During her study and early practice she found that practicing Thai Massage was aggravating previous injuries and poor body mechanics. She began to modify her teachings to avoid injury and discomfort. These modifications would eventually become the TMT method.
Her method focuses on training the practitioner; a strong foundation of stability, alignment and focused attention to prevent injury, strain and fatigue. She spent years and thousands of massage hours creating her method, Little by little, she began stripping it back and rebuilding it, piecing together the TMT method.
Her masterful
approach to teaching, infectious enthusiasm
and compassionate instruction, demonstration and correction create a powerful learning environment. Deanna’s class
focus is on overall proficiency, a strong sense of body awareness,
quality instruction, a deep knowing and intention to her teaching,
along with an understanding of more subtle rhythms.
Her communication
is precise, and she provides meticulous instruction. She is
able to accurately and easily convey correct postures, stable
stances, peaceful movement modified to suit each individual
student pairing.
Deanna’s teaching method aims to instil confidence in her students, so they can walk out of a class with a full comprehension of how expansive Thai Massage is. She does not just teach body mechanics, but how those body mechanics can link with expanding the self, growing and helping others grow. She does not hold back information and shares every bit of knowledge with her class. She teaches the physical application of metta (loving kindness), and students often leave her classes feeling hopeful that they can transform themselves and help others to transform too. In Deanna’s class, students will learn not only Thai Massage techniques but also how to feel confident and how to be compassionate to others.
She is considered a pioneer of Thai Massage in Toronto, has sat on a number of Massage Association Boards and City of Toronto Metro Licensing and Standards stakeholders committees. It has been her mission for the Thai Massage industry to be accredited.
Deanna teaches
weekly at our TMT studio's in Toronto and Port Credit, Mississauga, also sharing her teachings internationally
at massage & yoga
conferences, conventions and workshops.
Deanna’s
lineage of Thai Massage Teachers:
Master Pichet Boonthume (Chiang Mai & Hang Dong Thailand)
Lotus Palm , Kam Thye Chow (Montreal) – teacher training
& teacher,
Old Medicine Hospital lineage ITTA (United States), Dr. Anthony James
Deanna
has sat or participated on these boards or committees:
Natural Health Practitioner of Canada (NHPC) Professional Development
Committee
Municipal Licensing & Standards (MLS) Stakeholders Committee
Canadian Practitioners Association of Canada (CPAC) Board Member
She is very active in spreading the word and accrediting
Thai massage in Canada.
Deanna is devoted to her husband Juan, yoga and daily meditation
practice.
Juan Villa
Teacher/Master
Practitoner,
One of the reasons Juan teaches Thai Massage is because it has been the best experience of any body work he has received or given. Through most of his careers, Juan has been a trainer or a guide, so teaching Thai Massage was natural transition. Being a Reiki master, Juan can teach Reiki as well, but Thai Massage is the body work that he finds best to teach.
Juan is very hands-on with his approach to teaching. He believes the sensing aspect of the TMT method is something one can only gain by following direction, and a hands-on approach is the best way to pass on this knowledge. In the many years that he has studied with other teachers or received students from others schools, he has found that the aspect of sensing is lacking. He believes that sensing is what distinguishes TMT from other schools. Juan`s classes don’t focus on theory, but rather getting hands-on, so that the student can get out of the box and let the imagination run wild. Juan`s teachings generally focus on the energy that is developed through the massage and its capabilities.
Juan exhibits a comprehensive and safe way to be able to practice Thai Massage with love and caring, so that his students have the principle of knowing and the ability to customize the massage for client needs. He does not want students to be cookie-cutter, but to be able to walk out with the confidence to customize a massage to a client’s needs and not follow a sequence. He does not focus on sequences; instead Juan’s focus is on the sensing. His concern is not with how many postures one can do in an hour but what postures are best for the client.
