Massage therapy means many things to many people. In fact, a recently published scholarly article identifies more than 80 different styles of massage, many of which have been developed in the past 30 years! But to start, let’s simply define massage as the manual manipulation of soft body tissues (muscle, connective tissue, tendons, and ligaments) to enhance health and wellbeing. Massage is often used for specific reasons, such as relief from pain, stress reduction, or enhancement of athletic performance. But whether there is a specific goal or not, massage therapy tends to increase the general health and wellbeing of the recipient.
Diane Latshaw MacDonald has been practicing massage since graduating in 2002 from the Healing Arts Institute in Roseville, California. Her massage sessions are a unique combination of Swedish, Deep Tissue, Reflexology, Hawaiian Lomi Lomi, and Intuitive Touch. She is also a Reiki practitioner. She views her work as a gift and considers it sacred.
Marinda Fisher, aka Mindy Fisher, is a California native and moved to Calaveras County in 2020 from the SF Bay Area during the pandemic. She was hired here at ABC the day after she moved here.
She has been practicing massage therapy now since 1989 as a National Holistic Institute alumni. Her goals back in 1989 while going to NHI in Emeryville, CA, were to get the chance to work on professional athletes and she achieved those goals later in the 90’s as a personal massage therapist to an Oakland Raider quarterback, Marques Tuiososopo, and later was asked to work as part of the massage team for the SF 49ers during the Colin Kaepernick era.
Marinda specializes in deep tissue incorporated with trigger point therapy, prenatal, and Swedish. She resides with her husband, Brandon Fisher in San Andreas, CA.
She has 4 adult children and 2 grandchildren.
Arlene Smith Massage Therapist
I became a massage therapist in September of 2002. I studied at the Healing Arts Institute in Roseville California, under Dr. James Malloy. I did my cranial sacral studies through the Upledger Institute. I loved to learn all the different modalities for what Doctor Malloy would call our tool box. Through this time after becoming a massage therapist I continued taking classes at the Healing Arts. I had started my own practice at this time doing out calls, and working with bed and breakfast facilities. I started working with Achieving Balance Chiropractic office in February of 2018. I love working at Achieving Balance. The patients are amazing and I enjoy the challenges. Working with Dr.Mathre is a gift. I have learned and continue to learn so much from her and the other massage therapist I work with. We all feel like family there, including the patients.
Massage therapy is a hands-on treatment that involves manipulating muscles and soft tissues to reduce pain, relieve stress, and improve overall well-being.
It helps reduce muscle tension, improve blood circulation, relieve stress, decrease pain, and promote relaxation.
Massage should not be painful. Some techniques may cause mild discomfort, especially if muscles are tight, but you should always inform the therapist if you feel pain.
A typical session lasts between 30 to 90 minutes, depending on the treatment plan and your needs.
Massage therapy is a hands-on treatment that involves manipulating muscles and soft tissues to reduce pain, relieve stress, and improve overall well-being.
It helps reduce muscle tension, improve blood circulation, relieve stress, decrease pain, and promote relaxation.
Massage should not be painful. Some techniques may cause mild discomfort, especially if muscles are tight, but you should always inform the therapist if you feel pain.
A typical session lasts between 30 to 90 minutes, depending on the treatment plan and your needs.
