FAQs

How do you define the work that you do?

I am a ‘somatic bodyworker’, meaning that I understand the disregulation dynamics of the parasympathetic nervous system. I use hands-on manual techniques, as well as coaching the breath pattern, to bring a person back into a healthy regulation, or homeostasis. This is important in breaking feedback responses that our bodies gather over time.

Teaching is my passion (check my IG for valuable content!) and so I have moved into that space as well. Soon I will have a mentorship program for bodyworkers aiming to maximize their treatment strategies and outcomes.

I also run several different neuro-based workshops on embodiment. Embodiment is the key to understanding and aligning with our emotions and eventually, mindfulness.

Why Trauma Informed?

With a renewed interest in psychophysiology (the mind-body interface) There is a growing need for the trauma-informed movement to branch out into many different fields. Schoolteachers, psychotherapists, social workers, dance instructors, physiotherapists, and all the way to the corporate management sector, are all seeing how the body is a tool utilized to help the mind cope with stress and sometimes, overwhelming stress.

The body truly does keep the score, and sometimes it can cope in ways that we cant fully comprehend without professional help and facilitation. We want to help the individual into their body processes again in a healthy, integrated way. This is why hands-on therapy is essential as a bottom up integration tool in a person’s healthy lifestyle.

Where Did You do your Trainings? I see myself going down a similar path.

I started my work in the physical therapy field in 2010 after graduating Arizona State with a B.S. in Kinesiology. PT became my entry into bodywork, as often I was called upon to position the body for modalities. I really noticed how much this helped ease discomfort of most of the clients, so I made my way to Southwest Institute of Healing Arts for my LMT/CMT. I spent three more years in Arizona, working with multiple populations from pro sports, to sub-acute injury, to geriatric.

In 2015 I read the PolyVagal Theory after a hunch on how bodywork affected physiological processes and homeostasis. I have since dedicated my life to training in neurotrauma. I completed the Intermediate Level of Somatic Experiencing training in Oregon, and have become a member of the United States Association of Body Psychotherapy (USABP). My intent is to move forward in addressing the reflex-arc and motor output as I move my studies into an Applied Neuroscience program.

You Keep Mentioning The Russian Lineage of Neuropsychology, Why?

I am working to master a protocol based on reading the somatic reflex-arc. The Russian Neuropsychology movement of the 1930’s-1960’s is my study ground. From scientists like I.Pavlov, who researched fear and conditioning, to A.R.Luria and O.Vinegradova who researched memory and conditioning, to E.N.Sokolov, who studied the orienting reflex and the reflexive nature of consciousness, the reflex-arc and motor output were viewed as central to our human experience. The psychological implication of the reflex-arc is a concept that was sparsely addressed in the creation of western psychology and can profoundly inform trauma studies for years to come. Influential neuroscientists from Oliver Sacks to Jaak Panksepp to Stephen Porges, along with clinical psychologists like Jordan Peterson, all had their works influenced by the Russian line. It is in this arena that I believe I can make the most difference as a bodyworker.