The Experts of Massage Therapy

John Yungclas, LMT, CMT is the Academic Dean at the Berkana Institute. He is a Certified Mindful Expressionist® is a lifelong learner and educator who holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Santa Clara University and a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Colorado at Denver. He runs his own massage therapy business in Denver, specializing in mindful and embodying massage therapy. He has lived and worked overseas in Germany, Singapore, and the Czech Republic where he taught in international schools. He finds balance in both mind and body through massage therapy, yoga, and mindful meditation. As a proud graduate of the Berkana Institute of Massage Therapy who has completed all of the Mindful Expressionism® courses, John believes that massage therapy is a profession that gives practitioners the opportunity to draw from their artistic, academic, and physical strengths. He also believes that having a strong foundation of self-knowledge, communication skills, ethics, and psychology gives a massage therapist the power to keep themselves and their clients safe and happy. He is a senior instructor of several complementary studies and bodywork courses for the Berkana entry-level program. He brings his bodywork expertise to hands-on classes such as Hydrotherapy Workshop, Chair Massage for Marketing, Sports Massage, Deep Tissue and Myo-Fascial Technique, and Introduction to Mindful Expressionism®.

Nichole Crockett is the Senior Science Instructor at the Berkana Institute. She is a Licensed Massage Therapist, Health Coach and Certified Personal Trainer. Nichole and her husband own their own strength & conditioning facility in Brighton, Co. where Nichole helps clients to achieve their fitness and nutrition goals by providing Holistic Health coaching, custom training and corrective movement education. Deeply intrigued by the healing power of touch, Nichole continued her studies and graduated from the Berkana Institute of Massage Therapy. She is the owner of her private practice; Divine Wellness Massage Therapy, where she specializes in deep tissue and chronic pain management. 

Palynn Patterson teaches Massage Therapy Foundation One, Complementary and Integrative Health Care, and Self-Care and Hygiene for the Berkana Institute. Her passion for the human body & pursuit of alternative medicine began early on in life. Starting in high school studying anatomy & biology she then completed a degree focused on Integrative Therapeutic Practices from the Community College of Denver. She continued her studies at the Berkana Institute of Massage Therapy, becoming a licensed massage therapist in 2016. Continuing education is the cornerstone of her practice, she has expanded her scope to include craniosacral, yoga, reiki, herbalism and sound therapy. Blending these modalities to create an individualized session tuned to the specific needs of individual clients.

Haley Bangert is a Licensed Massage Therapist and founder of Colorado Massage Company in Centennial, CO. Haley’s formal studies in Integrative Healthcare began in 2017 in her home city of Denver at Metropolitan State University, followed by the 600 hour licensure program at the prestigious Berkana Institute of Massage Therapy. Today, Haley focuses her massage practice on chronic pain and supporting her clients through the physical and emotional changes that come with it. Haley works with all bodies and loves learning from each person that presents themselves to her table. She is committed to her education and growing her knowledge of the body, massage, and complementary health practices. Haley is passionate about massage therapy because she has felt the profound and holistic impact that it has had in her body and has seen amazing progress in her clients. She believes that loving human touch alone, can create great change in the body and calm the mind. When Haley is not practicing bodywork, she is spending her time with her gorgeous family- loving them and exploring the world with them.

Natalie Wade Fascinated by the human body and strongly committed to the practice of movement, Natalie earned a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from the University of Illinois in 2011. Her studies were heavily focused in therapeutic treatment, leading her to work and volunteer in various wellness settings and clinics. In the same year, Natalie graduated from the Costa Rica School of Massage Therapy and earned a national certification in massage and bodywork. Her traveling nature and quest for deeper work brought her to Denver to study Mindful Expressionism™ at the Berkana Institute. The work Natalie brings to the table is heavily influenced by the arts, mindfulness, and movement science. It is no secret that Natalie is extremely passionate about her work and the people involved. Through conscious practice of unifying the mind, body, and soul, Natalie strives to teach others how to devote themselves to their own movement and wellness. Natalie is a Certified Mindful Expressionist®.

Sephra Albert is a Licensed Massage Therapist, Essentrics® Instructor, and Anatomy Educator with the ability to make anatomy and movement principles fun and comprehensible in the classroom. A graduate of Ithaca College in 1999 and Boulder College of Massage Therapy in 2004, Sephra teaches musculoskeletal anatomy using the Anatomy in Clay® system locally and internationally for massage schools and fitness trainings. She is passionate about studying anatomy, kinesiology, and the ways in which we can release tension to find ease and support through our movement and our lives. Sephra continues to learn from all of her clients, students, and continuing education. She most recently became a Certified Manual Lymphatic Drainage Therapist through Klose Training, and is studying Neural Manipulation with the Barral Institute. She believes that in, and out, of the classroom is a place for exploration, where knowledge is shared.

Christopher Algea is a Berkana Institute graduate and highly accomplished entrepreneur who specializes in deep tissue, sports, integrative massage, and zero balancing. Christopher is passionate about outdoor activities, yoga, nutrition, culinary and dance to combine the body, mind and spirit for harmony and joy.

Christopher believes holistic health with physical exercise, bodywork and nutrition are pillars of optimal health and wellness. When optimized, we can focus on fulfilling our personal goals along with being able to make an impact in our local communities and the world as a whole.

After many years on the product side of business, he now hopes to combine his experiences, lessons learned, certifications and massage therapy training to help bring joy and physical healing to those he encounters along this beautiful journey we get to participate in.

Originally from Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, Christopher Deery trained at Massage Therapy Institute of Oklahoma, and graduated in 1996. He worked in several different practice setting such as salon/spa, a physical therapy clinic and a private massage office before returning to MTIO and undergoing further education, completing his Instructor Training in late 1997. He achieved National Certification in Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork in 1997, and began teaching Massage Therapy programmatically in 1998.

In his process of becoming such a successful therapist he has encountered a variety of issues regarding professional practices, full vs. part‐time practice and gender issues of being a male therapist. Christopher instructed classes at Massage Therapy Institute of Oklahoma and was the coordinator of the “Hired Hands” Sports Massage Team. As coordinator of the Sports Massage Team, he maintained and increased the ongoing contract with Oklahoma State University, facilitated the program’s growth to include the University of Tulsa, Union High School, and other sports programs throughout the region.

Kayla Henry is a Licensed Massage Therapist, and the Founder of Instinctual Healing in Longmont, CO. She first entered the world of complementary healthcare in 2018 when she received her 200-hour training to become a Certified Yoga Instructor. While she loved facilitating healing in her clients through mindful and intentional movement, Kayla sought to build more intimate and collaborative relationships with those she was working with. This realization brought her to the prestigious Berkana Institute of Massage Therapy, where she graduated as valedictorian in 2021. She has since specialized in offering therapeutic deep-tissue massage to those suffering from chronic pain and postural dysfunction and uses her background in yoga to inform her treatment plans beyond the massage table. Kayla is always improving her practice through the pursuit of continuing education, including Intra-Oral Massage for TMJ Dysfunction and Massage for Breathing Optimization. Kayla believes that everybody has a unique history that has led to its particular shape and holding patterns, and she utilizes every piece of that story to cultivate a completely personal plan of care for every individual that will make the most significant impact on them. When Kayla is not offering blissfully healing bodywork, she loves to keep her body moving in new and creative ways in the form of rock climbing, yoga, hiking, and playing with her pup in the mountains. 

Meredith Vaughn has always had a heart for helping others mend from physical and mental trauma and advocating for those mistreated or unheard. Received her Bachelor of Science in Management and Leadership from Friends University, Wichita, KS in 2007. Meredith has worked as an E.R technician, an Air Ambulance Transportation Coordinator and served in the Kansas Army National Guard. She deployed with the 42^nd Infantry Division to Iraq in 2004, served as a Sexual Assault Victim’s Advocate for the Department of Defense, and in various medical and administrative roles until September 2020. In July 2021, Meredith moved from Kansas to Longmont to pursue a lifelong desire of becoming a massage therapist. She graduated from the Berkana Institute of Massage Therapy in December 2021 and continues helping others through the power of mindful, heartfelt, bodywork. 

Danielle Decker is a holistic hospitality expert, having lived and worked in the various realms of customer/guest services. Growing up in a small mountain artist town, her elementary schooling was focused on outdoor education and the value of community. In college, she studied sociology and sustainable business management. Other facets of her continued education later included Reiki, trauma-informed yoga, and graduating from Berkana Institute of Massage Therapy. The cumulative flow experience is her inspiration for living nomadically, traveling seasonally, living simply, and continuing to have wild adventures. Her goal is to serve the community through hospitality and integrated holistic massage therapy.

Sunny Klaber is a massage therapist, educator, and entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience facilitating educational and transformational healing arts adventures in a wide variety of settings and countries around the world. After graduating from the Boulder College of Massage Therapy in 2001, Sunny fell in love with Thai Yoga Massage. For the next 15 years, Thailand became her second home so that she could immerse herself in the exploration and practice of this ancient, sacred art. Thai Yoga Massage is traditionally practiced fully clothed on a mat on the floor in a community setting. Sunny recognized early on that these conditions make Thai Yoga Massage uniquely portable, accessible, and appealing to populations that might otherwise shy away from healing touch. With this in mind, she founded the Zia Project, a non-profit focused on bringing healing arts education and services into marginalized and underserved communities. Over the years, the Zia Project has offered free workshops, scholarships, and community healing to tsunami survivors in Thailand, homeless single mothers living on the streets in South London, rural villagers in Tibet, HIV-positive community members in Chiang Mai, Thailand, special needs children living in a favela in Rio de Janeiro, members of the Zia Pueblo in New Mexico and LGBTQ teens in Boulder, Colorado. Sunny’s experience working in this space has deepened her belief that we heal most effectively when we heal in community and she passionately weaves that message into her teachings. Today, Sunny’s favorite clients are her 9-year-old twins who inspired her to create a 20-minute bedtime Thai Yoga Massage ritual that she loves to share with other caregivers who are longing for a way to model healthy touch and nervous system regulation while deepening their loving bond with their children.

Jennifer Munro Center Director and Matriarch of Anahata in Longmont Colorado. After many years of professional experience in business administration and commercial insurance, she was inspired to begin a journey to heal her heart and learn more about holistic health after the sudden death of her husband in 2019.  After the tragic car accident that changed her life forever, she knew she had to find a way to heal herself.  She attended the illustrious and accelerated massage therapy program at the Berkana Institute of Massage Therapy, earning her massage therapist license in 2020.  This formal education sparked a passion to learn as much about the many alternative and complementary somatic therapies as possible and reignited her inherent desire to connect more deeply with others. Jennifer specializes in relaxation, stress and anxiety reduction, as well as CranioSacral Therapy and deep tissue techniques. Her continuing education focuses on resources and training to expand her ability to work with clients whom are working through grief, trauma, PTSD and life experiences that are negatively impacting their health. Jennifer teaches Business Development and Board Preparation at the Berkana Institute of Massage Therapy.