Gentle Wave Massage Therapy is owned and operated by Tonya Ross.
I’ve been practicing massage therapy in Bellingham since 2017.
I am a Washington native who mostly enjoys inside hobbies, but I’m trying to work on being more outside-y! I love books, baking, handcrafts, and most importantly, dogs. I’ve been volunteering at the Whatcom Humane Society with dogs since 2018 so I have the privilege of petting a vast array of puppies on the regular!
Personal experience with massage therapy led me back to school after a series of office jobs and I haven’t looked back since. I find deep, personal satisfaction in helping people feel and function better in their day to day lives, and I hope to do this work for as long as I’m able.
I describe my massage style as relaxation based treatment work. While our goal will likely be to release tension and ease pain, I truly believe the best route there is through deep relaxation and nervous system calming in order to have optimal integration of the work into the body. I use stronger pressure judiciously where needed, but generally utilize a more moderate style throughout in order to give your subconscious the ability to feel safe and transition into ‘rest and digest’ mode. When your mind relaxes your body can begin to let go of its held tension patterns, which will support long term changes.
I am a trauma sensitive practitioner working on being more informed in this area.
