Shiatsu Program Teachers

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Eileen Muir – Director and Principal Teacher

From 1982 – 1984 Eileen studied at the Ohashi Shiatsu Institute in New York City. After graduating from the Institute, she traveled to Japan in 1984 to study and live there for a year and a half. She studied privately with two different Shiatsu teachers. Her teachers had very different styles. One teacher was Susuki Sensei of the Masanaga School of Tokyo and the other was a little old man named Yamamoto Sensei. Yamamoto Sensei taught and practiced in the Namikoshi style. Eileen graduated from the Swedish Institute of New York City in 1987, where she taught Shiatsu levels one through advanced from 1987 – 1995. She developed a Shiatsu / Yoga Curriculum for the New York Open Center and taught there from 1989 – 1995. Eileen volunteered at the Gay Men’s Health Crisis and worked extensively with HIV and cancer patients for several years. She has a private Shiatsu practice since 1983.
In addition to Shiatsu, Eileen is devoted to the practice and study of yoga. She began her yoga training in 1969 at the age of 13, and her studies led her to India, China and Japan. She has been devoted to studying and teaching the Iyengar method since 1983. Since 1997, she has been leading yoga teacher trainings. She has also been a practitioner of Vipassana meditation for over 20 years. Eileen brings serenity to her shiatsu training program through the combined influence of her yoga and meditation practices.

Jennifer Tongren – MAOM, LIC Ac

Jennifer Tongren is a licensed acupuncturist and certified herbalist in the state of Massachusetts from the Massachusetts Board of Medicine. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York and a Masters degree in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine from the New England School of Acupuncture in Boston, Massachusetts. Jennifer graduated from the New England School of Acupuncture in 2005. In 2000, Jennifer studied Shiatsu levels I-III with Ann Ramsay at the Vermont School of Asian Body Therapy located in Burlington, Vermont. Being a lifelong learner, she has continued her studies of Chinese medicine, both in China and at home. She maintains a private practice in Amherst at White Pine Healing Arts.

Megan Frazier – MFA, MA, PT

Megan Frazier has always loved the exploration of the body, both as a dancer and as an anatomist. She holds an MS in physical therapy as well as an MFA in Dance and a BS in biology. She currently practices physical therapy in both pediatric and geriatric settings, and is an adjunct neuroanatomy instructor at Springfield College. Megan was first introduced to yoga in high school by her modern dance teacher, and finds that yoga practice deeply enhances her anatomical exploration.

Chris Belskis – LMT, ABT

Chris graduated from Kiku Miyazaki’s Boston School of Shiatsu in 1996. He later became an instructor for the School and taught there until it closed in 2004. Since then he has continued to teach Shiatsu, Sotai, and Tui-Na massage at various schools in Massachusetts. Chris is currently the Oriental Bodywork Instructor for the New England School of Acupuncture, a position he has held for five years. He also has an extensive background in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Five Element Theory and the energetics of food. Chris currently practices Shiatsu and Massage therapy in Northampton and Greenfield, Massachusetts.