Touch is the first sense we have that lets us know we’re not alone. Touch is “the first to develop in the embryo and the first to offer an experience of human connection” (*Dana, 2019).

Alex Timoteo (she/her) approaches massage therapy as a way to provide safe touch in a professional healthcare environment. Through safe touch and therapeutic rapport, massage therapy has the ability to support people in accessing their parasympathetic nervous system state – i.e. the “rest and digest” state, the one that allows you to sleep better, digest well, dial down pain and overall feel more calm and grounded. If you’ve ever left a massage feeling like you were blissfully floating on a cloud, you already know how powerful of an effect massage can have on your nervous system and your overall wellbeing. By working collaboratively together, Alex’s goal is for you to leave treatments feeling more at home in your body, with a renewed sense of empowerment in your own healing.

Alex graduated from Sutherland-Chan School of Massage Therapy in 2022. For ten years prior, Alex worked in community-based services supporting people living with trauma and mental health across various intersections of marginalization. Through her work as a feminist counsellor and advocate at a shelter for survivors of interpersonal violence/abuse, she saw what a tremendous positive impact bodywork can have on ones’ physical and mental health. She realized she needed to learn about the body, and how to treat the body, so she could treat the person as a whole.

Alex holds an Honours Bachelor degree in Psychology and a diploma from the Assaulted Women’s and Children’s Counsellor and Advocate program. Alex weaves together her experience in mental health and counselling with her knowledge and skills in hands-on treatment of soft tissues and joints in order to create a massage therapy treatment that is holistic and effective. She strives to create an inclusive, trauma-informed, body-neutral and trans-inclusive environment, as all bodies deserve dignified care.

*Dana, D. (2019, April). The Touch Taboo Are We Missing a Vital Source of Healing? Psychotherapy Networker. Retrieved from https://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/article/touch-taboo.

Fun Facts

When Alex isn’t massaging, you can find her taking long walks in parks and ravines, doing yoga and pilates, or cooking while listening to podcasts that make her snort with laughter. She also loves to dance, read, and dabble in DIY body-care and herbalism.

Areas of Focus

• Trauma & Mental Health
• Sleep Issues
• Breast & Top Surgery
• Scar work

Experience

• Diploma of Massage Therapy – Sutherland-Chan School of Massage Therapy
• Diploma of Assaulted Women’s and Children’s Counsellor and Advocate, with Honours – George Brown College
• Bachelor of Arts, Honours Psychology – University of Waterloo
• Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) Skills for Mental Health Professionals Certificate – _ Marsha Linehan_
• Five Day Certificate Program in Narrative Therapy – Bonnie Miller, MSW., RSW.
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Certificate – Noah Lazar, PhD., C.Psych.
• Motivational Interviewing – Adam Lodzinski, PhD.
• Restorative Yoga Teacher Training Certificate – Octopus Garden Holistic Yoga Centre
• Mental Health First Aid Instructor Training – Mental Health Commission of Canada
• Getting to Equity: Anti-Racism Anti-Oppression Training – Kike Ojo of Kojo Institute
• Trauma Counselling for Front-line Workers: 6-Day Certificate – Natalie Zlodre, M.S.W., R.S.W.
• Fostering Trans-Inclusive Environments – the 519
• Yoga Teacher Training Certificate – Pranalife Yoga (now called The Movement Life)

Alex is a settler of Portuguese and Swiss ancestry living on the traditional territory of many nations including the Anishnabeg, the Haudenosaunee, the Chippewa, and the Wendat peoples. She is thankful to have the opportunity to work in community on this land.

Touch is the first sense we have that lets us know we’re not alone. Touch is “the first to develo... Read More

Josh is a massage therapist who recognizes that initial assessments never tell the full story of a dynamic, unique, and ever changing person. Josh believes that each person is an expert of their own body, and he is committed to asking the right questions, building lasting therapeutic relationships, and collaborating on treatment plans that take the diverse and changing needs of the individual into account.

Josh has clinical experience working with populations with mood, sleep, and mental health disorders, neuromuscular disorders, performing scar work on people healing from major surgeries, helping people correct long-term postural dysfunction, and working with senior and pregnant populations.

Fun Facts

When he’s not talking about body work, Josh would love to discuss the book you’ve been reading, the new film you just saw, what album you’ve always felt was underrated, or to commiserate about the current state of the Toronto Raptors.

Experience

• Registered Massage Therapist (RMT)
• Graduate of Sutherland-Chan School of Massage Therapy (2022)

Areas of Focus - Relaxation - MyoFascial Release - Joint Mobilization - Scar Work - Rehabilitation - Structural Integration - Postural Realignment - Assessment

Josh is a massage therapist who recognizes that initial assessments never tell the full story of ... Read More