Sessions
SESSIONS
Each session begins with a thorough consultation and occasional pre-treatment guided meditations to deepen the body-mind awareness and to increase presence and ease. Once on the table, sessions typically start with a gentle Craniosacral touch creating a safe space for all parts of the client to be present and allowing the body to be the guide for its natural healing ability. While some sessions may include deeper pressures and neuromuscular techniques to assist in reducing pain and unlock patterns of holding, a soft, listening hand is the essential part of this work to allow the nervous system to reset and prevent tissues from guarding by turning on their natural defense mechanisms. When appropriate, this somatic approach may incorporate the session with Somato-Emotional Release, an integrative talk & touch journey where therapeutic imagery and dialogue is used to connect with each individual’s self-healing process and their inner wisdom about their self-healing.
A session typically lasts around 60 minutes, depending on what a person's system needs for that day. Initial session is at least 75 minutes, so that we can do a thorough intake.
All body work sessions are done with the client fully clothed (please wear or bring comfortable clothing), except for the massage therapy sessions, in which the client disrobes and sheets are used for draping.
Art of Flow also engages a process of transformation on the virtual space, with the tools and modalities for self-nourishment and healing such as active meditation techniques, neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), and inner child healing work.
Areas of Speciality and Types of Conditions Treated:
Nervous system support
Treatment of stress, anxiety, depression and overall emotional well-being
Inner Child Healing
Improved well-being through energetic and meditative practices
Neck, back and other muscular pain and tension
Injuries with symptoms such as limited range of motion, trigger points or spasms
Temporomandibular Disorder (TMD)
Migraine headache
Prenatal and Postpartum care
MODALITIES
CRANIOSACRAL THERAPY
Craniosacral Therapy is a Western holistic healing modality, based on osteopathy, that addresses the flow of energy throughout the body to access one’s inner wisdom and encourage its ability to heal itself. It is a gentle, hands-on method of evaluating and enhancing the functioning of a physiological body system called the craniosacral system, which is made up of the protective layers of connective tissue and the cerebrospinal fluid surrounding the central nervous system.
CST has also been shown to help with the physical components related to such somatic conditions as Post Traumatic Stress, depression and anxiety. By supporting to calm the body & mind, the nervous system shifts into a restorative state. This relaxed state presents a quiet spaciousness to access stillness, “one’s inner wisdom” to reimagine how to hold itself in balance. The body then is able to make adjustments to shift and soften toward greater ease and health, allowing a natural unwinding of deeply held tension.
The meditative states that occur with CST can bring a deeper mind-body-spirit connection that is healing and rejuvenating on all levels. By facilitating the body's natural and innate healing processes, CST is increasingly used as a preventive health measure for its ability to bolster resistance to disease, and has been shown to be beneficial for people seeking help with a wide range of healthcare challenges and symptoms.
SOMATOEMOTIONAL RELEASE
SomatoEmotional Release is a therapeutic process that uses and expand the concepts of Craniosacral Therapy to free the body and mind of the residual effects of past injuries and negative experiences. Using an unbiased communication method based on curiosity, openness, and imagery, you become more mindful about your own body-mind-spirit and are able to access deep, self-healing resources.
Memories of trauma and injury are often stored in the connective tissue of the body. SER facilitates a gentle process for releasing tissue memory, thereby helping the person to gain insight as to how that held trauma is influencing their physical and emotional health.
This work does not require a re-experiencing of a painful incident, but rather offers a way to allow our nervous system to fully process what may be lingering in the tissues and find it’s way out of the body.
*Minimum 1 session of Craniosacral Therapy is recommended beforehand.
THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE
A combination of Swedish, deep connective tissue manipulation, myofascial release, and acupressure (Shiatsu) is offered to encourage your body's natural healing ability. Swedish and deep tissue massage lengthen and release the body’s multiple layers of skin and muscle tissue and increase the circulation of blood and lymph. Myofascial release warms and loosens the body’s fascia, layers of connective tissue that wrap around all of our soft tissue, which can trigger pain and tightness when restricted. Acupressure stimulates the flow of chi, or energy, and open tight or congested points along the body’s acupuncture meridians.
*Certified in prenatal massage also
FIVE ELEMENT SHIATSU
Five Element Shiatsu is an Eastern therapeutic form of massage based on the acupressure system of points and meridians (channels where the energy flows). Shiatsu means finger pressures in Japanese. It consists of finger and palm pressure, stretching and compressing to release muscle tension, toxicity, and the vital life energy (ki/chi) responsible for nourishing all aspects of the body and mind. An acupressure point is a point on the surface of the body with a high level of conductivity of electromagnetic energy. The energy flows through channels called meridians and spreads throughout the body right down to the last cell. This energy nourishes the internal organs, glands, muscles, nerves, and vital centers of the body.
Five Element Shiatsu is based on Wu Xin (Five Element Theory) of Traditional Eastern Medicine. The basic principle of Eastern healing is that each individual possesses his or her own innate healing power...a power that arises from the balanced flow of the body's ki energy in harmony with the movement of universal ki/chi energy. The disease occurs when this flow of ki (vital energy) becomes distorted. Therefore treatment is focused along specific meridians to unblock and stimulate the flow of energy and to harmonize Ki. Five Element Shiatsu is not only a profoundly relaxing experience but also a truly holistic therapy, working on our physical structure and also on an energetic level to stimulate harmony in body, mind, and spirit.
THAI YOGA
Thai Yoga is a traditional healing modality that has been practiced in Thailand for centuries, and it is based on Ayurvedic medicine, hatha yoga, and Buddhist practice. Thai Yoga incorporates a traditional combination of assisted yoga stretches, acupressure, and energy meridian work to help the body return to a state of balance. Thai Yoga routine can be varied to suit a wide range of physical needs to aid in the increase of range of motion and muscle strength. It also stimulates the energy flow within the body and helps you feel relaxed, renewed, energized, more flexible, and peaceful.
ACTIVE MEDITATION & MEDITATIVE THERAPY
PRIMAL THERAPY - Healing the Inner child
10 sessions (60 mins each on zoom or in-person)
In this moment of crisis and transformation, it is fundamental to be conscious of our past oriented reactiveness and to come back to the here and now, where our true potential can unfold.
Our sadness, fear, anger and numbness have deep roots in our early life history, and they often get triggered and played out in the present. This is just because all these feelings are buried and denied inside us, and they ask for completion: they need to be recognized, understood and transformed.
Our lightness of being, our joy and creativity also have deep roots in our past. We did experience these qualities in our childhood, but we lost touch with them because nobody around could fully recognize them in their essential value. We need to remember them and feel them again, to make the best of our life now.
In these 10 sessions, you will be accompanied step by step back in time, through the stages of your development, recovering parts of yourself at each stage (mostly during our first 7 years of life). You will be guided to:
reconnect with the child in you, learning again to listen to its needs and longings
discover the adult part in you that can take care of this child and appreciate its qualities and how they can transform your life now
express and release old emotions that block the flow of vitality in your body
explore your family setup with depth and compassion, completing what has remained unfinished
experience the difference between a past oriented reaction and a mature response to the present