massage & ceremonial bodywork

As we press through the motions of maintaining busy lives, we often have only a surface-level awareness of our bodies’ wants and needs. This disconnect serves our productivity—but not our spirit. Our nervous systems are calling for more moments of rest. Our bodies are ready to be fed with attention and care.

Each session is personalized, based on your needs in the moment, as I bring in one or more modalities:

• Abdominal massage can help release emotional stress, as a lot of emotion is held in the belly. It gently stimulates digestive organs, for better digestion, and the lymph system that removes toxins. Receiving abdominal massage can also boost the immune system and alleviate premenstrual pain. 
• Swedish massage is a lighter touch on a superficial layer of muscles, used both for relaxation and to soften muscles before any deep-tissue massage to access deeper structures.
• Your feet and hands are a microcosm of your whole body. Reflexology involves using thumb and forefinger pressure on the hands, feet and ears to relax other areas of your body. 
• Cranial sacral is a very light touch used to create more fluidity in any restricted areas of fascia (the web of connective tissue that runs throughout the body). This is subtle, energetic work. It quickly drops you in to a deep state of relaxation.
• For areas that would benefit from increased joint mobility and flexibility, I use Thai-inspired stretching adapted for the table.
• Lomi lomi, the traditional Hawaiian massage, is soothing and restorative. These long, fluid, connecting strokes from head to toe are like a prayer on the body.

A massage can feel vulnerable, so I take care to create safety. This is your time, so I welcome any changes you would like. And anything you share is safe with me. 

Clients tend to return for monthly massages, knowing that time for themselves is not only a “want to" but a "have to." Sometimes we’re quiet and sometimes we chat and laugh.  

I look forward to seeing you.

New motherhood. An empty nest. Freedom from a stale relationship. A clean bill of health. Grieving a loss. An exciting new direction for our life’s work.

Big changes often run us over. Or else they get brushed aside as one more thing happening in a busy life. Marking a transition in a soulful, embodied way would feel good—maybe really good—like something we’ve been missing out on for far too long.

We'd take the time to fully acknowledge the complexity of change, both the sweetness and the sadness.
 

We'd have someone witness that we’ve shifted. Not giving advice or directing us how to feel about it. Just looking and listening and acknowledging our growth: that we’re a fuller version of ourselves.
 

We'd choose something about the transition: instead of only letting it mark us, we mark it. 

It’s a warm-oil, full-body massage with particular focus on  

• the crown of the head, our access to the divine
• the abdomen, where we carry so much emotion, filter decisions, and remove toxins
• the feet, which carry our weight and draw energy from the earth 

I will be there to hold you and witness your wishes and prayers.  My hope is that you come out of this two-hour journey feeling grounded, refreshed, and alive. I hope it deepens your well of calm and strength for moving forward. I hope you gain some clarity about what this transition means to you; what you can now offer yourself, your family, or your community.