“Healthy isn’t a goal,
it’s a way of living.”

About Me

Hello! I am Elena. To me, movement is life, and life is movement! I have always been physically active, and involved in various athletic activities. My other keen interest has long been natural healing and self-improvement. Throughout my life, I have chosen careers in the wellness, fitness, and care taking professions. A medical school graduate from Moscow State University, I specialized in sports medicine. However, I chose to pursue a professional path other than medicine.

After graduation, I worked as a Fitness Trainer and Swimming Instructor for several years. Apart from working with adults, I trained children and teenagers with musculoskeletal challenges, as well as coached all ages in swimming technique and conditioning.

I lived in Russia at that time, where developmental and physical health benefits of baby and infant swimming had been in the mainstream, for decades. After getting my Baby Swimming instructor certification, I experienced the joy of working with the little ones, and their parents, in the warm water.

In 2009, I moved to the United States, and soon pursued education towards a preschool teacher permit!

Yet my yearning for hands-on therapy and coaching, and for being in the fitness and wellness professional sphere, soon took me on to my next endeavor – to get certified as a Personal Trainer and Health Coach through the American Council on Exercise (ACE). After working as a fitness trainer for a while, I found myself in the bodywork field, starting my practice as a Licensed Massage Therapist. And my new profession even took me to work on a cruise to Antarctica!

To add to my repertoire of skills, I was happy to discover Watsu® and WRT Water Release Therapy®, and pursued my training and certification. The highlight of my newly discovered career in the Aquatic Bodywork field was briefly meeting and working with Harold Dull, the creator of the original method – Watsu®.

My latest endeavor became learning a profoundly restorative resistance flexibility method called Dynamic Contraction Technique™ (DCT), from its creator Nic Bartolotta. It has an application in sports and physical therapy alike, and is a fresh way to look at myofascial biomechanics. As I find myself gravitating more and more towards the physical therapy application of land-based bodywork, rather than spa, I am considering what neuromuscular technique may come next on my list of continuing education and certifications.

“I have found that if you love life, life will love you back.”

~ Arthur Rubinstein

Education, Certifications, & Credentials

  • Dynamic Contraction Technique (DCT) level 1 Practitioner, Pacific Coast Sports Medicine, Los Angeles, 2019
  • Mobility and Performance specialty certificate, Exercise ETC., Los Angeles, 2019
  • WRT Water Release Therapy®, WRTB Water Release Therapy Board, 2016
  • Basic Watsu®, WABA Worldwide Aquatic Bodywork Association, 2016
  • Certified Massage Therapist, California Massage Therapy Council, 2013
  • Health Coach, American Council on Exercise (ACE), 2013
  • Personal Fitness Trainer, American Council on Exercise (ACE), 2011
  • Child Development Associate Teacher permit, California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, 2011
  • Baby Swimming Instructor, Institute for Restorative Medicine, Moscow, Russia, 2008
  • Fundamentals of Massage Therapy, College of Medicine, Moscow, Russia, 2003
  • Resident Physician, specializing in Sports Medicine, Institute for Sports Medicine, Moscow, Russia, 2004 to 2006
  • Doctor of Medicine, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia, 1996 to 2003

My Philosophy in work

No matter what occupation route I would undertake, I always found myself working with people, not with papers at a desk, and always in the wellness and care professions. It is a joy for me to be able to integrate the mind, body, spirit, and treat them as a whole. It has been a privilege to be trusted with the two most precious things people have – their bodies, and their children. Between land and water, with babies through seniors – it is equally rewarding to connect and work with people of different ages, backgrounds, and abilities. To listen and understand their needs, and physical challenges, and feelings. Share achievements, and smiles, as well as guide them through fallbacks and relapses. I believe in treating people the way I want to be treated. I believe in teamwork. I believe in natural healing abilities. You’ve got everything it takes. Tune into your body’s innate wisdom. My job is to help with therapy, training, care and guidance.

My Philosophy in work

No matter what occupation route I would undertake, I always found myself working with people, not with papers at a desk, and always in the wellness and care professions. It is a joy for me to be able to integrate the mind, body, spirit, and treat them as a whole. It has been a privilege to be trusted with the two most precious things people have – their bodies, and their children. Between land and water, with babies through seniors – it is equally rewarding to connect and work with people of different ages, backgrounds, and abilities. To listen and understand their needs, and physical challenges, and feelings. Share achievements, and smiles, as well as guide them through fallbacks and relapses. I believe in treating people the way I want to be treated. I believe in teamwork. I believe in natural healing abilities. You’ve got everything it takes. Tune into your body’s innate wisdom. My job is to help with therapy, training, care and guidance.

“It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable”.

~ Socrates

Be Well!

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