Welcome!  And thank you for taking a few moments to get to know me and my work!  1988 was a pivotal year when my journey as a healer began in earnest.  That was when I left my home in Massachusetts and drove cross country to California to study massage therapy at the National Holistic Institute (NHI) in Oakland.  When I enrolled at the school, I thought massage would simply provide a more interesting way to earn a living while I pursued the acting career I had begun in Boston.  But after graduating from NHI and moving to Los Angeles to continue acting, I soon found the healing work had a deeper resonance.  It is so satisfying to help people move out of pain and into physical freedom.  When you touch the body, you are touching people’s lives.  Sometimes that means their stories and emotional sufferings may bubble to the surface.  I don’t coax feelings out of people or pretend to process with them like a therapist would.  But I am good at staying present with those moments.   I’m even grateful for them.  For I believe that that’s when the healing has shifted to a sublime level.

Since those beginnings, I have continued to advance and train in different methods, most notably at the School for Self-Healing, Nosara Retreat Center and the BioSync Research Institute.   These and other teachings have brought layers and depth to my work as a healer.

When a new client calls to schedule, I try to ascertain what their goals are for the session.  If someone is needing to simply relax and get an overall body tune-up, I’ll generally recommend a massage. However, if they’re dealing with a soft tissue problem that has been dogging them for weeks or longer, I’ll usually suggest a Soma Flow treatment. With Soma Flow therapy, I’m actually breaking up excessive scar tissue and uncoiling constrictive patterns of fascia to create more length.   Because this work changes the structure of the tissue itself, the results are usually  more lasting and impactful than a traditional massage.

I have found that when I am working with an extremely tight body, there can be 3 levels of tension.  Of course, you’re always working with the tissue.  My goal is to locate the hard and stressed muscles and use my skills to help them feel firm and supple again

However.  I have also noticed that when the muscles are especially tight, the chi or the electrical current that travels through the nerves can be blocked as well.  In those cases, I’ll sense an electrical surge jumping off the muscle.  The client doesn’t feel it, but I do.  As the tissue gets healthier, the current moves better and I don’t pick up those ‘surges’ cause the chi is moving freely.

And finally, there are times that I’ll pick up emotions while I'm working.  People can hold past emotional trauma in their tissue.  Occasionally, they’ll even weep when a feeling that was locked comes bubbling up to the surface.  More often the client won’t feel the emotion consciously, but I’ll pick it up as a momentary wave of sadness.   I know the feeling isn’t mine, but a trapped emotion that’s jumping off the body.  I have a way of grounding myself in those moments so I don’t attach to the feeling and let it pass through quickly.  When the muscle is especially tight, the muscle may ‘talk’ to me in all three ways: texture, energy and emotion.    As you keep releasing, the strong waves of emotion and the electrical surges calm down or dissipate all together.  Then I’m just dealing with tight muscles.  Even then, it’s satisfying to watch that muscle go from feeling hard like concrete or steel guitar strings, to a place where the tissue has a firm but supple tone. 

I so appreciate your taking the time to get acquainted with what I do.  Please feel free to email or call if you have any questions.  I look forward to the conversation.

With great respect,

Dana