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Early Training
My early life was a kind of training for this Biodynamic practice. Growing up on the edge of a forest in the pacific northwest, I had plenty of time for newts and potato bugs. This setting was the perfect symposium for learning to palpate quiet and sensitive parts of nature for long stretches. It didn't seem to matter that I lacked the skills or passion to read a book before age 10, or that when writing, much of the alphabet was drawn backwards.
The fact that my thoughts formed as pictures and shapes instead of words gave me an edge on developing the skill of empathy, since thinking in shape and image lends itself to feeling into the contents of that which is contemplated. Being a visual thinker, words can feel awkwardly imposed. But back then I was pretty okay with this way of
being. It wasn't until Reed college, where verbalizing ideas was an issue of sink or swim, that I began a quest to become fluent with the language of words. Fortunately for me, I already knew how to swim.
At age 5, I was a sought after kid at swim team in the 8 (and under) age category, where all summer long my suit was a second skin. Swimming was the first form of meditation I learned. Submerging invites breath control. Laps naturally sustain periods of no thoughts. I felt fully embodied in the water where I sometimes spent whole days. There were exceptional states of bliss that seemed perfectly ordinary.
Bodywork
Today I am a Licensed Massage Therapist in Oregon (LMT#14813) and Hawaii (LMT#22426).
My training comes from Maui School of Therapeutic Massage, in the 800 hour program with specialization in Asian Bodywork. While there, I deepened my understanding of meridian energetic streams, the topography of trigger points in muscle fibers, anatomical fluid systems, and polarity cartography. These cosmological maps provide informed contrast to the fully non-dual Biodynamic approach I embrace in my practice today.
I've trained extensively with Todd Jackson in Biodynamic Massage and Cranial Therapy, as well as Yoga related classes since 2003. This part of my training and life has brought about
important shifts in focus and awareness. I've learned about what to let go of. My experience of what it is to be Human has become vaster and more connected; access to the interwoven wisdom of the heart has grown.
Some studies include:
Advanced Biodynamic Massage
Intermediate Biodynamic Massage
Biodynamic Massage
Biodynamic Massage Supplements
Biodynamic Massage Immersions
Biodynamic Massage Mentorship
Cranial 3: Sacred Heart
Cranial 3: Dissolution and Disappearance
Cranial 2: Unwinding
Cranial 2: Deepening Quietude
Cranial 1: Osseous Motility
Cranial 1: Biodynamic Interface
Yoga & Meditation classes
Yoga teacher's group @ P.Y.A.
Osteopathic Interface Conferences
Biodynamic approach to working with eyeballs, ethmoid, sphenoid, fascial bones, intra-oral regions
Experiential Cranial Anatomy
Craniosacral Therapy: A healing Art
Assisting Todd Jackson trainings:
Cranial 3: Sacred Heart
Advanced Biodynamic Massage Immersion
Cranial 2: Deepening Quietude
Intermediate Biodynamic Massage
Conscious Touch for Yoga Teachers
Biodynamic Massage Supplement
Yoga Anatomy for Yoga Teachers
Giving Back
Each year I donate Biodynamic treatments through outreach to
individuals in need. In the last 5 years, I was able to deliver 450
treatment hours. Contact me if you know of someone who would
benefit from receiving this work.
I am the facilitator of the Coastal Quietude quarterly retreat,
and served on the board of Northwest Cranial Association.
Yoga
Inquiry into Yoga asana led to the direct study of Ashtanga Yoga
with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois in Lakshmipuram, Mysore India in 1997.
In 2004, I completed a 1,000+ hour training to become
an Anusara Certified Yoga Instructor, (License #122 inactive),
and met the top benchmark of the Yoga Alliance.
I began teaching yoga at Portland Ashtanga Yoga when it was founded in the 1990s in NE Portland with Gillian Lerner and Vance Selover, then at The Sanctuary which was once a space for study and practice of Anusara yoga in Portland, and helped establish a program of led & Mysore-style Ashtanga classes during the first years of Yoga Pearl studio downtown. Later, I led some Mysore classes at Near East Yoga.
Meditation
I've been meditating for a long time, and find it to be useful for internal integration, felt sensing, and allowing the flow of life. I enjoy daily and multi-day silent Vipassana sits, and studied with Pema Chödrön as well as some of the teachings of her allied fellowship, Sakyong Mipham and Chögyam Trungpa since 1992. Recently I had the good fortune to practice Taoist Qigong with Kurt Miyajima on Maui for 9 months.
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