Melanie A. Stinson, LMT, CCTEM, Reiki Master Te...

FAQs

• What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
  I always do continuing education training and am eager to find CEs for the training I select. I look for hands-on massage and energywork. I have a profound interest in Oriental medicine and also study on my own by reading the latest information, questioning the acupuncture provider I see. I always keep abreast of information coming in from Japan so that my Reiki practice and teaching are up-to-date. I'm proud to have an alliance with Reiki Masters all over the world so I can keep learning and growing. I actually need a certain number of hours to keep certifications so I go to Michigan, Chicago and New York City for training once or twice a year.
• How did you get started doing this type of work?
  I had no idea about massage and bodywork. I don't think I'd even had a massage before and as a dancer that's unbelievable in this day and age. I actually asked a friend in New York City what behavioral or talk therapy she'd experienced that she felt was the best thing she'd ever done. I wanted to change my life and improve my confidence. She had lived in California as well and I valued her judgment. She said Rosen Method Bodywork was amazing and shared a practitioner's name with me. Rosen is a psycho-spiritual bodywork developed by a German physical therapist who used questions, light touch and watched the clients' breath. I had many sessions, joined a group who shared sessions under a Rosen teacher, then went on to study it. I still love it and wish there were someone locally to see. I really could see and feel its benefits. I decided I wanted to do it but also wanted to know the body. So I decided to attend the Swedish Institute College for Massage & Allied Health Sciences in New York City. It's world-renowned and has an arm of acupuncture now that had been slowly developing. Training there is the early 1990s, I discovered I loved shiatsu, which is highly meditative. I think that's why I then gravitated to spiritual energywork. The rest is history.
• What types of customers have you worked with?
  I see many people seeking stress relief and relief from over-thinking and worry. I see children and high school and college students, as well as mothers, daughters and mothers with a young child who share the session. I also have several clients who have uncommon diagnoses, some brain-related. They're searching for pain relief and some way to move out of the seriousness of their illnesses. Other clients come to re-evaluate their lives and work with intention to improve the quality of their experience on earth.