About Me, Jennifer De Clercq

Anatomy Trains Structural Integrator (ATSI)
Registered Massage Therapist (RMT)

My working career began in the early 1990’s after graduating from NAIT with an Honours Business Diploma in Human Resources. Via a temporary placement agency, I found myself working in the corporate mailroom at Sherritt Gordon Fertilizers. As a typical city girl in her early 20’s who was more into cheap fashion and nights out dancing, I knew nothing about the agriculture industry. But I quickly proved my ability to be attentive and organized and moved into a dynamic customer service and marketing support role. To better connect with my customers, I completed an Agronomy Business Certificate from the University of Saskatchewan and was the first female to do so.

As the company went through many mergers and company splits (now Nutrien) I became a leader for change and process improvement. After I lead a successful training project, I longed for a formal corporate training role in the Human Resources department to guide others through change management and process development. When it became clear it was not going to happen, I felt defeated in my 10-year career. I decided to follow the footsteps of other family members and enter the medical industry.

Massage Therapy

Through a process of elimination of what was going to be the best lifestyle fit and what was attainable and practical at my stage in life, I signed up for part time studies in the Mount Royal College Massage Therapy program.

Not long after starting the course, I did take on the role of Operational Excellence Coordinator for Western Canada at Grand & Toy. And a couple of years later, I joined ING Insurance as the Western Canada Learning and Development Coordinator. Somehow, I balanced my massage studies with these demanding travelling roles. Upon graduation from the massage program in 2005, I was at a crossroads of whether to continue as a trainer or start my massage practice. Wanting to lead my own career path, I chose massage!

With 15 years combined at Apex Massage and Britannia Bodywork and Wellness Centre, I built my practice and became known for my deep tissue and hot stone therapy. In 2013 while on one of my many vacations, I discovered Shiatsu massage at the Ten Thousand Waves spa in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I was super keen to learn it and the spa invited me to join their staff in their private classes. I travelled many times to Santa Fe and to Japan with the Ten Thousand Waves team to study from professional sport massage master, Masanori Uchida from Nagoya. This unique treatment is a favourite modality for many of my clients.

Health and Fitness Journey

Throughout my practice, I found myself recommending to clients to eat healthy and exercise, but I was not doing it myself! A few times a week, I took part in soccer, step aerobics, salsa dancing, hiking, and roller blading. But after, I celebrated with pizza, desserts, alcohol, and other poor choices. I tried weight loss programs and what I called the “I’ll try harder” diet. Nothing worked. I was frustrated that I could no longer fit into the fun clothes I so desired.

In 2017, when my business slowed down, I used my free time to focus on my own self care. To get proper rest. I quit social drinking for good. I worked with a naturopath to improve my digestion and immunity. I hired a professional athletic coach and dedicated myself to changing my body composition and structure through intensive training and nutrition. For 2 years, I was at the gym twice a day, 6 days a week. I intently dedicated myself to an extremely specific nutrition plan, eating 6 times a day and consuming up to 8 litres of water a day, all supported with a few supplements. Very quickly, I was running 10 kms at a speed in the top 25 percentile for my age while still building muscle mass. After losing 30 lbs., I was the leanest and healthiest I had ever been.

I learned a great deal about training, and I found myself naturally inspiring others to follow the path I was on. So much so, that everyone was encouraging me to switch careers to a Personal Trainer.

Structural Integration

I was once again at a crossroads in my career. Massage therapy seemed like a short-term solution for aches and pains. My business remained slower that what I was comfortable with, more massage therapists were flooding the marketplace, and the local massage education offerings lacked quality and uniqueness. I considered switching to personal training, going back to corporate life, or adding a new modality to my massage career. But what modality was going to be a useful tool for clients and my business? What would inspire me to keep going and was worth the investment?

Through online research and networking, I discovered the Anatomy Trains Structural Integration (ATSI) certification program held in Maine, USA. I signed up immediately as this was the modality to differentiate myself from other therapists and it would offer long term solutions for those in pain. Under the direct supervision and instruction of Thomas Myers and enduring the travel complications of the pandemic, I graduated from his intensive one-year program in the fall of 2020.

During these classes, the relationship between emotions and posture piqued my curiosity. I learned that due to my own unprocessed past traumas, my brain used a common strategy to manage new traumas by going into a frozen and locked state. It was as if I left my body for a period and was unaware of what was happening around me. It became clear that I needed to deal with these past traumas as it was affecting my relationships, my safety, my emotional and physical health, and my posture. Working with a local somatic emotional release therapist over 18 months, I began to reconnect with my body. It was not easy, but I am feeling much freer, my body stands taller, and I am able avoid potential traumatic situations and to pass through the unavoidable ones.

As a result of my own experiences, I feel strengthened and inspired to support others to achieve their posture goals while overcoming their personal obstacles. With my dedication to exercise and nutrition, experiencing the ATSI 12 series 3 times, and processing my trauma, I believe in many cases, the body can heal itself. The body longs for a strong and stabilized posture, proper nutrition, various movement, emotional healing, and rest. Structural Integration is the modality that begins to bring this together.

From my corporate career, I am using my customer service and change management skills to support my clients with the best bodywork therapy experience. I still love to teach and do so by educating clients about their body so that they can better understand their unique posture.

Present Work and Life

After the Covid pandemic, my work schedule quickly booked far advance. I devoted all my time to continue with online education and get my practice up and running. It was difficult to find a clinic to accommodate my new modality. So, after some trial and error, and a lot of shopping around, I have finally found a place where I can flourish in my own space.

On a more personal side, a childhood friend who supported me through my workouts and my emotional therapy, suddenly encouraged me to get a puppy. If I was not busy enough, I took on an Aussiedoodle named Oats or Oatie as I call him. He is smart, well behaved, and unusually calm. Oatie has changed my workout routine to 3 hours daily of dog walks. He has created a celebrity status in the neighbourhood for finding lost items. We attend a lot of fun dog classes and dog sport competitions. Through Community Therapy Dog Society, we also volunteer together providing dog therapy to those in need. Oatie has redirected my focus from trauma to love, from work to play, from speedy to calm, and from being carefree to caring for another. He has been a wonderful gift!

Now that we are past the puppy stages and I have settled into a routine at my practice, I look forward to getting back into my intensive workouts.

Call Jenny at: 403-860-2843
or Book Online anytime