MEET THE TEAM

Nissa aka Eunice is the proud CEO and founder of YOUU-NESS. She has been a bodyworker for 17.5 years and is passionate about helping clients find relief from injuries, chronic pain, and tension. She is full body certified in Active Release Technique and Nerve Entrapment and blends ART® with manual therapy and joint mobilization to increase mobility and treat overuse injuries and chronic tension. Although her clients are from all walks of life and backgrounds, she commonly sees people who suffer from physical conditions resulting from repetitive jobs including athletes, musicians, office workers, and people in the service industry.

Nissa's journey into bodywork was initiated by her own recovery. Following significant emotional trauma, she quietly struggled with PTSD, depression, and anxiety. At 18, she got a full scholarship to pursue studies as an aspiring concert pianist at Oberlin Conservatory. She buried herself in the practice rooms using music to escape from her mental suffering until she developed a physical overuse injury that forced her to press pause and face her demons. This was the catalyst that introduced her to the world of therapy for the mind, body, and spirit. It was then that Nissa started to develop her own awareness of the mind body connection and the resilience of the human spirit.  

With the help of skilled health professionals (including a massage therapist), Nissa fell in love with the field of health and wellness, particularly the transformative power of bodywork. She credits it to being a significant part of her own healing journey to recover from physical injury, reconnect with herself, and reclaim a healthy life. After graduating college, Nissa enrolled in massage school and discovered her passion to make the human body her new instrument and utilize the keen sense of touch she developed over years of training to be a concert pianist.

When Nissa is not in the office, she enjoys backpacking, hiking, singing, writing, creating art, traveling, and spending time with friends. She is happily married to her husband Tom and loves to spend time with her corgi (Mocha) and stepkids Kim and Lindsay. 

Summer discovered her love for helping people move better and feel amazing in their bodies after experiencing her own challenges. After tearing her ACL as a teenager playing high school volleyball, she felt physically disconnected to her body.  Reconstructive surgery was required and she endured months of rehabilitation. This is where her journey toward becoming a bodyworker began.

After working with a physical therapist, personal trainer, and massage therapist over 9 months, she was inspired by the relationships she built with the team of professionals that helped her recover. Not only did she get to walk again, she returned to high school and made 1st Team All-League! Summer now sees her injury as a blessing in disguise that helped spark her passion for the rehabilitation world. She believes that she found her calling to help as many people optimize how they feel in their own skin. 

Summer is a health advocate, educator, and enthusiast. She is originally from Southern California and completed a degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Exercise Science from Humboldt State Universitybefore before pursuing a career in massage therapy and bodywork. In college, she worked in a Human Performance Lab testing muscular endurance and completed an internship with the athletic training department working in injury prevention and rehabilitation.

When Summer is not at the office, you might find her rollerblading, playing volleyball, disc golf, listening to a podcast on health and wellness, hanging out with friends, or having fun in the kitchen! 

Dan found his way to San Luis Obispo from southern California. See a theme here with our therapists? He was really drawn to the friendly folk and wanted to make the central coast his home. As an avid rockclimber, Dan became invested in self care and his own recovery. He wants to also help other climbers and humans from all walks of life to feel their best in their bodies and live free from injury and pain. In massage school, he was nicknamed “Deep Tissue Dan” for his passion and knack for deep tissue massage. He also enjoys cupping and sports recovery and continuing to add new corrective manual therapy modalities to help facilitate healing in his clients.

When Dan is not working, you can often find him playing drums. Can you guess why he may also have a second nickname, “Tapotement Thompson"? His love for percussion and music transfers to his work with his clients.  Dan also loves yoga and has a growing new love for beach volleyball. He has experience landscaping and is a huge plant lover, not only in his talent for maintaining beautiful greenery but also in his choice to enjoy a vegan and plant-based diet. Another random fact: Dan can be found playing Dungeons & Dragons every Tuesday night!