American Institute of Medical Massage
About The American Institute of Medical Massage
Who We Are
We believe that in order to be successful in the field of medical massage, practitioners must maintain a balance between their body, mind and spirit.
Core Values
Our Mission
The mission of the American Institute of Medical Massage is to provide our students with quality instruction in medical massage procedures and tools for success in the workforce to produce an elite caliber of successful medical massage professionals.
Our Philosophy
We believe that a state-of-the-art curriculum and peaceful environment are essential in producing excellent medical massage professionals. At AIMM, we are constantly scrutinizing and polishing our curriculum to provide the best possible education for our students. Our Director and instructors are available by appointment to help students with any hardships or counseling needed.
The Crew at AIMM
Meet the team at AIMM!
Alla Mia Basaldua, CMT
Founder, Director, & Instructor
Alla Mia, daughter of a shiatsu master from the Namikoshi school in Japan, started her career in shiatsu and bodywork in 1971. She assisted her mother in the shiatsu clinic and later worked as a teacher in the family school, California School of Shiatsu. She furthered her studies in Swedish massage, bio-integration therapy (deep tissue), medical shiatsu, aromatherapy, psychology, biology, human anatomy, meditation, guided imagery, yoga, Tao healing, Chinese medicine, the science of mind, and has a degree in business. Alla Mia not only taught at the institute but has taught numerous workshops in medical massage and other healing techniques. She is the former Director of Operations of the California Medical School of Shiatsu a nationally accredited school, where she was responsible for not only the daily operations of the school, but also the curriculum development. She also taught at the National Holistic Institute in Berkeley, a nationally accredited school. Amongst her accomplishments, Alla Mia is the founder of “Angelic Hands” a group of volunteer massage therapists that donate massage to the terminally ill, and the founder of the “Educational Consortium on Alternative Medicine” that educates the public on alternative medicine. She founded Anatomical Shiatsu Institute in 1999 in Bakersfield, CA and now is opening American Institute of Medical Massage in Capitola, CA in 2021.
Amongst her hobbies are photography, playing with her grandchildren and religious studies.
Sandrah Overton, CMT
Instructor
Sandrah Overton, CMT, started her career in massage by attending Twin Lakes College of the Healing Arts in Santa Cruz California in 1989. There she received a certificate of completion for Swedish massage. She also has a degree from San Jose State University in Therapeutic Recreation Service. Sandrah also took classes in Ayurvedic massage, Deep Tissue massage, and Sports Massage.
A seasoned Massage Therapist, Sandrah has worked giving massages since 1990 to the present, and has experience teaching massage workshops. She also brings in her experience as a gymnast and teaches stretching and traction, that are optimum in releasing muscle tension.
Sandrah Overton is knowledgeable in the study of massage and her character is kind. You will enjoy learning the basics from her in the first six months of the medical massage program at American Institute of Medical Massage.
Dr. David Love, DC
Instructor
Dr. David Love attended Palmer College of Chiropractic and graduated in 1982 and licensed to practice in 1983. He also obtained, from the California Department of Public Health, an x-ray supervisor and operator license in 1983. That same year, he opened a full time practice in Chiropractic in Santa Cruz, California and has been in practice since. Some of his post graduate training has been the following: Rehab protocols and case management, Standard of therapeutic Exercise Physiology, Exercise Biomechanics and Prevention of Spinal Problems, Soft Tissue Rehab- Emergency Procedure, Lumbar Spine Rehab, Rehabilitation following Vehicular Trauma, Radiology and Protocols of Trauma, and Adjunctive Procedure Protocols for Soft-tissue Rehabilitation. He is a Board Eligible Chiropractic Rehabilitation Specialist.
Dr. Love will be teaching in the beginning of the 2nd half of the AIMM program on how to read x-ray and the physiology behind the indications on the x-ray film. The student will then be able to see what is going on in the skeletal structure of the client and how that affects the soft tissue around it. He will also be educating the students on what Chiropractors look for in a medical massage professional.
A father of two and a happy grandfather, he loves spending time with his family. He has an easy going and caring personality, yet, very professional. You will enjoy him teaching you about how to read x-rays.
Courtney Connolly
Instructor of Shiatsu, Swedish and Deep Tissue Massage | Certified CPR/First Aid instructor
Courtney started her massage training at Twin Lakes College of Healing Arts in 1998. There she became adept at administering Integrative Swedish Massage.
Courtney soon learned, after graduation, that she would need to learn additional techniques of massage to become considered favorably different than the spa massage therapists that are a dime a dozen. So, she embarked on furthering her skills to be more therapeutic and make a difference in her touch by attending Santa Barbara Body Institute in 1999 studying Neuromuscular Deep Tissue, Myofascial Release, Comprehensive Deep Tissue, Lymphatic Drainage, Prenatal massage, hot stone massage and Reiki. She also attended Mueller College in 1999 to 2000 studying Acupressure and Thai massage. She topped it all off by attending Upledger Institute and studying Cranio-Sacral Therapy, Level 1. Courtney has been in private practice sine 1998 to present.
She has attended EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) school and became a paramedic in 2005. She has worked as part-time as a paramedic until February of 2022. Courtney also teaches, CPR and EMT.
You will find Courtney to be excellent at teaching Swedish Massage, Deep Tissue and Shiatsu at AIMM. She, also teaches CPR and first aid and certifies through an organization called American Heart Association (AHA).
Paula Ramsey R.N., N.P.
Instructor of Human Anatomy, Health and Hygiene, Medical Terminology
Paula started her training to become an RN at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, California where she earned her AS degree in Science. She then moved on to San Jose State University to get a Bachelors Degree in Nursing and then to San Francisco State University for her Masters degree in Family Nurse Practitioner. As a registered nurse, Paula worked in the fast paced environment of unpredictable patient volume and acuity in the emergency department of a hospital. She became a supervisor in the emergency department And directed emergency staff to assure safe delivery of care to all emergency department patients. Constantly working with patients on their conditions have made Paula very astute in the knowledge of human anatomy. She retired from nursing in 2018 and have come on board as a Human Anatomy Instructor here, at American Institute of Medical Massage, not only bringing the students the knowledge of the human body but also her vast knowledge of conditions.