Who is Colleen and why these therapies?
I was born and raised on a farm near Barrhead, Alberta. Then moved to Westlock, then Stony Plain, then Ecuador, and now I’m back where I started. My favorite place is the great outdoors, but I do feel the need for fair weather. It doesn’t need to be perfect, just not really cold.
I was 36 years old in 1999, and was looking for a new direction. When I first thought about becoming a Massage Therapist I had never had a massage in my life. The reason I thought about massage as a career is there was a massage school just 10 minutes from my home. Serendipity! All of the other education opportunities in my small town were office related and didn’t resonate with me. Also, I didn’t want to have to travel one hour twice a day to the city for some other opportunity that might not be for me.
Fast forward 2 years, on June 1, 2001, I had completed my advanced education in Massage Therapy. Within a couple of months I quit my job and started working in the chiropractic office in Westlock, Alberta as a Massage Therapist. The work was extremely fulfilling. Helping people was something I discovered I really enjoyed doing.
About this same time I started having some severe TMJ Syndrome issues. Neither massage nor chiropractic were helping, so I researched to find a solution. The solution I found was CranioSacral Therapy (CST). Through the Upledger Institute, a training facility based out of Florida, I found a CST therapist in Edmonton and started going regularly. At first it was every 2 weeks and then for a while weekly. After the first 3 treatments my TMJ wasn’t bothering me anymore, but I felt so much better physically and emotionally that I kept going. Just feeling more at peace was a huge bonus.
For the next 2 years I trained and practiced fairly intensively in CST and finished my advanced level of training. Through this training and meeting another very skilled therapist I discovered Visceral Therapy. This therapy made me realize there are many non-invasive techniques that can be utilized to help our internal organs function at their best.
In 2005 I moved to Stony Plain, Alberta. While there, a good friend told me about a woman she’d become acquainted with who did an energy therapy called Pranic Healing. It didn’t take me long to book a treatment with her. She has an amazing energy and she took me through levels of spiritual evolution that I didn’t even know werepossible. Again I was so impressed by what she had done for me that I received four levels of training to reach the crystal healing, and advanced level. Through her I also got involved in a meditation group meeting once a week with a great bunch people. I felt so lucky to have been a part of that group.
In 2012 I made a move to Ecuador with my then husband. Two years previous I had decided that was where I wanted to live, and I wanted to be there in two years. My reasons were no snow or cold, a more laid back life with less stress, and a semi retirement.
While in Ecuador, I worked as a Massage Therapist on a mostly casual basis, but there were times I was quite busy. Within the first year I got involved in the spiritual Shamanic culture of Ecuador. There were many indigenous ceremonies I attended. Vision Quests were also part of the spiritual learnings I was involved in. I participated in 4, 7, and 9 day Vision Quests. The 13 day Quest is still waiting for me but the time hasn't come for me to participate.
When COVID hit I felt it was time to return to Canada, time to be home. On May 26th, 2020 I arrived in Barrhead from a very long trip with numerous flights to quarantine in my sister’s basement.
So here I am, working with my passion! Colleen’s Holistic Therapy! The latest transformation of my healing business. Building a different life in my original home. This transformation brings to my clients, established and new, a diversity in Therapy.
