About your therapist
Meet Pooja Rishal, Registered Massage Therapist in Ottawa
I have practised massage therapy since 2020 and I am registered with the College of Massage Therapists of Ontario (CMTO). My training was at the International Academy of Massage here in Ottawa. Healastic runs out of Aesthé Medical Aesthetics in Manotick.
The work covers Swedish, deep tissue, therapeutic, relaxation, hot stone, and aromatherapy massage. In practice that includes pain management, myofascial release, headache and migraine relief, sports work, prenatal and postnatal care, manual lymphatic drainage, and buccal facial massage for TMJ.
Why I work the way I do
I worked as a psychotherapist before becoming a massage therapist. I do not treat those as two separate careers — the first changed how I do the second. When someone tells me their shoulders have sat up around their ears for six months, I want to know what else has been going on for six months. Muscle tension has a context. Treating it without that context usually buys relief that does not last.
That is what the name Healastic is meant to hold: healing and elasticity. Flexibility in the body, and some balance in the life around it. The goal is a little larger than loosening one tight muscle, which is why a first appointment involves a lot of questions.
What a session with me looks like
We begin with a conversation — what brought you in, what you do all day, how you are sleeping, what you have already tried. I assess, then we agree on a plan for that session and, if it is useful, a rough direction for the next few.
Appointments last 60 minutes and include intake and assessment when needed. Hot stones are part of every massage I offer. Warming the tissue first lets me work deeper with less pressure, which most people find more comfortable and longer-lasting. Afterwards I will usually send you away with a stretch or two, and a receipt for your insurer.
Outside the clinic
Free time is spent with my family, outdoors, and travelling when I can. That is not incidental to the work — a lot of what I believe about rest, movement, and recovery comes from exactly those things.
Running a single-therapist practice
Healastic is just me, on purpose. You see the same therapist every visit, and the treatment plan carries forward instead of starting over. The trade-off is that everything outside the treatment room is mine as well: booking, receipts, the website. Online booking runs on Jane. The site itself was built with Clinic Launchpad, who help independent clinics across Canada get properly set up online.
Book a session with me
Unhurried, personalised treatment in a calm, professional space in Manotick.