Healing is rarely linear.
And often, to our great frustration, the most potent catalysts for healing are also the last things we would choose to endure. In my case, nearly two decades of living with an autoimmune disease has been an ongoing education in learning the language of bodies. My own path through illness has been a powerful teacher in how to live fully and with ease.
Back in the days when I was too sick to do much, I saw a lot of practitioners that I hoped would lift me out of my suffering. But what I learned was that the ones who helped the most never bought into the story that I needed fixing; they let me hold my own power close and trusted something deep and potent within me. This is what I cultivate in my own practice: I hold real respect for the wisdom inherent in my client's’ bodies. Together, we collaborate in the unfolding, amplifying what is well without minimizing or disguising what doesn’t feel well.
The transformations I witness in my clients move and inspire me. With each session or workshop, they show what’s possible when we support so much permission and inclusion that the body finds its own coherence. They demonstrate what changes are possible in the presence of self trust and an abiding “Yes.”
My own path to creating a healing practice has been circuitous: I am a long-time educator with a decade of experience working in public radio. I’ve taught writing and social studies to middle schoolers in Costa Rica and documentary radio to incarcerated youth in Maine. I’ve produced youth radio specials on topics as wide-ranging as immigration, parenting and the environment.
In 2006, faced with the reality of my own health issues, I began to widen the circle of my interests. Curiosity (and desperation!) led me to investigate an array of modalities, from acupuncture, to nutrition, to energy-based therapies, to structural therapies such as Craniosacral, Zero Balancing, Integrated Awareness, and massage. I found that each of these approaches helped me feel more at home in myself, and better able to manage my own healing process.
With the gift of hindsight, I see how these many strands help weave a broad support for those I serve: I pay close attention to people’s stories, and offer kind, non-judgmental guidance to help individuals discover their own gifts. I see now how teaching, storytelling and body study all help build the foundations of a holistic healing practice.
Outside of my practice, I am an avid lover of gardens, playing music, watching fireflies, gathering with friends and family, good jokes, and adventures great and small.
Areas of Study
I began my study of craniosacral therapy in 2012 via trainings with both the Upledger Institute and Courageous Heart Therapies (where I discovered the richness of the Biodynamic approach). In 2018, after a two and a half year training with Dr. Kate Klemer in Northampton, Massachusetts, I received certification in Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy. I am also a student of Zero Balancing and graduated from the Namaste Institute of Massage in Portland, Maine in June of 2013. I apprenticed with Integrated Awareness in 2008 and am a Reiki Level 2 practitioner. Before beginning my health studies, I received my B.A. from Wesleyan University in 1999, attended the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies in 2002 and received my Masters in Education – specializing in digital media and storytelling – from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2006.
I’m a voracious learner - you’ll often find me reading about, listening to, or taking courses on all things body, storytelling, somatics, and healing. More recently, my studies have included:
Jungian dreamwork with Toko-Pa Turner and Tina Stromsted
Writing with Susan Conley and Creative Nonfiction Magazine
Pre-and peri natal birth attachment with Myrna Martin
If you’re recognizing your own story in some of these threads, I’d like to invite you to stay connected by signing up for my occasional newsletter.
A few times a month, I’ll share inspiration, latest offerings, and resources I wish I’d had at the beginning of my own journey!