Cornerstones_health

Jeff Green | Sep 17, 2009

Timothy Christ, Registered Massage Therapist, Cornerstones Of Health

Originally from St. Catharines, Ontario, Timothy Christ lived for several years on Salt Spring Island off the coast of British Columbia. As he was training for his first triathlon, he suffered a neck spasm nine days before the race, and a massage therapist in Victoria helped him recover in time for the race.

That piqued his interest in massage, and he has now been working in the field for nine years, the last three under the banner of Cornerstones of Health.

“Most people think of massage as a treat,” he says, “but I want people to think of it as a formal way of getting better. I do a lot of deep tissue work, treatments for migraines, whiplash, sciatica pain, low back pain, anything related to soft tissue injuries, as well as dealing with neurological conditions.”

Timothy also has an extensive background in nutrition and holistic treatments and he says there is a lot of dialogue with his clients while he is treating them.

A couple of years ago Timothy Christ was living in the bustling city of Toronto with his partner, Christine Kerekes, and running a busy massage therapy practice. In Toronto he worked with other health care professionals: dentists, physiotherapists, etc., treating athletes and others who were in pain.

“I was able to work and live without using public transportation. It was good in that way, but I couldn’t take the city,” he says.

So Timothy and Christina, as well as Christina’s father, decided to turn a family farm property in Harlowe into a place to live and work.

2009 was the year for the big transition from city to rural life, but the transition was complicated when a fire severely damaged the farmhouse in January. Since then it has been a scramble to repair the damage and get the house, which was built in the 1880s, into living condition before the coming winter, and all of this has delayed plans to turn the property into a retreat. Those plans would have taken a couple of years in any event but might take a bit longer now.

Still, Timothy and Christina found enough time to get married earlier this summer and Timothy opened a massage therapy practice in Northbrook, behind Chris Winney's Royal LePage office at 12309 Highway 41.

“Most of my clients are locals and as the summer has gone on, word of mouth has been my major source of clientele.”

Since he is a registered massage therapist, Timothy Christ's services are covered by extended health plans, and he has been developing contacts to take referrals from medical practitioners in the region, which is something he did a lot of in Toronto.

He can deal with painful conditions using a variety of massage techniques, including Active Isolated Stretching (AIS), Neuromuscular Integration and Structural Realignment (NISA), and Muscle Energy Technology (MET), and he is certified in traditional Thai massage.

“I'm very interested in helping people who are really hurting,” he says “I can't make everyone better, but I can relieve their symptoms to some degree.”

Timothy Christ can be reached at Cornerstones of Health, 613-336-9397.