Mary Anne Leary's Bio

Assistant Professor, Skyline College

My innate curiosity for the natural healing arts was the inspiration for many years of training and experience in wellness modalities ranging from therapeutic massage to flower essence therapy. My interests led me to study Polarity Therapy, therapeutic massage (Swedish, Reflexology, Ayurvedic treatments, 4-Handed Massage, Hot/Cold LaStone Therapy), Aromatherapy, Flower Essences & Gem Elixirs, Herbalism, Homeopathy, absent and contact color healing, Bioenergy Balancing, Stress Reduction, Medical Intuition, Shamanism, Ayurveda, and Chinese Medicine.

I am a state certified massage therapist (CMT) having received training at Heartwood Institute and Cypress Health Institute, both in Santa Cruz, CA and have been practicing massage therapy since 1980. I was the lead massage therapist, spa trainer, and spa operations manager at The Lodge at Skylonda.

I created the Wellness Program and Massage Therapy Certificate Program at Skyline College, teaching courses in massage therapy, “wholistic” health, and natural healing modalities since 2008. I have taught numerous one-day courses in massage therapy and wellness modalities along with 5 semester-length online courses for the Wellness Program: Introduction to “Wholistic” Health, Everyday Uses of Herbs, Aromatherapy for Wellness, Energetic Modalities, and Self-Help Stress Reduction Techniques.

Since 1988 I have been involved in flower essence therapy having studied with the Alaskan Flower Essence Project (Homer, AK), the Flower Essence Society (Nevada City, CA), Perelandra: Center for Nature Research (Warrenton, Virginia), the Bach Flower Remedy Programme (New South Wales, England), The Australian Bush Essences (Sydney, Australia), Desert Alchemy (Tucson, Arizona), Delta Gardens (Hampton Falls, New Hampshire), Hawaiian Essences (based in Sebastopol, CA), and Pacific Essences (Victoria, British Columbia). I received certification from the Flower Essence Society and the Australian Bush Essences and have completed the Practitioner Intensive Training with the Alaskan Flower Essence Project.

I have studied Aromatherapy with Robert Tisserand, John Steele, the Pacific Institute of Aromatherapy, Floracopeia, TARA Spa Therapy, Aromahead Institute, and East-West School for Herbal and Aromatic Education. My herbalism studies have been with Rosemary Gladstar, Karta Purkh Singh Khalsa, the California School of Herbal Studies, and Matthew Wood with homeopathic training from the American College of Healthcare Sciences.

I graduated from Skyline with an A.S. Degree in Business and completed Skyline's Esthetics Program. I continued my post-graduate esthetics training receiving a Legacy Scholarship from the International Dermal Institute, earning their Certificate of Achievement upon completion of 100 hours of advanced training and examination.

I derive great pleasure in sharing my passion for the natural healing arts with my students and inspiring them to be successful in achieving their goals in the realm of personal discovery and wholistic health. It is my desire to inspire and ignite each student’s passion for the healing arts and to support them in pursuing the wellness modalities with which they most resonate.

When not in the classroom, I enjoy being in the awe-inspiring beauty and healing power of nature while hiking and searching for wildflowers!