General Background
The meditative embodiment arts have been a core passion, inspiration & path of service since I was a teenager.
Partly inspired by being born 3 months premature with a congenital heart issue requiring my first open heart surgery within my first year of life. And 3 more open heart surgeries since then.
Learning & applying ways of naturally supporting wellness & harmonious embodiment helps support quality of life & awareness.
In affirmation of this, since1989 I have involved myself in formal & self-motivated learning & application of various massage & meditative embodiment wellness arts. And provide functionally therapeutic & nurturing, relaxing massage sessions & qigong lessons as a supportive contribution for people to compliment fitness & related self-care wellness lifestyle choices.
Massage Background.
In early 1990s I completed & was certified in Reiki 1 & 2.
And Pranic Healing in 2001.
In 2004 I first formalized my massage experience by becoming a certified massage therapist through LifeStream Massage School in Napa, Ca..
Training included Deep Tissue, Swedish, Reflexology, Anatomy, Chair Massage and other courses.
In 2005 I completed a Thai massage course at McKinnon Institute.
Between 2006 - 2009 I completed an additional 500+ hours of additional training at The Acupressure Institute in Berkeley, Ca.. Courses of study included Shiatsu, Anatomy & Histology, CranioSacral, Thai Massage, Lomi Lomi, Myofascial, Sports Massage, more Deep Tissue and other modalities. Although there were many classes in Acupressure at the Acupressure Institute, I focused more on taking sports, deep tissue, myofascial massage & anatomy courses.
I intended to complete an additional 300 hours at the Acupressure Institute as part of their 800 hour program I signed up for, but I moved out of state for a year and when I returned the school had changed ownership then closed.
Completed & passed Emergency First Responder / Advanced First Aid course at College of Marin.
Blending deep tissue, myofascial, sports & swedish massage methods with a meditatively attentive, slow, nurturing quality is the foundation of sessions I provide.
Supporting people in maintaining a healthy, fit body and an appreciative, honest way of being & relating, exploring & addressing interrelationships of muscles, fascia, how people use their bodies and ways of optimizing such while helping resolve & prevent areas of excess stress, misalignment, injuries and nourish healthy, harmonious embodiment.
Since my original training in these arts, I have been providing massage as a wellness support for people at my office. And I have provided massage sessions independently and working with other companies at spas, hospitals, for corporate & event massages at businesses such as Google, Microsoft, Intel, Bloomspot and other tech companies, various high school, college & city parks events and other locations.
And Pranic Healing in 2001.
In 2004 I first formalized my massage experience by becoming a certified massage therapist through LifeStream Massage School in Napa, Ca..
Training included Deep Tissue, Swedish, Reflexology, Anatomy, Chair Massage and other courses.
In 2005 I completed a Thai massage course at McKinnon Institute.
Between 2006 - 2009 I completed an additional 500+ hours of additional training at The Acupressure Institute in Berkeley, Ca.. Courses of study included Shiatsu, Anatomy & Histology, CranioSacral, Thai Massage, Lomi Lomi, Myofascial, Sports Massage, more Deep Tissue and other modalities. Although there were many classes in Acupressure at the Acupressure Institute, I focused more on taking sports, deep tissue, myofascial massage & anatomy courses.
I intended to complete an additional 300 hours at the Acupressure Institute as part of their 800 hour program I signed up for, but I moved out of state for a year and when I returned the school had changed ownership then closed.
Completed & passed Emergency First Responder / Advanced First Aid course at College of Marin.
Blending deep tissue, myofascial, sports & swedish massage methods with a meditatively attentive, slow, nurturing quality is the foundation of sessions I provide.
Supporting people in maintaining a healthy, fit body and an appreciative, honest way of being & relating, exploring & addressing interrelationships of muscles, fascia, how people use their bodies and ways of optimizing such while helping resolve & prevent areas of excess stress, misalignment, injuries and nourish healthy, harmonious embodiment.
Since my original training in these arts, I have been providing massage as a wellness support for people at my office. And I have provided massage sessions independently and working with other companies at spas, hospitals, for corporate & event massages at businesses such as Google, Microsoft, Intel, Bloomspot and other tech companies, various high school, college & city parks events and other locations.
Admission & respect of diverse perspectives,
boundaries & preferences about the human body & massage.
The cumulative years of learning from many different massage schools, courses & teachers, along with my own ongoing self motivated study, learning & growth, naturally contribute to expanding my awareness & appreciation.
Both of massage methods, and of the diversity of perspectives, methods, defaults of appreciation, openness & ways of viewing & healthfully relating to our human body, wellness & consciousness.
Some teachers I studied with were very formal, clinical and cerebral.
Some were very focused on physical therapy, rehabilitative and fitness performance. With a strong anatomical focus. Especially utilizing deep tissue, sports, myofascial, pnf & related methods.
Some women & men teachers were very earthy, affirming natural nurturing ways of being & relating. A few of the women teachers actively promoted openly inclusively nurturing, accepting ways of viewing the human body & massage.
Such as inclusion of the breasts and abdomen in massage sessions for women, and minimal draping which are common in European cultures and at places such as Harbin and similar wellness cultures.
Which I've learned from experience many women prefer, though some are self-conscious about admitting for fear of social judgement.
Personally I am not quite that open with how I provide massages for most people. But I respect the validity and existence of more than just what I prefer in life.
And I've learned such considerations and diverse perspectives are often an elephant in the room so to speak relative to massages, which many people try to pretend doesn't exist or shame into denial.
Admitting this basic fact does not mean I personally agree with or provide massage in the ways every person wants. Admitting this is simply being honest about a basic aspect of human beings, perspectives, massage which some people & attitudes attempt to deny exists or negatively project onto which only creates needless drama, confusion and disharmony.
As some people choose to negatively interpret - project, feel and act offended and abusively falsely accusatory at even the mere honest admission of this fact.
And some even relate in abusively misleadingly passive aggressive manipulative, dishonest ways to pretend to themselves or others that they are victims ( such as by not self-responsibly honestly directly respectfully stating if they have a boundary or preference exactly what when & where it is before expecting it to be understood & thereby equally respected by me, a massage therapist or whoever else they relate with ).
Ignoring the fact that there are many valid interpretations, ways of receiving massage & relating in life generally which may be beyond their own personal preferences, understanding or comfort.
However, personally I believe that, rare and uncomfortable as such honesty may be chosen to be interpreted as by some people & dogmatic social attitudes, being openly honest with oneself and each other is essential to being integral, loving, mature human beings & co-creating mutual clear understanding, respectful and harmonious experiences & relationships of all kinds.
Personally, I always have and always do respect individuals personal boundaries & preferences during massage sessions as long as people simply own their equal responsibility for proactively & responsively honestly, directly & respectfully communicating with me and telling me exactly what, where & when their boundaries & preferences are.
In order for me to be open to continuing to give sessions for people, I require equal respect for my boundaries.
Including simply being mutually respectfully reliable about proactively and responsively directly honestly communicating with me generally and about boundaries, preferences & any questions.
And in making & showing for appointments.
Growing to appreciate varied perspectives, ways of being, relating & supporting unitive wellness even when seemingly different from ones own comfort zones of understanding, familiarity and preferences is part of being & relating honestly, lovingly and respectfully.
This is part of maturing & respecting diversity. Not oppressively expecting or demanding life and everyone mind read & default to ones own limits of appreciation, comfort, boundaries and understanding.
This foundation of mutual respect, honesty & appreciation also nourishes trustworthiness, empathy & integrity in us and how we relate with each other & life overall.
Both of massage methods, and of the diversity of perspectives, methods, defaults of appreciation, openness & ways of viewing & healthfully relating to our human body, wellness & consciousness.
Some teachers I studied with were very formal, clinical and cerebral.
Some were very focused on physical therapy, rehabilitative and fitness performance. With a strong anatomical focus. Especially utilizing deep tissue, sports, myofascial, pnf & related methods.
Some women & men teachers were very earthy, affirming natural nurturing ways of being & relating. A few of the women teachers actively promoted openly inclusively nurturing, accepting ways of viewing the human body & massage.
Such as inclusion of the breasts and abdomen in massage sessions for women, and minimal draping which are common in European cultures and at places such as Harbin and similar wellness cultures.
Which I've learned from experience many women prefer, though some are self-conscious about admitting for fear of social judgement.
Personally I am not quite that open with how I provide massages for most people. But I respect the validity and existence of more than just what I prefer in life.
And I've learned such considerations and diverse perspectives are often an elephant in the room so to speak relative to massages, which many people try to pretend doesn't exist or shame into denial.
Admitting this basic fact does not mean I personally agree with or provide massage in the ways every person wants. Admitting this is simply being honest about a basic aspect of human beings, perspectives, massage which some people & attitudes attempt to deny exists or negatively project onto which only creates needless drama, confusion and disharmony.
As some people choose to negatively interpret - project, feel and act offended and abusively falsely accusatory at even the mere honest admission of this fact.
And some even relate in abusively misleadingly passive aggressive manipulative, dishonest ways to pretend to themselves or others that they are victims ( such as by not self-responsibly honestly directly respectfully stating if they have a boundary or preference exactly what when & where it is before expecting it to be understood & thereby equally respected by me, a massage therapist or whoever else they relate with ).
Ignoring the fact that there are many valid interpretations, ways of receiving massage & relating in life generally which may be beyond their own personal preferences, understanding or comfort.
However, personally I believe that, rare and uncomfortable as such honesty may be chosen to be interpreted as by some people & dogmatic social attitudes, being openly honest with oneself and each other is essential to being integral, loving, mature human beings & co-creating mutual clear understanding, respectful and harmonious experiences & relationships of all kinds.
Personally, I always have and always do respect individuals personal boundaries & preferences during massage sessions as long as people simply own their equal responsibility for proactively & responsively honestly, directly & respectfully communicating with me and telling me exactly what, where & when their boundaries & preferences are.
In order for me to be open to continuing to give sessions for people, I require equal respect for my boundaries.
Including simply being mutually respectfully reliable about proactively and responsively directly honestly communicating with me generally and about boundaries, preferences & any questions.
And in making & showing for appointments.
Growing to appreciate varied perspectives, ways of being, relating & supporting unitive wellness even when seemingly different from ones own comfort zones of understanding, familiarity and preferences is part of being & relating honestly, lovingly and respectfully.
This is part of maturing & respecting diversity. Not oppressively expecting or demanding life and everyone mind read & default to ones own limits of appreciation, comfort, boundaries and understanding.
This foundation of mutual respect, honesty & appreciation also nourishes trustworthiness, empathy & integrity in us and how we relate with each other & life overall.
Meditative Embodiment Background.
I began practicing foundational martial arts & meditation as a teenager in 1987. In 1989 I began Tai Chi, Qigong, Zhan Zhuang, Baguazhang & Wing Chun practice with Sifu David Leung in Eugene, Oregon. Eventually focusing on Tai Chi & Zhan Zhuang qigong ( and some baguazhang ) as my main practices.
From 1998 - 2001 in Eugene, Oregon, I taught Tai Chi Qigong and Zhan Zhuang classes to the public.
In 2002 I moved to the San Francisco Bay area, and continued my learning & practice independently, and by attending Yiquan, Zhan Zhuang & Tai Chi Qigong classes taught by Fong Ha in Berkeley, Ca from 2004 to around 2013. Along with teaching my own classes at community centers and at a park.
Boundaries, Diversity, Maturity, Honesty & Empathy.
An important consideration relative to massage sessions, life generally, includes the diversity of individuals subjective interpretations, boundaries, openness, lack or presence of appreciation about the natural human body and sessions.
For those of us who are honest & loving, we can not change or accept responsibility for the choices of people who abusively negatively project, misleadingly passive aggressively & / or directly lie, falsely accuse, steal, ghost & are in additional ways abusive, dishonest - untrustworthy & unloving.
We can be open - provide opportunities for such people to grow up and communicate & relate mutually respectfully directly openly honestly, appreciatively & reliably trustworthy.
Not as an attachment to them personally, but as an affirming reminder for people of the importance of integrity, honesty, empathy & love💙.
That doesn't mean people will choose to appreciate, respect & embody in how they relate with us & generally, this foundationally integral, mature, honest, appreciative way of being & relating.
Many continue passive aggressively & directly lying to themselves & others, ghosting, being hypocritical & dismissive in attempt to excuse their narcissistic, dishonest, negative projecting, flaky, unloving ways of being - relating.
But as long as we choose to be, communicate & relate openly honestly, do not passive aggressively or directly lie, falsely accuse or ghost people, are loving intentioned & reliable with our word, plans & agreements, we are doing our part to be integral & loving.
We are doing our part for the co-creation of mutual understanding, respect, healthy, honest, harmonious ways of being & relationships.
The negative karma people earn for themselves by relating in abusive lying, flaky unloving ways is their own they will have to deal with.
Those of us who are honest, loving intentioned and mean and do what we say, are not responsible for nor obligated to try to fix or take on others negative karma in any ways.
We can be open to exemplifying & being affirming of truly trustworthy, openly honest, reliable communicating & relating.
And we can be trusting & generously open in relating with people who meet us with integrity, reliability, honesty & appreciation as a core part of their being & therefore also in their relating with us & generally.
* In support of ways of being & relating which are healthier, more honest & loving than what is normalized in much of society and many peoples choices, I have also created a website where I share posts affirming honesty & appreciation.
And am considering writing a book about this subject as well.
For those of you who are interested, the website is AppreciationAndHonesty.com
An important consideration relative to massage sessions, life generally, includes the diversity of individuals subjective interpretations, boundaries, openness, lack or presence of appreciation about the natural human body and sessions.
For those of us who are honest & loving, we can not change or accept responsibility for the choices of people who abusively negatively project, misleadingly passive aggressively & / or directly lie, falsely accuse, steal, ghost & are in additional ways abusive, dishonest - untrustworthy & unloving.
We can be open - provide opportunities for such people to grow up and communicate & relate mutually respectfully directly openly honestly, appreciatively & reliably trustworthy.
Not as an attachment to them personally, but as an affirming reminder for people of the importance of integrity, honesty, empathy & love💙.
That doesn't mean people will choose to appreciate, respect & embody in how they relate with us & generally, this foundationally integral, mature, honest, appreciative way of being & relating.
Many continue passive aggressively & directly lying to themselves & others, ghosting, being hypocritical & dismissive in attempt to excuse their narcissistic, dishonest, negative projecting, flaky, unloving ways of being - relating.
But as long as we choose to be, communicate & relate openly honestly, do not passive aggressively or directly lie, falsely accuse or ghost people, are loving intentioned & reliable with our word, plans & agreements, we are doing our part to be integral & loving.
We are doing our part for the co-creation of mutual understanding, respect, healthy, honest, harmonious ways of being & relationships.
The negative karma people earn for themselves by relating in abusive lying, flaky unloving ways is their own they will have to deal with.
Those of us who are honest, loving intentioned and mean and do what we say, are not responsible for nor obligated to try to fix or take on others negative karma in any ways.
We can be open to exemplifying & being affirming of truly trustworthy, openly honest, reliable communicating & relating.
And we can be trusting & generously open in relating with people who meet us with integrity, reliability, honesty & appreciation as a core part of their being & therefore also in their relating with us & generally.
* In support of ways of being & relating which are healthier, more honest & loving than what is normalized in much of society and many peoples choices, I have also created a website where I share posts affirming honesty & appreciation.
And am considering writing a book about this subject as well.
For those of you who are interested, the website is AppreciationAndHonesty.com
