Meet the Founder
Cissie Pryor, R.N., LMT
Registered Nurse · Licensed Massage Therapist · Certified Hypnotherapist
Repêchage Authorized Esthetician · Sound Healing Practitioner · roXiva Provider
45+ Years of Clinical and Holistic Wellness Expertise · Arlington, TN
Credentials at a Glance
R.N.
45+ yrs psychiatric nursing · since 1981
L.M.T.
Co-founded TN School of Massage · 35+ yrs
Hypnotherapist
Trained under Barber & D'Encarnacao · 39 yrs
Repêchage
Authorized by Lydia Sarfati · since 1988
Sound Healing
100+ Tibetan singing bowls · since 2014
roXiva RX1
Certified light therapy provider
Living Health Day Spa · 11900 Mott St, Arlington, TN 38002
Her Story
Meet Cissie Pryor, R.N., LMT
Cissie Pryor is one of the most uniquely credentialed wellness practitioners in Tennessee — and arguably in the entire Southeast. In an industry where practitioners often specialize in one modality, Cissie has spent over four decades mastering many. She is simultaneously a clinically trained Registered Nurse, a Licensed Massage Therapist who founded a State-Approved Massage School, a Certified Hypnotherapist trained by the field's founding researchers, a Repêchage Authorized Esthetician, and a Sound Healing Practitioner certified in gong baths and Tibetan singing bowl therapy.
What makes Cissie genuinely different is not the length of her credential list — it is the depth of each. She did not take weekend certification courses. She trained directly under the researchers and pioneers who defined their fields. She operated a State-approved massage school for over 35 years. She has been a Repêchage Authorized Esthetician since 1988. Each credential represents years of practice, not a certificate on a wall.
Her husband, David Pryor, has been her partner in building Living Health for decades — joining her on the journey to Peru to study sound healing, co-founding Tennessee School of Massage, and supporting the spa's move to Arlington, TN in 2025.
Today, Cissie personally performs the majority of services at Living Health Day Spa — ensuring that every client receives the benefit of her extraordinary background directly, not through junior staff.
Cissie Pryor, R.N., LMT
Founder, Living Health Day Spa
Arlington, TN · 45+ Years Experience
Clinical Foundation
45+ Years as a Registered Nurse
Cissie became a Registered Nurse in 1981, beginning her career in psychiatric and mental health settings. This specialty is significant: psychiatric nursing demands a nuanced, evidence-based understanding of how the mind influences the body — the fundamental principle behind every service offered at Living Health Day Spa.
For more than four and a half decades, Cissie's nursing career ran parallel to her wellness practice. She did not leave medicine to pursue wellness — she integrated them. The result is a practitioner who approaches massage, facials, hypnotherapy, and sound healing with clinical precision that no esthetician or massage school alone can produce.
Practically, this means several things for Living Health clients:
- 1Cissie understands human anatomy at a clinical level. Her massage and cupping work is anatomically informed in a way that exceeds typical LMT training.
- 2She can safely assess whether a client's condition is appropriate for a particular service — a judgment call that requires clinical training.
- 3Her hypnotherapy practice is grounded in the same evidence-based principles she applied as a psychiatric nurse: understanding how the brain responds to suggestion, pattern interruption, and behavioral change.
- 4Her approach to wellness is whole-person and systemic — she thinks about how services interact with a client's overall health, not just whether they produce a pleasant experience.
There is no other day spa in the Arlington or Memphis area founded and operated by a Registered Nurse with this length and depth of clinical experience. This is not a marketing claim — it is a verifiable fact about Cissie Pryor's professional history.
Educator & Trailblazer
The Tennessee School of Massage Legacy
In 1988, Cissie and her husband David Pryor co-founded Tennessee School of Massage — which has since become the longest solely-owned massage school in Tennessee, operating for over 35 years under continuous ownership.
What began as a mission to bring professional standards to massage therapy in the Mid-South became a landmark institution. By the mid-1990s, the Tennessee Higher Education Commission had formally reviewed and approved the school's curriculum and standards — a rigorous regulatory process that few massage schools complete successfully. This approval made Tennessee School of Massage an officially state-recognized institution, not merely a private certification program.
35+
Years operating
Longest solely-owned massage school in TN
45
Peak staff size
One of the largest Mid-South wellness centers
State
THEC Approved
Tennessee Higher Education Commission
The school's legacy matters to Living Health clients for a specific reason: when Cissie works on you, you are benefiting not only from her personal experience as a practitioner, but from the accumulated knowledge of a woman who spent 35+ years teaching the craft of therapeutic massage to professionals. She knows what excellent technique looks like because she spent three decades defining and teaching it.
Today, Tennessee School of Massage has evolved its focus toward CEU (Continuing Education Unit) courses, community workshops in aromatherapy, sound healing, singing bowl therapy, and gong healing — continuing Cissie and David's commitment to education and community wellness.
Skincare Excellence
Repêchage Authorized Esthetician Since 1988
Repêchage (French for "a second chance") is a professional European skincare line founded by Lydia Sarfati based on the science of marine biotechnology — using seaweed, sea minerals, and plant extracts derived from the ocean to treat and restore the skin. Repêchage is used exclusively by certified, authorized practitioners. It is not available in retail stores. To receive a genuine Repêchage treatment, you must visit an authorized spa.
Cissie became a Repêchage Authorized Esthetician in 1988 — over 35 years ago. Living Health Day Spa is the only Repêchage Authorized Spa in the Arlington area, meaning clients from Memphis, Bartlett, Lakeland, Germantown, Collierville, and Cordova must travel to Arlington to receive authentic Repêchage treatments from a certified practitioner.
What does "authorized" status actually mean? To become authorized, an esthetician must complete rigorous Repêchage-specific training covering the science of marine skincare, the clinical application of each product line, and the precise techniques required to achieve therapeutic results. The training is ongoing — authorized spas must maintain their certification through continued education. This is why there is only one authorized spa in the Arlington area, not dozens.
Living Health offers 17 Repêchage facial treatments — from the legendary 10-Step 4-Layer Facial (named "Facial of the Century" by Cosmopolitan UK) to the Biolight Luminance Treatment, the Rejuva Fresh HydroFacial, and specialized treatments for sensitive, oily, and aging skin types.
Explore all 17 Repêchage facial treatments →Mind-Body Healing
Certified Hypnotherapist — Trained Under Theodore X. Barber & Dr. Paul D'Encarnacao
In the early 1980s, while building her nursing career, Cissie sought advanced hypnotherapy training from two of the most important figures in the history of modern hypnosis.
Theodore X. Barber was a groundbreaking psychologist and researcher whose decades of experimental work fundamentally redefined scientific understanding of hypnosis and human suggestibility. Barber's research challenged earlier conceptions of hypnosis as a mystical or altered state, demonstrating instead that hypnotic responsiveness is a learned, cognitive phenomenon — an insight that transformed clinical hypnotherapy from fringe practice to evidence-based behavioral intervention. Training directly under Barber was exceptionally rare, and his influence on Cissie's approach is evident in the clinical, evidence-based framework she brings to every hypnotherapy session.
Dr. Paul D'Encarnacao was equally influential — a pioneer in clinical hypnotherapy and behavioral medicine whose work in applying hypnotic techniques to specific clinical outcomes (habit change, pain management, behavioral wellness) gave practitioners a rigorous framework for using hypnosis as a therapeutic tool rather than a performance or curiosity.
With 39 years of hypnotherapy practice, Cissie offers clinical hypnotherapy at Living Health for:
Hypnotherapy sessions at Living Health are 90–120 minutes and deeply individualized. Cissie takes a comprehensive history before any session begins, ensuring the approach is tailored to each client's specific goals and patterns. This is clinical hypnotherapy — not stage hypnosis.
Learn more about hypnotherapy at Living Health →Sacred Healing Art
Sound Healing Practitioner Since 2014
In 2014, after an extended journey to Peru, Cissie and David Pryor returned transformed. They had spent time studying indigenous medicine, sacred plant ceremonies, and sound healing alongside local indigenous shamans — a deep immersion in traditions that predate modern wellness culture by thousands of years.
Following this experience, they formalized their practice as Certified Sound Healing Practitioners — specializing in gong baths and Tibetan and Nepalese singing bowl therapy. Since then, they have introduced sound healing to the Mid-South in a genuine, depth-first way: not as a trendy add-on, but as a full therapeutic modality rooted in legitimate training and ceremonial understanding.
100+
Authentic singing bowls
Sourced direct from Himalayan craftspeople
2014
Certified practitioners
After extended study in Peru
3
Session formats
Private, gong bath & group ceremony
The science of sound healing is increasingly well-supported: specific frequencies and harmonic overtones produced by singing bowls and gongs have been shown to shift brainwave states, reduce cortisol levels, and facilitate the deep parasympathetic relaxation response. For clients who find it difficult to quiet the mind during conventional massage or meditation, a gong bath or singing bowl session often achieves what nothing else can.
Through Tennessee School of Massage, Cissie and David offer workshops in singing bowl therapy, gong healing, and sound healing — training others in these traditions and expanding access across the Mid-South.
Book a sound healing or gong bath session →Full Credential Summary
Credentials & Expertise
No comparable combination exists at any other spa in Tennessee
Registered Nurse (R.N.)
45+ years of Mental Health & Psychiatric Nursing — Cissie brings clinical, evidence-based precision to every service she offers. Active since 1981.
Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT)
Founded and operated Tennessee School of Massage for 35+ years — the longest solely-owned massage school in Tennessee, training hundreds of LMTs.
Certified Hypnotherapist
39 years of clinical hypnotherapy practice. Trained directly under Theodore X. Barber and Dr. Paul D'Encarnacao — two of the field's founding researchers.
Repêchage Authorized Esthetician
Authorized since 1988 — 35+ years. Living Health is the only Repêchage Authorized Spa in the Arlington area, offering all 17 facial treatments.
Sound Healing Practitioner
Certified in gong baths and Tibetan/Nepalese singing bowl therapy since 2014. Curator of the Mid-South's largest retail collection of authentic singing bowls (100+).
roXiva RX1 Light Therapy Provider
One of very few certified roXiva RX1 providers in the Southeast, offering cutting-edge brain entrainment light therapy.
Track Record
Awards & Industry Recognition
#1
Rated Day Spa in Memphis, TN
USA Today 10Best readers' poll
Top 10
Best Spas in Tennessee
Selected by The Tennessean
38+
Years in Business
Continuous operation since 1986
35+
Years of Esthetic Expertise
Repêchage authorized since 1988
100+
Authentic Singing Bowls
Mid-South's largest retail collection
45+
Years of R.N. Experience
Psychiatric & mental health nursing
These recognitions are the result of over three decades of consistent, excellent, personalized service — not marketing campaigns. Cissie's clients return year after year because the results speak for themselves.
A Journey of Healing
Became a Registered Nurse and began her career in psychiatric and mental health settings, developing a deep, clinical understanding of the mind-body connection.
While building her nursing career, Cissie pursued advanced hypnotherapy training under two of the field's most influential pioneers: Theodore X. Barber, whose groundbreaking research redefined the science of hypnosis, and Dr. Paul D'Encarnacao, whose work in clinical hypnotherapy and behavioral medicine was equally transformative.
Met her husband, David Pryor, and together they pioneered massage and wellness businesses in the Mid-South. They co-founded Tennessee School of Massage — the longest solely-owned massage school in Tennessee — and Cissie became a Repêchage Authorized Esthetician, bringing world-class marine skincare to the region.
The State of Tennessee reached out to approve and regulate the massage industry. Cissie and David received their program's approval from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, cementing Tennessee School of Massage as an officially recognized institution.
At their peak, Cissie and David operated the largest massage and facial-oriented spas in the Mid-South, employing as many as 45 people simultaneously — graduating and mentoring hundreds of Licensed Massage Therapists over 38+ years in business.
Shifted focus: continued operating Tennessee School of Massage, closed the original large spa, and opened a smaller, more intimate wellness destination — Living Health Day Spa. A few years later, it earned recognition as the #1 Spa in Memphis.
After an extended journey to Peru studying indigenous medicine, sacred plant ceremonies, and sound healing alongside local indigenous shamans, Cissie and David returned and began their formal work as Sound Healing Practitioners — introducing gong baths and Tibetan singing bowl therapy to the Mid-South.
Moved the entire operation — school, spa, and practice — to Arlington, TN, a beautiful, slower-paced community surrounded by nature. (Birds actually sing outside the windows during sessions.) Tennessee School of Massage transitioned its focus to CEU continuing education and community workshops in aromatherapy, sound healing, and gong healing.
Continues to personally provide the majority of spa services, ensuring every guest receives the full benefit of Cissie's 40+ years of expertise as a nurse, healer, educator, and practitioner.
Client Voices
What Clients Say About Cissie
"Cissie is unlike any spa practitioner I've ever visited. She remembered details from my last session months earlier, adjusted the treatment based on how I was feeling that day, and I left feeling genuinely better — not just relaxed. Her nursing background shows in every service."
"I drove from East Memphis because a friend insisted Living Health was worth it. After my Repêchage facial, I understood immediately why there was no closer alternative. The difference between an authorized treatment and a regular facial is not subtle."
"I went for hypnotherapy for smoking cessation and didn't really believe it would work. Three months later, I haven't had a cigarette. Cissie's approach is clinical and evidence-based — she explains the science, and then it actually works."
"The gong bath was one of the most unusual and profound experiences of my life. I came in skeptical and left transformed. Cissie's collection of Tibetan singing bowls alone is worth the drive to Arlington."
"As a healthcare professional myself, I'm picky about practitioners. Cissie's RN background gives her a level of anatomical and physiological understanding that most massage therapists simply don't have. My deep tissue massage was the best I've ever had."
Guiding Principles
The Philosophy of Living Health
"True wellness is the harmony of body, mind, and spirit — and every person deserves care that honors all three."
— Cissie Pryor, Founder
At Living Health, wellness is not an aesthetic — it is a clinical reality. Cissie's philosophy emerges directly from her decades as a Registered Nurse: the body and mind are not separate systems. Stress manifests physically. Physical pain generates psychological distress. Skin health reflects internal chemistry. Sound and vibration affect brainwave states. Suggestions absorbed in hypnotic states reshape behavioral patterns.
This is why Living Health is appointment-only. Rushed, assembly-line spa treatments cannot produce this kind of care. Every appointment begins with a genuine conversation. Every service is adapted based on what Cissie hears and observes. The treatments are not identical from person to person — they are individualized, clinical, and intentional.
Living Health is appointment-only not because it is exclusive, but because personalized care requires time. Cissie refuses to compromise the quality of her attention by overloading her schedule. When you visit, you are her focus — completely, for the entire duration of your appointment.
Visit Cissie at Living Health Day Spa
11900 Mott St, Arlington, TN 38002
Tue–Fri 11 AM–7 PM · Sat 10 AM–5 PM · By Appointment Only
