holistic & specific care
Helping you overcome the obstacles – inner and outer – on your personal wellness journey
Based in a living medical tradition, personal wellness with The Iron Bird Way offers lasting relief for physical ailments with care and respect for the whole person.
I’m Jessica Dafni / Iron Bird
your wellness practitioner
Since starting on this path in 2003, I’ve developed a keen perception of the physical structure and its needs for balance—including the role of our daily habits and movement practices in wellness—allowing me to support a variety of people with a variety of conditions in living their best life.
While I’ve completed several professional programs and specialized training in Thailand, Argentina and the US, as a dedicated student and serious practitioner of my craft, my work has benefited most from simply following the learning methods of the tradition in which I practice:
pursuing a complete body of knowledge;
studying with an experienced practitioner who can explain and exemplify the information;
and gaining the personal experience necessary to realize its truth
For this opportunity, and to all of my teachers, I am deeply grateful. It has since inspired me to pass along my learned wisdom, through coaching and apprenticeship, to other practitioners who want to follow the Thai medical tradition and make an impact on their clients’ lives.
TRANSFORMATION OF BODY AND MIND
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REALISTIC & SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES
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TRANSFORMATION OF BODY AND MIND 〰️ REALISTIC & SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES 〰️
Maine Licensed Massage Therapist – #5550
NCBTMB Approved Provider – #699
Certified Yoga Teacher
Certifications & Experience
In addition to robust, long-term private training and apprenticeship with my primary teachers, I have certifications from International Professional School of Bodywork (IPSB) in San Diego, California; the Soma Institute in Buckley, Washington; The Naga Center, LLC in Gresham, Oregon; Asheville Yoga Center in Asheville, North Carolina; Wells Yoga based in upstate New York; and Kerala Ayurveda Academy in Milpitas, California.
Before professionally entering the wellness field, I studied Creative Writing at the University of Maine Farmington. My writing has appeared in the California Journal of Oriental Medicine, Massage Magazine and other journals. You can also read articles I’ve published here on this site.
More recently, I earned the Pain-free Performance Specialist Certification and certificates in Wellness Counseling and in Nutrition & Healthy Lifestyle at Cornell University. Additionally, I completed online dissection classes in Human Anatomy with Integral Anatomy.
Detailed CV
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-Partner Massage & Yoga, 2014, 2016
-Reusi Dat Ton, Self-Care, Breathing & Self-Massage, 2015, 2016 (2x), 2017, 2022, 2023
-Naga Center Essentials of Thai Massage, 2016 (3x), 2017, 2018
-Thai Cupping and Scraping, 2016, 2017 (3x), 2018, 2022, 2023
-Thai Herbal Compresses & Topicals, 2016 (2x), 2018, 2022
-Naga Center Deep Thai Massage, 2017
-Thai Abdominal Massage, 2018, 2019
-Thai Bodywork for Head and Jaw, 2018, 2023
-Thai Traditional Medicine International Program Online, 2020
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Lanna-Thai Medicine Group – International
Over 1,000 hours training and assistant teaching (indicated with* below) in Thai traditional bodywork, medicine and yoga, with courses in:
-Thai Bodywork Advanced Therapies, 2010
-Reusi Dat Ton: Part 1, 2011, 2017
-Tok Sen and Lanna Medicine, 2014, 2016*, 2017*, 2018*, 2019* (2x)
-Thai Abdominal Massage, 2015, 2016*
-Thai Medical Theory, 2015
-Thai Cupping and Scraping, 2016
-Lanna Stretches, 2015 (2x)*, 2016*, 2019*, 2022*
-Thai Medicine and Wind Gates, 2018
-Reusi Dat Ton: Part 2, 2018, 2022
-Thai Medicine Assessment Skills, 2019
-Samutthaan Winicchai Medical Theory, 2022
-Daily Habits with Relation to Thai Medical Theory, 2023
-Disease Process According to Thai Medical Theory, 2024
-Private skill development and classes covering the following texts, 2015-2024:
—Pra Kamphii Worayoksaan
—Kamphii Thaat Wiwon
—Kamphii Thaat Wipang
—Kamphii Samutthaan Winicchai
—Kamphii Rohknitaan
The Naga Center, LLC – Gresham, Oregon
Over 500 hours in training and assisting (indicated with* below) in Thai traditional massage and medicine, with certificates and courses in:
-Classic Thai Massage, 2010
-Deep Thai Massage, 2010, 2016*
-Therapeutic Thai Massage, 2011
-Element Theory & Thai Massage, 2012, 2017*
-Advanced Thai Bodywork, 2012, 2017*
-Thai Bodywork Foundations, 2013, 2014*, 2016*
-Tok Sen, 2013 (private in Thailand)
-Traditional Prenatal and Postpartum Thai Massage, 2013 & 2015
-Reusi Dat Ton Immersion with David Wells, 2015
-Thai Herbal Medicine, 2017
-Ongoing apprenticeship and private study, 2013-2019
International Professional School of Bodywork (IPSB) – San Diego, California
750-hour Certificate in Massage Therapy. 3.92 GPA. 2011.
Coursework included Western and Asian Healing Arts, with over 40 hours in Traditional Thai Massage and 125 hours as a teaching assistant in Traditional Thai Massage classes.
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Kerala Ayurveda Academy – Milpitas, California
Holistic Ayurvedic Coach Certification. 2024.
Pain-Free Performance Specialist Certification (PPSC) – Portland, Maine
Certification. 2023.
Cornell University – Ithaca, New York
Wellness Counselor certificate. 2023.
Nutrition & Healthy Lifestyle certificate. 2023.Buddhist Medicine, Yoga & Ayurveda Group – International
Courses in medicine, meditation and yoga, with courses in:-Aṣṭāṅga Hṛdaya | Aṣṭāṅga Samgraha, 2023
-Buddhist Yoga, 2015
-Buddhist Meditation & Medicine, 2015
-Buddhist Meditation, 2015
Integral Anatomy – Colorado Springs, Colorado
Completed a week-long livestream online human dissection course. 2020.
NCBTMB – Burr Ridge, Illinois
Approved Provider for Continuing Education since 2014.
Soma Institute of Structural Integration – Buckley, Washington
Certificate in Somassage. 2013.
International Professional School of Bodywork (IPSB) – San Diego, California
750-hour Certificate in Massage Therapy. 3.92 GPA. 2011.
Coursework included Western and Asian Healing Arts, with over 40 hours in Traditional Thai Massage and 125 hours as a teaching assistant in Traditional Thai Massage classes.
Asheville Yoga Center – Asheville, North Carolina
Over 300 hours in Yoga Teacher Training, with certificates or courses in:
-Pre/Postnatal Yoga, 2009
-230-hour Yoga Teacher Training Program, 2009
-Yoga and Ayurveda, 2008
-Vinyasa Flow Yoga, 2007
University of Maine at Farmington – Farmington, Maine
Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Creative Writing with a minor in English. 3.5 GPA. 2004.
