Samantha Brewer has practiced as a Registered Massage Therapist since 2005. She has taken advanced courses in Osteopathy based modalities since 2009 and continues to pursue deeper understandings of how to create healthy relationships for the body and its tissues.
Sam offers relaxation and sports massage therapy treatments as well as massage therapy that incorporates osteopathic techniques. In treatments utilizing osteopathic modalities, Sam uses a “listening technique” that uses the body’s ability to guide the practitioner to the most problematic areas. Following fascial (connective tissue) pulls produces an effective release of tensions in areas of pain origin and not just the pain symptoms.
In 2018, Sam completed a 2 year program in Classical Pilates Instruction. With an in depth knowledge of human kinetics and equipment to teach proper core engagement, posture awareness and stretches, Sam can rehabilitate acute and chronic injuries. For people who aren’t benefitting from conventional therapies, Pilates is often the answer. Sam teaches Reformer, Mat, Chair and Tower.
Initially, my passion for massage was fueled by the question, “How do you get in there?” How do you wind in to the heart of the problem, smooth it, melt it, unstick it, whatever, and come back out having accomplished something? The layout of muscle and bone still fascinates me, although not with quite the same nerdy obsession. Intuitive by nature, I wanted to have an actual concrete way of helping people, and always found touch to be an effective communicator.
I wasn’t patient when I was first curious about massage. I did a 6 month course at Maui School of Therapeutic Massage, and managed to pass with decent grades despite spending my weekends hitchhiking around the island picking tropical fruit and learning what beaches you could sleep on and not wake up soaked from a random high wave. All my textbooks were filled with sand.
Seven years later, after working at spas, fast food, organic retail, cleaning jobs, etc, I realized that I actually liked massage enough to go to school for 3 years. So my child entered kindergarten and I began massage school, again. I graduated from OVCMT in January 2011. I worked in Vernon at first, had another baby, worked in Abbotsford briefly, then came back to the Okanagan, working in various clinics and doing mobile massage, before beginning at Nexus Therapeutics.
In my practice, I tailor each massage to meet my clients specific needs. I draw from such tools as Swedish massage, deep tissue, myofascial release, muscle energy, TMJ, visceral, and CranioSacral Therapy. I also supervise students in the Student Clinic and Outreach Program for OVCMT, and enjoy watching them learn, and being reminded of my initial passion for how all the layers of fascia fit and work together.
