A Gentle Approach
For years I used to be offended if someone called my massage therapy approach gentle or soft. Now I'm fully embracing it. I help guide women home to their bodies through movement, massage, and intention.
With massage, I support women when they need a space to process, a space to release stored tension and emotion, and a space to return to their energetic bodies.
The power of touch is fascinating to me, and I am proud to offer a gentle massage experience rooted in energy, technique, and understanding. Meeting resistance (tension and stress) with more pressure and resistance doesn't make sense to me. My goal is for your body to feel safe with my touch, so that naturally, it softens and receives. A gentle approach can still lead to soreness after a session, but that's never the end goal. My gentle approach values listening to how your body is arriving for a massage therapy session, and fostering an experience that brings you closer to peace and calm. A gentle approach built on trust allows for deeper, full-body, subtle-body healing.
Movement. Over the past six years I've been on a journey of unlearning the force and push usually associated with movement classes. I used to measure and judge other teachers by how challenging their classes were. My goal was to be the teacher with the most challenging class. Under that mindset, my sense of worth was tied to how much effort, push, or force I brought.
Somatic movement at Keith House in Fort Worth, Texas
Time in nature, observing her cadence. Somatic movement designed to make you feel something. The pure joy of dancing to a tantalizing rhythm without thought, only flow. These are what have helped me meet movement with a gentle approach.
Recently I was on a retreat, and the facilitator said, "Movement and stillness have equal value." What? Yes! What a liberating thought. It's a mantra I strive to embody daily. Especially when old operating systems, or old ways of thinking, get in the way of my true self.
Next time you're in nature, in a class, at The Portal, notice where your movement is coming from. Are you moving with a mindset of push or force? Can you let your breath bring you back into your body, into the present moment, and soften around your experience?
Cheers to practicing meeting our lives with a more gentle approach.
