In a guided relaxation class or session, you will be guided step by step into a state of deep relaxation. By following along with verbal suggestions, you are guided to focus on your breathing, slow down your mind, and to use guided imagery to harness the power of your imagination. Imagination is the ability to form mental pictures or ideas in your mind. Scientific studies have shown that imagination affects the neurons and neural connections in the brain. As you go deeper and deeper into a state of relaxation, you will use your imagination to help you let go of anxiety and stress and come to a state of greater calm and balance, as well as feel more positive about yourself and your life. At the end of a guided relaxation session, you will feel as if you have been on vacation. You will be gently guided back to your normal waking awareness, feeling more refreshed, revitalized, renewed, and relaxed.

Creative Visualization is a technique of calling forth positive images in the mind to promote physical, mental, and emotional wellness. The process also reduces stress, slows the heart rate, stimulates the immune system, and reduces pain. The imagination is extremely powerful, and our minds and bodies respond to it, so focusing on positive imagery helps support healing and peace of mind. In addition, new positive thoughts introduced in a session help to counter old limiting thought patterns and beliefs. This also help create new perspectives and attitudes that open possibilities that were previously unseen or not available to you.

Mindfulness meditation is a practice of concentrated focus upon the breath in order to increase awareness of the present moment, reduce stress, promote relaxation, and enhance personal and spiritual growth. People who meditate regularly have been shown to feel less anxiety and depression. They also report that they experience more enjoyment and appreciation of life and that their relationships with others improve. Meditation facilitates a greater sense of calm, empathy, and acceptance of self and others. It can be used with other forms of treatment, and is an important complementary therapy for both the treatment and prevention of many stress-related conditions. A report of the National Institutes of Health on alternative medicine concluded that, “More than 30 years of research, as well as the experience of a large and growing number of individuals and health care providers, suggest that meditation and similar forms of relaxation can lead to better health, higher quality of life, and lowered health care costs...”

Conscious Breathwork is a simple and easily learned body-centered healing tool using the flow of the breath to help us relax and unwind at a deep level. With each breath, we bring in more oxygen into our bodies and with each exhale we let go and relax more deeply. By using a simple breathing process called "conscious connected breathing" or "circular breathing", we can become more aware of tension, stress, and even old feelings and thoughts we may be storing in our bodies and minds. Then, we integrate focused massage and touch to release what has been stored up inside. It is a powerful fusion. The results are greater vitality, aliveness, deep relaxation, and inner peace.

Conscious breathwork is used in our Journey into Deep Relaxation classes, our Mindfulness and Meditation sessions, and in our Massage and Bodywork sessions.

Swedish massage is the foundation of traditional massage. Developed in the 1820's, Swedish massage includes long gliding strokes (effleurage), kneading (petrissage), tapping (tapotement), and rocking designed to release tension and stress from the muscles and the mind. Swedish Massage affects the muscles, nerves, glands, and circulation, and promotes health and well-being. It also is deeply nurturing and feels good!

Deep Tissue Massage is designed to reach the deep portions of thick muscles, specifically the individual muscle fibers. Using deep muscle compression and cross-fiber friction along the grain of the muscle, its purpose is to unstick the fibers of the muscles and release both toxins and deeply held patterns of tension. The result is greater relaxation, flexibility, and strength.

This specialized form of massage is typically used before, during, and after athletic events to prepare an athlete for peak performance, to drain away fatigue, to relieve swelling, to reduce muscle tension, to relieve muscles spasms, to promote flexibility and to prevent injury. Depending on the needs of the athlete, a variety of techniques are used including classic Swedish strokes, cross-fiber friction, pressure-point work, and joint mobilization.

In chair massage, you are massaged fully clothed (no oils are used) in a massage chair specifically designed to promote comfort and support relaxation. The sessions are typically 10-15 minutes in length and focus on the back, neck and shoulders. 30 minutes sessions are available upon request. Because the chair is completely portable, chair massage is often called "On-site massage". Massages are available for home gatherings, groups, at your office, birthday parties, bridal showers, and other special occasions.

Popularized in the United States by physiotherapist Eunice Ingham in the 1930s, this is an acupressure type technique performed on the hands and feet and is based on the ancient Oriental theory that meridians or pathways carry energy throughout the body. Because each zone or part of the body has a corresponding reflex point on the hands and feet, stimulating that reflex point causes stimulation in the energy of that related organ. Crystalline-type deposits and/or tenderness indicate a dysfunction, and pressure to the feet or hands is applied to clear out congestion and restore normal functioning and health. It is a unique experience and the after-effects are deeply grounding and relaxing.

As human beings, we are composed of four aspects — physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual (or energetic). Each has a distinct role to play in our growth, our health, and in the balance of who we are. When one or more of these aspects is out of balance, it affects the whole. Energy work or energy healing promotes healing by focusing on the human energy field which permeates and surrounds the physical body (and which science has verified through such methods as Kirlian photography.) Sessions include connecting through contact with the energetic body above the body, and through touch applied to the body coordinated with the client's breathing. For skeptics, I compare the awareness of energy to that of the wind. We can't see the wind but we can feel it and see its effects and so we know it is there. Similarly, even if you can't see energy, it can be felt, and we can feel its effects during healing sessions. Energy healing is part of the larger field of "Energy Medicine" that is recognized by the U.S. NCCAM (National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine).