Instructor

stan

Dr. Kirsten Kern, PhD, LMTI, co-founded Texas Healing Arts Institute School of Massage (THAI) in 1997. Dr. Kern, known by her nickname “Stan,” is a Clinical Massage Therapy Instructor and was trained and certified as an Arvigo Maya Abdominal Therapy® Practitioner and Certified Arvigo® Therapy Instructor. She has joined a collective of Abdominal Therapy practitioners and educators: Abdominal Therapy Collective. Clients seek her bodywork for its unique blend of science-based knowledge, intuition, compassion, and humor. She has taught at The University of Texas at Austin, Southwestern University, and Rutgers University.

During college, Dr. Kern studied biological sciences and worked with marine mammals in Newfoundland and Alaska. As a member of community theater, she has studied movement and bodywork for over 20 years and is passionate about moving bodies out of pain. She designed the first Clinical Massage Therapy Program in Texas. She also teaches continuing education workshops in advanced clinical techniques and Abdominal Therapy. She is an interminable student, educator, and gardener. Lately, she has taken up painting and working with Play’s the Thing, a group of folks performing Shakespeare with children at Dell Children’s Hospital. She lives part time in Austin, Texas and part time in St. John, USVI.