AMANDA JOY BLANC
LMT
BACKGROUND
Amanda Joy was born and raised in Cedar Rapids, IA. She was active from a young age participating in club swimming, gymnastics, and dance but had a special passion for the performing arts. She performed in chamber choirs, show choir, and multiple musicals, and even went to her first college on a singing scholarship. She had a bit of a non-traditional secondary school path and after putting a pause on her bachelor degree after sophomore year, spent most of her early 20's travelling around the country. She lived for periods of time in Nashville, Minneapolis, Fort Collins, and Oakland before ending up in Denver in 2013. She was a long time massage therapist at a former neighboring business on South Pearl Street, Peace of Mind Massage and also saw clients in her private practice. She met and married her husband Baker, and they welcomed their daughter Harlow two weeks before the pandemic shut everything down. After several months with a newborn during the pandemic they decided to move back to Iowa for a couple years to be closer to family and have more support. They enjoyed that time back in the midwest while their daughter was little but ultimately missed everything Denver had to offer and happily relocated back "home" to Denver in March 2024.
EDUCATION
Amanda Joy graduated with her massage certification from the Healing Arts Institute in Fort Collins, CO in 2010 with a concentration in neuromuscular therapy and completed her reflexology certification there in 2012. She completed her bachelor's degree in Integrative Health Care at Metropolitan State University in Denver, CO in 2017. In addition she has also received an advanced prenatal bodywork certification from MotherTouch Perinatal Education, ashiatsu certification from DeepFeet Institute, a professional practitioner certification in mayan abdominal massage from the Arvigo Institute, as well as having additional training and continuing education in myofascial release, TMJ massage and trigger point therapy. She is also an Usui Reiki Master and Professional Labor Doula.
WHY ARE YOU A MASSAGE THERAPIST?
Amanda Joy originally started college planning to major in nursing and chemistry with the long term goal of becoming a nurse anesthetist. After having some health issues during her sophomore year that she felt weren't adequately addressed by westernized medicine and feeling like the system of care she was learning didn't quite fit with her, she paused her degree. While living in Fort Collins she saw an advertisement for the massage school and decided to look into their program. She never looked back after realizing massage was a great way to do the work of taking care of people, while seeing them as a whole and working to find and address the root cause of pain or imbalances. It was only the start of her passion for helping individuals feel more balanced in their bodies which in turn balances many other aspects of life.
AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST
Amanda Joy is especially skilled in and passionate about working with clients who are trying to conceive, currently pregnant, or in their postpartum phase. She believes that the perinatal period is hard work and knows first hand how important massage can be for relieving the common aches and pain of pregnancy, preparing for an easeful labor, and recovering from birth. She also enjoys working with clients to relieve upper back, shoulder, neck and jaw tension that causes symptoms like TMJ pain, headaches, and migraines.
WHAT DO YOU LOVE TO DO IN YOUR FREE TIME?
Amanda Joy loves spending family time with her husband and daughter and their two dogs and three cats. She thrives being out in nature, whether hiking, camping, bike riding, or spending time in the water during the warmer months or snowshoeing in the colder months. When she's not with her family or outside you'll probably find her curled up with a good book, baking something delicious, or out grooving at a live music show.