My journey

I’m Calista.

I’m a born dancer and mover, with a strong entrepreneurial streak.

I’m an enthusiastic learner, crafter and builder.

And sometimes I need to be reminded to rest.

Before I reached 20 I had pushed past the boundaries of what my body would tolerate. I had too many sails in the wind, and was forgetting to pull them down in the storms of life. 

My body pulled them down in protest. I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS).

So my early 20's was full of bed rest and medical appointments – and not much hope.

But everything happens for a reason. Having Chronic Fatigue led me on a journey to restoring my connection with my body, and into the arms of traditional healing and bio-energetics.

When Western medicine shrugged its shoulders at my symptoms and dis-ease, I embraced new perspectives that offered glimmers of hope.

I found Chinese medicine, NESHealth, shiatsu and holistic understanding. I learned to listen to the wisdom of my body.

Along with receiving active treatments, I read, watched, and engaged with all manner of rich, insightful and wholehearted practices.

I journeyed to practitioners, ceremonies and workshops, gathering knowledge in all forms. I began to see the shape of a new path for me: as someone who could turn my embodied experience of disease into a foundation of empathy, strength and healing for others. 

After 5 years of recovery, my path was clear. I began work at a naturopathy clinic in Sorell, experiencing firsthand the healing effect of natural remedies and therapies. I started my remedial massage studies in 2018, and knew immediately that I was home.

In the time since, I have sought training and knowledge in Chinese medicine, somatic movement and embodiment, traditional healing and modern health science.

Now, I’m honoured to be a practitioner of the treatments that helped me recover. 

Remedial Massage provides a broad foundation for structural understanding, movement patterns and anatomy fundamentals.

Myofascial Cupping deepened my fascial knowledge, along with igniting a curiosity into movement therapy within my practice.

Shiatsu continues to offer eternal wisdom, frameworks of understanding our personal, emotional, and mental constitutions.

Kahuna Bodywork invited the dance into my flow.

Lomi Lomi reminded me to slow down, listen deeply, and pray.

There is more to learn, from every body, every day.

Stillwell is the destination I’ve been journeying towards.

My practice embraces hope, acknowledges the journey, and honours the body’s wisdom.

I have tried to embody this in my choice of words: still and well.

Still

To take no action

To destil

To remain

Well

A momentary pause, to reflect.

A deep reserve of water.

A state our bodies strive for.

A declaration; despite all the adversities…

I am still well.

Praise

  • LAURA C - RECEIVED LOMI LOMI HEALING

    Calista created a warm, inviting space where I felt safe to fully relax into my first Lomi Lomi massage. The full body fluidity of the massage was a beautiful release, not just bodily but also energetically. I couldn't recommend Calista more highly.

  • CLAIRE R - RECEIVED REMEDIAL FLOW

    You’ve helped me realise the utter joy and nourishment from just receiving touch. Some of my other therapists are painful but the way you just knew where needed more and less, and stayed until something shifted was just so nice.
    Just what my body needed, Calista.

  • JAMIE Y - RECEIVED KAHUNA

    I feel transformed!

  • DAVID D - RECEIVED KAHUNA

    Calista's bodywork gets you in all the ways you need, and all the ways you didn’t know you needed

  • SHAADEH K - RECEIVED FUSION ACUPRESSURE

    I’ve just arrived home and I am feeling so relaxed and light, and at the same time…like a tree rooted in the earth that belongs. What a gift!

  • ELLA R - RECEIVED ACUPRESSURE SESSION

    I didn't realise that acupressure could be so relaxing. The way you moved my body felt so fluid, the stretching was just what my body needed.

Who Is Stillwell?

  • Founder

    A qualified massage therapist and holistic body healer.

  • Therapy dog + treasured hound

    Arti is a knee-high Japanese Spitz x Chihuahua who enjoys the beach and cuddles, spreading love and fur wherever he bounds.

    Born in 2022, he has been a heart-healing, joy-bringing companion who offers cuddles on demand to dog-loving clients.

  • Ancestor, beloved country

    I am honoured to work at the feet of kunanyi. During each session I call on her presence, wisdom and grounding energy. She supports, guides and protects us. She is an honoured part of each session at Stillwell.

Certifications

Registered Member of MAA since 2021, Remedial Massage Therapist, Australia

Diploma Remedial Massage, 2021, Evolve College, Tasmania

5 Elements Practice, Sep-2024, with Gwyn Williams. Wild Wing, Tasmania

Zenthai Shiatsu, Feb-2024, with Gwyn Williams. Wild Wing, Tasmania

Lomi Lomi, Nov-2023, with Mana O Kahiko. Botannical Gardens, Tasmania

Fusion Acupressure, Apr-2023, with Adria Ellis, Fusion Healing

Kahuna Massage, Sep-2022, with Ebony Prinns & Emmanuelle Decourty, Embodied Living Tasmania

Myofascial Cupping Technique, Jun-2021, with Dave Sheehan, Complimentary Health Seminars

Introduction to CranioSacral Therapy, 2015

Tsubos for Reflexologists and Meridian Workshops, 2019-2021, Lilly Harris, Body Stillness, Tasmania

Experience

  • Horizon Medicine - Naturopathic & Bioenergetic Student 2017 - 2018

    Lavada - Spa & Massage Therapist 2022 - present

  • Mana O Kahiko - Traditional Healing Foundation, Urban Retreat 2022

    Deep Ecology with John Seed, lunawanna-allonah/Bruny Island, 2023

    Elemental Yoga Immersion, 2016 with Clare Rafferty, Aligned Living Tasmania

    Up Up Trampoline - Artists Masterclass Bruny Island 2018

  • Participant

    Intuitive Beading with Sage Drums 2024

    Rethinking Capitalism with Sustainable Prosperity 2023

    Nayri Niara 2022

    Herbal Medicine - Extract Making 2022

    On Country - Spirit of Place Workshop 2022

    New Kind Festival 2017

    Therapist

    Seven Sisters, 2022

    Facilitator

    Up Up Trampoline, 2018

    Cut & Bundle Sewing Short Courses 2015 - 2017

  • Traditional Healing Foundations

  • Kahuna Training

  • Lomi Lomi Immersion

  • Zenthai Shiatsu

  • Seven Sisters Festival

  • Tsubo Training

  • Deep Ecology

  • On Country - Spirit of Place

  • Evolve College Remedial Massage

  • Zenthai Shiatsu

  • Fusion Acupressure

  • Kahuna Training

  • Myofascial Cupping Therapy

  • 5 Elements Practice

    5 Element Practice

Approaches

my wellness philosophy

Your body wants to be well.

All systems in nature are gifted with self-correction.

Our bodies are a beautiful, harmonised collection all striving for homeostasis.

Sometimes our gorgeous bodies need reminding of where centre is, what the best movement is, or where to lay down repetitive pathways.

I trust deeply in your body’s wisdom. I am an honoured guest in your body’s journey to wellness.

There are no isolated systems.

For example:

  • stress at work can affect your food choices each day

  • a toothache can affect how you walk

  • a traumatic event can affect your joints.


Everything is interconnecting.

Nothing in nature blooms all year round.

The modern world has created a reliance on productivity that is incongruous to our wellbeing. It makes us less connected to nature. It means our self worth is often connected to out put and

It is vital to recognise that we need rest. We all have a unique way to recharge. I am honoured to offer an opportunity to explore the ‘winter’, the inward and darker times.

There's more to health than just the physical.

Acknowledging this truth has been integral to my journey from deep fatigue to restored health.

Ancient wisdoms from all continents acknowledge energy and spirituality as important parts of the human experience. We are part of the natural web of interconnectedness that weaves all manner of beings, forces and events together.

Western science is only just catching up, and ‘proving’ what already feels true to many of us.

Find your truth.

I have searched high and low for frameworks, systems, approaches, and cosmology that make sense for me. I am honoured to share these with you, if you’re interested.

My intention is to invite you into your own truth.

In your truth, you will find respite, comfort, guidance and the most wonderful awareness.

There is no model that works best for every body.

Welcome home, to you.

Laughter is a great medicine.

Not quite the best, but humour certainly has a lot to offer us. Ever since doing a laughter workshop when I was 15, and finding out that humour lands in my top 3 personal values at a positive psychology workshop, I have cultivated humour as a daily practice.

This sometimes means laughing in the face of challenges, acknowledging that life certainly has a funny way of expressing itself, and honouring the deep undeniable unifier that laughter is.

I take your health and wellness seriously, though I won’t shy away from inviting a lightness of heart to navigate heavy journeys.

Requests and feedback always welcome.

You know you. And if you don’t… let’s meet you.

Each session your needs will be different. You are welcome to guide the session by bringing up anything that feels heavy, has been on your mind, or the particular results you are looking for, including physical, emotional and mental.

I have many tools to offer and can structure your treatment to meet your needs. Consider the layers of your body and the particular quality you want to experience — such as feeling light, nurtured, or enveloped — and think about how you want to feel when you depart from your session.

Choose a day to rest

…or your body will choose for you.