Full Story

My own healing journey began in 2001 when my kneecap spontaneously broke in half while I was walking down a flight of stairs. Yep, you read right. And ‘Ouch’ is right too! Three knee surgeries later and it was time to recover and I tried everything I could to recover – physical therapy, exercise rehab, stretching, massage, rest. And repeat.

I did it all. It was exhausting.

I applied myself to all these modalities with diligence and care. But something wasn’t right.

Although I was strong, looked great, and was seemingly ‘functional’, I was still in a lot of physical discomfort and felt whole-body achiness. Back then I worked as an exercise rehabilitation specialist and fitness trainer, and even the practices I would have recommended to my own clients were not working for me.

Luckily, a physical therapist (physiotherapist for us Canadians) I was working with suggested an alternative, something called “Feldenkrais”. I tried it, and it worked. After four weeks of doing just Feldenkrais and nothing else, my body felt as light as a feather. No joke.

I remember how surprised I was when, during the tail end of those magical four weeks, I swung my bike over my back to walk up the stairs to my office and realized that the bike didn’t feel heavy. I wasn’t tired. My legs and spine had spring throughout. My muscle stiffness was gone and my ability to move and groove was 100% online!

Something was incredibly different and amazingly better. The discovery of this “alternative” therapy, that actually worked way better than all the mainstream treatments put together, would forever change my outlook and it set me on the path to where I am now.

Once I made this discovery, I knew I had to learn more, not only for myself and my own healing, but also for my future work with clients.

I immersed myself in a process of discovery and education, for nearly 10 years!

In 2004 I started studying the work of Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, the founder of The Feldenkrais Method. Studying his work brought a whole new understanding to what REAL physical function is and how it can be helped, changed and enhanced.

Between 2006 and 2008 I really dug into this work. I taught public classes, built a private practice, became very involved in my community of fellow Feldies, and even started a project dedicated to educating more people about the wonders of this work and how it is needed in the world.

Around 2008, I happened to come across another stellar mind-body modality called Somatic Experiencing (SE for short), developed by Dr. Peter Levine. Levine’s work provided the major a-ha moment in my quest for that perfect mind-body combo. This work has deepened my ability to be present with myself and my clients in a way that is hard to describe on paper, though I like to say that it provided the missing link I hadn’t even realized was missing. I am eternally grateful for this!