I've had intuitive hands since I was a kid, but it took me a while to realize I could use this in a professional healing capacity. As soon as I did make that realization, I looked for the best, most clinically-oriented massage school I could find. I graduated as cohort valedictorian from the Soma Institute for Clinical Massage Therapy in October of 2017.

But massage isn't the only thing I do. Before massage school, I was already a level 2 reiki practitioner; and before that, I started on a path towards becoming a multifacted healer.

From my own personal experiences, I knew that bodywork would be part of my practice, but I wasn't sure how. Then, in 2016, I listened to a podcast featuring Dr. Cynthia Price, a mindfulness and embodiment researcher in the Seattle area. Dr. Price's research highlights the importance of interoception, the ability to feel what's happening in our bodies. Improved interoception means improved emotional self-regulation; improved self-regulation means an improved quality of life as we learn to pay attention to our physical, mental, and emotional needs. Through her studies, Dr. Price helped at-risk women in intensive outpatient programs for alcohol and drug abuse find the inner stability they needed to build better lives for themselves and their families. 

Dr. Price's career started at the massage table. She was a massage therapist for ten years before delving deeper into mindfulness research and the intersections of mental health care and physical health care. One week after hearing her story, I was enrolled in massage school: I knew that the deeper healing I wanted to help people find starts with the body.

I believe that finding ease in our bodies is an essential component to finding ease in our lives. My approach to massage embraces this: while I can perform "deep tissue" massage and find every painful trigger point in your muscles, I'm not interested in the "no pain, no gain" approach. Instead, I look not only to symptomatic areas like a tight neck or painful upper back -- I also look at the body as an entire system, doing my best to find the less-obvious causes of physical discomfort. Then, I ask you and your tissues to relax, to stop holding so tightly, to trust that other parts of your body will help support whatever needs supporting.

I have a background in weightlifting and recreational aerial arts like trapeze, aerial hoop, and silks. I've engaged with different approaches to yoga, stretching, and mobility, and as someone with notable scoliosis, I'm always paying attention to posture. The Soma Institute's curriculum and practicum includes quite a bit of sports massage, techniques that help athletes and nonathletes alike address physical issues that impact pain-free agility as we move through our days.