About Me...
My deepest longing is a healing, regenerative planet, lovingly tended by and for all beings.
I am passionate about the interdependence of our personal well-being, the health of our communities, and that of the Earth. I believe that the healing work we do as individuals can support our connection to, and the healing of, the larger whole.
My work as a somatic coach is to nurture this connection within my clients, by helping them rediscover their own aliveness and purpose through their sensations, emotions and intuition.
I bring a wide range of experience to my coaching work. My undergraduate studies were in colonialism, nationalism, and social and environmental justice movements. Community development work in Indonesia led me to pursue a Master of Public Health, at a time when my mother was dying of breast cancer. I became interested in the corporate role in causing cancer through pesticides and other chemicals, while profiting from its diagnoses and treatment.
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Curious about nature-based methods, I completed an apprenticeship in organic, regenerative farming at UC Santa Cruz. It was there that I understood the beauty, and the imperative, of working in partnership with nature, using evolutionary science and ancestral wisdom in both farming, and our own health.
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Meanwhile, a series of chronic health concerns set me on a path of healing and, unexpectedly, personal growth. This has been so impactful that I decided to serve as a guide for others on their own journey. I became an ADAPT Certified Functional Health Coach, and a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach.
The recent passing of my father, and Earth grief, led me to grief ritual training with therapist Francis Weller to further my own healing and to support my clients in the ways grief has touched their lives.
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In my own life, and my work with clients, I see that healing isn't so much about information or insight, but about having the courage to feel and honor our feelings, and then having the embodied skills and confidence to step into a new way of being.
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Our habits live in our tissues, and the path to a life of purpose comes from developing an awareness of conditioned tendencies that may be getting in the way, and learning and practicing new ways of being that are in alignment with our values.
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My latest life-changing adventure is as a student of Strozzi Institute’s somatic coaching and bodywork. They combine their foundational work in the field of embodied transformation with a commitment to personal and collective healing, and social and climate justice.
I love the relational aspect of my work. I feel a deep sense of peace when I am fully present with my clients in all the range of emotions. While I grew up with a value of self-sufficiency, I am learning that we were not meant to do this work on our own. I am so grateful for the support I am receiving on my journey, and I strive to be a strong and skilled companion for others on their own path.
Certifications and training:
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National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC), NBME
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ADAPT Certified Functional Health Coach (A-CFHC), Kresser Institute
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Entering the Healing Ground: Grief Ritual Leadership Training with therapist Francis Weller, author of The Wild Edge of Sorrow
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Embodied Transformation, Strozzi Institute
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Somatic Bodywork Level One, Strozzi Institute
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Current student in the Strozzi Institute’s Somatic Coach Certification program
