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Welcome - Healthy Place Massage

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A Healthy Place Massage

 

About

A Healthy Place Massage Therapy began the Saturday of Mother’s Day weekend in 2006. The first “office” was in Mill Run, PA. It had trees and a canopy for walls.  The snack bar and swimming pool were the “reception area.”  It had a rubber floor and colored tarps for privacy. It was the Mother’s Day Kickoff for Jellystone Campground in Mill Run and for A Healthy Place Massage Therapy.

 

The amazing thing is that nearly everyone told me that doing massages at a campground was a bad idea, “it’ll never work.”  I want to bestow special thanks to Emanuel Baum, my business coach, for encouraging me to follow my vision. And to Randy Work and Tracy Czamble of Jellystone Campground in Mill Run PA, for taking the risk. We have grown bigger than I first imagined. We now have nearly a dozen locations throughout western Pennsylvania.  

 

In 2007, I added three B & Bs to the group. Also, on October 1, 2007, I joined with Dr. Greg Wilson, a chiropractor in Mount Pleasant, to provide medical, sports, and orthopedic massage and pain management.  September 2008, we added another office in Jones Mills to offer services to the mountains.

 

2009 is here and I am enjoying my forth season at Yellowstone in Mill Run.

 

As of 2009, we have 6 campgrounds, 3 B&Bs, 2 hotels, 2 chiropractor offices, and a private practice office located in Connellsville to provide our brand of massage therapy. 

 

 

"I would like to invite you to explore the various types of massage we offer at our many locations. This website is for your use to learn more about our profession as well as where and how we can provide massage therapy for you, your family, friends and colleagues. Whether you are a massage junkie or are a complete novice, we believe that we can make you a longtime member of our family.  Please email or call me if you have additional questions that aren’t answered here. Thank you, hope to see you soon."

 

John

Bios

John Whalen, PMT, OTA/L

John is the owner of A Healthy Place Massage Therapy.  John started doing massage on his mother’s back to help relieve her aches and pains when he was young.  Later, John served as a volunteer in the Physical Therapy department during high school at the former Connellsville State General Hospital (now Highlands).  He learned about trigger points to help with headache relief and continues to use some of those techniques today.   

During his senior year of high school and semester breaks from college, he worked in the Emergency Room (he has some interesting stories from those years!).  John went on to earn his degree in Occupational Therapy from Mt. Aloysius Jr. College in 1983. He has worked in home health, hospitals, and long-term care centers since then. 

John has always blended occupational therapy with massage techniques to provide an individualized form of rehabilitation, relaxation and relief for his clients/patients.  His years of experience in rehabilitation have helped him understand the body’s systems and how they relate to each other. Also, it has helped him to understand pathology and the disease processes of the body in order to know when massage should and should not be completed.

In 2005, John went back to school to gain the additional credentials needed to perform more advanced massages in order to treat a broader range of clientele. 
After graduating with diplomas in Fundamentals of Massage, and then Advanced Medical Massage, with an emphasis on Medical, Sports and Orthopedics, he continued on to receive certification in Pregnancy Massage. John is also qualified to perform oncology (cancer) massage and geriatric massage.  He is a Professional Member in good standing of the American Massage Therapy Association and is the current President of the Fay-West Chapter of Business Networking International. He is also a member of the AMTA Traveling Sports Massage Therapy Team.

Fun Fact: If you plan to tell John to go fly a kite, you better be careful, he flew them competitively in Ocean City, MD for several years.



Thomas Dougherty

Tom graduated from the Pittsburgh School of Massage Therapy in 1994.  Tom performs specialty chair and table massages including medical, orthopedic, sports, NMT, and Swedish. In addition to massage therapy, Tom is also a Physical Therapist.  He graduated with a Masters Degree in Physical Therapy from Chatham University in 2002.  Currently employed with Select Medical Corporation at Hempfield Manor Nursing Home.  Current memberships include:  American Physical Therapy Association and, American Massage Therapy Association. 

Fun fact:  Tom is also a member of the Screen Actor's Guild and has performed in both television and movies.



Jill Herman

Inspired by a massage therapist and dear friend at a former design job, Jill entered massage therapy for a change in life’s path. Massage has literally altered Jill’s life on many levels.  She seeks to spread positive energy and well being to all of her clients.  Through her training at the Pittsburgh School of Massage Therapy, she has obtained 763 hours of training and plans to keep this going through continuing education.  Besides Swedish, Neuromuscular, and chair massage, Jill is also a certified Aviana Mindful Touch Therapy practitioner and Reiki I.  She started her private massage business in July of 2007 in Greensburg, PA.  Before doing massage, Jill was a designer with a Bachelor of Science in Interior Design from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.  She still holds an interest in Universal design.   Jill is also a member Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals

Fun Fact: Jill taught cardio kickboxing classes for several years after becoming an Aerobics and Fitness Association of America certified cardio kickboxing instructor in 2004.



Maralana Fulton

Maralana began her career working as a physical therapy aide for five years. She then went on to be Valedictorian at the Laurel Business Institute for massage.  Maralana also attended the Somerset County Tech Center to become an esthetician and is licensed by the State of Pennsylvania.  Maralana is a nationally certified massage therapist. She is also a certified personal trainer by the National Association of Sports Medicine. 

In addition to massage, Maralana is skilled in body wraps, scrubs, reflexology, aromatherapy and stretching techniques.  Maralana has experience in both the spa and sports & fitness industry and believes that both worlds create the perfect balance of health. 

Fun Fact: Maralana is a die-hard snowboarder and mountain biker