Bodywork & Movement Coaching Sessions
I have a hybrid bodywork/movement coaching practice Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at my studio in the Mt Tabor Neighborhood of Portland, OR. Please CONTACT me if you would like to book a session or have any questions.
Initial Sessions are 90-120 minutes ~ $180 ~ These take a bit longer due the history taking, assessment and goal setting process.
Most Sessions are 75-90 minutes ~ $150 ~ This encompasses the majority of the sessions that I offer and is my default as it gives us time for manual and movement work.
Short Sessions are 60-75 minutes ~ $120 ~ These are usually used to focus on a particular issue or if the session is either all manual or all movement therapy.
Manual Work
There are a few things that can cause us to have stiffness, pain, and problems with movement. While a movement practice can be helpful, sometimes you need to release some tissue restrictions…
I distinctly remember the first real bodywork session I received in college at the hands of an athletic trainer that studied Trigger Point Work. This is one of the first things that I studied when I went to Massage School. Over the years I have added many modalities to my toolbox, including Deep Tissue Massage, Visceral Manipulation, Craniosacral work, Fascial Release Work, Neural Manipulation, but when I found Strutural Integration I found my home base. My goal is to use whatever tools I have to restore fluid, balanced movement as much as it is possible. I think of my work as being at the center of a Venn Diagram, between Massage, Physical Therapy, and Osteopathy. I use the manual methods of Massage, inspired by the anatomical specificity and understanding from Physical Therapy and the holistic focus of Osteopathy. I believe in using the least amount of force necessary to make tissue change and my clients rarely complain about being sore after sessions. Sometimes I do series based work like I was taught at KMI, but mostly I work with the restrictions that most people aren’t able to release on their own, building a series or finding the right frequency for regular maintenance.
Movement Work
Manual work, while great, is only one part of the picture of what can help us move more completely, move more functionally, and live with less musculoskeletal risk. As an LMT I can only go so far…
As a swimmer and swim team coach I was always deeply interested in stroke mechanics and biomechanics in general. Since college I have been practicing and creating my own blend of exercise and movement for myself and my family inspired by Pilates, Yoga, Weight Training, Feldenkrais and exercise science. As an LMT, I could only suggest to my clients that they pursue exercise and stretching to help with the issues we discovered during bodywork sessions. For years I have recommended to my clients that they find someone that can address their movement patterns, strength, stability, etc. Usually I recommended Feldenkrais, Somatics, Pilates, Yoga, PT, etc., but I never found the person that would deal with these imbalances and patterns in the way I was envisioning. So, I decided to become that person. Now, as a Structural Integrator and Certified Personal Trainer, I mix bodywork and corrective exercise/movement to help free restrictions and retrain movement patterns. The goal is to find imbalanced patterns and find movements and exercises that work to correct imbalances and integrate movement. For some people this is a particular project built around something they are having issues with, be it balance, refining a specific skill, addressing movement issues, discomfort, getting back in shape, or dealing with the effects of aging, while for others it is just simply about becoming more functional, strong and future-proof.
Sometimes we work more closely and intensively and other times we just do quarterly maintenance. This typically looks like 20-30 minutes of focused manual therapy and 30-40 minutes of movement coaching. The bodywork is targeted to the areas that need the most release and the movement coaching is tailored to where each client has challenges to their functional movements and patterns.
In a typical session we’ll talk about the issues my clients are having, then take a look at posture, gait and whatever movement seems relevant to the particular issue my client is experiencing. During a typical hybrid session we will spend 20-30 minutes on the table, using manual therapy to release tissue restrictions, holding patterns, and restoring movement. Then we will spend 30-40 minutes utilizing movement and exercise to discover and retrain movement patterns that are imbalanced and creating musculoskeletal risk. I will then create a home movement/exercise plan for each client so that they can continue to build, refine and improve their functional movement.
In many ways my work is less about the work, and more about education. I believe that it means more to discover a movement than to be told exactly how it should be done. My goal is to help my clients learn more about themselves so that they are able to take care of their bodies without my help (or, at least, as little help as possible).
My goal is work with each individual client to find movement and exercise homework that fits their lifestyle. Some of my clients will to 10-15 a few days a week whereas others will do 20 minutes a day and several workouts throughout the week.