in 2005, studying with Tom Myers, director of Kinesis Myofascial Integration. Through subsequent studies, she has developed specific palpation skills and strategies for working with the peripheral nerves.

Sessions
Adult sessions run approximately 80 minutes, but allow 90 minutes in case we need some additional time. Children’s sessions run a bit less than an hour, depending on attention span.

Insurance billing available after a motor vehicle accident, but you will need a doctor's prescription for massage first. Health insurance billing may be available, depending upon the terms of your coverage.

Find out more For information about what to expect during a session and some helpful links to other sites that explain Structural Integration, please visit kirschusi.com. Contact Kirstin with any questions at 503-720-7403 or kirschusi@gmail.com.