Owner/operator of Muscle Elements, Marni has has been a Registered Massage Therapist for over 19 years.

After graduating from the Foothills College of Massage Therapy in Calgary, Alberta, she obtained employment with a prestigious spa located on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. After a few years of valuable experience working with talented therapists and challenged by seeing new clients daily, she headed back to Edmonton. Her passion lies in craniosacral therapy (CST), having trained with the Upledger Institute in several courses.

After the death of her mother, she was determined to create a healing sanctuary, where mind and body were able to find a path towards healing. With this intention, she opened Muscle Elements 14 years ago.

Carleen graduated from the MacEwan University Acupuncture program in 2006 and has been practicing as a Doctor of Acupuncture (D.Ac) and a Registered Acupuncturist (R.Ac) since then. She continued her education with courses with AcuSport Education & Sports Medicine Acupuncture and is also a Lactation Counsellor (LC). Over the past decade, she has focused on treating musculoskeletal health, mental health and wellness, endocrine disorders, pre- and post-natal care, birth, and fertility.

She works as a Registered Acupuncturist because she loves people and has always been drawn to helping others. She loves working at Muscle Elements because she works alongside a group of health professionals who are just as invested in helping others, and who get just as excited when they achieve progress with their clients. It makes coming to work very easy. Best of all, she can facilitate a person’s path to the understanding of their personal health through her own passion for health and wellness.

Carleen’s personal journey into natural health began in art school. She studied the inner workings of the body and movement, which inspired her to learn more. Her philosophy has evolved to empower people to feel in control of their personal wellness. Her practice allows her to educate her clients on their health so they can be empowered in their own healing. She provides compassionate care in a supportive environment to meet her patients’ physical and mental health and wellness needs.

“I firmly believe that collaborative medicine is the most integral part of true healing education is the root to health.”

JeeSun is a Manual Osteopathic Therapist, Massage Therapist and Physiokey Therapist.

Every client coming into the office is unique. Each and every body tells a different story.

Years of experience in massage therapy has taught her that our body is like puzzle. The body shows symptoms, however, the source of the problems might be far from where the symptoms are present. This is possible as all systems in our body are interconnected and interdependent through our fascial network.

This complexity led her to take the training for Manual Osteopathy, which assesses and treats the body as a three dimensional structure as it should.

She has also broadened her knowledge through additional extensive education in Craniosacral Therapy, Visceral Manipulation, Lymphatic Balancing and Neurovascular Release for Lumbosacral Stability and Freedom.

JeeSun is particularly intrigued by our main control center, our nervous system. In cases of irritated nervous systems, she incorporates PHYSIOKEY (bio adaptive impulse device) into her manual therapy to interrupt prolonged, overly sensitized nerve firing to redirect nervous system to calm pain signals. PHYSIOKEY effectively downregulates the nervous system, resulting in less pain and inflammation.

Her therapeutic interest lies in TMJ dysfunction/neck and its connection with your pelvis, upregulated nervous system (such as migraines), headaches, and myofascial pain.  Furthermore, the ‘gut-brain’ (our second brain) relationship and its influence on the musculoskeletal system. She emphasizes on organ-specific fascial mobilization (Visceral Manipulation) not only to increase mobility and motility of organs, but also to decrease the symptoms in muscles and joints.

JeeSun grew up in South Korea where western and eastern medicine co-exist with harmony. Respecting and encouraging our body’s inherent ability to heal has been a big part of her life.

She takes great pride in facilitating clients’ health concerns, assisting them holistically to get better.

James is both a massage therapist and a manual osteopathic therapist, and has a passion for holistic health and an ambition to learn. He graduated in 2015 from MH Vicars School of Massage and again in 2020 from the Manual Osteopathic College of Canada (MOCC). He has recently retired from municipal government work as a civil engineering technologist for transportation and engineering services, and is excited to enter this next chapter of his career.

James has completed his certification in the techniques level in Upledger craniosacral therapy (CST-T) after having studied extensively with the Upledger Institute (see here). He is also part of the International Alliance of Healthcare Educators (IAHE) as a teaching assistant. His passion lies in craniosacral work, with visceral manipulation as a close second, and he has taken Craniosacral Therapy for Pediatrics in March 2011, and Craniosacral Therapy for Pediatrics 2 in September 2012. He treats newborn babies up to 6 months old, and will refer out to another practitioner for older children.

James is fascinated with the light touch techniques that have created profound and lasting results with his clients. He is often able to assist his clients in achieving deep releases, which facilitates their healing journey back towards a more holistic state. His long term goal is to continue teaching with the Upledger Institute and eventually become a full time educator.

Heather graduated from MacEwan University’s Massage Therapy program in 2005 and has continued her education by studying orthopedic and therapeutic massage, myofascial cupping, hot stone massage and deep tissue massage. She specializes in migraine and headache treatments, motor vehicle accident rehabilitation, and chronic pain.

Heather always knew that she wanted to work in health care, and she decided to study massage therapy as it allows her to spend more time with her clients treating the whole person. One of her favourite moments is seeing a client looking forward to their therapy and feeling rejuvenated at the end of her treatment. Heather loves working at Muscle Elements because the environment is supportive to her clients and to the team of therapists, which allows her to provide the best quality of care to her clients.

According to Heather, the key to health is a balance from within. A person’s body knows how to heal itself, which can be facilitated with supportive health and wellness treatments. Holistic health is achieved through daily habits of eating well, being active, breathing deeply, and smiling often. She also loves to bake cookies with her daughter!

“I absolutely love what I do, and my training and skills have taught me to get to the root of the issue and find the right solution for my patients.”

Melissa completed the massage therapy program at Makami College and is a Registered Massage Therapist. She has also completed continuing education in deep tissue massage, fire cupping, relaxation and pre-natal massage.

Melissa loves working as a massage therapist because it provides her with an opportunity to help people and make them feel better. She’s worked in a seniors assisted-living home, providing compassionate care to our aging population. She loves working at Muscle Elements because it’s a supportive atmosphere with a great team that is passionate about helping others.

She believes in staying healthy and living an active lifestyle, as there’s no greater feeling than an energized body and sharp mind. This philosophy transcends into her work, as one of her favourite moments is in helping her clients alleviate their pain. Melissa believes that life is a gift, so it is important to enjoy every day.

“Keeping healthy and fit brought about my passion for health and wellness as it makes a person feel good and sharp. I am a naturally very caring and honest person, which helps me to provide the best care for my patients.”

Crystal completed the Alberta College of Massage Therapy program. Since then, she has also studied dynamic cupping, pregnancy and post-natal massage, as well as Access Bars. She completed an oncology massage program in March 2019 to help treat her clients that are going through cancer treatments.

After meeting with Marni, the founder of Muscle Elements, and her team of health and wellness professionals, Crystal felt excited to join the team. She’s confident that she can grow and learn so much from Muscle Elements and her team of colleagues, offering her clients the best quality of care.

Health and wellness is an essential part of her life, as it affects everything. For her, holistic health includes the body, mind, emotional and spiritual well-being. If something is out of balance, clients will feel it within their body. Learning to listen to the wisdom of our bodies helps facilitate our own inner healing. Every person faces challenges in their lives, from struggling with depression and anxiety, feeling insecure about body image or weight, managing stress and dealing with physical and mental pain. Crystal provides a safe space for her clients to leave their stress at the door, and become open to allow the healing to begin.

“I have become a registered massage therapist because I love the knowledge and science behind it; I enjoy making a difference in someone’s day, and because it’s what suits me.”

Melanie has been a Registered Massage Therapist for over 4 years, graduating from MH Vicars here in Edmonton. With a new baby born only two weeks before completing school, Melanie’s focus and passion has always been towards maternity and children. Receiving many prenatal massages at Muscle Elements during her pregnancy, Melanie knew that she would eventually be a part of the team. She is certified in prenatal massage, dynamic cupping, and therapeutic Hot Stones massage. She includes hot basalt stones and hot steaming towels during each treatment to further enhance the therapeutic effect of adding heat during the massage.

Melanie is a busy mom of 5 energetic children, and her other passions include cooking and baking for her family. They enjoy camping and traveling during the summer, while making the most of the snow covered terrain in the winter.

“My goal is to help people live better lives by utilizing the healing benefits of massage.”

Lacey is a loving, intuitive soul that has a passion for helping others reach their fullest potential. She graduated from the 3000-hour Advanced Clinical Massage Therapy program at Makami College with awarded distinction in her class. Trained in a variety of healing modalities, she strives toward creating a space for clients to embody inward focus and foster mind, body, and spirit  balance. Her philosophy is that clients know themselves better than anyone, and that they are both their own, and her, best resource when it comes to successful treatment. Her areas of expertise include myofascial release, deep tissue techniques, Swedish, and Neuromuscular therapy. In her free time, Lacey enjoys hiking, camping, yoga, creating art and spending time with friends.

Pamela is a registered massage therapist who recently graduated from Makami College in Edmonton, although her passion for healing and serving people is extensive. She has a background as a medical doctor in Argentina, specializing as a neonatologist. In 2014, when Pamela was in Argentina, she started to study holistic medicine. This is where she began to find the answers to why our bodies become sick with illness. This fueled her passion to further her skill set in training in traditional Chinese medicine, acupressure, reflexology and also aromatherapy.

She is trained in many different massage techniques, such as deep tissue, cupping, hot stones, reflexology and pregnancy massage, Each treatment she offers is tailored to your unique needs.

Your healing ignites her passion to support and facilitate your journey!

Yani is a recent graduate of Makami College in Edmonton, and is energetic, motivated and passionate about helping clients to achieve their wellness goals.

Her focus is deep tissue massages, which she finds to be the most effective for her clients. Yani is a very friendly and compassionate person, with experience in caring for individuals and their specific needs.

She excels in deep tissue, cupping, sports massage, lymphatic drainage, relaxation, and hot stone massage.

When she is not massaging, Yani can be found working at her other job as a Community Disability Practitioner at Robin Hood Association in Sherwood Park, or leading youth through music with her ministry at GCCM (Filipino congregation).

Jocelynn has always had a personal interest in health and wellness. She graduated from Alberta College of Massage Therapy in 2012 and has been practicing for 9+ years.

Her easy-going nature makes clients feel at ease so they can relax into their treatment.

Jocelynn has additional training in hot stone massage, Raindrop therapy massage, and cupping therapy.

As a group fitness instructor and personal trainer, Jocelynn has a good understanding of muscles and how to manipulate them effectively. She believes that quality of life and overall well-being is of the utmost importance.

You should leave feeling better after your massage! 🙂

Dhalia is passionate about massage therapy and how it can help you improve your life, stay healthy in your body and mind, and recover from injuries.

It has been an important pillar of self-care for her and her family for years. After leaving her career in Early Childhood Development, she has recently graduated from Makami College and will also complete her Manual Osteopathic Therapy training next year.

Her focus is on helping you relieve any pain you may be experiencing, and to relax and rejuvenate while on the table during your massage.

When she is not working, Dhalia can be found reading, hiking in the mountains, travelling and spending time with her family.

Ashtyn grew up with a love of the wild and taking care of people. Raised backpacking, rollerblading, skiing, and many other activities and sports, she was very active and learned a lot about the body through experience.

Her mother was the person to suggest taking a massage course in 2007, and almost 16 years later, massage is still a passion of hers. She completed her first year at Alberta Massage Training and for her second year, she attended the Academy of Reflexology and Massage, completing her 2200-hour massage diploma. Since then, she has taken courses in esthetics, myofascial rolling, additional massage courses and has completed her yoga teacher training. Ashtyn offers therapeutic, relaxation, hot stone. myofascial cupping, prenatal, pediatric and enlightened drop technique massage.

Her goal is to pull knowledge from her experience and schooling to help her clients leave their treatment feeling better, knowing they have a massage therapist who really cares, and excited to reach their next health and wellness goals.

Erika has a Bachelor of Science in nursing and is a graduate from MaKami College of Massage Therapy with over 2200 hours of massage experience. Currently, Erika specializes in deep-tissue massage therapy and swedish/relaxation massage therapy. She is currently enrolled in the Manual Osteopathic Therapy program in Edmonton.

Erika finds massage therapy to be a rewarding profession as she is able to use her knowledge about health to help people feel better through holistic methods. Erika is able to incorporate her nursing background within the foundation of her massage therapy, allowing her to have a unique perspective when treating clients. In addition, Erika is passionate about continual improvement and growth, always seeking new ways to improve her skills as a therapist.

“Massage therapy has always been a mode of healing for me. Each time I get a massage, whether it’s after an exam, work, or just to feel relaxed, I always feel the benefits of the massage mentally, physically, and spiritually. These experiences made me passionate about massage therapy and how it can help to improve our body, mind, and soul.” – Erika Quiroga

Erika enjoys reading books related to health and massage therapy. Erika also enjoys cooking, camping, and travelling.

When I lived in Cuba, I worked both as an entertainer at a resort and as a social worker. I enjoyed helping people feel better about themselves, and helping clients reduce stress. I also went to a sports school in Cuba where we were always putting our bodies under stress, without the help of massage therapy.
When I came to Canada, I took the 3000 hr registered massage therapist program through Makami, where I graduated in August 2020.
I feel proud of my work when clients get relief after their treatment, and return for their next treatment very happy about their increased mobility.
I personally like to use stretching during my treatment (depending on the client’s needs), and that is why I am getting ready to take the Traditional Thai massage course. After I graduated, I took a Hot Stone Treatment course and a Dynamic Cupping course.
Each client gets a customized treatment plan, focusing deep tissue massage to increase circulation and relief of soft tissue pain and stress.
I also enjoy giving my clients relief and improving the recovery of muscle injuries through sports massage. There is nothing that gives me more pleasure than seeing a person moving their bodies and smiling, knowing that their lives are feeling more mobile and pain free!