James Vaughn
I was raised to value nutrition, fitness, personal growth, curiosity, creativity, the arts, and a deep respect and fascination for Nature.
My childhood was filled with backpacking and cross-country skiing across the Sierra-Nevada wilderness, bicycling country roads, Kajukenpo classes, National Geographic magazines, music, theater and adventuring in wild, muddy creeks with my friends.
My mother learned basic Shiatsu in Physical Therapy school, and taught it to me when I was 10 (for her benefit). Providing Shiatsu to friends and family was a natural, casual impulse for me before I learned I could do it for a living when I was 20.
.jpg)
I then found the Acupressure Institute in Berkeley, where I was gifted a session of Shiatsu, Tui Na and Jin Shin by a student. By the end, I found myself in a profoundly sublime transcendental state that revealed a whole new dimension of reality I never knew existed that felt strangely familiar, and rang my entire being like a thunderbolt of clarity and absolute certainty that this was the Life Path I was destined to take.
At 21, I moved to Berkeley to complete 1,000 hours at the Acupressure Institute in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Taoist Philosophy, Eastern and Western modalities of Therapeutic Bodywork and Complimentary Healing practices.
I began my professional practice in 1995 and continued exploring ways to improve the human condition.
The Taoist concept of how our environment affects our mind and body compelled me to advocate Healthy Environmental Stewardship to support human health and wellbeing.
An example of this was spearheading San Francisco's first biodiesel co-op in 2003 to curb use of fossil fuels, CO2 emissions, global warming, and conflict related to oil trade.
My website will offer products, programs and resources to support Social & Environmental Stewardship. Contact me to let me know you want to be updated when those features become available.
I spent many years providing Soft Tissue Mobilization to enhance patient care in chiropractic offices, and at large companies in the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley as part of Integrated Wellness Programs to improve employee wellness and productivity, minimize absentism, and give employers the edge in recruiting and retaining top talent. Massage is hands-down the most sought-after Employee Wellness Service (pun intended).
I performed Sports Massage at marathons, centuries and triathlons, and Therapeutic Bodywork at Wellness, Transformation, Dance and Festival events around the Bay Area, several of which I co-produced.
In 2011, I returned to college and graduated with High Honors in Associate degrees for Psychology, Social Science, Liberal Studies and a certificate in Applied Biotechnology to expand the value and scope of my service.