Rio Levan

Nexus Therapeutics

2700 41 Ave, Vernon, BC, V1T 3H2

Initially, my passion for massage was fueled by the question, “How do you get in there?” How do you wind in to the heart of the problem, smooth it, melt it, unstick it, whatever, and come back out having accomplished something? The layout of muscle and bone still fascinates me, although not with quite the same nerdy obsession. Intuitive by nature, I wanted to have an actual concrete way of helping people, and always found touch to be an effective communicator. I wasn’t patient when I was first curious about massage. I did a 6 month course at Maui School of Therapeutic Massage, and managed to pass with decent grades despite spending my weekends hitchhiking around the island picking tropical fruit and learning what beaches you could sleep on and not wake up soaked from a random high wave. All my textbooks were filled with sand. Seven years later, after working at spas, fast food, organic retail, cleaning jobs, etc, I realized that I actually liked massage enough to go to school for 3 years. So my child entered kindergarten and I began massage school, again. I graduated from OVCMT in January 2011. I worked in Vernon at first, had another baby, worked in Abbotsford briefly, then came back to the Okanagan, working in various clinics and doing mobile massage, before beginning at Nexus Therapeutics. In my practice, I tailor each massage to meet my clients specific needs. I draw from such tools as Swedish massage, deep tissue, myofascial release, muscle energy, TMJ, visceral, and CranioSacral Therapy. I also supervise students in the Student Clinic and Outreach Program for OVCMT, and enjoy watching them learn, and being reminded of my initial passion for how all the layers of fascia fit and work together.