Kyoungho Koh is a licensed massage therapist and expert level myofascial release therapist. She is an experienced yoga teacher and student, and has had the honor of coaching field hockey at the high school and collegiate levels. Born and raised in Boston, she spent her undergraduate years at Dartmouth College and completed her Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology at Boston College. A graduate of the Cortiva Massage Institute of Boston, Kyoungho finds that:

“Our bodies have memory from fascia to muscle to cell to bone.  We have developed some of this memory through practice of skills that allow us to enjoy a sport, activity, dance, art.  Other parts of fascia and muscle memory come from a subtle history passed down over time, our genes, from the experiences found in our daily living both joyful and traumatic, and of how we compensate over time due to past injury or the ways we use or hold our bodies, the ways we have recovered from surgery. 

We learn messages and beliefs, that we are sometimes aware of, that may forward us or limit us in how we live our lives.  And we find that though we can do much on our own, at some point, outside support and perspective is needed to process, reflect and shed what is no longer needed. As we shed old messages and beliefs, there is more room for the many kinds of intelligence that each of us possesses to become available to us, for new possibilities to reveal themselves.

Myofascial Release, massage and movement, is about the conversation between science, art, and the human spirit.  These modalities allow for self-awareness and self-study as we find that we are not just one muscle working at one time, a single color in the spectrum, or even one feeling being better than another.  Who any of us are is a symphony, a concert of quantum magnitude – and we forget that so much of the time as we hold onto those old habits, beliefs, and messages.

If you are stressed out, fighting some sort of dis-ease, feeling like your body is more of a strait-jacket than a t-shirt that allows you to enjoy movement, these are a few ways our bodies speak to us that it is time to tend to what the body and nervous system needs.  Many of us can also feel aching in the joints, pops in the knees, arthritis as fascial restrictions pull us into a bone on bone situation.  Others of us will feel a loss in range of motion when trying to rotate around our spine, turn our head. And others still may find ourselves more agitated, anxious, and finding it harder and harder to get a full breath. These are all ways that our body is trying to let us know that it needs attention, help.”

While at Dartmouth College, Kyoungho played field hockey and lacrosse, was honored as an All-American in field hockey, and followed this passion for many years.  Playing at a high intensity would take its toll on her knees, and she would initially find recovery through a practice of yoga, which in turn inspired her to teach.  Eventually, she would need to have orthoscopic surgery which would send her system into excessive compensation and chronic pain. And, wanting to find a way to recover allowed her to follow an interest in massage therapy and myofascial release.

Since May 2014, Kyoungho has focused her training on Myofascial Release and Craniosacral work with John F. Barnes (PT, LMT) and his staff.  An Expert level practitioner, she joined Barnes' staff at the Sedona facility from 2016-2018, and his staff in Malvern, PA from 2018-2020 before returning to Massachusetts in March 2020.  Kyoungho is a Master level Reiki practitioner and utilizes Reiki and other energy-based therapies to listens to the depth of work needed to affect creation of space, ease of movement, and peace mind.  Kyoungho is a member of the American Massage Therapists Association (AMTA).

Kyoungho has had the good fortune to study with many wonderful life teachers in the classroom and on the field, and through various life experiences.  In addition to study with John F. Barnes, yoga teachers who have inspired practice and teaching include Baron Baptiste, Master Baptiste teachers (Claire Este-McDonald, Gregor Singleton, Elizabeth Huntsman, and Coeli Marsh) and YogaWorks instructor Natasha Rizopoulos. Kyoungho graduated from the Cortiva Institute of Massage Therapy (Boston, MA) in 2014.