Donna McMurtry RMT
Registered Massage Therapist
Donna’s intuition, knowledge of the body and diverse training is apparent while receiving her integrative approach on massage. Donna is a truly talented healer.Aneesa Blake
After entering the world in Vancouver, BC. Donna and her family moved to the sunny Okanagan so that her dad could join his father in his Internal Medicine practice. Her mum also started a medical practice there. Both were pioneers in their fields in Vernon.
It was with this strong medical influence that Donna discovered a love for physiology, neuroscience and human mechanics. The mechanics part came after a few intimate interactions with the snow as Donna pursued a competitive freestyle skiing career. These injuries lead her to her first experiences with physio and massage therapy.
In school, Donna completed a degree in neuroscience at UBC and had planned on pursuing graduate studies in neuroscience. However, being drawn to a life of more balance, she realized that perhaps her career should take another path. After a lot of soul searching, she decided to pursue a career in massage therapy. This coupled with her passion for the outdoors landed her in Squamish.
Massage therapy has been a great umbrella under which Donna has explored many aspects of the human body. Most recently she has taken many courses in the treatment of fascial tissues. These courses include myofascial release, craniosacral techniques and visceral manipulation techniques. Last year she attended the World Fascia Research Conference in Amsterdam, where not only did she learn about the latest research in fascia but also, met some world class mentors who have helped guide her exploration of how the body functions. It is with this holistic approach that she practices in assessing how a body moves three dimensionally and in a holistic fashion. It is all connected and wellness comes from the whole being functioning in an integrated and balanced way.
Donna is highly skilled & very knowledgeable… such an asset for the Reach Team!Monica Barabonoff
Donna continues to take courses in an effort to not only learn more about the body but to be better able to help her clients achieve their goals. She cares a great deal in how her clients progress and aims to enable them to get back to full function in an efficient and caring way. She is excited by being able to teach her clients about how their bodies work, so that they may be better equipped to achieve their goals, whether that is world class competition or just being able to garden without pain. She looks forward to meeting new clients and helping them get back to a pain free existence. To read an interview with Donna, click here.
Fascia is difficult to conceptualize in words. Use this link to access the Wikipedia definition of fascia. It’s more easily understood visually. Watch the (entertaining) video below by Gil Hedley explaining fascia (aka the Fuzz) and it’s need to moved on a daily basis. It is a short look at how fascia at its interface with other fascia gets sticky without movement. This helps us to understand how over time we get stiffer if we don’t move through the whole available range of motion of our bodies. NOTE: video shows cadaver images.
The second video is a portion of Dr. Jean Claude Guimberteau’s video, “Strolling Under the Skin”. This segment shows how collagen proteins in your fascia, slide on each other to allow you to move in a flexible and fluid way. If you are interested in watching the whole video it is also on youtube.
