ANDREA (ANDI) HERSH

Registered Massage Therapist

          My massage story began well before my professional certification in Ontario.
At the age of 5 or 6, I would give back massages to family members.  I revelled in the idea that it was helping them feel better.
​It took me many life chapters before I realised that I could actually do this for a living -- help people with their overall well-being .  It was at this time that I decided to test whether massage was the direction I should go in.  While in Thailand for four months I took a week-long Thai massage course.  That was it!  I found my path.
         
          Following that Thai experience (and a bit more travelling), I moved to Ireland where I enrolled in a 13-month "Holistic Practitioner" college program. The courses included Massage, Reflexology, Aromatherapy and Diet & Nutrition.  I practised these modalities for two years in Ireland and in the UK.  Eventually I returned to Toronto where I continued my education, enrolling in Kikkawa College's program which allows me to work in Ontario.  

          I started AH Massage Therapy out of my home as a Sole practitioner.  Over the past 10 years, I slowly expanded from a room in my home to a two room practice that included myself and 3 other RMT's.  The next expansion was 5 years later moving again into a space that allowed for four treatment rooms and 8 other RMT's.  This was an exciting challenge for me and I was thrilled with and proud of the AH Massage Therapy team and the wonderful feedback from patients and the neighbourhood.  Unfortunately, the Coronavirus pandemic took the world over and in March 2020, my AH Massage Therapy clinic was another of those affected to the point of closure.  I have now gone full circle and am back to practicing as a Sole practitioner/Registered Massage Therapist out of my home.  

          I am looking at this next chapter as a wonderful opportunity -- yes, it had to be forced on me, and I am still experiencing heartbreak, but I am trying to look at the positive in the situation.  I am still able to offer registered massage therapy and continue to assist people with bringing awareness into self care and their bodies, but because of new found time (I was working a 60 hour work week!), I am also now given the chance to work on myself more than I ever have.  

          I continue to educate myself through courses, reading, and talking with others in the field.  

          I have gained my TMD (TMJ dysfunction) mastery level 1, taken a focused course on perinatal (pre/post natal) massage, updated and expanded my Thai Massage techniques through more training, participated in a Cupping for RMT's workshop, spent a month at two separate occasions in India studying Indian Scalp Massage and traditional body work techniques the first time (2017) and Ayurveda bodywork techniques during my second visit (2020),  acquired my Ashiatsu certificate, and continue to add stretch/strengthen techniques to better provide self care/post treatment, for clients. Currently, I has been practising full-time as a CMTO Registered Massage Therapist for 14  years.