Louise is a registered acupuncturist, reflexologist, and practices Indian Head Massage. After completing her reflexology certification in 2012, she began a deep learning dive into other healing modalities, which eventually lead her to study Acupuncture at Pacific Rim College.

Raised in Devon, England in a rural farming community she developed a passion for natural healing through organic fresh and local food. Today in Sooke, she farms 3 acres of organically grown food and raises chickens and ducks alongside her large family consisting of her husband, their 5 sons, and their cute ball of fluff Floki the black lab.

Louise is grateful for her early foundation of living a more natural lifestyle, in-tune with nature and the seasons. “We spend so much time fighting the natural order of things and that can be a great cause of suffering.” Her treatments are multi-faceted, incorporating traditional acupuncture techniques, auricular acupuncture, Gua-Sha, Cupping, Moxa and Tui-Na where appropriate, alongside offering self-care techniques and dietary information. She fully trusts each individual’s innate power to heal their self and simply offers a gentle nudge here and there to allow that process to get back into alignment.

Louise has treated a wide range of health concerns not limited too, but including, high blood pressure, chronic pain, diabetes and neuropathy, musculoskeletal issues, menstrual cycle disorders, mental and emotional distress, and allergies. There is no better compliment than a patient getting back to their normal activities and daily routines happy, healthy, and pain-free.

Eleven years after starting with studying reflexology, Louise also hold’s a Diploma of Arts and Science, a Diploma of Acupuncture, and is certified in Indian Head Massage, Mei Zen Facial Protocols, Acusculpting Cosmetic Acupuncture, Channel Examination, Diagnosis and Qi Dynamics and Deepening Skills. She is passionate about expanding her skills and learning about all things holistic from nourishing ourselves physically, mentally and emotionally and deepening our connection to the earth and each other.

Louise is a registered acupuncturist, reflexologist, and practices Indian Head Massage. After com... Read More

Michelle is a graduate of West Coast Reflexology in Victoria for Core and Foot Reflexology. She has also completed the fully-accredited professional hand reflexology course with Dr. Karen E. Wells with the Kew Training Academy and is certified in hand reflexology.

Michelle believes passionately in self-care and found reflexology when dealing with foot pain. With its non-invasive approach, she soon after added reflexology to her self-care routine. With a passion for helping others, Michelle decided that she wanted to work in the health and wellness community and became a certified reflexologist.

Complementing other therapies and modalities, reflexology brings stress relief and relaxation, and it helps the body heal itself by stimulating the circulatory and lymphatic systems and by encouraging the release of toxins.

While currently certified in core and foot, as well as hand reflexology, Michelle is in the process of attaining her certification in Facial Reflexology as well. Adding facial reflexology to her offerings will reward her clients, as it will enhance the beautiful benefits of reflexology.

Michelle looks forward to working with you to help optimize your overall well-being and all the health benefits reflexology has to offer.

Michelle is a graduate of West Coast Reflexology in Victoria for Core and Foot Reflexology. She h... Read More

Jacquie Lynn (JL) has been serving as a Spa and Wellness professional for 27 years, and continues to evolve as an empathetic and sensitive practitioner and person through VCA, where she’s been working since the clinic’s inception in 2011. She received her early career certifications of Aesthetician and Body Care Specialist in 1996, and has essentially been pursuing education in areas of special interest ever since. This learning for life has led JL to be studied and experienced in multiple kinds of modalities such as: Acupressure, Aromatherapy, Craniosacral Therapy, Energy Balancing (various techniques including Aura Cleansing, Chakra Balancing, & Magnetic Therapy), Foot Reflexology, Incense Crafting, Meditation, all three degrees of Reiki. Through her practice, she emphasizes openness to the process and intuitive exploration of body ways to activate positive shifts for the integrative healing of our body, mind, emotions, energetics, and spiritual connectedness. You can find her current offerings under the discipline of Holistic Spa Services at VCA.

Jacquie Lynn (JL) has been serving as a Spa and Wellness professional for 27 years, and continues... Read More

Jessica Joy believes that within the body there is an innate intelligence beyond what our conscious minds could ever fully understand. Her bodywork approach then is one of deep listening to the wisdom of the body, aiming to work with the natural movement of this intelligent life force, rather than attempting to force it into a change.

She graduated from Cortiva Massage Institute of Seattle in 2012, and practiced as a licensed massage therapist there before moving to beautiful Victoria BC on Lekwungen Territory in 2021. She also completed a one year certificate training in Craniosacral Therapy in 2019, as well as numerous other trainings over the years in modalities such as Lomi Lomi, trauma informed touch, somatic healing, and energy work. She is a Reiki master as well as a certified Wellness Counsellor.

Jessica blends her extensive skill set with her intuitive approach to deliver a treatment that is attuned to the individual needs of her client.

She offers Customized Massage, which takes both a treatment and relaxation approach depending on the client’s needs and goals, blending manual tissue manipulation with Warm Bamboo (similar to hot stone but deeper tissue). She also uses Gua Sha and silicon cupping as needed to help release tight spots and bring fresh circulation into congested areas.

She also offers her signature Somatic Energy Work sessions, which combine craniosacral therapy, chakra healing, and somatic body dialogue to address the emotional, energetic, and nervous system roots of physical pain, or as a support through challenging life events.

Stand alone craniosacral sessions are also available as an integrative add on to other services at VCA, or for any time a nervous system reset is needed.

Jessica Joy believes that within the body there is an innate intelligence beyond what our conscio... Read More

What is Bowen therapy?

Bowen therapy is a gentle form of myofascial release work. It is a therapeutic modality that was created by Tom Bowen in the 1950’s in Geelong, Australia.

One of the main aims of Bowen therapy is to bring the body into parasympathetic balance, which basically means to calm the nervous system. All healing happens in the body when it is in parasympathetic dominance. This is the normal resting state of the body, and it’s where you go when you digest food and when you are asleep at night.

One of the other main aims of Bowen therapy is to gently loosen fasciae adhesions. When you have an old injury or you are in certain postures on a day to day basis, your fasciae matrix (white spider-web like tissue that overlays muscles) can become stuck to your muscles, hard and brittle. It is meant to be fluid and movable. The gentle rolling motion over your muscles seeks to gently break up adhesions as well as to improve blood and lymph flow to your tissues, if it was previously impeded by your stuck fascia.

How does it work?

The “Bowen moves,” are a series of moves that address your body as a whole, focusing on attempting to bring the body into balance. The practitioner will provide gentle pressure to a spot on the belly of a muscle, and with that pressure make a gentle rolling motion overtop the muscle. Proprioceptors in the muscle are stimulated via the nervous system and the muscles resting tension level can reset. There are breaks between sets of Bowen moves, so the practitioner will perform a set of moves and leave the room for a pause so that the body can integrate.

Who could possibly benefit?

Bowen therapy has been utilized to support the bodies natural healing when there have been certain musculoskeletal injuries and structural misalignments. It does not use force in the same way a chiropractic treatment would but it can be an adjunctive support to either chiropractic work or massage, although there are certain timeframes that make most sense when integrating treatments in a plan.

Traditionally, Bowen therapy has been used to support the bodies natural healing process in situations such as:

• arthritis (depending upon origin)
• head and neck tension
• digestive concerns where stress may play a role
• TMJ dysfunction (temporomandibular joint - jaw tension)
• frozen shoulder and shoulder pain (depending upon origin)
• tennis elbow
• carpal tunnel
• postural problems
• foot and ankle problems
• knee and hip restriction
• sciatica (depending upon origin)

If you have questions in terms of deciding whether or not this therapy could possibly benefit you, feel free to call the office or send an email.

I love this therapy particularly for its aim in terms of resetting the ‘mind-body’ connection. We are all moving so fast these days that the stresses of life seem to crop up in our systems. As Peter Levine has pointed out, animals in the wild will “shake out” their trauma. We are not taught to do the same as human beings. Old emotions can be stored in the body. Sometimes a Bowen treatment can accompany an emotional release but not always. As always, the body is wise in knowing when or not to release old emotional debris.

My aim is to hold a therapeutic space that facilitates healing for you in whatever capacity your bodies innate intelligence allows. We can never guarantee a result but we can hold an intention for your deepest healing, whatever that may look like.

I look forward to working with those that this resonates with. I look forward to serving you and supporting you on your healing journey back into right relationship with you.

A treatment plan is determined after the initial assessment.

What is Bowen therapy? Bowen therapy is a gentle form of myofascial release work. It is a therap... Read More

Joleen is an acupuncturist & herbalist. She has recently begun practicing the Neoclassical Acupuncture style. Neoclassical Acupuncture works at treating the root of any issues that you’re facing, and can be very helpful in working on pain conditions (both chronic and acute), migraines/headaches, digestive complaints, emotional & hormonal imbalances, chronic disease and more. Joleen also offers cosmetic acupuncture and has trained in the Mei Zen style of facial acupuncture. She also offers Abdominal Mei Zen acupuncture for weight loss and fertility.

As a herbalist, Joleen crafts individualized herbal medicines for each person’s unique situation, which may take the form of tinctures, teas, creams, capsules, and so on.

Joleen is trained in NAET as well, and also offers needle-free (LLT laser) acupuncture.

Joleen is an acupuncturist & herbalist. She has recently begun practicing the Neoclassical Ac... Read More

Tegan’s own experiences with physical limitations fuelled her passion to further explore and understand the workings of the body. She immersed herself in the bodywork program at the Vancouver School of Bodywork & Massage. There, she gained a deeper understanding of how the body and mind are interconnected. She then continued to pursue her desire to expand her knowledge of the human form and graduated from the Vancouver School of Massage Therapy. Tegan’s background and education have helped her to build a well-rounded intuitive- and medical-based practice that encourages both body awareness and empowerment.

She is passionate about working with others and values creating a comfortable and safe environment for her clients. Tegan believes it is important to understand the root cause of an issue to effectively treat the person on a whole. She encourages her clients to participate in their own self-healing by promoting body-awareness and providing individualized remedial exercises. She utilizes a variety of modalities to assist her clients to regain natural, fluid function.

Tegan’s own experiences with physical limitations fuelled her passion to further explore and unde... Read More

Holly graduated from the RMT program at Langara College in Vancouver, BC. Her curious and thoughtful approach to massage is how she creates personalized treatment plans, and likes to use a variety of techniques that can both calm the nervous system and offer a soft tissue release. Regardless of your pace of life or stress levels, Holly believes that incorporating massage into one’s routine is an important way to prioritize self-care and a valuable piece for mental and physical health.

Holly graduated from the RMT program at Langara College in Vancouver, BC. Her curious and thought... Read More

Michelle is mother of two wonderful boys and her love for skincare began at an early age while modelling in Tokyo. Having worked for beauty lines she learned early that taking good care of your skin has benefits. Focusing on skincare became mainstream for Michelle and after working in a medical spa she opened Nubare Skincare. So now with 18 years experience in Calgary, she is excited to join the VCA Spa in Victoria!

Michelle focuses on each person individually so no one treatment is the same; however, chemical peels are her specialty as well as microneedling and dermaplaning. Facial massage is also a key factor in Michelle’s treatments with lymphatic drainage and lifting techniques. All products used deliver optimum benefit to the skin wether it be fine lines, acne, rosacea, dryness, or collagen depletion, and the results are amazing!

Michelle is mother of two wonderful boys and her love for skincare began at an early age while mo... Read More

Hayley Stobbs, R.Ac., CNC, is a registered acupuncturist and certified nutritional consultant. Hayley’s personal introduction to Chinese medicine and nutrition began at the age of eight years old. Health challenges at a young age gifted her with a sense of empowerment and empathy, which inspired her passion for wellness. 

Hayley gently guides each patient towards achieving health goals through attentive listening, skillful needling, and a sincere heart. She believes that customized diet and lifestyle routines along with deep relaxation treatments can profoundly awaken one’s innate ability to heal. Treatments include acupuncture, Chinese massage, cupping, gua sha, food as medicine, and self-care recommendations. Complementary modalities assist in improving circulation, hormone and nervous system balance, detoxification, and nutrient assimilation. 

Hayley’s special interests include stress-related symptoms, women’s health, menstrual irregularities, pain, anxiety, insomnia, allergies, facials, pregnancy & labour preparation, and digestive health. Quality treatments are nurtured via ongoing continuing acupuncture education. You can find out more about Hayley’s work through Instagram @hayley.stobbs.acupuncture, or at her website: www.innerpassacu.com.

Hayley Stobbs, R.Ac., CNC, is a registered acupuncturist and certified nutritional consultant. Ha... Read More

Rachel van Wersch is a Registered Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner (R.TCM.P) who studied both acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine at Pacific Rim College in Victoria. After completing over 2900 hours of instruction, including over 700 hours of clinical experience, Rachel graduated summa cum laude with a Diploma of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. Prior to her TCM studies, Rachel earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Victoria.

Traditional Chinese Medicine is based on syndrome differentiation, meaning each treatment is customized to the individual needs of the patient in order to relieve symptoms and address the root cause of disharmony. In working towards balancing the relative Yin and Yang flowing through the meridians, acupuncture can help guide the body back towards homeostasis and support the harmony of both our physical and mental health.

At VCA, Rachel provides acupuncture as well as adjunct therapies such as cupping, gua sha, tui na, and recommendations based on Chinese diet therapy. Outside of general practice and preventative care, Rachel has a special interest in reducing stress and the myriad of health complications that may arise alongside it, such as muscle tension, headaches, insomnia, anxiety, menstrual irregularities and digestive discomfort.

Rachel van Wersch is a Registered Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner (R.TCM.P) who studie... Read More