Meet our Experts
Ako Health’s Squamish Massage Therapy, Physiotherapy & Wellness Team
Donna McMurtry
Registered Massage Therapist
Donna has been a registered massage therapist since 1999, bringing over 25 years of expertise to Squamish's wellness community. She grew up in Vernon, BC, where she studied the violin and viola when she wasn't competing in freestyle skiing. It was Donna's love of sport that inspired her to complete a BSc. in Biopsychology at UBC in 1995 and then add a diploma in massage therapy from the West Coast College of Massage Therapy in 1998.
Donna is known throughout Squamish for helping people from all walks of life find more ease and wellness in their bodies through specialized massage therapy techniques. She holds many career highlights dear to her and credits those moments for helping build the strong and talented professional that she is today. Donna:
is a founding member of World Fascia Research Society
gained extensive experience while treating Olympic, World Cup and recreational athletes
has continued to learn from mentors across the globe who have shared their expertise in myofascial release, cranial sacral therapy, neuromanipulation, visceral manipulation, tendonopathy treatments, dynamic neuromuscular stabilization, neurodynamics and traditional native healing.
Always fascinated by the body, and the fact that we are more than the sum of its parts, Donna believes that we move in a connected and comprehensive way that is governed by the nervous system. All of which makes us uniquely human.
Donna holds space for her massage therapy clients in Squamish, because she is passionate about the partnership created between client and therapist. This philosophy allows for exploration and resolution of the muscular restrictions that often prevent clients from living comfortably and staying active in Squamish's outdoor lifestyle.
Honoured to call Squamish home, Donna works to share in community, feels gratitude for the richness of her friendships and enjoys time with her wonderful husband. On any given day, she may be seen loving the freedom she finds on her bike in the forest, on her skis in the mountains or on the couch with a great book.
Karen Ogilvie
Physiotherapist
Karen has lived and built strong relationships in Squamish for 15 years, establishing herself as a trusted physiotherapy provider in the Sea-to-Sky community. Before Squamish, she developed an invaluable understanding of private practice physiotherapy in diverse rural communities across Northern BC. Karen is excited to bring all she's learned in private practice to grow AKO Health alongside Donna.
In the early days of her physiotherapy career, Karen worked with the spinal cord team at GF Strong Rehabilitation Center which gave her the opportunity to gain understanding in spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury rehabilitation.
Karen began to develop a passion for problem solving that involved seeing the bigger picture -- the body as a whole. She found this comprehensive physiotherapy approach helped her create optimum treatment strategies for better function and faster recovery from sports injuries common in Squamish's active community.
Getting to know Squamish community members who care about their health has inspired Karen to share her understanding of how to improve the way our bodies move through targeted physiotherapy interventions, manual therapy techniques, and IMS (Intramuscular Stimulation).
Karen spends nearly all her free time outdoors, and can often be found with her husband, friends and family riding a bike, paddling or skiing around Squamish. And because she believes in maintaining a strong and resilient mind and body for herself too, you can also find her strength training, practicing yoga, gardening, playing with her dog or reading in her hammock.
Margaret Bacon
Registered Massage Therapist
Margaret works from a foundation of respect for the body's innate capacity to heal and the processes that support it. She uses a heart-centered approach and the skilled techniques of registered massage therapy to care for people of all ages and states of health in the Squamish community.
Margaret became an RMT in 2009 and has continued to gain specialized knowledge with training in myofascial release, visceral manipulation, craniosacral therapy, as a doula and in yoga. This diverse training allows her to meet the healthcare needs of her Squamish massage therapy clients on an individual basis.
Prenatal & Postnatal Massage Therapy Specialist Caring for people in the childbearing year holds a special place in Margaret's massage therapy practice. She has offered birth support as a doula since 2001. She has vast experience attending births and doing postnatal visits and enjoys sharing labour positions, offering advanced breast/chest care, stretches and exercises to support you through pregnancy and postpartum recovery in Squamish.
Whenever Margaret provides massage therapy treatments, her intention is to reduce the overall stress load that is affecting your capacity to engage in life, support your body's adaptation to your current situation and minimize symptoms as they emerge in response to functional challenges.
Making a home in Squamish is a unique privilege allowing daily immersion in water, woods or mountains depending on the mood of mother nature (aka the weather). This lifestyle informs how Margaret approaches massage therapy and fills her with joy and gratitude. Margaret has spent years living off grid and has the imprint of the wild child at heart. She has a deep passion for inviting folks to come home to themselves through embodiment practices and therapeutic massage.
Minda Johnson
Registered Massage Therapist
Minda Johnson graduated from the WCCMT 3000 hour Massage Therapy diploma in 2009, bringing over 15 years of specialized therapeutic experience to the Squamish wellness community. Since graduating, she has taken many additional training courses in myofascial release, visceral manipulation, craniosacral therapy, scar tissue release, and osteopathic techniques, and holds over 500 hours in Yoga Teacher Training. She has also completed a two-year course in Biodynamic Myofascial Mobilization, as well as courses in breastfeeding for healthcare providers, birthing doula training, and post C-section treatment, along with specialized treatment for post-surgical scars.
Specialized Massage Therapy Services in Squamish Minda feels honored to be doing this therapeutic work and seeing the amazing benefits that massage therapy has for many ailments. She is very passionate about helping empower people in their journey of health and wellness in Squamish and recognizes the complexities of each person, understanding that the experience of their body, pain and ailment is totally unique to them.
In her massage therapy treatments, Minda engages with a whole-body intention; an understanding of the deeper connections within the anatomy; listening to what the body is asking to be released, and finding what is causing the symptoms, rather than just trying to ease symptoms. She works to help increase mobility and decrease pain through treating the many layers of the body with advanced manual therapy techniques.
Prenatal & Postnatal Massage Therapy Specialist Minda is also passionate about supporting women through the journey of pregnancy with specialized prenatal massage therapy, as well as helping them find stability and connection as they adapt to the changes in their bodies from pregnancy, labor/delivery and recovery in the Squamish area.
Post-Surgical Scar Tissue Release Specialist Minda has extensive experience in post-surgical scar tissue release massage therapy, including joint repair and/or replacement surgeries, surgeries related to cancer treatments (lung, liver, breast), abdominal surgeries (i.e. gallbladder, C-section, hernia repair, etc.) and breast augmentation procedures (i.e. breast cancer, reductions, gender affirming surgeries).
When not providing massage therapy services in Squamish, Minda loves spending time playing and exploring the outdoors with her young family and dog through skiing, hiking and biking around the beautiful Sea-to-Sky region.