Nephyr Jacobsen, L.M.T., Founder and Owner of The Naga Center -Nephyr Jacobsen has been a massage therapist since 1991. She first studied massage at Harbin Hot Springs School of Shiatsu and Massage in northern California before going on to graduate from East West College of the Healing Arts in Portland Oregon. At East West College she studied the arts and sciences of massage including anatomy, kinesiology, physiology and pathology. She specialized in advanced deep tissue and polarity therapy.

In 1999 Nephyr traveled to Thailand for three months to study the art of Thai massage therapy. Since then she has returned to Thailand, studying extensively with many masters of Thai massage and Thai herbalism (including Ajahn Pichest, Mama Lek, Ajahn Chongkol, Ajahn Chawalit and more). Back in the U.S., Nephyr completed the rigorous Tao Mountain Association Thai massage teacher training program in 2005. Despite the lack of national requirements and standards for Thai massage instructors, She voluntarily choose to become certified through the Tao Mountain Association due to her deep belief in the importance of meeting the highest possible standards of education.

Classes taught by Nephyr are steeped in Thai history, culture and spirituality (non-dogmatic, open to all spiritual/religious paths). Her teaching style is compassionate and comfortable, accommodating for all learning styles.

Nephyr has been teaching continuing education classes to massage therapists since 2002. She currently directs The Naga Center, sits on the Council of Teachers for the Tao Mountain Association and teaches classes in Thai Massage and Thai Ayurvedic Herbalism. She is a member of the Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals, the American Herbalist Guild and she currently sits on the board of directors for Common Ground Wellness Center in Portland, Oregon.

About Nephyr’s Thai massage training – It should be noted that while Nephyr Jacobsen has studied with many teachers of Thai massage and herbalism, she notes two people as being her primary teachers and would like to honor them here; Ajahn Pichest Boomthame, and Pierce Salguero. Ajahn Pichest is recognized in Thailand as being the premier master of Thai massage. Studying with Pichest was an honor and a challenge that led to a deepening of Nephyr’s Thai massage understanding that she previously did not know was possible. Pierce Salguero, her teacher here in the U.S., is the author of many books and academic articles on traditional Thai medicine. His classes filled in the gaps of theoretical knowledge that could not be filled in Thailand and it was his enthusiastic tutelage that inspired Nephyr to found The Naga Center. Nephyr’s gratitude and fondness for these two amazing teachers is boundless.


Pierce Salguero, M.A., Tao Mountain Director — Pierce has degrees in Anthropology and East Asian Studies, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D.in the History of Asian Medicine at the Johns Hopkins medical school. He has written his Master's thesis on the history of Thai Medicine. Pierce apprenticed with several Thai healers (including Lek Chaiya, Mama Nit, and at the Shivagakomarpaj Traditional Medicine Hospital) while living in Thailand from 1997 to 2001. He received teaching credentials from the Traditional Medicine Hospital, where he also taught massage theory. He is the author of A Thai Herbal (the first English-language manual for the practice of Thai herbalism), The Encyclopedia of Thai Massage, The Spiritual Healing of Traditional Thailand, and numerous articles on Thai medicine and is the founder of the Tao Mountain Association of Thai Massage and Herbal Medicine. He has been teaching Thai massage and herbal medicine for 8 years. Pierce is a guest teacher at The Naga Center. He teaches our Advanced Course in Thai Medical Theory