Welcome to AISnorthwest

Joshua Morton is a 1994 graduate of Seattle Massage School, now know as Ashmead. Since beginning his practice Joshua has worked in the area of soft tissue rehabilitation and injury prevention. In 1998 Joshua became familiar with Active Isolated Stretching (AIS). He began to employ this technique with excellent results and before long devoted all of his practice to advancing his knowledge of and ability to use AIS.

In 2003 Joshua went to Sarasota FL to work with Aaron Mattes; the creator and developer of AIS, for the first time. Since then Joshua has accumulated over 2400 hours working one on one with Aaron Mattes. The time was spent learning advanced methods of soft tissue rehabilitation. This education focused not only on stretching but also strengthening. That experience has given Joshua the knowledge required to address difficult neurological, orthopedic and muscular problems such as scoliosis, neuropathy, joint replacements, muscle spasm, asthma, multiple sclerosis, impingement syndromes and many other diseases that were previously beyond his scope of understanding and abilities to help.

Joshua’s devotion to and expertise with AIS places him among Aaron’s top students nation wide. When Joshua is not hard at work stretching patients he has many hobbies he enjoys. He has a strong love of music. He listens to a wide eclectic range of music.

Joshua has been playing the bass guitar since he was 17 years old. He has even played live shows in a band! A couple of years ago Joshua started playing various percussion instruments. This has gotten him participating various in drumming circles around Seattle. Joshua’s new found love of drumming introduced him to African dancing.

Joshua also has a strong love of nature. If he has a day or part of a day to himself you will likely find him heading into the mountains for a day hike. Rain, sleet, snow and ice will not keep Joshua from the trail. He enjoys the challenge of finding the most difficult path and slugging out to the top.

Joshua looooooves food! Not only has he cooked in various Seattle restaurants before beginning his career as a therapist but he has continued to hone his skills of the gourmet. He enjoys hosting parties where he gets to cook with and/or for his friends. Don’t forget to match the right beer or wine to the food! He also enjoys learning about the benefits of the food he is eating. Eating with intelligence is the first line of offense to achieving health!

What is Active Isolated Stretching (AIS)?

Active Isolated Stretching is the first, truly progressive stretching technique based on scientific observations and years of experience. AIS uses active muscular contractions to achieve a stretch. Each stretch is held for 1 ½ seconds and repeated many times in a set.

What are the benefits of assisted stretching?

The assistant provides encouragement and guidance for greater accuracy of the stretch. Assistance is particularly important during the rehabilitation of injuries when muscles might be too weak to move the joint appropriately. Athletes in particular will notice they are able to achieve a higher level of performance with the help of an assistant to “fine-tune” their body.