What is it to be healed?

In my opinion it is a life-long journey of finding yourself. I started my healing journey after leaving UCLA. The prospect of having a heavily debted undergraduates degree did not appeal to me, and so I looked to trade school. I considered no other option than massage school as I had heard a small voice throughout my childhood, whispering from my subconscious, that I could one day be a massage therapist. My initial introduction into healing modalities was fabulous. It was a very western approach to massage, with the school in fact being named Western Institute of Neuromuscular Therapy (WIN Therapy). They specialized in teaching students anatomy, sports therapy techniques, and clinical evaluation protocols. I absolutely loved it. I was ravenous for more knowledge about the body and (what I thought at the time) it’s mechanical functionings. Immediately after my 1,000 hour graduation from WIN, I enrolled in an oncology massage course through Greet The Day, where I learned gentle touch, and what it means to hold space for someone’s healing to occur at not just the physical, but emotional and mental levels. After such an intense approach to tissue release with WIN Therapy, and an introduction to the value of “less is more” with Greet the Day, I was interested to learn other modalities that used lighter touch. My interest led me to the Upledger Institute and it’s Craniosacral therapy curriculum.

This is where I believe my healing truly began.

To learn this type of work you have to receive the work. Although we were all students coming to learn a technique we did not know, I was amazed by the work that I received. There are times in your life that you know that where you are is where you are meant to be. For me, this was one of those moments. Each course I took from the Upledger Institute felt like a transformation, and taught me that the less I tried to control the outcome of a person’s healing, the more likely I was to be able to have an effect. I learned that it was not me doing the healing, I was simply holding space for someone to have their own healing experience.

I am so grateful for these teachings because it taught me to trust my own healing process, and the innate intelligence of my body-mind.

About a year after I had finished my CranioSacral and SomatoEmotional courses through the Upledger Institute, I started my journey with BodyTalk. The skepticism that accompanied me to my first class was unparalleled. How could such a non-invasive modality be effective? It wasn’t until the end of the first day that I became ravenous for BodyTalk.

I could not get enough!

I quickly sped through the foundational BodyTalk curriculum, achieving a BodyTalk certification within six months. The synchronicity that occurred for me to take the classes that I did with such availability was astounding to me, and I knew that I was, yet again, where I was meant to be. Learning to muscle test was difficult, but it became a second language to me, and eventually a language that infiltrated every part of my life. Intuition is an innate sensation, and through the BodyTalk training, I was able to find my way back to that voice within me.

BodyTalk and CranioSacral Therapy has added to my massage practice in ways I couldn’t have imagined. I’m grateful for the scope of tools that I’ve acquired, and even more grateful that my clients trust me enough to allow my intuition to guide our sessions. Helping people feel better truly fills me up, and having a career that I love makes me believe that I’m fulfilling a life purpose. I’m excited to see where my journey takes me, and consistently humbled by those that choose to take the vulnerable path of healing with me as a witness.