Welcome, I look forward to meeting you. I am a healing practitioner with the mission to bring people towards greater body, mind, and life balance.
In my 22 years experience as a massage therapist, I have focused on treating both specific injuries and enhancing full body wellness. My 15 years of practicing and teaching yoga, meditation, and Buddhist mindfulness have greatly deepened my understanding and awareness of the mind-body connection. My approach integrates Eastern and Western techniques and knowledge that draws from my extensive training, particularly my Masters of Science in Oriental Medicine degree which encompassed 2 years of medical science training and 2 years of Acupuncture, Herbal Medicine, and Eastern Theory along with extensive clinical work.
Throughout my journey as a wellness practitioner, I have developed a unique approach to healing that is both intuitive and scientific, nurturing and empowering, healing for the body, mind and spirit.
Licenses and Certifications:
California CAMTC Massage License #48759
Reiki Levels I & II
Registered Yoga Teacher 200 Level
California Acupuncture License 20088
My Personal Journey:
Healing through touch has always been a part of my life, as I early on experienced the relief that massage could bring from my chronic headaches as a child. I received my first Reiki attunement at 19 and I have drawn on that energy to bring warmth and intuitive guidance into my hands throughout my 22 years as a professional massage therapist.
My formal bodywork training began after college, when I attended the Chicago School of Massage Therapy, learning Swedish and deep tissue techniques, trigger point therapy, and Western anatomy from teachers who had trained at Esalen in California. As a former high school athlete and dancer with a history of various injuries, I was fascinated to learn the Western scientific model of the human body, and how through offering knowledgeable touch I could positively impact the body’s pains and injuries on the levels of muscle, fascia, and the nervous system.
While working as a massage therapist in Connecticut and New Jersey, I attended the Swedish Institute of Massage therapy in New York City, completing my 1000 hours of education for my New York license. At this time, I took my first courses in Shiatsu, which ignited my love of Eastern medical theory, opening my eyes to the interconnectedness of body, mind, and energy, and how they relate to the cycles of the natural world. I was also receiving acupuncture at the time, and as I saw my headaches, digestive health, and menstrual symptoms improve through the acupuncture and herbal medicine, I developed the desire to go to acupuncture school when the time was right.
Also, at this time 20 years ago, I started practicing yoga, which led to my yoga certification in 2011 through the Awakened Heart Embodied Mind teacher training at exhale in Los Angeles, led by Julian Walker and Hala Khouri. Combining my love of yoga with my love of music inspired me to start the Yoga of bass and Ecstatic Bass Yoga projects which brought yoga, free movement, and dance floor joy to music festivals around the world and locations throughout Los Angeles, from Yoga Studios to nightclubs.
My busy life in New York City led me to seek out a meditation practice and begin studying Buddhism, and throughout my first three years in California I completed a 36 course curriculum in Tibetan Buddhist studies under the guidance of Lama Sumati Marut and the Asian Classics Institute. I wanted to bring my experience in other disciplines to the teaching of meditation, so I created the Meditation Basics series of classes, which combined basic mindfulness practices with life hacks for creating a more peaceful lifestyle, and yoga and breathing techniques to facilitate a balanced mind. I was able to teach this series around the United States and several countries in the world. In the years since then, I’ve had the honor to work with and attend retreats with other influential teachers such as Culadasa and Shinzen Young.
After 20 years of receiving acupuncture, taking herbal medicine, and improving my nutrition through the holistic philosophy of five element theory, I finally had the opportunity to attend the four year Masters of Science in Oriental Medicine and acupuncture program at Dongguk University in Los Angeles. There my enthusiasm for learning led me to serve as student body president, and graduate as Valedictorian, with much gratitude to my amazing teachers and colleagues.
Throughout the last 10 years, I’ve been building deep connections to the community in Northeast Los Angeles through my private massage practice, allowing me to share in the healing journey of many wonderful people and see their great improvements in health and reduction of pain through regular treatments. After years of teaching classes at the KinShip yoga studio, I co-founded Kinship Yoga School 200-hour teacher training, where I teach anatomy, physiology, and meditation to aspiring yoga teachers every year.
I consider every treatment sessions to be a collaboration, to which I bring my 25 years of training and lifetime personal journey of wellness. I look forward to helping you create greater health, wellness and balance.