The Approach ~   
    
    As a massage therapist, I see every  body as
a unique individual with his or her own story and circumstances.  My role is to listen to the individual and to listen to their body.  When one feels heard, one feels safe and invites the gift of compassion, understanding, and healing into their presence.  I am then honored to
share my knowledge, experience, intuition,
and spirit in the form of an integrative bodywork session.                 

The Journey ~  

I was drawn to this work because of a calling to help heal the earth through healing myself and my fellow sisters and brothers.  It is my belief that the more we develop our self-awareness, the more conscious we become of our physical environment and community as well as the affects we have on them. I look at bodywork as one of the vital steps in the process of building upon my dream for a sustainable lifestyle for us all.

    Following a musical career as a classical pianist and a hiatus working in horticulture, I began fulfilling my dream at the Cumberland Institute for Wellness Education in Nashville, Tennessee.  I studied massage therapy and manual lymphatic drainage with an integrated body/mind awareness approach and was certified in 2000.  Since then I have received training in Sacred Stone Healing with Karyn Chabot (2002), Mother Massage with Elaine Stillerman (2003), Breast Massage with Cheryl Chapman (2008), Ayurvedic Bodywork with Shoshanna DiBetta (2010), and Advanced Pediatric Massage Certification with Tina Allen at the Liddle Kidz Foundation (2014-15).  In 2019, I attended a 135 hour training program with Carmen Recupero at Monarch Education on oncology rehabilitation, lymphedema and decongestive bandaging to become a Certified Lymphedema Therapist.  This has expanded my ability to support clients who have much more complex health challenges. Thanks to my thousands of wonderful clients, I have learned as much from them as I have from my teachers and colleagues. 
 
    Along the way, I have given talks on the benefits of massage, given "Massage Your Loved One" workshops to the general public.  In 2007, I joined the faculty at Pittsburgh Technical Institute and began teaching massage therapy students.  Enjoying the challenge and growth that one experiences when working with students, I continued to teach in Charlottesville at the Virginia School of Massage until 2012.  I have taught numerous Continuing Education workshops for professional massage therapists in Prenatal Massage, Four Elements Hot Stone Massage™ and Lymphatic Drainage Techniques as well as a 6-session Mentorship Program.