Leah Meadows

Therapeutic Bodywork Practitioner Instructor

Bachelor’s degree in Psychology – Central Michigan University

Hello, I’m Instructor Leah Meadows. I was born and raised in Huron County, which can be found in the tip of the thumb in Michigan. Growing up, my parents weren’t nature lovers, but they weren’t at odds with it either. Their idea of camping was finding a hotel room. Our home was surrounded by forests, fields, and beautiful nature. My mother planted a garden almost every summer and everyone contributed time and effort to see it flourish. It wasn’t until my late teenage years/early twenties that I truly began to appreciate gardening and the peace it provided me. This also helped me to realize the power, beauty, and potential of plants and how they can impact our bodies, minds, and spirits.

After high school, my aspirations included art, graphic design in particular. While that didn’t pan out, I thought maybe nursing would be the answer. I soon realized that wasn’t my future either. When I found massage, I knew it would be my career and future. Massage combined all the appealing aspects of the first two possible career paths: creativity, compassion, and human interaction.

I decided to stay close to home and went to Baker College in Cass City to attend the Therapeutic Massage program. It was here where I experienced my first encounters with different ways of thinking and different views of the human body and the possibilities it holds. After graduating from the program with my certificate in Therapeutic Massage in late 2013, I was able to attain my license for massage therapy. My practice consisted of working out of my home, working in a massage spa, and finally a salon, respectively.

It was during my first years as a massage therapist that I began seeking more information about health and our amazing bodies. In 2015 I stumbled upon the Naturopathic Institute of Therapies and Education and decided to give it a try. I was hooked. After the first few classes, I knew there was no turning back. It was after I graduated the first year of the Natural Health program, that I decided it was time to make the move to Mount Pleasant and really focus on natural health and massage. I worked at Herbs Etc as a sales associate, then later as a massage therapist. While working, I was able to take full advantage of everything the institute and Herbs Etc had to offer and did a monumental amount of growth as a natural health student, as a massage therapist, and as a person.

During my time in Mount Pleasant, I accepted a position as an instructor in the Therapeutic Bodywork Practitioner program. What an honor to guide students along the path of becoming the best massage therapist they could be. With my abundance of experience in human anatomy, my learning of natural health, and my training as a massage therapist, I feel I can offer a lot to the students who came through the doors.

Since accepting the position as an instructor at the Naturopathic Institute, I have completed and graduated from the second year of the Natural Health program and completed many of the third year classes. I have had so many lovely, brilliant, and profound instructors on my journey through the Natural Health programs, and I am very humbled to be considered among them. My education outside of natural health and massage includes a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology attained from Central Michigan University.

I married the love of my life, Logan, in May 2019 and we currently live in Grand Rapids, Michigan. A big city for a small town girl. But the big city has much to offer – excellent food, entertainment, the rolling hills of the west side of the state, and the abundance of natural health minded people and resources. I continue to practice massage therapy in a chiropractic office here in Grand Rapids, Dynamic Essence Chiropractic Center, and I continue to grow and evolve as a massage therapist, as a teacher, and as a human.

My love of plants is still strong. In our tiny apartment I have managed to pack in around 25 house plants and attempt to garden in containers. I’m looking forward to the beautiful summer weather and vegetable growing season to see what I can grow this season. When I don’t have my hands buried in dirt, I enjoy settling down to read a good book with a delicious cup of tea, adventuring in the hills, and exploring the beaches.