Our ISPA
community is full
of diverse talents and
inspiring stories, all
working towards
the same goal:
a healthier
world.
Meet
TIFFANY RYAN
CO-FOUNDER • YOMASSAGE • PORTLAND OREGON
AFTER SPENDING A NUMBER OF YEARS putting her Ph.D. in Social
Work to good use by addressing youth homelessness and the child
welfare system, tiffany ryan has created something truly unique
within the yoga and massage space. also serving as the Board
President of integrative trauma treatment international (itti), she
is extremely passionate about the mind-body connection and its
ability to facilitate healing from trauma.
“itti is a non-profit organization that serves the globe to
promote understanding and healing within individuals and commu-
nities who have been impacted by trauma worldwide and believes
in the power of healing, balance and education,” says tiffany. “We
aim to provide advanced training, continuing education,
employment opportunities and best practice research for mental
health professionals to ensure the best care possible for those who
are experiencing the effects of trauma.
“We are currently working with the University of rwanda to build
an integrative care clinic as a resource for dealing with the effects of
trauma from the genocide 25 years ago. i learned so much when i
was able to travel to rwanda to facilitate a multi-cultural trauma
treatment training, and i look forward to returning again this year.”
as with many people who pour themselves out on a daily basis,
there comes a time when they must return to level one. Perhaps
they’ve mastered a certain field and are looking to challenge
themselves elsewhere, or they feel an inner longing to branch out
and help in a different way. for tiffany, that new frontier was
Yomassage.
“i went through a challenging time in my life and realized the
role that massage therapy and yoga had played in grounding and
centering me. i decided to take a bit of a sabbatical and go to yoga
teacher training and massage therapy school to learn more. During
that time, i thought about the powerful connection between our
mind and body. When i returned, i met Katherine, my now business
partner. Based on my passion for making massage therapy and
therapeutic touch accessible to everyone, we developed a class
called Yomassage, which does just that. the class was incredibly
popular, and we have since developed a training for massage thera-
pists to bring Yomassage to everyone.” n
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octobEr 2019