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Robert Kodama
Nature’s Grace
Joshua grew up in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Much of his childhood was submersed, quite literally in sports, primarily swimming and water polo, essentially developing gills through fourteen years of competition in the pool. While he shined as an athlete, his academics left much to be desired. With little connection to traditional schooling methods, Joshua was constantly seeking alternative methods of discovery. He was in many ways – “that strange kid” who found solace in the woods, meditating by candlelight in his room, playing with invisible “energy balls”, talking very as-matter-of-factly with spirits, and was almost certain he had “remembered” how to breathe under water. He spent so many hours in the bathroom making strange vocal sounds that his parents’ had deducted that he had major either mental or intestinal issues. Neither was true, Joshua had just discovered some interesting harmonic effects called oscillation, resonance and overtones….neat! At the first available opportunity, Josh left his hometown and headed for sunshine, warmth and water. He created a new reality for himself in South Florida enrolled in college as a business/marketing major. In short, order, Joshua discovered this was not at all his gig, and went to work full time as a pool plasterer, taking some time to discover what direction he wanted his life to take. During that time, a good deal of reflection and some good old-fashioned life experience, Josh began thinking about his desire to help people. Good friends and family started saying, “Hey, you know you’re really quite good at massage. Have you ever thought about doing that for a living?” It had truly never crossed his mind. He remembered working on his Mother who had several back surgeries, and that her pain would dissolve as a result. She had shared with him that he had done more for her with untrained hands than a Surgeon, Physical Therapist, Massage Therapist and pharmaceuticals had done for her in years. He began to paint the portrait of his life as a Bodyworker, and he liked what he saw. Joshua enrolled in school for Massage Therapy, and the rest is, as they say, history.
Now Joshua can be found outside of his work either in the water or on the water, walking on fire, tending to fire, sitting in or pouring a sweat lodge, making music, laughing, building something or dreaming up a new idea. He is a proud Sundancer with his Lakota Tiospaye, (Family), and is devoted and loyal student. He is surrounded by amazing Love, Family, Mentors, Friends and pets…five of them including four very quirky cats and his faithful boy Buddy-Love, who is actually canine despite the fact that he believes he is human. Joshua considers all of them to be his teachers.
Joshua has been in practice since 1996 and continues to follow his life’s path of being of service to others. As a Holistic Bodyworker and Massage Therapist, he has had the pleasure of working with people from all walks of life, from professional and Olympic athletes to those in the music and film industry. Graduating first in his class in 1996 at the Academy of Healing Arts in West Palm Beach, FL, Joshua continued on to become a specialist in Deep Tissue and Sports  Massage. He has had the honor of serving as the former Massage Therapist to the U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer and Softball Teams, the FILA Marathon Team, and has served as personal therapist to members of the NFL and U.S. Tennis.
Joshua’s focus shifted a bit in 2003 when he encountered a powerful form of energy work that was being called Quantum-Touch. Intrigued by what he had experienced at a lecture and demonstration by Richard Gordon, the author of the book, “Quantum-Touch, The Power to Heal”, he signed up a workshop being taught by Richard that weekend. He was so juiced about what he had experienced over that weekend, he decided to attain the credentials needed to become a certified Quantum-Touch Practitioner, and soon after, a certified Quantum-Touch Instructor. In 2007, the Quantum-Touch organization invited Joshua to speak at the first Quantum-Touch International Convention in Lake Tahoe, California, where he presented lectures on Vocal Toning and Quantum-Touch to over 300 other Instructors and Practitioners. Today his energy work continues to develop into its own unique style.
His continuous pursuit of knowledge, life experience and adventure, have led him to some extraordinary people and places. In 2006, Josh traveled to Thailand to study Traditional Northern style Thai Bodywork under one of most revered Masters in the craft, Therdchai Chumphoopong, affectionately known by all as “Mac”. Joshua continues to deepen his understanding of Traditional Thai both here and in Thailand. He also incorporates many Thai moves into his table work.
Joshua moves from the belief that all healing is self-healing. While Joshua has been called a healer, he denies the ability to heal anyone else other than himself. He explains, “The only thing that would make me a healer is the fact that I’ve gotten sick in the past…and then gotten better.” Joshua acknowledges our ability to facilitate others in their own healing, and feels at home in his roles as a Bodyworker and Teacher in helping people do that.
His bodywork is a relaxing and eclectic blend of many different modalities, including Deep Tissue, Shiatsu, Thai, Energy Healing, Breathwork, Guided Journeying, Sound Healing & Psycho-Acoustics, and Structural Integration.
Whether a person needs to correct a serious injury or postural misalignment, simply wishes to reduce the stress of everyday life, or looking to take the first step into real change, Joshua has mastered the intuitive art of tailoring each client’s session to meet his or her personal needs.
Around 2000, Joshua began to embrace a deep yearning to teach, and developed the Hands On Wellness Workshops, and series devoted to creating hands-on creative outlets for Soul Expression. “It was a simple approach to introducing people to present moment awareness in a sort of covert, fun way that got them totally absorbed into whatever they were creating, be it a musical instrument or theatrical mask.” Recalls Joshua, ‘I remember teaching my first workshop. It was on playing the didgeridoo, and I called it Prelude to Zen. I thought it was so crafty…using something as simple as playing the didgeridoo to get in touch with present moment awareness…Zen. I was a Genius! Thankfully I was smart enough to have an amazing didge player, Randy Graves and his wife Brandi teach with me, because I absolutely stunk! Truly, I was a nervous bumbling idiot. I know the guest really just wanted me to shut up and get to Randy’s didge playing, but I was just this guy with a burning passion to share with people that it was not as hard as we were making it to find balance. Luckily I got better at presenting with practice, and I kept it up.” Joshua has served on the faculty of Boca Massage Academy as the Anatomy and Physiology as well as hands-on Instructor. Since then, countless co-creations with outrageously talented and forward thinking teachers continue to manifest other great workshops and retreats.
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