My Approach:
Balance, Integrity, and Healing
I approach massage with a regard for how the various parts of the body work together to form a whole. When bodies work well, there is a dynamic and fluid ease in them; the various parts balance each other and work in harmony.
However, bodies adapt to stresses placed on them - gravity, labor, emotional tension, etc. Most of the adapting is an unconsious process, a matter of habit. We learn to move in certain ways, we do the same activities over and over, and habitual 'holding patterns' emerge. Frequently these habits are not optimal. The result is that we are prone to pains, injuries, poor posture, low energy, and high stress.
Massage re-educates the body, giving new feelings to the unconsious nerve centers controlling muscle tension and posture. It makes us aware of patterns of tension in the body, and allows us to bring those patterns back into balance. It releases restrictions in tight muscles and fascia, 'wakes up' lazy muscles 'sleeping on the job,' and gives the body an experience of what it feels like to work with comfort, ease, and structural integrity.
Credentials:
* Graduate, Brian Utting School of Massage, Seattle, WA, 1996.
The Brian Utting School of Massage enjoyed the reputation of having one of the finest massage therapy training programs in the nation. Noted author and educator Ben Benjamin, PhD, has called Utting graduates 'among the best-trained massage therapists in the country.' Brian Utting now runs the Pacific Northwest School of Massage.
* M.A., Philosophy, Loyola University of Chicago, 1992. Cum Laude.
* B.A., Religious Studies, University of Santa Clara,1985. Magna Cum Laude. Classical Greek Minor. Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Sigma Iota, Theta Alpha Kappa, honors societies.
Professional Licensure, Affiliation, Experience:
* Licensed Massage Therapist, OH state, License # 33.007243.
* Professional Member, American Massage Therapy Association.
* Over twenty-five years, and thousands of treatment hours, of therapeutic massage experience.
* In 2002, when I was managing a larger healing arts center, I incorporated my business as a Limited Liability Corporation -- Brooke Bodywork Enterprises, LLC, to keep the business separate from my private and family life.
Other:
* I'm Fluent in Spanish.
* I have experience teaching in a variety of settings, including Workshops, Junior College, High School, and basic education for rural poor in El Salvador.
* I enjoy music, art, hiking, wilderness, and tinkering on the computer.