m e l l o w is the name of the studio practice, but the practitioner is me, Sara Jean Padden - licensed massage therapist.

My journey into massage therapy started as a ski instructor. For 14 years, I helped people learn how to ski, make turns, and hone in or fine tune their skills. As an advanced level instructor, I was always looking for, and thinking about ways to help my clients - so I began studying the kinesiology of skiing, and the muscles we use…. and it.was.
fascinating!
Our bodies are marvels of form and function.
As a life long learner, the quest for knowledge and understanding beyond what we use for skiing carried me into massage therapy.
Life circumstances changed, and my family and I moved from Michigan to Tennessee, It was there I seized the opportunity and enrolled at the Tennessee School of Therapeutic Massage in Knoxville (TN, of course), and Reflexology as well (everything starts at the feet, says the ski instructor). Graduating in 2020, you well know how that went. I couldn’t even be licensed without paying a proctor fee, which was - of course - outrageous. But eventually that too passed; and I passed the MBlex exam the first attempt.

I spent the my time since then as a therapist with Crystal Spa, at the all seasons Crystal Mountain Resort. While it was an experience - everything changes, and I with it. I’m excited to offer the same level of expertise without the spa environment. The same level of comfort without the spa price. And my favorite part of all - a higher level of service which begins by giving the full massage time. I believe a 60 minute massage should actually be 60 minutes.
My philosophy as a massage therapist — freed from the constraints of corporate decisions — is to honor that: if a client books a 60 minute massage it is 60 minutes of hands on massage. I just think that’s the honest way to serve. Besides…. I want that time, too.
Massage therapy is communicating with the nervous system - and sometimes that takes a little bit longer than what amounted to 42 minutes.

I absolutely love being a massage therapist - and would love to be yours. Thanks for wanting to know about little bit more about me, and what brought me to massage therapy. The honest truth of it is, I would prefer to be a neurosurgeon…..
…….unfortunately - I can’t stand blood or needles, but am perfectly at ease touching people’s feet. So massage therapy it is.
It’s been a journey, and I am still walking it. There’s still more for me to learn, and more for me to know.
So grow with me…. and let’s fulfill the mission to chill out, let go, and mellow into a puddle of one’s own self.

With gratitude,
SJP