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Instructors

Claire Marie Miller

Claire Marie Miller

Claire has been involved with the health profession since 1972, when she began training as a radiologic technician. In 1979, she graduated with honors from the Boulder School of Massage Therapy. Her pioneering work with pregnancy, postpartum, labor, fertility and infant massage was born out of personal experience and her passion for the creative process of birth and healing. This work led to the creation of Nurturing the Mother®, in 1990. In 1993, Claire introduced Integrative Reflexology® as a certification course. Today, Claire has trained thousands of students; including more than 15 instructors who teach in over 20 states throughout the country. She was inducted into the Massage Hall of Fame in 2010 and has been a Licensed Massage Therapist since 1979 (NC #580) and nationally certified since 1994. She is Board Certified with NCBTMB and maintains her private practice at her home in Chapel Hill, NC. Claire’s style of teaching is inspiring and wholesome. She brings both well-tested techniques and passionate experience to her classroom. Her students often comment on her ability to transfer knowledge to others and that her classes are a whole-hearted experience, offering more than simply learning techniques.

Tracey J. Moon

Tracey J. Moon

Tracey has a warm, down-to-earth presence and a deep intuition that helps her facilitate groups with clarity, spontaneity and loads of inspiration. She believes in the profound intelligence of the body and breath and empowers others to live and work with more awareness, happiness, resilience and hopefulness. It is her own relationship with being vulnerably human and her capacity to deeply listen that most deeply inform her wide capacity to be a healing presence with others. Tracey has 20+ years experience as a massage therapist and bodyworker and completed her training at The Body Therapy Institute in North Carolina. She is a former faculty member of The Body Therapy Institute and is a graduate of the Spirit of Learning, a bodyworker teacher-training program. Tracey worked at Duke Integrative Medicine in its early entrepreneurial phase where she built the integrative massage program from inception. She is a breathwork facilitator and has completed further training in Biodynamic Breath. She is a Certified Integrative Reflexologist, has trained extensively with Claire Marie Miller and is now an international teacher in this reflexology modality. In 2009, she received her professional training in Mind Body Skills through the Center of Mind Body Medicine in Washington, DC. Much of her work is influenced by Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction program. Tracey's website: www.cultivatinginnerstillness.com


Tracey teaches: Integrative Reflexology®

Teba Orueta

Teba Orueta

A native of Madrid, Spain, Teba Orueta, combines her passion for education with her corporate business, DeNatura Wellness, LLC. Her passion for bodywork flourished at a young age and her predilection for prenatal, partum and postpartum massage began when she started massaging her pregnant sister in 2001. Ever since, she has held a sacred space in her heart and hands for the expectant mother and her child. Teba teaches prenatal massage certification classes, core licensing classes and continuing education seminars at Educating Hands School of Massage and throughout schools and spas in Florida. She is also a Florida licensed massage therapist (MA-67631). Her background in wellness and corporate America have led her down an exciting and varied career including Director of Admissions and Continuing Education at Educating Hands. She also spent a cumulative 3 years studying healing arts in SE Asia and India, where she obtained teacher training certifications in the subjects of Thai Massage, Reflexology and Hatha Yoga, among others. Teba’s teaching style seamlessly blends pragmatism and hands-on practice with the intangible energetic aspects of holistic healing. Teba's website: www.denaturawellness.com


Teba teaches: Nurturing the Mother® Pregnancy and Postpartum Massage (in English and Spanish)

Ashley Hirzel

Ashley Hirzel

Ashley Hirzel Ashley graduated top of her class at the Healing Arts Institute in Perrysburg, OH. Her own personal journey with conception and pregnancy led her to study pregnancy massage and fertility massage with Claire Marie Miller while she was still attending massage school. She immediately fell in love with the work and began her practice as an Ohio Licensed Massage Therapist (#33-019709) by founding the Open Arms Wellness Center in Oregon, OH. Ashley has additional training as a Barefoot Master in Ashiatsu massage, hot and cold stone therapy, Myofascial Release, Aromatherapy and Bamboo massage, among others. She is passionate about the benefits of massage for fertility enhancement and throughout the journey of pregnancy. Ashley is excited to be an instructor for Claire Marie Miller Seminars. She received fertility support and prenatal massage during both of her pregnancies and feels that it is a part of her calling to share this work with clients and with other therapists. Ashley’s website: www.openarmsmassagestudio.com


Ashley teaches: Nurturing the Mother® Pregnancy and Postpartum Massage, Integrative Reflexology®

Shanda Gadsden

Shanda Gadsden

Shanda Gadsden is the owner of Heavenly Hands Mobile Spa, LLC and has been a successful professional massage therapist for 15 years. She gravitated toward nurturing others for as long as she can remember, her earliest memories were of wanting to help people feel better. Shanda graduated from Alabama A&M University in 1996, with a BA in Psychology and Early Child Development and earned her MA in Special Education from Cambridge College in 2009. Her education and work with children with special needs led to her interest in massage therapy. Shanda graduated in 2003 from ASHA School of Massage in Norcross, GA. In 2006 she relocated to New Jersey for a change of scenery and began working part-time as a massage therapist while working full-time as the Disabilities Service Manager for Head Start. She continued her massage therapy education with Claire Marie Miller’s Nurturing the Mother® Pregnancy and Postpartum Massage and Tracy Walton’s Advance Oncology. Shanda is excited to continue her journey nurturing others through teaching Nurturing the Mother® courses to other passionate massage therapists. Shanda's website: www.heavenlyhands.rocks


Shanda teaches: Nurturing the Mother® Pregnancy and Postpartum Massage

Debra J. Stuff Gist

Debra J. Stuff Gist

Debbie lives near Clear Spring, MD and has a 22-year private practice as a foot reflexologist and licensed massage therapist in PA (MSG000723). In 2014, she studied Integrative Reflexology® with Tracey Moon. Always a student, she studies Asian acupressure, Ayurveda and many different styles of foot reflexology.  In her spare time, she gardens, walks in nature, and has many creative outlets.

She is passionate about connecting with people through the feet and loves sharing the knowledge and value of Integrative Reflexology®.  Her website is reflexdebgist.com


Debbie teaches: Integrative Reflexology® and Advanced Integrative Reflexoloy

Whitney A. Reitz, MA, LMT, CD (DONA)

Whitney A. Reitz, MA, LMT, CD (DONA)

Whitney is a Licensed Massage Therapist in the state of Virginia, certified and trained as an instructor by Claire Marie Miller in Nurturing the Mother® Pregnancy and Postpartum Massage. She is also an experienced birth doula, certified by DONA International. She owns LH Massage Therapy, LLC and is a managing partner in Nurturing Birth and Beyond, LLC. Whitney’s doula and massage therapy practices focus on prenatal and postpartum well-being for expecting mothers. As a birth doula, she regularly supports birthing mothers through labor and delivery, using massage as in integral part of helping them have an empowered and non-traumatic birth experience. Whitney believes that therapeutic touch is a critical kind of nourishment that has a healing capability even beyond the physical help it provides. Whitney’s passion for the birthing world shines through in her teaching, which integrates course material, hands-on practice, and experience-sharing to create a warm and supportive learning environment that prepares each student to put newly acquired skills to work right away.


To learn more about Whitney Reitz as a Massage Therapist and Birth Doula, please visit: www.nurturingbirthdoulas.com or LHMassageTherapyVA.com


Whitney teaches: Nurturing the Mother® Pregnancy and Postpartum Massage in the Washington DC Metro area and will soon begin teaching in Anchorage, Alaska.

Chelsea Adams-Cook

Chelsea Adams-Cook

Chelsea is a Licensed Massage Therapist in the state of Maryland (M04849) since 2012. She graduated from Anne Arundel Community College where she received her Associates Degree in Massage Therapy. She is currently continuing her education to become an Acupuncturist.


Since graduating Chelsea has become certified in Prenatal/Postpartum, Fertility, Reflexology and Hot Stone Massage. The first continuing education class Chelsea took was Claire’s Nurturing the Mother® Pregnancy and Postpartum Massage and she fell in love with the work. Chelsea has worked on building her business to help mothers through their pregnancy and beyond. Since then, she has studied fertility massage with Claire and is so grateful to be helping women throughout their journey from conception to birth. Chelsea is excited to be able to teach Claire Marie Miller’s seminars and share all the knowledge that she has gained with others. Chelsea’s Website: www.kneadedmassage.co


Chelsea teaches: Nurturing the Mother® Pregnancy and Postpartum Massage, Nurturing the Mother® Fertility Massage, Integrative Reflexology®

Claire Heymans

Claire Heymans

Born in South Africa, Claire has lived in the US since she was 10 and has a rich history in Athletic Training, Exercise and Sports Science, and Medical Personal Training. She received her massage diploma from Body Therapy Institute (BTI) in Siler City, NC in August 2010. She took her first class with Claire Marie Miller in 2013 - Hot Rockin’ Reflexology and Sweet Feet Aromatherapy - and she was hooked! She knew she wanted to follow Claire and learn as much from her as possible. She took Nurturing the Mother® Pregnancy and Postpartum Massage in 2015, Integrative Reflexology® in 2018, and Lymphatic Massage for Detoxification in 2023. Claire uses these techniques weekly in her massage practice and even in daily life with her family. Taking Claire’s classes gave her the confidence and technique to integrate and work with all manner of clients on their personal health journeys. Claire completed the Spirit of Learning Teacher Training in December 2021 and is currently teaching Somatic Psychology at the Institute for Massage and Bodywork Therapy in Fayetteville, NC, adding the Pregnancy and Postpartum Module in the Fall of 2023. She is excited to teach for Claire Marie Miller Seminars and pass along this valuable work to the massage therapy community.

Patricia S. Clarke

Patricia S. Clarke

Patricia Clarke resides in Kathleen, GA and has worked full-time as a Licensed Massage Therapist (MT003474) since 2005. She has practiced within a chiropractic wellness clinic since 2008, as well as maintaining a successful private practice for 18 years, specializing in deep tissue work. She has worked with thousands of clients and patients in that time and has worked to educate each client in ways to improve their overall health and well-being. She has studied and completed many medical massage certifications, including applied kinesiology, targeted muscle testing, assisted stretching and table Thai, as well as pregnancy and post-partum.


As a 5-year, Stage 3 cervical cancer survivor, taking Nurturing the Mother® with Claire Marie Miller had a very profound impact. The very humanitarian approach to women’s care and fostering the connections we innately have through massage was incredibly inspiring. Patricia is excited to teach for Claire Marie Miller Seminars and hopes to expand her teaching selection to include Menopause Massage soon.

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