Christine G. Stineman
Licensed Massage Therapist,
Brown Belt Nia Instructor
Through teaching Nia and practicing massage therapy, it is with great joy I help people relieve pain and stress, learn more about themselves through body awareness and assist in their healing process. I love to help people feel better, move better and live better!
Always a lover of movement, I grew up enjoying dance, snow sports and biking. After graduating from college in Boston, my passion for movement brought me out west. I didn’t know at the time that it was in Colorado I was to realize my true calling. I just thought I was there to ski and ride all winter ...and dance all night... and bike all summer... and that I did for a while...
Nia found me in 2003 at the perfect time. I was at a crossroads of sorts and was struggling with which direction to go in my life. A very good friend recommended I try Nia. I took my first class and immediately was hooked. It felt so good dancing and karate chopping out my worries. I knew this was going to be powerful and transformational. I decided right then that I wanted to share this with others. My life hasn't been the same since.
Through practicing Nia, I was guided down a very complementary path. I became a massage therapist, graduating from the Colorado School of Healing Arts in 2004. I honed my craft at world class resorts in Colorado, Idaho and Florida before starting my own practice here in St. Petersburg. I’ve been in St. Pete for over 4 years now and since I’ve been here I’ve married, made new friendships, started my own practice, become a teacher of Nia Technique and am expecting my first child. I love my body and I love my life!
Certifications and Affiliations
- Licensed Brown Belt Nia Technique Instructor (2007)
- Licensed Massage Therapist, Florida # MA 47770 (2006)
- Certified National Certification Board of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (2006)
- Member Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals (2004)
- Certified Massage Therapist, Colorado School of Healing Arts (2004)
- Bachelor of Science, Bentley College (1994)
Michelle S. Fender
Licensed Massage Therapist
I started my life’s path with a love of dance, wanting it, craving it, begging for classes as a young girl. These classes gave me discipline and a great approach to my life, goals and dreams. Majoring in dance at S.U.N.Y. Purchase, I soon discovered a professional career in dance would not suit me, and started exploring other avenues of study in sociology and psychology. Also not a perfect fit, but very useful knowledge as I started traveling to other countries and exploring other cultures. It was in San Francisco that I realized massage therapy was a direction I wanted to move in…
Trained in a scratch bakery, I became a baker for some years. My interest and enjoyment of biking led me to be a bike mechanic after that. As much as I liked both of these types of work, I felt a need to do more, for the result of my work to have a greater benefit to my community, something health oriented. Massage therapy offered a chance for me to help others on their path to health and better living while continuing with my own.
The San Francisco School of Massage and the McKinnon Institute of Oakland are where I received the bulk of my massage training. Certified in Deep Tissue, Sports Massage, Swedish, Shiatsu, Thai, Prenatal, and Massage with the Elderly and Terminally Ill. I continue to learn and explore other modalities here in Florida. My views of massage are heavily influenced by the philosophies behind the Eastern techniques I’ve learned, one of these ideas being that we are all teachers, all students, we learn from each other. Massage therapy offers a vital component to a person’s overall pattern of health and well being, and I enjoy being a part of my clients healthy transformation. Through discussion, assessment and bodywork we work together to break old patterns that are not useful, showing the body a way to heal, a better way to perform.
Nia was a gift to me. When Christine began to teach me Nia, I had the profound experience of letting go of some past issues and was able to embrace the Nia technique, enjoying dance and movement at a level that I hadn’t experienced for a long time. Movement for the love of self, community, life. The idea of living by positive sensation to improve quality of life. The attitude that you are perfect, as you are, right at this moment. And you are.
Certifications and Affiliations
- Licensed Massage Therapist, Florida # MA 46447 (2006)
- Certified National Certification Board of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (2005)
- Certified Advanced Massage Therapist, San Francisco School of Massage (2000)
