Current Associates

Victoria Stone

Tod Whitehurst

Chris Pohowsky

Janna Gebert

Staff Listing

Victoria Stone NCMT began massage training simply to add to her skills as a Hospice volunteer in 1989, never expecting massage therapy to become an occupation. She had previously taught Political Science, and had operated AdVantage Advertising Agency in Blacksburg , Virginia for a dozen years. But something was missing in her work life. She found that practicing massage therapy was far more gratifying and far less anxiety producing than her ad agency work. Receiving massage therapy had proved vital in restoring her health and well-being following a serious back injury in 1987, and had helped take the edge off the constant stress from her business life. She found she wanted to help others with their discomforts as she had been helped.

Victoria has specialized in various forms of clinical massage including deep tissue therapy, trigger point therapy, Thai yoga massage, pregnancy massage, cranio-sacral therapy, movement therapy, hot stone therapy, and most recently Watsu®, a form of aquatic bodywork based on Zen shiatsu. She is a Yoga Alliance registered yoga instructor, and a birth doula, providing comfort measures for laboring women. She and her partner, Tod Whitehurst, formed Massage Therapy Associates of the New River Valley in 2005 in Newport , Virginia , where they have established a therapeutic warm pool for their Watsu practice. In addition to their private massage practices, they teach continuing education classes in hot stone therapy, couples massage and partner yoga.

She has taught professional massage therapy classes since 1996, becoming a partner in Blue Ridge School of Massage and Yoga in 2000, where she continues as academic director and one of the primary instructors at the school. She has also taught a vocational class in self-massage, couple massage, and the prevention of repetitive strain injuries since 1992. She is a founding member of the Southwest Virginia Massage Therapists' Association, and a member of Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals.

IN APRIL 2007 her book, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Massage Illustrated, was published by Penguin Press.

Tod Whitehurst NCMT is a nationally certified massage therapist and a member of the Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals (ABMP). He is former President of the Southwest Virginia Massage Therapist Association. He is a founding member of the Massage Associates of the New River Valley . Tod is a faculty member of the Blue Ridge School of Massage & Yoga where he teaches classes in hydrotherapy, workplace massage, sports massage and hot stone therapy. Tod also teaches couples massage with his partner Victoria Jordan Stone through the YMCA’s Open University program. Tod is trained in a multitude of modalities including Medical Massage and his sessions consist of a set of combined deep therapies encompassing many different styles including a technique of his own called “Muscle Comforting”. Each session is tailored to the specific needs of his clients.

In the late 1990’s while traveling in northern California Tod experienced a profound form of bodywork performed in the warm waters at Harbin Hot Springs. The type of massage is called Watsu® which stands for water shiatsu. His healing and transformative experience with Watsu® led Tod and Victoria to travel to California in 2004 to attend training with the originator Harold Dull. They have established a healing warm pool nestled in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia where they offer Virginians an opportunity to experience the powerful healing combination of water and massage.

Associates

Chris Pohowsky: Certified Rolfer®

Chris has lived in Blacksburg , since 1989. His bodywork incorporates a structural, functional and educational approach, balancing, centering and organizing the body in relationship to itself and to gravity, evoking a more open and integrated body with increased ease and efficiency of movement. He received his Rolfing® training at the Rolf Institute of Boulder, CO and the Australian Rolfing Association in Sydney .

Janna Gebert: Certified Massage Therapist