I came to body work like branches of a river weaving together into a single current. I received my Bachelors in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in 2006. Working in that industry taught me much about having an analytical and detail-oriented mindset. I spent 6 years of my 20’s working as an engineer, while my passions were rock climbing, running, and playing the piano.
A hit-and-run car accident in 2012 and the decade afterwards forced me shift focus in a major way onto my own body, how it was falling apart, and how to put it together again. Getting hit by a car leaves a lasting impression: body-wide soft tissue injuries, neurological damage due to shifted bones, and depression and anxiety to boot.
Trigger point acupuncture and integrative body work were the treatment methods that I got the most use out of. In 2014, I also started working as a piano technician. Three years later, I started doing trigger point massage work on myself to help along the rehabilitation; I found my own work to be highly effective for myself as well as for others. I fell in deep love with the process of connecting with bodies and helping people understand how much we each are more than the sum of our parts.
In 2022 I graduated summa cum laude from the Swedish Institute with a degree in Massage Therapy, where I learned Swedish, Shiatsu, and sports massage modalities. In 2023, I began studying coursework in Ortho-Bionomy, a gentle method of integrative body work that uses the body’s proprioceptive nervous system to treat dysfunction.
In my practice, I strive to provide anatomically specific, well-informed and client-centered bodywork in an intimate, respectful environment.
My journey in holistic health began in 1999 when I learned about personal fitness and nutrition as cost-effective means to maintain health. This led to pre-med undergraduate academics, a nutrition-based Health Educator certification from Hippocrates Health Institute, and extracurricular studies in meditation and martial arts. Inspired by the work of Dr. Mutulu Shakur bringing acupuncture to underserved communities in NYC, I entered a master’s program to incorporate Traditional East Asian Medicine as the pinnacle of my foundation in nutrition and functional movement.
At Tri-State College of Acupuncture, I studied primarily French-Vietnamese approaches (incorporating myofascial trigger-point release or the foundation of ‘dry needling’) as taught by Dr. Mark Seem. I also studied intensively with Kiiko Matsumoto to learn her signature style of Japanese acupuncture and moxibustion that I apply for immune modulation, digestive support, and other chronic conditions [more about these lineages]. My thesis project, culminated in 2011, explored various acupuncture approaches to anxiety and depression spectrum conditions. After completing over 700 hours in advanced Herbal Medicine studies at Pacific College of Health and Science to become nationally certified in herbology, I now partner with growers and compounders to create custom ‘Vivacitea‘ formulas. I earned a research doctorate investigating group acupuncture for psychedelic ketamine experience integration.
I am continually educating myself on the history and development of acupuncture, as well as conducting research in addition to my clinical practice. Avidly training in meditation and mixed martial arts both inform my approach to sports medicine. My experience with psychedelic medicine and somatic integration endeavors has greatly contributed to my approach to mind-body medicine.
