In her table “Swedish style” work Melanie combines a deep knowledge of Thai massage and other Asian healing modalities with therapeutic Deep Tissue massage to create individualized, integrative sessions based on the client’s need for relaxation or deeper therapeutic work. She usually offers floor-based Traditional Thai in shorter 1.5 hour sessions or longer, therapeutic 2 or 2.5 hour sessions.

Melanie was first introduced to bodywork during her undergraduate theatre studies, from 1989-1992 she bicycled around the world, performing theater pieces and demonstrations of stage combat to fund the journey. During this travel through 4 continents she was fortunate to observe a great variety of healing and bodywork styles. A 6-month grant in 1996 to teach the actors of the National Theatre Company of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Africa allowed another opportunity to observe and experience differing healing modalities. These experiences led her to complete a pre-med program of study at Northwestern University, a massage therapy license in 2001 and a Master’s of Classical Chinese Medicine degree from The National College of Naturopathic Medicine (NCNM) in 2004. Although she currently offers acupuncture only to her established, private clients, her background in Chinese Medicine informs all her bodywork sessions. She also studied Shiatsu during a 2 year certificate program while at NCMN and offers 1.5 hour table-based Shiatsu sessions.

Melanie’s interest in Traditional Thai massage began during her earlier travels. In 2000 she was able to return to Southeast Asia for 6 months. After studying yoga in India (she holds a teacher's certificate in Classical Ashtanga yoga) she continued on to Thailand and studied Thai massage both in the south and north of Thailand. It had been her great honor to have studied with such masters of Thai massage as Pichest Boonthumme, Itthidet Manarat, and Nit Chaimongkol (Mama Nit). She continues to return for a few months every 2-4 years to work with her teachers in Thailand. In 2016 Melanie hiked 26 miles a day to successfully thru-hike the 2,700 mile Pacific Crest Trail from Canada to Mexico. She used her knowledge of deep tissue massage, acupressure and yoga to keep herself injury free while completing the 5 month journey.