"In the world of living things, every system can be more or less real, more true to itself or less true to itself. It cannot become more true to itself by copying any externally imposed criterion of what it ought to be."
"I imagine every cell in my body has the potential to perceive wisdom every moment, while remaining positionless about what wisdom is or what it looks like." ~ Deborah Hay
Exploring the human body in motion and how to
encourage our experience of its grace and balance has been my passion for almost 30 years. I guess I've been trying to live more in that place where the energies of earth and sky come together since I dropped out of graduate studies in philosophy at Oxford University.
Originally from Canada, I came to the Bay Area to pursue my interest in Hatha Yoga (Iyengar style), martial arts (Yang style Tai Chi Chuan) and dance (primarily postmodern, Contact Improvisation, Mask Dance and Butoh). I taught yoga and dance, and have been a frequent performer since 1988.
Dance remains a fundamental means of self-exploration and self-expression for me. I celebrate ALL its forms - modern, contact improvisation, club dancing (house, trance, goth, hip hop), flamenco, ethnic & Butoh. I have also performed quite a bit and created Medicine Wheel Dance Project in 1998 to do Butoh and site-speciic dance that integrated wisdom traditions and a sense of place. I've always been guided by a sense of performance as fundamentally a form of meditation and opportunity to be more present in the moment. I honor my many teachers in this, especially Kathy Altman (5 Rhythms), Deborah Hay, Akira Kasai, and Hiroko Tamano!
I was first certified in Swedish/Esalen massage through the SF School of Massage in 1985 and went on to study other modalities, including Acupressure (at the Acupressure Institute), Polarity Therapy (with Alan Seigel), Jin Shin Do, Breema Shiatsu (with Nadine Kachur), Traeger (with Janet Macleod) and Rosen Method Bodywork (with Gloria Hesselund
and Marion Rosen). In 2004 I passed the NCTMB exam, becoming nationally certified in Massage Therapy.
My approach to bodywork has often been eclectic,
incorporating at times the receptive energy balancing of Jin Shin Do, the rocking motions of Traeger, and the more psychological approach of Rosen Method, listening deeply with my hands and following the client's breath. It has also been shaped by Continuum Movement meditation, which has led me to become more sensitive to inner and intrinsic movement, as well as the power of wave motion, breath and sound to transform what we tend to think of as fixedstructures.
My fascination with the human body as a
whole and how its structure can best handle balance,
injury, recovery and self-expression led me to begin the Rolf Institute training in 2002 and become certified in Structural Integration and Rolf Movement Therapy in 2004. I now work primarily out of my office in Pleasnt Hill, though I also do Deep Tissue Massage a couple of evening each week at Piedmont Springs Spa in Oakland.
In addition to bodywork and dance, I love to spend time in nature - by the ocean, hiking in the deserts or mountains, backcountry skiing...I also get a kick out of singing (karaoke), playing golf and ice skating.