Philosophy + Principles

The things I spend time thinking about both in and out of session, built from experience and contemplation. Inevitably evolving.

Start with kindness
Meet people where they are whenever possible
Healthy community builds security
Listen. Receptivity, openness, and observation are part of the listening process. We communicate what we need in multiple ways.
Bodywork is the interplay of two dynamic systems - that of the therapist and that of the client. I cannot give the same massage to two different people. Finding play and exploration -- upon a foundation of training and practice -- is what makes a session successful, not illusory sameness.

When we are talking about mind-body exercise, mind-body connection, mind-body wellness, we are inescapably speaking of nervous system work.
Mind-body implicates the nervous system.

Touch can be evaluated by a variety of measures - pressure and direction, for instance - but also its quality. A compassionate palm on the shoulder carries energy starkly different from a palm across the cheek. Regardless of pressure, therapeutic touch imbued with intention helps reeducate and reorient a system toward homeostasis.
Compassionate human presence, not just touch, sustains healthy human systems. I structure my appointments with this in mind. Presence over distraction. Ease over rush.

The agitation of stress can eventually anesthetize us from sensing some information from the nervous system. My practice - even in small ways - seeks to reattune us to that information.

There's a surprisingly fine pivot between activity and stillness. When I sharpen my awareness to this boundary and can swivel between the two, that's when I feel incredibly grounded. The part where the two start to overlap –where there is activity within stillness and stillness within activity–that’s where the magic happens. That’s where the mind-body container builds riches.
Daily mind-body practices help me build resiliency to stress and increase my container for joy and happiness. My daily practices are a combination of qigong and ka’aleleau. They "fill my cup" (and even make my cup bigger!)
Chronic pain, as a long term visit in a dynamic mind-body system, can be multidimensional and contain psychological and emotional components. Recovery can excavate unexpected emotions, realizations, and ideas.

Personal growth never ends and permeates time, space, and place. Even when it’s invisible to others, growth is “felt” through the system - the mind and body together.

"Authenticity has been weaponized. You can almost say today’s society is characterized by an authenticity-industrial complex. We’re more concerned with appearing real than being real. "

-Eric Hu