Dao
Bodywork for Health
Embodying Wellness Empowering Life
About me
“In stillness, the body listens. In rest, we are transformed.” - Zhuangzi
As a former professional ballet dancer, my interest in the body and human anatomy began when I was very young. I was always looking for ways to optimize training and conditioning, increase flexibility and strength, and bring artistry and movement quality to my dancing. Throughout my training and my professional career I had to be vigilant in supporting my body in order to prevent injury. I had to listen to my body and learn the importance of rest, stretching, supportive cross training, nutrition, etc. And through this work, I found that the body moves with ease when it moves efficiently. This is what led me to massage and bodywork.
My work as a holistic practitioner is to help clients discover the body not as a machine to be fixed, but as a living responsive system that reflects our physical, emotional, and energetic states all at once. When we bring awareness to the body, we start to recognize what it feels like to be in balance, and we can begin to shift the patterns that keep us stuck or out of balance. Bodywork, in this way, becomes a practice of rebalancing the whole being.
Whether we’re assisting in athletic ability and recovery, improving postural structure, easing chronic pain, or providing relief from stress through relaxation, I aim to assist clients in achieving their goals and in feeling a sense of connection. I strive to support and educate clients so that they can start to recognize their own patterns of maladaptation, and become the empowered drivers of their own healing.
What is Dao?
One of the oldest concepts in history, Dao (or Tao) describes the course or way of nature. In Chinese philosophy, it refers to the natural flow of life that underlies and moves all aspects of change and evolution. Moving with the Dao is moving with ease. The Dao of the body is the body unconstricted. As we grow and change, we develop habits and postures which bring us out of balance. We may not notice them at first but often down the line they manifest as stress, pain, injury or lack of ability. When the body works inefficiently we expend energy which could be used viably elsewhere. So recovering the Dao of the body means bringing back efficiency of movement, and allowing for greater harmony of life. This philosophy is the basis for my work and mission with Dao Bodywork for Health.
