The Silk Mill Retreat

A Women’s Wholistic Ritual Inspired Boutique Spa

I've always been a free-spirited flower child, born in the wrong era my mom says. As a child, I loved making floral crowns for all the other girls in the neighborhood, spending hours laying in the front yard gazing at the clouds floating by, searching for 4 leaf clovers, and always on the look out for all things magic in my Gramma's garden.

Fast forward to my early twenties and I was struggling to find my path. I worked in retail and was a bartender for several years and while it provided me much needed personal growth, I found it wasn't fulfilling my need to really connect with people. I knew I wanted to go back to school but was wise enough to know traditional college wasn't for me. Growing up, I enjoyed giving my mom massages when she came home from working long hours (As single mothers usually do) and with her gentle push to explore a local Massage school, I quickly became fascinated with studying mind, body and spirit connections.

I graduated from Career Training Solutions in 2004, returned to school to earn my Associates in Massage Therapy from Heritage Institute in 2007 and graduated in 2008. I'm a Board Certified Massage Therapist with the NCBTMB and am also a Licensed Massage Therapist with the Virginia Board of Nursing. I've worked in a variety of settings from Medical Massage Clinics, Wellness Centers, Day Spas and High end Hair & Make-Up Studios. In recent years I've also worked with several popular artists, my most noted work has been with the "The What Makes You Country" and "Kill The Lights" tours. I've furthered my education by studying FasciAshi with the Center for Barefoot Massage, Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy (Later re-named DeepFeet Bar Therapy) Basics & Advanced Master Techniques, Ashi-Thai, Sarga Bodywork, Gua Sha Face Lift, Thai Herbal Poultice Facial Techniques, LWPO Lymphatic Drainage, Fijian, Bamboo Fusion, Lomi-Lomi, Abyhanga, Swedana, Garshana, Shirodhara, Champissage, Naysa, Ayurvedic Hot & Cold Stone Therapy, Reiki, Reflexology, Body Treatments, and Prenatal. My passion is ancient Massage, Beauty and Body rituals and I'm consistently searching for techniques to study and add to my practice.

After my husband and I welcomed our son in June of 2015, and because I've always had an interest in skincare passed down to me by my Grandmother (She says there's 3 things a girl should spend her money on cute shoes, linens and skincare) I decided I wanted to further my education by exploring Aesthetics. I graduated from Clarity Beauty Academy in 2016 and am a Licensed Esthetician through the Virginia Board of Cosmetology. I’ve also completed a course in Master Esthetics. I knew right away from my studies in Massage and passion for Ayurveda, I wanted to focus on the philosophy behind Slow Beauty by sharing the practice of daily self-care rituals with Whole Plant Based Products (Enter Laurel Whole Plant Organics) with my clients. Aesthetics has brought a unique balance between the muscles and skin to my practice and has opened doors to explore other healing techniques such as Crystal Healing and Plant Medicine into my personal life and studies.

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