About Laura Allen MT

Laura Allen, BA, NCLMBT#1042,  is the President of Sales & Marketing atCryoDerm Logo  CryoDerm, a family-owned company located in Margate, FL that makes plant-based Pain Relief and Therapeutic Massage products. She is also on the team of CryoDerm Educators.

A graduate of Shaw University and The Whole You School of Massage Therapy, Allen began her studies of bodywork in 1993, and has been a licensed massage therapist since 1999. From 1998-2003, she was the administrator and an instructor at The Whole You. From 2003-2016, she owned THERA-SSAGE, a multi-disciplinary clinic offering chiropractic, massage therapy, acupuncture, esthetics, naturopathy, and nutritional counseling. Allen has been an Approved Provider of Continuing Education under the NCBTMB since 2000, offering classes in professional ethics, research literacy, business and marketing, massage therapy techniques, and training for those who want to be instructors of massage therapy. She has taught classes all over the US, in Canada, and Europe.

Allen is the author of numerous books, including Nina McIntosh’s The Educated Heart 5th ed, Plain & Simple Guide to Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork Examinations 4th ed, One Year to a Successful Massage Therapy Practice 2nd ed, A Holistic Practitioner’s Guide to Business, and many others. 

Allen’s regular ethics column, Heart of Bodywork, appears in Massage & Bodywork Magazine.  She has had numerous articles published in massage publications, including Massage & Fitness MagazineMassage Magazine, Massage Today, Massage & Bodywork Magazine, and the International Journal for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork.

Early in her career, Allen received a Community Service Grant from the American Massage Therapy Association for her work with people in comas and persistent vegetative states. She served as the Unit Coordinator Administrator for AMTA-NC for several years and was also in the House of Delegates. She acted as a site reviewer for COMTA for several years. Allen is a 2011 inductee into the Massage Therapy Hall of Fame. She was also named the American Massage Therapist of the Year at the 2011 American Massage Conference. From 2006-2011, she served on the North Carolina Board of Massage & Bodywork and was a delegate to the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards. She is a Silver Award winner of the Massage Therapy Foundation Professional Case Report competition; her research study, The Use of Massage Therapy to Relieve Low Back Pain, appeared in the International Journal of Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork, the only peer-reviewed publication in massage therapy, and her study is indexed on PubMed.

Allen is on the visiting faculty for the Obus School of Healing Therapies in Leixlip, Co Kildare, Ireland. She is also an advocate for the evidence-informed practice of massage therapy, promotes research literacy, and is a supporter of the Massage Therapy Foundation. 

Allen consults with massage therapists, massage and spa business owners and massage school owners/startups, has created the curriculum of numerous massage schools, and has acted as an expert witness in trials concerning massage therapy. To schedule a phone consultation or arrange an in-person consultation, contact her at educatedheart@gmail.com.

Allen resides in the mountains of Western North Carolina with her husband, James Clayton, and their two rescue dogs, Fido and Queenie. She is a singer, musician, and songwriter, has made numerous appearances in person, on public radio, public television, and appeared on several recordings, including a CD recorded with Hogwild, By the Light of the Moon (1999), and Rise and Shine, a music compilation recorded by massage therapists to benefit the Massage Therapy Foundation. She has also been a guest musician on numerous CDs by other artists.

She enjoys playing music with her friends, reading, writing, traveling, cooking, and studying all things Irish.

Laura is a proud member of ABMP (Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals). Click here to get a discount on associate membership, which includes access to over 600 FREE CE courses, a free subscription to Massage & Bodywork Magazine, a free member website, and member discounts.