Before my career as an Integrative Therapist, I obtained a degree in Psychology from University of New Mexico which led me to working as a case manager at St. Martin’s Hospitality Center and Therapeutic Living Services.

 

In this role, many of the clients I served were challenged by addiction, mental health imbalances and homelessness. My work was to assist them with their active daily living skills, help to secure healthcare and housing and acquire sobriety support.

 

Working in this capacity, I witnessed tremendous suffering which made me want to "fix" people. It became clear that while I could support them in securing their fundamental needs, the true magic came from the times when I showed up -- fully present. Simply listening to and seeing them as a whole person. When I did this, not only did they open up to me, but to life in general and ultimately (and most importantly) to themselves. One of my biggest takeaways from this job was that when people are truly witnessed and accepted for who they are, healing is possible.

 

In my own life, I have been blessed with teachers, guides and Mother Nature, all who have held this type of space for me. One of my most pivotal Aha! moments was when I was attending a Sound Healing class with Dr. John Beaulieu, a philosopher and pioneer of a technique called BioSonic Repatterning. He helped me to understand that my body was intelligent and always seeking ways to (re)establish balance. My body was working for me, as opposed to against me. This realization empowered me to connect with a deeper sense of compassion and reverence for myself. Armed with this new understanding, I was excited and ready to learn and experience more!

 

The next steps on this path led me to explore an array of alternative therapies which included receiving counseling through Native American Sweat Lodges and an immersive experience at a clinic that offered acupuncture, massage therapy and flower essence therapy. These modalities, each profound in their own right, were most importantly delivered by practitioners who were empathetic, loving and present.

 

In particular, the massages I received were deeply nourishing, unlike anything I had experienced before. I felt cared for from the outside in. The therapist who worked on me was a Curandera, a title given to native healers/shamans of Latin America.

 

Curanderismo, the holistic system informing her work, is the practice of folk medicine which blends equal parts religious beliefs, Nature, Earth medicines; such as herbal remedies with massage and other traditional methods of healing to address physical, spiritual, psychological and social needs. The goal of curanderismo is to create a balance between the patient and their environment, thereby sustaining health.

 

When I asked about her life as a massage therapist, her words brought something alive in me. She told me she helped people to connect with and heal themselves and that she LOVED her work. Everything in my body and soul screamed YES, I knew that is what I wanted to do! I wanted more people (everyone!) to have access to these powerful tools.

 

From this experience, memories began to surface of my father's eyes lighting up as he spoke about the healing hands of his grandfather. The hands of a curandero. The hands that would heal and soothe my father and his brothers back to health after injuries sustained on and off the football field.

 

Massage therapy circled me back to these ancestral roots, bridging together my psychology training with the somatic based aspects of connection and healing through touch providing me with a way to go even deeper with the clients I served. After moving to California, my work evolved to include a specialization in Neuromuscular Therapy and Deep Tissue Massage.

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After giving literally thousands of client sessions working to relieve their pain, stress and injuries, I sought to expand my repertoire to include Energywork therapies to better understand and address the emotional and spiritual processes my clients were experiencing. This led me to studying Craniosacral Unwinding and Polarity Therapy. Integrating these practices into my work has allowed me to fulfill my desire in providing offerings for my clients to find their center, the place where peace, relief and their highest Self resides.

 

When I’m not working or taking classes, you can find me on my yoga mat or with my toes in the sand at the beach or snapping photos in and of all things Nature!