I am using the GI bill to fund my full tuition and partial
living expenses. Body Therapy Institute has given me the skills,
tools and confidence to gain employment at the Massage Place.
I love flexibility - that I can work for myself and set my
own schedule.
 I love that BTI's tag line is "Where
Lives Change". I know this is true for me, as well as so
many other therapists and friends who have gone through the
school. The Body Therapy Institute is an amazing place; when
I first attended I was searching for peace and tranquility.
Through BTI's program, teachers, and other students, I not only
found what I was looking for, but
ascertained the skills to share it with others as well.
I'm classically trained in dance and my background in movement
definitely gets integrated into my bodywork sessions. As an
athlete, my knowledge of the body is not just book-learned,
but experienced first hand. When I'm working with a client,
I draw upon my own somatic awareness of the body. I try to
incorporate this knowledge into each session.
I'd say my specialty is a very deep full body oil massage,
maintaining the ability to focus on specific points, yet satisfying
my clients with a complete session. I do a lot of deep work
and can focus on specific areas, but am able to incorporate
it with full body massage. When I worked in Oakland for a
year, the majority of my regular clients were all ex-football
players - really big burly men, which may seem pretty funny,
since I'm actually fairly small. But they loved my work because
I was able to understand an athelete's body and really dig
deeply into their muscles.
I studied Somatic Movement Therapy while I was living in
Oakland and this goes hand in hand with my dancing and, of
course, gets incorporated into each massage session. I have
a private practice in Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. I also
work for Spa Alliance and the high-end resort hotels and bed
& breakfasts.
My website is www.somaceleste.com and on on twitter: http://twitter.com/somaceleste
For me SBBTI is continuing education and support for my career.
It's the most healing and integrated of all the Santa Barbara
massage schools. The Trigger Point course with John Harris
eliminated my chronic low-back pain. SBBTI is THE radical
massage school you are looking for, and the school responsible
for many people's success in this field!
Kate Goldstein
Owner of Table to Table: In Home Dining and Massage
What brings me joy? Helping others.
When I step into my healing studio to help a client I feel
immediately better myself. Sharing my knowledge with others
gives my life purpose.
Kelle Evans is a strong believer that there are many different
paths to healing. Over the years, she has explored many types
of energy and bodywork methods to provide comfort, balance
and relief to her clients. Although Kelle enjoys working with
all ages, she has a special affinity for alternative senior
health care.
Her journey began several years ago when she decided to leave
a successful corporate career for a more holistic profession.
Her first step was to become trained as a professional massage
therapist at the Santa Barbara Body Therapy Institute. She
now offers such services as Hot Stone, Aromatherapy, Sports,
Barefoot massage and more. Kelle is also trained as a Hospice
Volunteer and in her spare time, she is studying to become
a Red Cross trainer as well as learning nutrition, herbal
treatment and druidism.
Always looking for new healing methods, Kelle turned to energy
and vibrational medicine, which is providing positive and
powerful transformational results for many. She has been trained
as a Reiki Master, Quantum Energetic Disciplines Practitioner,
Creative Life Sciences Practitioner, Pan Harmonics Practitioner
and Multi-Dimensional Healer, and has recently obtained her
9 shamanic rites.
These services and more are featured at The Healing Portal,
Kelle's alternative health studio in Ventura, California.
In the near future, she intends to introduce Restorative Yoga,
Color Healing, Reiki Instruction and Animal Wellness at the
center. For more information, please see her website at www.healingportal.net.
 For
me, there is a sense of calling and mission in massage. I
enjoy tremendously working in a meditative state of mind.
It is similar to the meditation that Thich Nat Han talks about,
but by using my hands and feet. Clients say it doesn't look
like I am working, but having fun. To fully be there for the
client is a wonderful experience and sometimes we witness
what I call active serendipity. It is when you get results
by releasing the soft tissue when others have given up on
the body's complaints of discomfort and pains or after effects
of surgery. Clients experience empowerment and wonderment.
I work about fifteen hours a week with private clients and
as an independent contractor at local spas. I go to clients'
homes and hotels. I have the free time to go to the gym, study
a lot and take wonderful vacations where I exchange massage
and further my studies. This is fun and a great tax write
off! I just got back from Prague and some other cities in
the Czech Republic. I enjoyed the baths in Budapest, Hungary.
It's been wonderful learning about massage in new places and
I will further my studies in India and Thailand. My goal is
to breathe more, have better posture and increase range of
motion. In other words: A younger me every year!
I started my training at SBBTI three years ago and plan
to keep learning because it is a journey. I love the people
and the classes at SBBTI. The staff is very supportive, fair
and knowledgeable about the dynamics of massage. I am very
grateful to John Harris for having me as a teaching assistant
many times and for teaching me how to keep myself free of
lower back pain. There is a tremendous sense of empowerment
we experience once we find we find ways to deal with soft
tissue pain and discomfort in areas such as lower back, shoulders
and neck. I retain the best strokes from different modalities
and integrate them into my session for relaxation and muscle
release.
It’s hard to convey the profound impact SBBTI
has had on me. I came to SBBTI at age 21, after volunteering
in India and entering university in Santa Barbara. I was studying
dance, Japanese, and marine biology, and so interested in
learning how to express myself and make the world more whole.
I’ve now been in practice either part- and full-time
for seventeen years.
As an SBBTI student, I felt respected as an individual with
my own individual learning style and needs. I was challenged
to get to know myself better, both physically and beyond.
I learned more ways to connect with and support others, and
was empowered to share my strengths with my class and the
world. I also remember never feeling bored in class. What
was more important than understanding the body, mind, and
spirit? This training was much more than simply how to give
a good massage, or rather; Katie’s concept that this
grounding and awareness is essential to being a bodyworker.
When I work with people, I feel like a healer, leader and
teacher – while the mainstream world may not see us
that way yet, I believe this is what Katie wishes us to be.
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