Leila Shaw RMT, RD
Leila graduated from Dalhousie University in 1988 with a Bachelor of Arts and moved to Toronto shortly thereafter. Years later, after bartending at the Squeeze Club and working in retail and management with Body Shop Canada, she moved back to Halifax, and began a Bachelor of Science at Dalhousie. Part of the way through, she applied and was accepted to the West Coast College of Massage Therapy (WCCMT) in Vancouver, B.C. She finished the 2200-hour program and after successful completion of the British Columbia Registration Exams, became board certified in March 1998. Leila is currently registered with the Massage Therapy Association of Nova Scotia (MTANS).
While in Vancouver, Leila worked in both Spa and Clinical environments, the last experience being at HealthSmith Community Medical Clinic, a multi-disciplined medical clinic. The experience at HealthSmith ignited an interest in not only the team approach to health, but also understanding it starts with self but may require many to be successful.
Four valuable queries shape our health: what we put into our body (food, and other), what we do with the body (fitness, and other), our quality of sleep, and our state of happiness. Information from these form a framework to guide choices to maintain or re-establish health. Massage Therapy is instrumental in facilitating improvements in: digestion and circulation, muscle imbalance, tension and restoration, sleep, as well as overall well-being.
The first query, what is put into the body, resonated over the years and sparked a path of learning to complement her Massage therapy practice. In May 2016 Leila graduated with honours from Mount Saint Vincent University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Human Nutrition (Dietetics with Internship). She is Registered with the Nova Scotia Dietetics Association and is ready to provide nutrition counseling. Leila invites you to email her at leilashawdrmt@gmail.com to ask questions and book an appointment to assess your current nutrition and assist you in making the changes to restore your well-being.
Leila has taken a variety of other courses since graduation from WCCMT to deepen her Massage Therapy practice, including:
Systemic Deep Tissue Therapy (Level 1 with Armand Ayaltin, 1998), Visceral Massage, Myofascial Release, Schweitzer Deep Tissue Therapy (Level 1with Gary Schweitzer, 2006), Thai Yoga Massage (Certified from Lotus Palm Institute in Montreal, 2007), BodyTalk Access, Neurokinetic Therapy, and most recently Aromatherapy, and Thai Hand Reflexology.
Leila engages her clients to explore their health issues and provides a safe, knowledgeable and compassionate environment for healing. She also refers to and works in conjunction with other therapists and health practitioners to support and facilitate her clients’ health.
Available treatment/appointment times:
Monday’s: 11:00am – 6:00pm at the Slim Gyms location of Total Kneads
Wednesday’s: 2:00 – 8:00pm at the Sullivan Street location of Total Kneads