History of our Founder

I began my career in bodywork while in graduate school. I had been working full time as a Social Services Director for the first year of grad school, a career I had been in for almost 10 years and it was just too much to balance both. I needed to find part time work that could support me. I was blessed with an opportunity to do healing massage using Young Living Essential oils. I was taught the Raindrop Treatment and all the lovely benefits of high quailty oils in a massage. Although I did not continue to do Raindrop Treatments or work with Young Living, I found that I was a gifted healer and had the ability to intuit what people needed and give a great massage. The training was more like a reminder than learning from scratch.

I never thought I would do bodywork for a living. I was on the track of becoming a psychotherapist. I entered Naropa University in 2001 to continue my career in the mental health field. However, everytime I would go to work and give a massage, I kept hearing the same thing over and over, “That was the best massage I have ever had!” The shift in their bodies and mood at the end of their session was remarkable! It was clear that caring compassinate touch along with active listening was the key. I didn’t just give a massage or just listen, I offered my insights and advice. I also often heard clients say, “You seem to really care about me.” This was surprising, as I couldn’t imagine doing this work and not really caring. Sadly, many have told me they have not felt so cared for by their massage therapist or counselor. I also experienced far too many massages or counseling sessions where I, myself, did not feel the level of care or compassion that I was needing.

I could see that I had something to offer that was much needed and deeply healing. I became inspired to find a way to integrate bodywork with what I was learning in my graduate studies. I went to Esalen in Big Sur, CA to study their famous approach to massage and again, rather than learning, it was like validation of what I was already doing. It was most valuable for me to learn the theories behind the approach. I also had many bodyworkers in Boulder that were willing to teach me what they knew.

I had spent much of my own life getting talk therapy. I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area back in the 70’s and had parents who thought it was cool to get us kids into therapy early in order to keep us emotionally healthy. I questioned how much this was actually helpful after seeing the same issues in my life arise over and over again. It wasn’t until I was introduced to therapies that involved touch and movement that I started to see significant results. Naropa exposed me to holisitic healing modalities I had never heard of. My world opened up and I was inspired again to find a path that was actually effective in helping people make lasting healthy changes in their life in a way that fit my personality and style.

When it was time to choose an internship, I dreaded the idea of going back into the mental health field. I wanted to learn more about the holisitic healing world and expand my view of what it means to be a healer, not just a therapist. I had been doing yoga at a studio that was rooted in the Korean tradition and feeling better than I had felt in my whole life. There was something profoundly different between this yoga practice and all the other classes I had taken in Boulder. They also had a healer school that they had encouraged me to attend. So rather than do a traditional internship, I arranged with Naropa and the Dahn Healer School to do my internship there at the studio. I was making a huge decision to shift my entire career away from mental health and into a career in healing touch. This was a risky decision but I knew that it was the perfect path for me.

I graduated in 2005 with both my MA in Transpersonal Psychology and a Certification in Dahn Healing. The healer school was very intensive. I spent 200 hours in the training that year, traveling to Sedona, AZ three times over the course of the year as well as weekend classes in Boulder. My Master’s Thesis focused on healing trauma through a combination of talk therapy and bodywork while healing in a spiritual community setting. I hoped to have a practice that could incorporate all that I had trained in, as well as offer healing massage. I found out that under Colorado Law, giving a massage to a psychotherapy client is not legal. So I had to find a way to provide the gift of healing that I was called to do within the parameters of the law.

This is how I came up with my services here at Stress Management Services. I have found that more than anything, people seek our services in need of touch and to be heard with loving compassion. There appears to be a need for education around the body/mind/spirit connection. Learning how and why the body and mind does what it does empowers us to make postive change when we have effective tools to do so. I find that most people’s stress is related to an issue that one is either unaware of altogether, or aware of and doesn’t have the tools with which to cope.

As a coach and consultant, I offer space for expressing painful emotions, as well as offer education, tools and bodywork to empower you to heal yourself. It is my belief that we are all healers and have the ability to heal ourselves. My goal is to empower my clients to feel whole within themselves and therefore, not spend needless time and energy seeking fulfillment from the outside. When one is made dependent on people or things outside of themselves for healing, the suffering will never end.

I have an extensive background in the medical world, have taken several pre-med classes while attaining my Certification in Gerontology at DU, and was raised by a medical professional. My mother was a nurse and my brother became a doctor. I was very close to going in that direction as well, but found myself more suited to the mental health field. As I have evolved, I find myself straddling both worlds, using my healing touch, psychology training, training in Eastern and Western medicine, and movement therapies, as well as an extensive knowlege of religious and spiritual traditions.

I recently completed a Certification in Massage Therapy at Healing Spirits Massage Training Program. I strive to always be learning and growing so that I can better serve my clients. This program has allowed me to stay abreast of Colorado’s requirements in order to be registered as a Massage Therapist. My next Certification will be completed in September 2009 where I will be obtaining a Certifcation in Holistic Stress Management Instruction.

Please see the links below for more information on the schools and institutions I have attended.

Holistic Stress Management Instruction Certification Program:

http://brianlukeseaward.net/Seminars/2009-Certificate-Training.html

Healing Spirits Massage Training Program:

http://www.healingspirits.net/

Esalen Massage:

http://www.esalen.org/esalenmassage/html/what_is_esalen_massage_.html

Dahn Healer School:

http://www.dahnyoga.com/program/class_healer02.asp

Naropa University’s Psychology Program:

http://naropa.edu/academics/graduate/psychology/tcp/counseling/index.cfm

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