Our Massage Therapists
Abe
Walnut Creek
Abe graduated with Honors from NHI in 2014 and has spent the last 5-6 years refining the skills he learned. While on the NHI sports team he began to fuse modalities like sports massage with Shiatsu and Thai massage, and developed a love for clinical massage that addresses specific pains or health issues. A World traveler, he has played many different sports!
Modalities he uses include Swedish, Shiatsu, Thai, Deep tissue, Myofascial Release, Sports, and Anxiety release/ relaxing if necessary (and combos of).
Abe enjoys learning about and helping his clients meet their unique goals.
Caitlin
Danville
Caitlin (she, they) offers bodywork as an invitation to reconnect with one’s innate sense of balance and flow. She strives to meet each client as they are with compassion and curiosity, holding space for the whole person. Her modalities include Swedish massage, deep tissue massage, shiatsu, and acupressure; she enjoys the musicality and versatility of working with muscles, qi/chi, and breath. She is particularly interested in trauma-informed bodywork and the human voice.
When Caitlin first sought massage for pain relief, the profound impact on her energy and mental health begged a deeper understanding. In 2017 she completed a 500-hour program at McKinnon Body Therapy Center in Oakland. She has since practiced at the McKinnon BTC Graduate Clinic, at Bayan Roots, and privately at Manzanita Wellness Clinic. She currently teaches at McKinnon BTC.
Caitlin is a lifelong student. She is immeasurably grateful for the community of practitioners, mentors, and ancestors who have developed this vast knowledge of bodywork and who continue to keep it alive through study, practice, and transmission.
Chelsea
Walnut Creek
Born and raised in the Bay Area, Chelsea has always been an avid lover of movement, dabbling in various sports, hiking, theater and dance.
She graduated from National Holistic Institute Advanced Neuromuscular program, and has since become an enthusiast of puzzles of the human body. Her perspective on massage is that you are the expert on your body and its sensations, her job is to help you find the right tools in and out of session to achieve your goals. Goals can range from stress release and relaxation to targeted focus work dealing with injury or chronic pain. Her priority is working with you to make sure each session meets your needs and is happy to make adjustments as they are needed. She specializes in Swedish, Myofascial and Neuromuscular therapy.
Claudia
Danville
After years of athletics and countless injuries that have needed time to heal, Claudia understands the importance of self care and maintenance a person needs to have a steady recovery. During her time at school, National Holistic Institute, she also gained experience at San Jose State University with the Athletic Training department treating their athletes for recovery from an injury or prepping for a game.
She has a background in massage therapy at a chiropractic office and wellness center where she learned from different individuals on how to care for specific areas due to stress and injuries ranging from car accidents to sports related. With a knowledge of kinesiology, current studies in psychology, and years of experience as a soccer player, she brings a focus of therapeutic work for individuals that have experienced injuries, traumas, stress, pain or are seeking general maintenance for the body. She comes with a heavy hand, but understands that every person is different and adjusts the pressure accordingly to the client’s standards.
Gina Tibbs
Walnut Creek & Danville
Gina Tibbs, HHP, Instructor / Therapist, is the founder of Loosen up Bodywork. As a practitioner, her focus is on listening to her clients’ experience, to help them understand their bodies’ needs, and to create a plan to reduce pain that will work for their lifestyle. Her sessions range in intensity depending on clients’ needs but clients always walk away feeling like they understand more about their condition and empowered to care for themselves.
Her goal as a mentor and business owner has always been to connect people with practitioners who have the unique skills to help them. Massage therapy is a vast field of specialties and each requires time to master. Gina takes pride in bringing talented therapists into Loosen Up and helping them build a fulfilling practice where their unique skills can be honed and utilized by the people they can most help.
Imani
Walnut Creek
Imani is dedicated to providing a unique blend of spa-like relaxation and clinical expertise in every session. With a focus on communication and comfort, her goal is to ensure a holistic and personalized experience for each client. Specializing in Swedish massage, Deep Tissue, Assisted Stretching, and Trigger Point Release, she will work with you to find the right tools to meet your goals for each session.
Israel
Danville
As a dedicated massage therapist with 15 years of experience, Israel helps his clients achieve physical and mental well-being through customized therapeutic techniques. Since 2008, he has worked with a diverse range of clients, addressing needs ranging from relaxation and stress relief to chronic pain management and rehabilitation.
He has trained in many modalities including Acupressure and Qigong style. He also incorporates advanced techniques like myofascial release and trigger point therapy into his sessions. He’s experienced in auric and energy field work as well and helps his clients integrate the mental, emotional, physical and spiritual bodies as whole. His holistic approach emphasizes personalized care, ensuring that each session is tailored to the unique goals and preferences of his clients.
In addition to providing exceptional massage therapy services, he collaborates with other healthcare professionals to support comprehensive wellness plans. He is committed to ongoing education and professional development, allowing him to stay current with industry advancements and continually refine his skills.
Whether you are seeking relaxation, recovery, or a path to enhanced well-being, Israel creates a soothing and effective experience that fosters balance and vitality.
Jacki
Danville
Jacki, a Certified Advanced Neuromuscular Massage Therapist, fell into massage by generously giving her friends a massage. With 15 years of practice, Jacki is a forever sponge, always willing to soak up the knowledge of the body.
She was an instructor at IPSB College teaching Hydrotherapy and Self-Care and at Pacific College of Health and Science teaching Tui Na Massage. She is a fan of all things Disney, Harry Potter, Spice Girls, SF Giants, and 49ers, to name a few. She may be a child at heart, but she always shows professionalism, maturity, and dedication to massage and her clients.
Jacki incorporates and specializes in Deep Tissue, Neuromuscular Therapy, Tui Na, and Swedish. In her sessions, she is thorough at finding “troubled” muscles that could help alleviate the origin of pain or discomfort. She enjoys making “sandwiches” in her session – start with a bit of Swedish to see how the muscles feel (something nice), add more pressure – if needed – with additional focus (no so nice part), finish it with a more soothing technique (make nice), and add some stretching where needed.
Kennadi
Walnut Creek
Kennadi’s life has always focused on fitness & wellness, which has led her to a career in massage therapy. She is a graduate of the National Holistic Institute and Advanced Neuromuscular Program. Her passion for massage and anatomy combined with her friendly personality & communication skills result in her clients feeling both relaxed and restored.
Krystal
Walnut Creek
Krystal Cade brings deep tissue massage to the table with a chiropractic background.
Marcial
Walnut Creek
Marcial comes to us with a wonderful, wide-ranging mix of knowledge from Western and Eastern massage modalities as well as Native/Latin American Shamanic healing arts. He found massage through his mentors, learning the art of Esalen massage and has lectured at UC Berkeley and the University of Northridge on his experience combining energy work with massage. After an injury to his own back, Marcial began to study ways to heal soft tissue.
He found Mckinnon Massage in Oakland and began specializing in deep tissue and sports massage.
Marcial knew he was meant to work with people and the body and utilizes multiple techniques from all such modalities to bring balance back to “you” your body.
Modalities: Swedish, Deep Tissue and Sports, Shiatsu, Acupressure, Lymphatic Drainage, Esalen, Shamanic and Curanderismo.
Michael Cuglietta
Walnut Creek
Michael found massage through his own athletic endeavors competing in track and field and trying to qualify for the Olympic Trials in 1996. During this time he discovered the benefits of receiving massage for improving performance and for preventing injuries. Michael is a USATF certificated coach and works with two local high school teams as well as amateur runners needing help with training plans.
Michael is also a Sports/DT Massage Instructor and has considerable knowledge of anatomy and muscle function. He is happy to explain techniques and very helpful in understanding the path to take for better muscle function. Being a running coach and having worked in shoe retail as well, he is able to analyze gait and give advice on running shoes and equipment.
“Massage is an important part of one‘s routine for peak performance. Whether you are a weekend warrior or a pro athlete, none of us want to suffer through an injury and/or be sidelined from our activity. Reaching for the best range-of-motion and the ability to rely on your muscles’ full capacity will save your body, mind and spirit.”
Michael H.
Walnut Creek & Danville
My work is a fusion of structural techniques, Ortho-Bionomy, Deep Tissue, and Cranial Sacral techniques. The approach addresses many skeleton-muscular dysfunctions: back and headache pain, rotator cuff dysfunctions, scoliosis, and hypermobile joints. I have had a lot of success working to help with postsurgical pain, TMJ, and whiplash injuries. Athletes with sports injuries, active folks, and those wanting to address chronic or acute pain will benefit a lot from my work.
If you have had surgeries or are anticipating surgeries this work is ideal. I have worked with clients post heart valve replacements, heart attacks, HIV/AIDS, Multiple Sclerosis, and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. This work is deeply relaxing and healing. It is non-invasive, and does not cause pain, nor does it use painful techniques to release pain. I am excited to be working with you here at Loosen Up Bodywork.
Michael L.
Danville
Michael entered into the healing arts to become more in tune with his own body and to train to keep his body vital for optimal longevity. His work is based in structural integration; which is to say the process of unifying the body at the musculo-skeletal level. Michael does classic deep tissue, sports, and myofascial release, but approaches these from a Rolfing perspective. His goal is to promote as much movement in the body as possible, so that we can use our bodies in their totality and, for example, not throw our back out because we tried to lift a heavy object by engaging just our spine in a lever-like way.
He’ll also remind you during your sessions that our breathing should engage every muscle and connective tissue in our body. Michael uses a lot of Tai Chi principles and movements to train the body not only to hold the changes in the tissue we make in session but to learn to unify the body and to be more sensitive and aware of our bodies.
Mitch
Danville
Mitch Pengilly studied the core massage program at the National Holistic Institute before going on to complete its advanced neuromuscular therapy program. He has been a massage therapist for 6 years, having worked in a variety of settings ranging from corporate chair massage events to spas to the clinical rehabilitative field he currently enjoys.
His experiences growing up with chronic pain inspired his decision to pursue massage therapy. The body mechanics and self-care techniques he learned through his massage education helped him alleviate his condition and enjoy a vastly improved quality of life. Now he wants to use what he’s learned to help other people struggling with their own forms of pain, both through massage and through advising clients on exercises and practices they can adopt in their daily lives to reduce that pain.
With the newfound energy and relief that massage has provided him, he likes being active in a variety of ways, including archery, Muay Thai/kickboxing, and rock climbing, but he enjoys a wide range of nerdy interests as well.
He employs a background in myofascial release and trigger point therapy–combined with techniques incorporated mainly from Shiatsu, sports massage, pin and stretch, and Thai–to find and release tension in his clients. He is passionate about his work and deeply grateful for the opportunity to offer this service to people.
Zayn
Walnut Creek
Zayn decided to become a massage therapist when their personal healing journey led them to somatic therapy and they discovered the power of bodywork.
Zayn is a caring and empathetic massage therapist focused on facilitating the healing of muscles and the client’s nervous system alike. They have always been fascinated by the mind-body connection and studied neuroscience in their undergraduate studies. Their background helps them approach clients with a trauma informed touch and a goal of rewiring the nervous system’s muscular holding patterns. They achieve this through collaboration during the session to ensure the pressure of the touch is tailored to the client’s body’s readiness. In that process, Zayn hopes to facilitate a greater sense of body awareness and mind-body connection.
Zayn has trained at McKinnon Bodywork and Therapy in Swedish, deep tissue, cupping therapy, and lymphatic drainage massage and is continually adding new specialties and modalities to their repertoire. As a former educator, Zayn values teaching clients about the massage techniques they’re using and how it can support their healing goals.
Our Interns
Loosen Up Bodywork partners with select local message therapy schools to offer internship opportunities to students. All interns come to us with 400+ hours of coursework and practice. They are ready to provide you excellent care at a very affordable rate. We don’t always have interns, so grab an appoint with them while you can!
