Carissa Shima Healing Bodywork

Think you need a diagnosis to book this? You don't. Most of my clients come in because something just feels tight, or off, or not quite right — not because a doctor sent them with a diagnosis in hand. That's enough of a reason.

People assume this is only for extreme cases. Most of my clients aren't. They're active people whose tension keeps coming back, whose body feels a little "off," whose recovery isn't what it used to be. Not a crisis — just tension that never fully resolves on its own.

I don't do massage. I want to be upfront about that, because a lot of people assume this is just a more thorough version of one.
Massage therapists do valuable, skilled work. That's genuinely not what I do. What I do is different training entirely — looking at your whole body, finding what's actually driving the tension, and working hands-on to change that directly.

Swelling after surgery that just won't fully go down?
Most people assume lymphatic drainage is the fix — and it's a valuable part of recovery. But it's not the whole picture. Fascia, the connective tissue running through your entire body, plays a huge role in whether swelling actually clears or lingers for months.
If you've had lymphatic drainage and the swelling still hasn't fully resolved, that's usually why — the two work best together, not as substitutes for each other.

He was told he needed knee surgery. Here's what happened instead.
A torn meniscus almost always comes with swelling and inflammation — and fascia plays a direct role in how well that resolves.
"Making a lateral movement with my legs would hurt my medial meniscus. Running became really painful. Any sort of squatting became really painful."
He decided to try something before surgery. "With Carissa's expertise that was proven truthful."
"I've been golfing at least once a week for the last three weeks. No pain. I went for a six mile run this past weekend."

Knee surgery. Hip replacement. Swelling that wouldn't fully go down.
"She helped me with my swelling tremendously, range of motion, and pain."
A lot of people think lymphatic drainage alone is the fix for post-surgical swelling. It helps — but fascia work is often what actually helps the body stop holding onto that fluid in the first place.
"All of that is much more geared towards a permanent solution rather than a temporary solution."

If you've had a hysterectomy, or you're about to have one, here's something worth knowing. Recovery Stories, Part 3 of 3.
It gets treated like a routine procedure. It's not — it's major abdominal surgery, and full recovery takes longer than most people expect.
I've been through it myself. Walking my dog within a week. A lot better by six weeks. Really good by four months. But fully recovered — 100% back to normal — took a full year.
Getting all the way there isn't just about waiting it out. Fascial and lymphatic work is what actually helps your body close that final gap.

I took an entire year off running. Racing was my life, and I had to stop completely. Recovery Stories, Part 2 of 3
Physical therapy helped, but it wasn't just my back. I had sciatica, plantar fasciitis, symptoms in my neck, shoulders, everywhere. My right side was noticeably shorter than my left — I was wearing a lift in my shoe. The worst pain, an 8 or 9 out of 10, was always in my lower back.
I remember telling my massage teacher: "I'm so young. Is this just how my life is going to be?"
That's when I found structural integration and craniosacral therapy. By the end, I no longer needed the lift. My right side had actually lengthened — I ended up three quarters of an inch taller.

Motorcycle accidents. Car accidents. An injury from his time in the military. One of my clients' bodies had been through a lot over the years — long before it finally caught up with him.
A coworker noticed he couldn't stand up from his desk without holding onto something.
By the end of the 10-series, he was walking without a cane or any assistance.

This gentle craniosacral/SI work isn't just about relaxation — it's about releasing tension patterns your body has been holding onto for years. The jaw is deeply connected to the nervous system, and when it softens, so does everything else.

✔️ Brings healing you never thought possible
✔️ A feeling of peace you can actually feel in your body
✔️ Heals the root of the problem, not just the symptom
✔️ Gets you back to doing what you love

This is what Structural Integration + bodywork can do. 🙌

📍 Body Spa West, Las Vegas
🔗 www.carissashima.com