Jen Chan, LMT, born in New York, is a licensed massage therapist (LMT) in VA and WA. She is a member of the Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals (ABMP), a member of the WA State Massage Therapy Association (WSMTA) and has 17 years of experience in providing relaxing massage and bodywork. Being first generation born in the states, she was introduced to massage at an early age by her Chinese parents (Massage is a “norm” not a luxury in life in the Eastern world).
Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals
(ABMP), a member of the WA State Massage Therapy Association (WSMTA), a
board certified member of the National Certification Board for Therapeutic
Massage; Bodywork (NCBTMB), and has almost 16 years of experience in
providing relaxing and treatment/sports massage. Being first generation born in the states, she was introduced to massage at an early age by her Chinese parents (Massage is a “norm” not a luxury in life in the Eastern world).
After being in a very bad car accident at the age of 15, it was chiropractic adjustments, acupressure, and massage that healed her body as best as it could be healed avoiding surgery (Your body is never 100% the same after an accident). That started her passion for massage, and the healing powers of touch. Jen graduated high school in VA and went straight to college. She graduated from Virginia Tech (go Hokies!) and went right into corporate America.
Throughout this whole time she continued to study massage on her own. She worked in the mortgage industry during the boom and noticed how tense and grumpy people were in the office when things got hectic. She left the crazy stressful mortgage industry and became a loan processor and then a Fraud Analyst for a student loan company. That was also unfortunately stressful, working long hours in front of two computer screens, body aching constantly from the work. Took a vacation to Amsterdam and when she came back decided enough was enough. Time to get into massage therapy and teach 1 person at a time how beneficial massage is.
Jen graduated from AKS Massage School in Herndon VA with honors. She is certified in sports massage and incorporates that passion into her volunteerism, providing massages at many events such as the JFK 50 mile Run, Run for Shelter/Loudoun County, March of Dimes “Walk America”, the Patriot Cup, Reston Relay for Life, and the Tom Dolan Swim Invitational. Before moving to WA, Jen had a thriving business in VA working on people of all ages and types. She has massaged everyone from the average person looking for stress reduction to the newbie who is interested in massage but has never experienced it before, from the talented high school kid trying to improve for college scouts to the weekend warrior, and from the pregnant woman looking for relief to the professional NFL player and MMA athlete.
Her 2nd specialty is working on people relearning safe touch and working on geriatric clientele, specially those with mobility issues or with dementia. On top of all the sports events, she also does corporate” events (customInk.com, Thomas Jefferson HS All Night Grad Party, Oakton HS All Night Gad Party, Teacher Appreciation, Employee Appreciation, Spirit Week). Jen received ADVANCED RENATAL TRAINING at her former employer and was a member of the American Pregnancy Massage Association (APMA).
While in VA, before moving to WA, Jen fell down the stairs trying to carry a large roll of carpet and also slipped on ice on the last step of her building during “Snowmageddon”. She twisted her right knee so bad, doctors thought she needed surgery. Her left patella, the knee cap, was dislocated. With massage therapy and the help of e-stim (electric stimulation) from the chiropractor’s office she worked at, on top of chiropractic care, she avoided surgery. (Did I mention when Jen was in junior high and high school she broke, sprained, and strained her right ankle multiple times from random sports accidents and used massage therapy to help heal her ankle)? Jen moved to WA to help her family with their seafood exporting business, but her job there is done and her focus now is on massage therapy and spreading the knowledge about massage and cannabis.
Jen is a member of NORML, NORML Women of WA, The Cannabis Alliance, Vashon Island MJ Entrepreneurs Association (now V.I. MJ. Enthusiasts Alliance) aka VIMEA, and participates and supports many organizations such as MJ Business Association (MJBA), Cannabis Woman’s Alliance. She has become a huge cannabis advocate and ambassador in the WA cannabis movement, spreading the knowledge of cannabis infused massages and CHABA massages.
Jen works on everyone and enjoys working and learning about the body with each session. ‘It has helped me heal from back and knee injuries and has also helped me avoid surgeries. Massage has been such a huge influence in Eastern medicine, it’s used to support and sustain optimal health. I’m shocked how insignificant it is here in the Western world. That needs to change because BODY WORK IS TOO IMPORTANT TO BE TREATED AS A LUXURY. There are too many benefits for it to be a luxury. Everyone needs massage’, Jen Chan, LMT. She is willing to work on payment options with people who cannot typically afford massage.
She continues to further educate her massage with continuing education. She hopes to learn more about lymphatic massage, craniosacral, and myofascial massage soon. In her part time, she likes to spend time with family, friends, travel (especially if there’s a passport involved), explore the state of Washington, check out new restaurants (big foodie!), anything sports related (huge sports fan! NFL NBA NCAA football/basketball MMA Boxing – the older I get, the less time I have to watch unfortunately) and discuss the importance of massage with people who have no clue. Knowledge is power!”