With a holistic approach to health care, Sherri Theberge provides massage, yoga and childbirth assistance and education at her Inner Waves Integrative Health.
“I meet people where they’re at – spiritually and emotionally,” she said.
Theberge said her work is tailored to the health needs of her clients.
While she always knew she’d be a healthcare professional, it wasn’t until she began studying psychology at the University of the Virgin Islands that her plans began to gel. As she neared the end of her studies, nursing school beckoned. She went on to get a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the university, an endeavor that added another four years on to the more than two she already spent commuting from her home in St. John to the St. Thomas campus.
After graduating in 2009, she went off to Costa Rica to get a certificate from the Costa Rica School of Integrated Massage and Yoga.
“It’s customized to the individual needs of the client,” Theberge said.
A licensed massage therapist and certified yoga teacher, she pulls all her training together to help a variety of clients. If they approve, she adds crystals and essential oils to the experience.
“I put my hands on someone and I know their whole story,” she said.
However, she has a special focus on pregnant women and new mothers. She said she does a lot of postpartum and pre-natal massages.
“I’m honoring their cycles and fertility,” she said.
When labor is slow in starting, she said, massage can help stimulate it because it relaxes the baby as well as the mother-to-be. For those facing medical induction of labor, she said massage helps because it facilitates their connection to the baby.
“And the technique softens the cervix and makes labor easier,” she said.
She also does yoga for pregnant women that’s “sprinkled” with childbirth education.
As a nurse, she’s available to assist with home births or serve as an advocate for hospital births.
She’s also a doula, helping with breast feeding and infant care.
Theberge often holds classes for pregnant women, bringing them together in events such as her recent Sacred Circle.
Theberge, 38, is also a mother. She and her husband, Galen Stamford, have a daughter Violet Sky, age 3. She met her husband 15 years ago while on a summer hiatus from her studies at the University of Rhode Island. A Warwick, R.I., native, she made St. John her home and soon settled into island life.
Theberge does home visits, but also works out of an office at the Cocoloba shopping center in Coral Bay.
“She’s a fantastic asset to our community,” Dr. Robert Debonis, a chiropractor with an office in the same shopping center, said as he happened by during an interview.
Life is a balancing act. Her home life is important, and she and her husband spend lots of time surfing. She said nearby Tortola’s north shore has big winter waves, and during hurricane season, St. John sees some sensational ones on the south shore. Because she and her husband are both self-employed, they can make time for long weekends with the waves.
“Its part of our soul and spirit,” she said of surfing.
Theberge can be reached by phone at 1-340-514-3299 or email at innerwavesih@yahoo.com.
