Perhaps Martha Saitta was chosen to win Natural Awakenings’ coveted 2012 Natural Choice Award — recognizing the area’s most outstanding service provider as voted on by readers — because clients know she gives everything she has to her vocation.  “I love my job and I love my clients,” Saitta says of her nearly 10-year-old Healing Massage and Nutritional Counseling practice, located in Berkeley Heights.  “Clients come to me wanting to feel better, and I do whatever I can to help them, using a wide array of healing tools.”

For Saitta, that involves a broad range of specialized techniques within the massage and energy therapy fields including, among others, orthopedic and deep tissue massage; Reiki, which channels energy from the practitioner into the patient’s body; and pranic healing, which restores and purifies energy using the body’s seven chakras, or energy sources.  Saitta is also certified in Acutonics®, the use of tuning forks on acupressure points.  “The forks are tuned to different vibrations that can travel throughout the body and get deep into muscle,” she says.  “It’s an amazingly relaxing and effective therapy.”

Saitta’s initial interest in the field of massage therapy started more than a decade ago as part of a desire to help her two children in their athletic pursuits. “They were into soccer and martial arts and were always sore,” Saitta says.  “So I originally went to school for massage therapy to help my kids, but as I learned more about the field, I was amazed at the breadth and depth of the benefits massage contributes to overall wellness, and I knew it was something I wanted to provide to others.  Massage therapy truly helps every part of the human body — from oxygenating the blood, relaxing the muscles, and calming the nervous system to boosting immunity, reducing depression, and detoxifying the cells.  Nothing else accomplishes all this as effectively and enjoyably as massage,” Saitta confirms.  “People love massages and often consider them a luxury, not realizing how beneficial they can be to their health.”

Among the traits that Saitta believes set her apart from other providers in the field is her extensive training in and knowledge of the mechanics of the human body.   “I understand anatomy and how each muscle works, so I know the most effective way to manipulate muscles and work them out,” she says.  “I’m also very focused on making people feel comfortable and relaxed.  While many other providers just have a standard protocol, I provide a customized approach that addresses each person’s individual needs and preferences on any given day.”

Dedicated to helping her clients achieve overall wellness, Saitta recently furthered her education with a certification in clinical nutrition.  “What we eat has a huge impact on our overall health and how we feel,” she says.  “Nutrition was something I felt I needed to understand better and something more I wanted to offer my clients so I could help them be their very best.”

Since opening her practice in 2003, Saitta has amassed a dedicated clientele who appreciate her art.  “I hope more and more people will explore the numerous benefits that the holistic healing practice of massage can offer, especially when provided by someone who knows how to bring out its very best,” she concludes.  “Massage therapy isn’t just something I do, it’s something I believe in.”

For more information on Martha Saitta’s Berkeley Heights-based Healing Massage and Nutritional Counseling practice, contact her at 908- 472-2690 or visit MarthaSaitta.com.

Freelancer Susan Bloom specializes in nutrition, fitness, and healthy lifestyles and is regularly featured in such publications as the Asbury Park Press, the Star Ledger, New Jersey Monthly, and USA Today.