SERVING THE BAY AREA SINCE 2002
“Yoga Mandala is a truly wonderful place for yoga...I am very happy with how my practice has developed over the years, and it has everything to do with the great teachers and environment at this studio. ”
by Henry L.
by Henry L.
How did you get into this line of work?
When I was nine or ten years old I massaged my father?s legs when he got home and rubbed my mother’s head when she got headaches. As a teenager, I read books on yoga by Yogi Ramacharaka, and later, ParamahansaYogananda and his teacher Sri Yukteswar. While teaching theatre voice and movement classes I studied yoga, Laban Movement Analysis, and Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement®, Sensory Awareness and Kristin Linklater’s approach to freeing the natural voice.
During this time I took classes or workshops with Ram Dass, Moshe Feldenkrais, Kristin Linklater, Bernard Gunther, William Schutz, and Rollo May. Always I found applications for touch. I went to Esalen at every opportunity for workshops, the baths, and to receive massage (which taught me a great deal).
When it was time for me to retire from my previous career, it seemed natural to take the Intensive Professional Training at Esalen Institute. I followed that with more classes at Body Therapy Center in Palo Alto in Advanced Massage Therapy, Advanced Esalen® Massage and Craniosacral Therapy as well as workshops in anatomy and deep abdominal work.
After assisting in several classes, I taught Advanced Massage for three years at Body Therapy Center. For further advanced work in deep tissue, I took three classes at Esalen in Deep Bodywork.
By that time I was ready to work seriously and deeply on subtler technique and develop my intuitive skills. I began a program in Visionary Craniosacral Work with Hugh Milne in 2007. This has been a three-year undertaking that I expect to complete in December of this year.
What three adjectives would you use to describe your work?
Deep (spiritually and emotionally as well as physically);
Compassionate (the heart is my most important work center; my hands are the wings of the heart);
Knowing (knowledgeable in the field, experienced in technique, intuitively attentive to the client?s words, body tissues, and field energy).
What is the biggest lesson (or lessons) you have learned through your therapy practice?
The real healer in a session is the client. My job is to support, guide, and nurture the healing process of the client. I listen from the heart. I hold the healing container. Sometimes that in itself is enough. Other times intentional work is called for, either subtle or deep. I listen for what is needed. My meditation practice is the most important single thing I do to stay focused, centered and aware in my work.
What do you look forward to doing most on your day off?
Whatever I feel like! Reading, walking by the bay, gardening, puttering.
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