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Bringing my Business Online

Why I decided to bring my personal one on one, holistic health business online.

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.

— Oscar Wilde.

This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.

I have made the decision to bring my business online.

As a Holistic Health practitioner, my work is done individually and occasionally in a small group.

My mission is to provide nurturing therapeutic experiences through education, empowerment, and presence.

I am a massage therapist, colon hydrotherapist, birth doula, postpartum doula, Reiki master, Pranic Healing Practitioner, and self-care guide. Most of those practices are unavoidably one to one, in person services; which puts a strict limit to my reach.

I have so much that I want to share. I want to reach all of the people who feel the way that I used to feel and share the things that I have learned that helped me through.

Of course, I cannot give you a massage or be present for the birth of a baby through the internet. I can provide my knowledge, to educate and empower change in your life the way it did mine.

I struggled through years of anxiety and depression. All I ever wanted to do with my life is help people. So, I went to school and got a degree in social work, like my mom who helps people. I started working a job in social work, and I loved it.

I was helping people every day. I was the breadwinner for my family, while working a job that I loved, helping people. What more could I ask for?

We lived paycheck to paycheck, I came home exhausted and overwhelmed by my own life, and every day was a struggle. After a while, the job got harder and harder to invest so much of myself for other people, while my own life suffered. My relationships suffered, because I did not have the energy to give anything when I got home.

I did not know how to relax. When I would get home and try to do something for myself, I would start to relax the muscles in my body…but I would experience pain. I had aches and pains all over, so my muscles would tense right back up to guard those sore spots.

My mind never stopped worrying, about everything. I was dragging myself out of bed each morning to give myself away.

I blamed the job, and compassion fatigue and quit. I worked in accounting after that, in a job that I did not have to be on call or take any part of it home with me. I thought that would solve all of my problems.

It worked for a little while, but I still struggled and now I was not fulfilling my need to help people. I went through a few more jobs. I attempted to go back to school a couple times and never finished because I was too exhausted from giving myself to every one and every thing without taking care of myself.

When I found myself in massage school, I learned so much more than how to run people’s backs. I learned how to take care of myself.

What a novel concept…to take care of ME!! I learned how to relax without pain. I worked through a lot of my aches and pains through not just different modalities of massage therapy, but I learned about other therapies and proper self care routines that changed my life.

I understood the purpose of self care, from a physiological stand point…because the body’s response to stress and especially chronic stress, is dangerous. You can READ HERE *link to come*, to learn more about how to notice those physiological signs of stress.

When you notice, you will want to make some changes to help your body heal. That is why I am here, that is why I have brought my business online. I want to help people who were in the same position that I was in for all those years.

It can be overwhelming to figure out how to do this whole self care thing and to research all of the possible therapies that could help you get all of those negative feelings and emotions unstuck from your body so that you can heal. I am here to help you make sense of the whole process.


New Location

I am pleased to announce that we will be providing therapeutic massage services at a new location.

As of August 1, 2020, Kate Lamprich will be temporarily providing therapeutic massage, bodywork, and energy work; at Golden Door.

8920 Manchester Rd, St. Louis, MO 63144

You can schedule online through Square Scheduling. If you run into any issues with this scheduling app; please contact Kate at (314)347-8612 or blossomsbloomingexp@gmail.com.

https://blossomsbloomingexp.square.site/

Colon Hydrotherapy

What to expect during a colon hydrotherapy session, or a colonic.

A colonic, or colon hydrotherapy session, is a gently cleanse of the colon using water. There are two types of instruments used to administer the water for the colonic an open system or a closed system. At my practice, we use a closed system, so the majority of the information that I give will be related to the closed system.

At the holistic clinic where I practice, we also have a toilet in the colon hydrotherapy suites, along with a table similar to a massage table, and the colon hydrotherapy instrument.

Before your colonic begins, your colon hydrotherapist will review your intake for with you, asking questions about your medical history and your expectations and goals for your session to determine if colon hydrotherapy is a good fit for you. During your very first appointment, your colon hydrotherapist will also review some basic information about the digestive system, how colon hydrotherapy aids the digestive system, and how colon hydrotherapy sessions are administered. Before we leave the room for you to prepare, we make sure that you do not have any questions or concerns.

When we step out of the room, you will undress from the waist down, use the toilet in the room to empty your bladder (and go number 2 if you have a need), they you lay on your back on the table under a sheet.

When I come back into the room to begin your colonic the very first thing that I do, is start coaching you through healthy full breathing to help your body relax, while I prepare the one time use disposable tubing, and instrument for the colonic.

After all the tubing is connected and prepared, you will be asked to roll over to your side facing the wall. The speculum is gently placed in the rectum while you take good full breaths; that part is over before you know it and I promise, not as scary as you think it will be. (Before I had my first colonic…that is the part that I was scared about). After the speculum is inserted, you roll back over onto your back.

The speculum that is inserted and rests in your rectum is connected to the colon hydrotherapy instrument with 2 tubes, one tube brings water from the instrument and the other carries waste and water from the speculum back to the instrument and down the drain.

The water that is coming from the instrument and introduced into your colon through the speculum is triple filtered water. The temperature and pressure of the water is controlled by the colon hydrotherapist using dials on the instrument. The pressure is kept very gentle, this is NOT a power wash.

During the colonic, you will experience a series of fills and releases. A fill is when the water is going into your colon and a release is when the water and waste exits your colon through the tubing. There is a view tube in the instrument so that you can see what is coming out.

As a colon hydrotherapist, I also massage the abdomen during the colonic. This helps increase the results of the releases.

At the end of your colon hydrotherapy session, the speculum is removed. Your colon hydrotherapist leaves the room. You have time to sit on the toilet with the squatty potty to continue releasing.

Nothing that happens during a colonic or colon hydrotherapy session is painful. The insertion is not the most comfortable thing in the world, but is not painful. You might experience some cramping and the feeling of movement through your colon, and you feel pressure like you have to go as the water and waste make their way through your rectum.

I practice at Holistic Fitness in Shrewsbury, MO. You can schedule online on their website.

FOUR rules for a resolution that succeeds

Self-Care Goal Setting

Resolutions that you can stick to for the new year.

New Year’s resolutions date back to the ancient Babylonians with similar practices in Ancient Rome; over 4,000 years ago.  The ancient Babylonians would crown their new royalty on the new year, as a show of new beginnings.  They would make a promise to their gods of something that they will change or do in the new year, these resolutions would be rewarded by the gods with a favor bestowed upon them if they kept their promise.  Romans also made sacrifices to their gods and made promises for the new year.  Its hard to say if people in ancient times kept their new years resolutions. . . it seems that they put a lot of weight on those promises that they made, maybe that helped. (history.com)

In current times, people tend to not stick with their New Year’s resolutions.  A psychotherapist, Jonathan Alpert stated, in an article for the business insider, three main reasons that New Year’s resolutions fail:

1. They are not specific enough.  Lacking a measurable goal or way to mark progress.

2. They are not stated in a positive way.  Using negative language regarding a behavior that one wants to eliminate puts focus on that behavior and effects the outcome.

3. The resolution is not about the individual.  If it is broad and not an actual goal that the person does not desire to achieve.

This year let’s try something new together.  Let’s set New Year’s Resolutions that will work for us.  First, instead of setting a New Year’s resolution for the whole year of 2020, let’s set ourselves monthly resolutions.  One month sounds a lot easier to stick to than a whole year.

At the end of each month, we have 3 choices:

1. If it is working at the end of the month then we can continue 

2. If it is not working, then we can adjust our goals/resolutions for the next month

3. If we are ROCKING IT and are ready for a new challenge, then of course our goals and resolutions can evolve throughout the year and grow with us.

When we are setting the resolution itself, there are a few things to keep in mind that can set you up for success instead of failure:

1. Know what GOAL you want to accomplish.  Be specific about your individual situation and what about it you want to change or do better.

2. Set daily, weekly, and monthly promises to yourself, of things that you can do to achieve your goal.  Again, be specific, measurable, and reasonable.  

3. Do not take on too much, since we are going to re-evaluate at the end of each month, there is no need to dive headfirst into unrealistic goals.

4. Use positive language in your resolution.  If there is a behavior that you want to eliminate, instead of setting the resolution to “stop” or “quit”; set the resolution as positive activity or behavior that you want to replace the negative with.


Top 10 New Year’s Resolutions of 2019 (from INC.com, according to a survey of 2,000 people)

1. Diet or eat healthier (71%)

2. Exercise more (65%)

3. Lose weight (54%)

4. Save more and spend less (32%)

5. Learn a new skill or hobby (26%)

6. Quit smoking (21%)

7. Read more (17%)

8. Find another job (16%)

9. Drink less alcohol (15%)

10. Spend more time with family and friends (13%)

My experience with the New Year’s Resolution that changed my life.

I made a New Years resolution 8 years ago that changed my life for the better.  For the first time in my life, I set a resolution that I was able to stick to through out the whole year and even the following year.  After those two years of working toward this resolution, I no longer think about it. . . my whole life is different now and I want to share this with others.  I have made it my life’s work to share my story and inspire others to make positive changes for themselves.  I work individually and in group settings to help people set and achieve self-care goals and this year I will have a book released with more about my story.

I went from being a glass half empty, pessimistic person, who rarely enjoyed life and very little things would bother me, to having a positive, glass half full outlook on life.  I had previously been living a life of chronic stress that had severe effects on my health; unable to relax without pain, migraines, vertigo, anxiety, depression, heart dysfunction, and sick all the time.  The first step in my progression to living a lift without those physical ailments and with a clearer and more positive mindset, was a New Year’s Resolution.

Be Gentle with Yourself

Be Gentle with Yourself

Seriously. This is one of the most important lessons to learn for yourself.

I will say it again to let it sink in before I go into detail:

Be gentle with yourself.

One of the first things that we learn in life, is the golden rule, “do unto others as you would have others do unto you.”

With this, we learn that we should treat other people with respect and dignity and grace and kindness because this is the way that we wish for people to treat us. Of course, that is not always how people treat us, but that is another story. The missing key point how you should treat yourself.

We are not taught self compassion, self love, or the importance of self care. In most situations, by the time a person is enlightened to the necessity for self care, self love, and compassion for themselves; they have a whole lifetime of conditioning that has taught them NOT to put themselves first.

Even as I write these words, I have to remind myself that I need time for my own self care. I have a terrible habit of putting my family and friends and my clients first.

I have spent many years thinking of myself last. I would spend all day long taking care of my work and my clients. Then I would come home and take care of my family and my home. If I was lucky, I would spend a little bit of time watching a show that I liked before I would go to bed each night.

When I would take a little bit of time for myself, and attempt relaxation, I would find that I had aches and pains all over my body. It felt like I did not know how to relax.

After years of putting everyone else’s needs before my own, it was difficult for me to make real changes for myself. It felt like I was being selfish, if I wanted to take a long bath or go to the store alone.

I still remind myself sometimes, that it is not selfish to put myself and my needs first…you have to put your own oxygen mask on before you help others.

It really sank in with me when I learned the science of what happens in our body’s when we are in a stress response. If you want to read more about that READ HERE, to find out if your body is running from a bear.

Basically, when we are under stress or anxiety of any kind our bodies go into an instinctual stress response designed to protect us from predators; called fight or flight. When our stress is happening all day, every day, and we do not take time for proper self care the consequences of being in a chronic stress response can lead to very serious health issues.

Please, take some time for yourself today (and every day). Put your oxygen mask on and be gentle with yourself.

For those who feel the way that I did before, with difficulty making time for yourself and knowing how to relax when you do; you are the people that I am here for.

I am here to be a guide to people who need an extra helping hand to develop appropriate and effective self care routines to fit you as an individual. I help people learn to put themselves first and unlearn the unhealthy compulsions that keep their bodies in a chronic state of stress response.

People are like OOBLECK

People are like OOBLECK

Why I massage the way that I do.

I do NOT believe in “no pain no gain” when it comes to a therapeutic massage. The reason that I believe in a slow, firm pressure that gradually gets deeper and harder can be explained with OOBLECK.

That’s right, the stuff that is like slime but more fun. Oobleck is made with 2 parts corn starch to 1 part water.

When you hit the oobleck, or I have even seen people walk on it (which is a whole other level to this analogy), it is hard like a solid and supports the weight and pressure. When you gently push your fingers into the bowl of oobleck, your fingers slide in easily and the oobleck feels like a liquid.

When a person experiences pain their muscles are tense and guarded. If I massage too deep too fast and cause my client to feel pain, their body reacts to that pain and guards against me. If a body is guarded against me, I am no longer effective.

If I start out light and gentle, slowly applying more pressure as I continue the massage, then the muscles allow me in like the oobleck. When the muscles allow me in, I can be more effective in changing the muscles and the experience of my client.

When I am working with the muscles, I can lengthen and stretch the muscles the same way that you would pull apart the oobleck and play with it.

I have found that this method of massage is particularly effective with people who have muscles that are already guarded when we begin the massage.

People who experience chronic pain or have experienced trauma (physical or emotional) tend to have muscles that are guarded to protect them. This response in the muscles is part of the fight or flight response in the person’s body.

Fight or flight refers to the sympathetic nervous system response of the automatic nervous system when a body is responding to stress. The stress can be physical pain or emotional trauma; either way the body has tense muscles bracing the body to protect from injury or further trauma.

People who are in a constant state of fight or flight, with tense, guarded muscles, have a hard time allowing their bodies to relax. As a massage therapist, if I start digging into their muscles with a deep pressure too fast they remain in fight or flight because I am now the “predator” that is hurting them. Just like if you punch or step on oobleck.

I take a different approach to first help my client achieve a state of parasympathetic nervous system response, by calmly and soothingly talking them through good full breathes that help the body switch the stress response off and relaxation on.

When I begin the massage, I apply very gently pressure at first and work my way deeper if that is what the client wants from their massage.

Muscles are like OOBLECK.
I would even argue that people, in general, are like oobleck. If you want to be in a person’s life and have a healthy relationship, you have to go slow and establish trust.

13

Grounding

Ever since I can remember, I have loved to be barefoot. Especially to be barefoot walking around outside, in the grass and dirt.

Especially in the summer time, I have to keep a pair of shoes in the car…because I will leave the house without shoes on and realize half way to where I am going that I have no shoes to wear when I get there.

On occasion, I have borrowed shoes from a friend or my mother in law, so that I can get past the “no shirt, no shoes” sign.

I have always had family and friends who call me crazy. But those nay-sayers are totally missing out!

It turns out there is scientifically proven evidence to show that walking around outside in the grass and dirt helps your body heal and feel better. This thing is called grounding or earthling.

GROUNDING

Connection with the Earth is good for our bodies.

• Decreased inflammation
• Improves circulation
• Gives a feeling of being centered, balanced, and grounded
• Helps the automatic nervous system switch to a parasympathetic nervous system response
• Relieves pain
• Improves sleep
• Improves mood

It is unfortunate that the way we live keeps us separated from the earth. We spend many of our hours indoors and when we do go outside we are wearing shoes, or walking on concrete.

Most of the time, we have to intentionally make an effort just to touch the Earth without any interference. When you can, I definitely recommend making that effort.

If you cannot get outside and touch the Earth, there are alternatives to helping your body get the same effect. Bring the outside in, so that you can be connected to a little piece of the Earth.

You can have plants inside, in your office or bedroom, or sitting room; so that you have contact with them regularly.

There are essential oils that help the body become more grounded. Generally essential oils that are made from the roots of plants or from trees that have deep roots; are good at helping the body feel more grounded and connected to the Earth.

There is a whole line of products that we can plug into a ground fault plug in your wall that help you achieve the effects of grounding without directly touching the ground. That’s right, we ground our homes to make them more safe!! So why not take advantage of that extra little hole in the electrical outlet to connect yourself to the ground. Grounding products include mats to sit on or put your feet on, wrist bands to wear while you sit at a desk, and bedsheets to keep you grounded while you sleep.

Use these alternatives as often as possible to keep you grounded all the time. Take advantage of nice weather when you can and take a walk in the grass or sit down or lay down and connect yourself to the Earth and just notice the changes in the way that you feel.

Share what you experience or what you have experienced in the past if you are familiar with grounding or Earthing.

What is your super power?

What is your super power?

You already know how to BREATHE in an effective way, and how to be aware of sympathetic nervous system responses that are ON in your body. If you missed any of those articles…follow the links and then come back. (Or keep reading and follow the links later)

When you learn to recognize how it feels to be in a stress response (fight or flight, sympathetic nervous system response) and you know what it feels like when your body comes out of that stress response (rest and digest, parasympathetic nervous system response); you can start noticing other activities that get your body to make that switch.

Signs that your body has mad the switch to rest and digest:
• Slower heart rate
• Slower, deeper breathing
• Gurgling digestive system (your digestive system turns back on, digestive secretions flow again and the muscles start contracting to move what your body needs to digest or eliminate 💩😉)
• You might need to use the bathroom, number 1 and 2
• Your muscles are less tense (sometimes as your muscles relax, you begin to notice some aches and pains that were previously guarded)
• Your vision goes back to normal

I spend a lot of time noticing when people’s body switch into a parasympathetic nervous system response. When I notice that someone has made that switch, from an outside position (as a massage therapist and self care guide), the first thing that I notice is the gurgling of the digestive system. Sometimes I notice a change in breathing and sometimes I notice almost a jolt in the body as their muscles relax.

In my experience, this switch happens anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes into a massage. I practice workplace massage, where I go into an office or workplace and give 20 minute massages during people’s break time at work; 12 minutes is the time that I hear the stomach gurgles start most often.

Now that you know the signs, breathing, massage, meditation, and yoga are great ways to get your body to make that switch. In all of these practices you are consciously changing your breathe to help your body relax.

There are ways to get the relaxed effect in your body without consciously focusing on your breathe. When you do things that you love, your body tends to be in a more relaxed state.

For me, when I sit down to read, I notice my body begin to relax.

Exercise is something that you can do to help your body relax. Initially during the exercise your heart rate might get faster, as do your respiration to get enough oxygen for your working muscles. The effect that exercise has on your body after you exercise is what helps your body get to rest and digest.

What are some other activities that make your body switch into rest and digest??

I am VERY interested in this subject and SERIOUSLY want to know what you do each day, week, month, and year; to help your body rest and digest. Please comment on this article to tell me your practices.

Just Breathe

Awareness and Action

How to take control of your body’s unconscious functions through your lungs.

Take a minute to notice your breathe.

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I will wait.

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Is your breath slow? Or fast?

Is your breathe deep? Or shallow?

Does your belly expand as you inhale?

Do your shoulders rise as you inhale?

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Quick and shallow breathing can be a sign of a stress response in your body.

For more information about the physiological responses to stress READ HERE. For more information about how to notice those responses READ HERE.

As you know, you will not stop breathing if you stop thinking about your breath; it is part of the unconscious functions or your body. However, if you focus on your breathe, you can control the speed and depth of your breathing.

By taking control of your breathe you can have an effect on the rest of your automatic nervous system. You can trigger your body to switch from fight or flight/stress response of the sympathetic nervous system responses to rest and digest or parasympathetic nervous system responses.

This is a major function of meditation and yoga and many other practices that are designed to help you control your body’s stress response. These practices help maintain homeostasis in your body. You do not need to go completely into any of these practices just to take control of your breathe and help your body relax.

I work, in person – one to one, with a lot of people who start out telling me that they do not know how to relax. They come to me for a massage or for a one to one self-care session or any other service that I offer…I start by explaining to them why taking control of their breathe is helpful to their automatic nervous system responses and such (the stuff that I already talked about in previous posts…links above).

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You are welcome to follow along with this practice, but make sure that you are sitting down, laying down, in a place where you can relax, and not operate heaving machinery.

I will wait again.

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Then we start practicing good breathing together. A good breathe starts in your belly and moves it’s way up as you inhale more fully. As you exhale, in order to tell your automatic nervous system to switch over to parasympathetic nervous system response, relax your jaw and sigh your breathe out.

Place your hand on your abdomen as you inhale, feel your belly rise, expand, as the breathe fills your belly and low in your lungs. Keep your jaw open and relaxed, no clenching, just let that air exhale softly sighing.

As the breathe goes in, your belly expands and let’s the breathe get low, low, low, low, low, low, low into your abdomen. Open your mouth and sigh the exhale, be sure not to push the air out too hard you are not blowing out candles on a birthday cake.

As you inhale let that breathe reach low into your abdomen. As you sigh your exhale let your shoulders drop.

Inhale deep into your abdomen. Sigh your exhale and let the rest of the muscles of your body melt into your chair or bed or wherever you are.

Inhale, deep into your abdomen. Exhale, sigh, and think about letting go. Let go of your physical stress, let go of any tightness you feel in your body.

Inhale, as your abdomen expands the breathe fills all of the spaces. Exhale with a soft jaw, sighing the air out. With each breathe continue to let go of physical, and emotional stress.

Continue breathing this way for at least 5 to 15 minutes and notice the difference in your body. Using this practice anytime you notice that your body is tense, you notice those stress responses happening in your body, and at least once a day to help your body stay in a parasympathetic nervous system response.

Just BREATHE.

Dump your emotional GARBAGE in an ECO-friendly way

Imagine that you are walking down the street, minding your own business having a pleasant day. You are enjoying the moment, listening to the sounds of nature or maybe you have head phones in listening to your favorite music.

Suddenly someone walks right in front of you and you nearly trip over them. You are snapped out of your zone by their inconsideration. Then they start yelling at you for being rude and pushing them.

What do you do now?

A. Yell back at them for being an inconsiderate jerk.

B. Storm away, mumbling under your breathe about how big of a jerk they are.

C. Pause where you are, allow them to keep on walking and get out of your space. Take a deep breathe, and shake off that experience physically, emotionally, and energetically. Then smile and go about your day, continuing to enjoy your music or the beauty of nature.

In this situation you have just had an interaction with a person, who is carrying a lot of negative energy. Stress, anger, frustration, bitterness, disease, anxiety, and so on.

People can be like garbage trucks, all of these negative emotions and energies are like garbage. If we do not have proper self care routines to dump your garbage in an eco-friendly way; then that garbage just piles up in our bodies. When the garbage is piled up, we tend to dump it whenever and wherever we can…usually unknowingly and unaware of the effect that it has on other people.

In just that short interaction, you might have gotten some garbage on you that has the potential to ruin your whole day. Once you pick up a little, and you start thinking about how awful that interaction was…you draw more garbage to you. Pretty soon your garbage truck is full and you are spilling your garbage on anyone who gets near you.

This is an incredibly unhealthy cycle, and just the simple act of bringing awareness to it in your life, can have a positive effect.

If you go back up to that initial situation and question about how you are likely to respond AFTER reading about this theory, you might be more likely to pick C. And picture a trash can in between you and that person and let the garbage

go into that neutral zone instead of getting stuck to you.

If you want to be more aware of your own garbage situation READ HERE, to learn to be like a Jedi and recognize when your body is reacting to negative stress around you.

But today, I want to talk about recognizing when other people are walking around with too much garbage. When you are aware of other people’s garbage, you can protect yourself from getting any stuck on you and you can de-escalate situations with them, rather than responding in a negative way…perpetuating the garbage issue and passing it along to others.

You might notice that some people in your life are carrying around more garbage than others. You will recognize this by their short tempers, anger, bitterness, frustration, and negative presence.

When you notice this about people, your awareness can make it easier to control your reaction to their garbage. I am not going to lie…I have been aware of and living by this theory for many years, and I still react sometimes without thinking when I am met with a person who has a full garbage truck. That being said, the more awareness you have of the situation the easier it is to take a step back and let their garbage go into an invisible trash can in between the two of you instead of letting it hit you.

Relax, Regenerate, and Retreat with Kate and Hollie ~Winter 2020~

Sunday, February 2, 2020, at 6pm ~through~ Wednesday, February 5, 2020, at 3pm

Saint Louis, MO

Snuggle into a cozy home in the heart of Saint Louis, MO; to take a break from your day to day and focus your energy inward. This is a space for you to align yourself with your goals and let go of anything that has been holding you back from achieving your ideal life, with guidance from Kate and Hollie.

☆Insight☆

Included in your purchase is a personalized Human Design Introduction Skill Assessment.  Walk away knowing which gifts have been encoded in your DNA and what energy you can consistently offer the world.  

☆Restoration☆

Included in your purchase is one intuitive massage or energy work session individualized to meet your needs for relaxation, and pain and anxiety relief.

☆Letting go and Looking forward☆

Group and individual sessions designed to help you let go of what is stuck or holding onto you and allow your amazing body to heal itself. Set your intentions for your return home and receive guidance in aligning yourself for achieving your ideal life.