Barbara Blanchard, a highly respected teacher and practitioner, was one of the founding directors of the New England Shiatsu Center (1986-1991). She was the founding treasurer for the first national professional association for shiatsu, the American Shiatsu Association, which later merged with other national groups and schools to form the American Organization for Bodywork Therapies of Asia (AOBTA). She is currently a member of the AOBTA Advisory Council representing the style of Acupressure. Barbara also works part-time at the biology department at Massachusetts Institute of Technology researching the biochemical mechanisms and therapies for Alzheimer Disease. She is a graduate of the Acupuncture and Shiatsu Therapy Center of Boston and the New England School of Acupuncture (NESA). She was Director and primary instructor for the Acupressure Certification Program at OMNI, The Institute for Optimal Health in Hingham, MA, from 1997 to 1999. A licensed acupuncturist in Massachusetts and a certified instructor of the AOBTA, Barbara has taught her own style of Extraordinary Vessel Acupressure for more than 20 years. Her studies with Dr. Yoshio Manaka, Steve Birch, Kiiko Matsumoto, Shizuko Yamamoto and others have influenced her style in integrating classical and modern Japanese meridian theory with Asian bodywork and acupuncture. She brings a unique inspiration for learning and dedication to the healing arts to her students. Her private practice includes acupuncture, acupressure, magnet therapy and homeopathy. (Advanced Core Curriculum classes, Clinic Supervisor, Adjunct Therapies, Program Director and Administrator)

Isabel has been a movement educator for twenty years at Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, MA. where she has taught visually impaired adolescents. Working with the students she has learned many tactual and kinesthetic techniques, and she continues to teach movement and swimming with this special population part time. She completed her studies in Shiatsu and Acupressure at the New England Center for Oriental Bodywork in Brookline, MA. in 1995. Barbara Blanchard was one of her instructors and she has been influenced greatly by her unique style of Acupressure. Isabel graduated from the New England School of Acupuncture (NESA) in 1996 and is a licensed acupuncturist in Massachusetts. She has a part-time practice at the Watertown NESA clinic. She has been a NESA teaching assistant in Point Location and Clinical and Structural Anatomy. She has continued to work with special populations, successfully bridging her educational interests with her interests in energetic medicine. Isabel works at the Massachusetts Hospital School in Canton, MA, where she heads the pain management clinic and provides 10 hours a week of acupuncture and acupressure services to adolescents with physical disabilities. (Acupressure Point Location, Chair Acupressure, Clinic Supervisor of ATI Student Clinic, Clinic Supervisor of off-site internship at Mass. Hospital School)

Thom first began studying shiatsu in 1984. In 1988, he studied with Barbara Blanchard at the New England Shiatsu Center and in 1990 he was certified as a Shiatsu practitioner by the AOBTA. Since then, he has taught over 1000 adults and children to give Shiatsu massage, at the Boston Center for Adult Education (BCAE), Citizens Schools and Massachusetts Prevention Society. Thom is also a musician and artist, and brings those talents, and his sense of humor, into his teaching. Thom's students often feel empowered, especially when working on their parents or other adults, as well as kids their own age. Some may decide to take this on as a profession later. (Shiatsu for All Ages, Shiatsu for Kids, Shiatsu for Teens, Shiatsu for Adults, Beyond the Basics)

Jana is an internationally recognized shiatsu therapist and teacher, nutritionist and cranial sacral therapist. She is a graduate of the Shiatsu School in Limberg, Germany. She has studied with many teachers including, Buddhist monks from Thailand who taught Thai massage. From 1992-1999 Jana was a teacher and therapist of shiatsu, cranial sacral therapy, Thai massage, and nutritional conseling at the Shiatsu Health Center in Limberg, Germany. She is fluent in four languages (Czech, German, English, Russian). Jana brings her strong intuitive abilities and ten years of experience to teaching in an easily understandable and accessible manner. (Level 1A Fundamentals of Acupressure Shiatsu, Thai Massage, Nutrition series)

Mary has been captivated by the world of internal  martial arts since her first Tai Chi class in 1994. She has studied numerous Taoist energy arts consistent with a 2,000+ year lineage passed on by the late Grandmaster Liu Hung Chieh of Beijing to Master B.K. Frantzis with whom she has studied since 1994. Focusing on the health benefits and energy development of these practices, Mary became interested in the role energy (qi) has on a person s health and the concept of a unified mind/body/spirit. Her increasing desire to introduce the concepts to others motivated her to become a certified instructor of the Wu Style Tai Chi Short Form in 2000, and to graduate from Acupressure Therapy Institute in 2002 as a certified practitioner of Acupressure Shiatsu. The knowledge of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Japanese Meridian and Extra Vessel Theories complements her studies. Her overall objective is to empower people with tools they can use to live longer, healthier and happier lives. (Wu Style Tai Chi, Dragon & Tiger Qigong, Opening the Energy Gates Meditation)

Lisa has worked in the health care field for the past 15 years. She has a Masters in Public Health, with a concentration in Epidemiology/Biostatistics and Social and Behavioral Medicine. She is a graduate of the New England School of Acupuncture (NESA), where she studied acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine, and currently a faculty member in the Chinese Herbal Medicine department. She maintains a private practice in Cambridge, MA. She is interested in the intersection of Eastern and Western medicine, and is currently involved in an NIH-funded research project on evaluating complementary and alternative medicine. (Ethics)

Carolanne began her studies of shiatsu in Taiwan in 1992. She is a graduate of the New England Center for Oriental Bodywork Therapy. She has been working as a shiatsu therapist in the Pain Management Clinic at the Mass. Hospital School since 1997. She has been studying Tai Chi and Qigong since 1994, concentrating on the therapeutic aspects of those arts. She has a private practice in Brookline, MA. (Level 1A Fundamentals of Acupressure Shiatsu)

Dawn graduated from the Acupressure Therapy Institute in 2001. With an extensive work history in business entrepreneurship, Dawn has assisted a variety of companies through initial startup and establishing successful office procedures. Over 20 years in accounting and bookkeeping, tax preparation, sales and marketing and all stages of customer service production have exposed Dawn to a variety of companies and their needs, with a great awareness of local, state and federal regulations. She brings her business management skills to her desire to assist clients with shiatsu acupressure and presents to other bodyworkers the information to assist them in establishing practices. She has a private practice in North Attleboro. (Business Management)