West v. East

In modern Western American culture, mind, body, and spirit have long been treated as separate. In the East and many indigenous cultures, however, it is believed that they are all aspects of the whole, and so all three aspects should be treated as a whole to attain optimal health.

Body

On a physical level, massage and bodywork practices increase blood flow, flush out lymphatic drainage, toxins, and lactic acid, and release knots in the fascia and muscles. Deep relaxation encourages the body’s natural healing response, reduces blood pressure, decreases stress hormones, and increases positive ones.

Mind

On an energetic level, bodywork and energy work practices relax the conscious mind, allowing the recipient to access and clear subconscious and emotional blockages. They promote harmonization and coherence of the bio-energetic field. They enhance the effectiveness of the immune system, relax the vagal nerve, and gently activate the rest/digest function of the parasympathetic nervous system.

Spirit

Relaxing the body and mind helps us to tune into ourselves on a spiritual level, where we can connect to our true selves- our souls. However, this is also where trauma often resides. This is why so many people often have symptoms and illnesses, whether mental or physical, that they can't explain.

I believe we are spiritual beings in physical bodies. Just like in physics, where energy trickles down into matter, so it is true of us. Our soul trickles down into our energy body, then our mental body, our emotional body, and finally, into our physical body.

The reason why so many of us are struggling to obtain total health is that many of the problems we face are due to some sort of disconnect or blockage at an energetic or soul level. We are likely carrying the burdens of our past, our trauma, and our ancestors, and many times, we don't even know it!

This is why I choose to utilize the gifts of Eastern, Western, indigenous, and Native American principles together in my practice. By combining various massage and bodywork techniques with energy work and spiritual medicine modalities we can treat the whole person- body, mind, and spirit.