Orthopedic Massage & Pilates Therapist, Wellness Program Liaison, Ballet Faculty
Yuka is an Orthopedic Massage & Pilates Therapist and Neuro-athletic Coach, specializing in working with young athletes and dancers. She grew up in the Chicago suburbs, where she trained and competed in gymnastics at a high level before converting her energy to ballet.
She was introduced to orthopedic massage and Pilates while rehabbing a hip injury, and found the combination to be so effective that she was inspired to leave her software career to become a therapist. She then pursued training in dance medicine with the PTs for the New York City Ballet and School of American Ballet.
In addition to an orthopedic focus, Yuka uses a neuro-centric approach to movement and injury prevention. She incorporates training in applied pain and performance neurology into treatment for pain relief and to improve dancers’ resilience and resistance to injury. This approach integrates brain function into movement training and therapy, targeting the systems that have a direct impact on how well we balance, stretch and move. For dancers in particular, high-functioning proprioceptive, visual and vestibular skills are critical, and a neuro-athletic coach will assess and train these systems in the context of dance.
In addition to working with the dancers at Los Gatos Ballet, Yuka is a flexibility and neuro-athletic coach for the competitive team at West Valley Gymnastics School in Campbell. More about her practice can be found at www.levelupbodywork.com.