see
how fiercely you bloom
when you let
your body
breathe.
- Vinati Bhola
The Work
For everyone's health, well-being & peace of mind, we continue to maintain the highest Covid sanitization standards throughout the office. (click for info)
Session Work
Initial sessions take time to explore what's in play in your present health, current and past issues; to learn what's happening in your life– what concerns you, what you want to address, how you are sleeping, eating, your energy level, and what other stresses you may be experiencing. I find that time of getting familiar with one another allows me to know how best to support you, what work I offer will serve you. Generally sessions have several components: a conversation to assess what to focus on that day, then the bodywork itself– done clothed on a treatment table- with time afterwards for anything you'd like to share or ask questions about.
A session really begins before you even walk in the door.
Once you begin filling out the intake form, considering just what it is you want to address in a session is the start. When you come in there will be time to arrive, to get familiar with another and sense where the emphasis will fall that day. We may begin with a settling, allowing a pause to let your body catch up with you. Not everyone is ready to get on the table immediately.
Once on the table I wait until you’re ready for contact. When I do, there is a negotiation between our systems as your system senses and responds to my touch. This is often a good moment for some breathwork as you notice areas of tension perhaps in the jaw or chest. Following the breath allows your nervous system to downshift from sympathetic to parasympathetic, as we engage in our work together.
A session is always a dialogue, a collaborative effort between us. The body is part of that dialogue, my hands "listening" and responding through my contacts. The body’s time is different from the mind’s so we slow down to get in sync with it.
Intake
Before we meet I’ll ask you to complete an Intake form to help frame our session. I suggest to use it as a tool to set your intentions for the work, to prompt your thinking about what you'd like to address in your session, providing only as much detail as you're comfortable with sharing before we meet. We can go more in-depth when we meet. Please however alert me to any sensitivities, accommodations or other concerns. Whatever you share is held in strict confidence unless you give written authorization to release to another caregiver.
The work we do together continues once the session ends as you notice its impact over the next several days or even weeks. In respect of that, I believe offering you tools and information for your self-care are essential. I may offer some breathing, stretches or movement exercises, make other recommendations such as meditations, dietary shifts, a book or articles to explore. Some of my favorite go-tos are listed on my Resources page.
This work can be energizing, as your body experiences a novel liberty or it may be a more peaceful, harmonizing & relaxing experience. It’s very respectful work allowing a person to be held in a safe, non-judgemental, spacious relationship.
Polarity energy field
Ilene opened my level of awareness to my body and somehow magically taught me how to carry myself with more ease. Her expert hands guided me to find increased inner and physical balance. I always feel more relaxed and at peace with my feelings and body, refreshed and in balance.
~Elizabeth I.