27/06/2025
A Note from Berkana Founder, Jill Kristin Berkana, LMT, NCTMB
As I celebrate my 60th birthday and the launch of our 50th class, it feels like the perfect time to reflect on this meaningful milestone—both personally and for the Berkana Institute of Massage Therapy.
While nothing compares to the joy and depth of being a mother, the impact of my career in massage therapy and bodywork has also been profound—beyond what words can express. For 35 years, I’ve been an LMT, and for 21 years an education entrepreneur, school founder, director, curriculum and program architect, instructor, and trainer of instructors. I envisioned this dream and poured every beat of my heart into bringing it to life.
The journey has been challenging, exhilarating, rewarding, and at times, punishing. The work I've had the privilege to do—with clients, students, colleagues, mentors, mentees, and employees—has given my life deep purpose. I am forever grateful.
I’m now thrilled to officially announce my retirement from bodywork and instruction. Under my continued oversight as President, our brilliant staff and faculty carry the torch forward, raising the standard of holistic massage therapy education with each term as the profession evolves.
My husband and I now live in a beautiful home near the James River in Richmond, Virginia, along with our beloved pets. We’re surrounded by a vibrant, creative community and the daily beauty of lush trees, colorful birds, frogs, and fireflies. While I do miss the Front Range, where I’m from, I truly love it here.
In addition to being the sole owner of the Institute, I now work part-time as a nationally recognized Expert Witness on massage therapy cases.
To everyone who has supported this vision in any way—thank you from the bottom of my heart.
As for the Institute, students are studying, filing their nails, polishing their hearts, and clearing their minds as they embody the art and science of this heart-centered profession. The original seed of the Institute was to share—and now, with over 550 graduates worldwide (and more to come), that love continues to spread far and wide.
And so it is.
Yours, In Touch!
Jill K. Berkana