Massage Therapy Continuing Education Instructors

Tina Awad, LMT is a reflexologist and integrative bodywork practitioner. She is a graduate of the Swedish Institute and the Laura Norman and Associates School of Reflexology, and holds a BFA in Dance from the Boston Conservatory. Awad is in private practice, on the clinical staff at the Continuum Center for Health and Healing, and is Director of the Bodywork for Breast Cancer program at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York.

Russ Beasley, LMT has been a faculty member of the Swedish Institute since 1990 and in recognition of his professional experience was named a Senior Clinical Practitioner in 1998. He is a senior therapist for the US OPEN tennis tournament where he has been on the massage staff since 1994. Beasley has treated dancers from ABT, NYCB and the companies of Martha Graham, Paul Taylor and Twyla Tharp and he is a referral therapist for the Julliard School. Since its opening in 2002, he has been the full time backstage therapist for the Broadway production MOVIN' OUT.

Ann Catlin, LMT, OTR is a COMPASSIONATE TOUCH® practitioner and teacher. She has worked extensively with the elderly and people with physical and cognitive disabilities in facility settings as an occupational therapist. Following study with Dawn Nelson, founder of COMPASSIONATE TOUCH®, Ann was appointed director and she now trains massage therapists, health professionals and caregivers across the nation in COMPASSIONATE TOUCH®. Ann lives in Springfield, Missouri where she has a massage practice serving older adults in facility care. She is an active member of the Community Alliance for Compassionate Care at the End of Life as well as a hospice volunteer.

Richard Condon, LMT, CR has taught Advanced Techniques at the Swedish Institute and served on the staff at the Ostrow Institute for Pain Management for seven years. Mr. Condon is currently the director of the Gardiner Rolfing & Massage Studio in Ulster County, NY.

Susanrachel Condon, CNM, CCE, LMT has served on the faculty at the Swedish Institute since 1991. Currently, she is a clinician at Planned Parenthood of the Mid-Hudson Valley and is the Director of Niara Healing Arts and River and Mountain Women's Health. The Condons’ company, Niara Healing Arts, has offered Bodywork for the Childbearing Cycle since 1994. Niara has produced an instructional video and booklet based on this course.

Bonnie Crellin, LMT is a graduate from the Guild for Structural Integration. She has been practicing bodywork for over 20 years. She is currently working in private practice doing both Pilates instruction and bodywork. Crellin has been teaching body awareness and Structural Integration since 1997.

Jeannine Hamel-Smith, LMT has been a Healing Stone Massage Instructor since 2004. Hamel-Smith is also an instructor of massage therapy at the Connecticut Center for Massage Therapy in Newington, CT. Her background as a teacher includes water therapies, crystal healing and myofascial therapies. Currently she has a private practice in Old Saybrook, CT.

Sat Chuen Hon, M.F.A trained in Qigong, Taiji Quan and Classical Chinese Medicine, is a native of Guanzhou, China. He received his BA from Princeton University and a Master of Fine Arts from Connecticut College. He is the founder of the New York Dan Tao Center and author of Taoist Qigong for Health and Vitality. He established and serves as the president of ATPS, Inc., a non-profit educational corporation dedicated to the preserving and teaching of ancient Taoist practices.

Holly Huzar, LMT is the co-owner of Massage for Health, an upstate New York wellness practice. She teaches at the Center for Natural Wellness School of Massage and is also an Aquatic Fitness Instructor. Huzar has a degree in Communications and 20 years of adult education experience.

Patrick Lee Ingrassia, LMT is the founder of the Nayada Institute of Thai Massage. He is a NYS licensed massage therapist, Kripalu-certified bodyworker, Active Isolated Stretching instructor and Yoga teacher. He received his Thai Massage teaching certification from the Institute of Thai Massage (ITM) in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Mr. Ingrassia has been teaching yoga, massage, and various workshops to professionals for 15 years.

Craig Kienzle, LMT graduated from the Swedish Institute and is a reflexologist certified by the ARCB. He teaches Reflexology at the Swedish Institute and has assisted Barbara Stout in teaching the reflexology certification classes since 2003. Kienzle also volunteers as a massage therapist and reflexologist at Beth Israel Hospice, is a member of the AMTA and NCBTMB and has a private practice in New York City.

Nicole Kruck, LMT is a New York State licensed massage therapist, certified in women’s health and reproductive care. She specializes in pre & peri-natal massage & neuromuscular therapy.

Cathy Lipsky, RN, ANP is a nurse practitioner and certified Nurse AMMA® Therapist who combines her knowledge of Western medicine with her desire to help people become more involved in choosing and maintaining a healthful way of life.

Kruck and Lipsky are among the first certified health professionals to bring the Arvigo Techniques to the U.S. from Central America. For the past six years they have studied with and assisted Dr. Rosita Arvigo in restoring reproductive health to both men and women. They are both certified Arvigo teachers.

Denise Lowe, LMT has been an instructor of Assessment and advanced level massage courses at the Swedish Institute since 2001. Lowe's interest in the therapeutic aspects of exercise led her to study Active Isolated Stretching with Jim and Phil Wharton and to attend the Swedish Institute. She is certified in Advanced Sports Massage and has completed the Yoga Alliance's 500-hour certification. She began her career in health and fitness in 1985 as a personal trainer and group exercise instructor. As the fitness Director of Classic Bodies Fitness she designed training programs for their exercise instructors. She has also designed and taught integrative anatomy and yoga posture workshops.

Vincent Metzo, M.A., LMT, CSCS is Chair of the Western Sciences Department and Dean of the Exercise Science/Personal Training Program at the Swedish Institute. He has taught Anatomy and Exercise Biomechanics as an adjunct at New York University and maintains a private massage and personal training practice in Manhattan. Metzo has had extensive experience managing corporate fitness centers and working in commercial fitness settings. He holds or has held certifications from the National Strength and Conditioning Association, American College of Sports Medicine, and American Council on Exercise in addition to a master’s degree in Exercise Physiology and Sport and Fitness Management.

Diana Moore, M.S., LMT, CIMI® is the founder and director of the International Loving Touch Foundation, Inc. and a parent health educator. She is producer of the Baby’s First Touch video, and developer of the Loving Touch™ Parent-Infant Massage Program. A pioneer in the art of infant massage, Diana has taught the program to parents and professionals both nationally and internationally for over 25 years.

Thomas Myers, CR is a Rolfer® and the author of the revolutionary Anatomy Trains: Myofascial Meridians book and video series. Myers studied directly with Dr. Ida Rolf, Moshe Feldenkrais and Buckminster Fuller, and has practiced integrative bodywork in a variety of cultural and clinical settings for nearly 30 years. Former Chair of the Rolf Institute's Anatomy Faculty, he currently directs Kinesis, Inc. which runs a variety of courses, including professional certification in Structural Integration. Myers is a frequent contributor to trade magazines and journals, and he lives, writes, and sails on the coast of Maine.

Larry R. Parker, LMT is a graduate of the Swedish Institute. He has been lecturing, teaching and training people in the I.N.T.O.U.C.H. system of holistic health, with a primary focus on stress management and coaching, for the past 18 years. Parker has presented over 200 programs for groups, individuals, hospitals and corporations.

Alexis Phillips, LMT has been a senior faculty member at the Swedish Institute for 20 years. She was on leave for one year traveling and consulting at many spas in the U.S. and Canada. Phillips was the supervisor of the P.H. Ling Clinic for 15 years and has taught Swedish Massage and Medical Massage. She has conducted continuing education workshops in many schools. Her practice has evolved through the years to include work with rape and abuse victims and HIV-AIDS, terminally ill and cancer patients and birthing and labor massage.

George Russell, D.C. is an instructor in the graduate program at Wesleyan University and has a private practice in New York City. He is a chiropractor in private practice in New York City, as well as a teacher, choreographer and dancer. A former professional dancer, he advises New York City's DeFacto Dance Company. Dr. Russell is a student of Lyengar yoga, Alexander and Pilates technique, and has been influenced by teachers Irene Dowd, Carol Clements, Deane Juhan, Martha Partridge and Susan Foster.

Diego Sanchez, Dipl. ABT (NCCAOM), C.P. (AOBTA), LMT, MRSS (UK) has taught and lectured nationally and internationally and is on the team of the renowned surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz of Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. He has a private practice in New York City.

Jenn Sommermann, LMT is a massage therapist, teacher, consultant and board member of the New York chapter of the AMTA. Bringing over 13 years of experience in complimentary healthcare, Sommermann has coached hundreds of allied healthcare workers in successful practice. Former owner of a wellness clinic in Boston, she transfers that knowledge and brings an enthusiasm to the classroom that is unmatched in the business arena.

Barbara Stout, LMT graduated from the Swedish Institute and the Ohashi Institute. She is a certified reflexologist and has taught reflexology at the Swedish Institute since 1999. Stout has done extensive volunteer work as a massage therapist and reflexologist at Beth Israel Hospital, Roosevelt Hospital and GMHC. Stout maintains a private practice in New York City. She is an ordained interfaith minister.

Janine Strenta, M.A., M.S., L.Ac., LMT has been a senior faculty member at the Swedish Institute for 23 years. She was the director of the P.H. Ling Clinic and chairperson of the Medical Massage Department at the Swedish Institute for 18 years. She has taught medical massage workshops throughout the United States and is working assisting people undergoing chemotherapy. She is currently in private practice in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Robert Volinsky, BA, LMT is a graduate and faculty member of the Eastern Studies Department at the Swedish Institute. His experience includes work in chiropractic settings, sports clubs, hospitals and over eight years of private practice. His work is an integration of a variety of modalities including medical massage, aromatherapy, Shiatsu, Reiki, and other energy therapies. Robert is a certified Karuna Rieki® instructor.

Susan Walkley, LMT has taught Anatomy and Physiology I and II at the Swedish Institute for four years. She has been a massage therapist for eleven years, practicing deep tissue, reflexology and Thai massage. She is completing a research project on the treatment of back pain in New York City.

Pailin Winotaka, M.S., L.Ac. is a native of Thailand. She was certified in Thai Massage in 1994 from the Wat Po Traditional Medical School in Bangkok. She has been profiled for her work in Thai massage in Conde Nast Traveler and Self Magazine. She earned her Master of Science degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine and has studied at the China Beijing International Acupuncture Training Center in Beijing, China. Winotaka is a Yoga Siromani (master instructor) and has studied in Pune, India. 
Website: www.thinkneedles.com.

Jim Yarkin, CPA, LMT has been practicing accounting for nineteen years and has also been a self-employed licensed massage therapist for the past six years.

Martha B. Zenger, BA, LMT was born in Switzerland, has lived in the U.S.A. since 1961 and is a Registered Massage Therapist/Instructor in Texas and Colorado. She is Co-founder and past and present Board and Committee member of NAVALT, the North American Vodder Association of Lymphatic Therapy. Zenger is a board member of AMTA, has a National Certification in Massage Therapy and Bodywork and an International Certification from the Dr. Vodder Schools in Austria and North America to practice and teach MLD® and is a CLT LANA.

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