soma is Uniquely intelligent bodywork for uniquely passionate humans
If you’ve found your way here, I believe you may well be one of those humans.
YOU WANT TO feel good & live free!
Soma® is structural integration: a time-tested series of massage therapy sessions which return the body to optimal function by holistically realigning and reconditioning the body’s neuromuscular patterns (posture, movement and energy flow).
IF MASSAGE HELPS YOU FEEL BETTER … SOMA ENSURES YOU NEVER FEEL BAD IN THE FIRST PLACE.
Soma® bodywork and movement education create super long-lasting benefits because, over the course of the series, you come to own the work for yourself. You embody the change you wanted to see.
You feel renewed from the inside, out.
You begin to move forward with a deeply-sourced vitality and healthy movement patterns. Your own natural movement continues to heal you.
An empowering, whole-body, whole-person approach
When loose and flexible, connective tissues (fascia) move freely to create a fine-tuned, resilient physical structure.
Not stiff, not wobbly. Just right.
SOMA HOLISTICALLY RESTORES BALANCE, VITALITY, AND EASE TO THE BODY—AND THE HUMAN BEING WITHIN!
Freedom begins with a nice deep breath … and the inner sense of what’s real for you. When you have those, it’s easy to move in harmony with your inner callings.
How often in our modern lives we are told to disregard our inner voices for the good of society, family, or any cause, compulsion or person who would co-opt our vital energy …
Fie, I say.
soma is here so you can do you!
Get in touch again with the fine, inner voices of the natural self, held in trust in the body.
When balanced within the field of gravity, your body, your nervous system—your whole person—feels smoother, reconditioned, better … naturally.
Soma is here to remind you that you deserve to seen & heard, received & respected.
To accept yourself, and to be accepted in your totality: this is your birthright. Claim it.
Awakened, the body speaks to us, transmits deeply-sourced wisdom, makes us into deeply resilient people: physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
A meaningful life and sense of passionate purpose springs forth when we liberate ourselves.
WHAT WILL YOU DO when you feel good?
Live as yourself, doing what you want to do.
A physical, physiological enlightenment of a sort, Soma gifts clients with the tools they need to free their bodies (and minds) from pain, tension and restriction.
It’s an education everyone should have, but nearly no one receives in this culture.
New freedom means new choices.
New choices mean new opportunities, new paths taken, a fresh sense of personal integrity and meaning in life.
FLOWING AGAIN WITH NATURAL ENERGY, WE RELAX. IN THAT MOMENT, JOY APPEARS.
Aligned in body-mind, Soma clients feel stronger and more resilient, inside and out.
“olivia is amazing. she listens + responds with an intuitive gift for healing.”
— Joseph
SIX GOOD REASONS
-
You deserve real value for your time & money
If you’re spending money on massage anyway, why not make that expense into an investment paying dividends in the long term? You take so much more away from Soma® than any other kind of massage. It hands you the wisdom & power to stay pain-free & heal yourself with every step.
-
You deserve to feel good
Through Soma, we remember the simple joy of attending to our inner self. Reactivating the natural vitality locked within the body can be the greatest challenge for modern westerners, but Soma®’s gentle progressive approach makes it entirely, wonderfully possible.
-
You deserve relief
Soma heals the modern … well, everything. Our bodies need a break from stressful lives. They cry out in pain. So: listen, and respond. Then do it again. You’ll make better choices when you learn to take time to be present for the inner voice.
-
You deserve to live free
If we become able to stop doing things we don’t want to do, we naturally move in more meaningful directions. Now, it’s not easy to stop and check in with ourselves while riding the hamster wheel of life, but it is a precious skill and we can relearn it.
-
You deserve joy
Joy doesn’t require that we look, act, feel or do everything perfect all the time (thank god!). Joy arises naturally when we are present to our whole bodies, whole selves—however imperfect our inner critic judges them to be. Accepting ourselves, we approach life with the true abandoned joy of a child.
-
You deserve space to be youself
Awakened, our body becomes an unconditionally loving companion and guide. It’s here to help us understand why we are here, what makes us tick, what we want and what isn’t serving us. Grounded, rooted, vital, crystal clear on our course, we stretch, grow and become what we were always meant to.
Soma works deep
Soma honors, and promotes the healthy function of, the connective tissue layers of the body (a.k.a. “fascia”) because their significance runs deep.
Imagine: the delicate, pliable web of sensitive, strong connective tissues entwining throughout our body, enveloping every cell.
Afloat within the saltwater seas of the inner body, they give us our shape, structure, and movement, and serve as pathways along which energy and nerve signals are carried.
STRENGTH, FLEXIBILITY, AND RESILIENCE OF BODY, MIND & SPIRIT DEPENDS ON THE INTEGRITY OF THE BODY’S MIRACULOUS FABRIC OF LIFE.
As we age, fascia snags + sags. Add a handful of accidents and injuries over a lifetime, and, naturally, sections of this interconnected network become gluey, bound up, strained, tense with scar tissue, adhesions, and armoring.
Of course we don’t feel right when we’re tied in knots!
We experience pain. Anxiety, stress, tension seems baked in. We can find ourselves unable to relax, rest, or even sleep well.
UNRAVEL THE KNOTS, SMOOTH AND RESTORE THE FABRIC OF LIFE. FEEL GOOD AND LIVE FREE.
(What is this fascia? Here’s an article I wrote for the 2012 International Association of Structural Integrators yearbook.)
“Soma was a big piece of the solution to my anxiety. I learned how to feel good being in my body, and my mind followed.”
—Treavor
soma is effective AND THE RESULTS LAST
If you’re bumping up against a chronic issue you can’t seem to make headway with, well, you’re in the right place.
Soma helps tissues heal by restoring balance to the whole person. Within a state of dynamic balance, pain & tension can finally dissolve.
Perfect for those pursuing relief and healing, athletics and exercise, self-care, not to mention spiritual or mindfulness goals.Effective for chronic conditions, like pain and stiffness, anxiety, headaches, and sleep issues, as well as healing, post-op or post-injury.
FOR CHRONIC CONDITIONS, LIKE PAIN AND STIFFNESS, ANXIETY, HEADACHES, AND SLEEP ISSUES, AS WELL AS HEALING, POST-OP OR POST-INJURY.
Soma is entirely unique in the structural integration world, as it places great value on the process of feeling, sharing, learning, and coming to fully own your own body and life. This is why Soma achieves incredible, lasting results. Read my interview with Jim Asher about the power of integration.
“Thank you. YOU FIXED my knee. I never thought I would ever feel better BUT Every session gave me new hope.”
—Jill
SOMA FAQS
WHY CHOOSE SOMA STRUCTURAL INTEGRATION INSTEAD OF ANOTHER STRUCTURAL SERIES?
In the wide field of structural integration modalities, Soma stands out.
Soma practitioners empower clients to fully participate in their own healing process. Developing a sense of personal agency is essential to feeling better.
Soma promotes mindfulness, encouraging clients to listen to and speak the body’s effulgent language of sensation. Awareness puts us in a place of pure joyful authenticity, beyond right or wrong.
Soma also recognizes that clients spend most of their lives outside the studio, and that, to maximize benefits, structural bodywork must be fully integrated. We show our clients how to feel better in daily life with thorough movement education and practice.
Soma results last and last!
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Every “part” of our body is more accurately an interconnected facet of a living whole.
To make lasting changes which really feel good, we must engage the whole body, whole mind, whole self in the process.
For that, Soma focuses on the connective tissue layers of the body.
They not only shape our structure, they are also integral to our our mechanical, neural, and energetic systems.
Read my article about the magic of the connective tissues.
WHAT DO I WEAR?
Men, wear loose, comfortable running shorts.
Women, wear a non-binding tube top or running top and comfortable running shorts.
I have extras to share if you forget yours!
WHAT’S A SOMA SESSION LIKE?
Sessions run an hour and a half to two hours. (The first session includes plenty of time to check in, look over your intake, answer your questions, and orient you to the journey ahead!)
You will spend roughly 60-90 minutes on the table, receiving the session’s bodywork.
Before and after that, you might learn and practice healthy new movement patterns, sink into some breath work or guided meditation, share insights and “aha”s, discuss changes, ask questions, and so forth.
Included with each session: water, a choice of herbal teas, plus ample time to transition back to your day.
Between sessions, Soma asks you to participate in your own healing. You can expect "homework" outside the session, designed to encourage new mindfulness so you can really own the results of this exceptional, healing bodywork.
WHY TEN SESSIONS?
The full Soma experience, the famous structural integration "ten-series" (ten progressive sessions) releases bindings, adhesions, old injuries + old patterns, and then integrates healthy new movement patterns.
This process has been developed over fifty+ years. Ten sessions simply work best. Healing simply takes time.
Honestly, you may choose to experience as few, or as many, sessions as you choose.
Every session is *profound.
WHAT’S IN EACH SESSION?
SESSION ONE: We free the breath, and source energy and flow from within.
SESSION TWO: We build stable connection to Mother Earth with more ease and flexibility in the feet + lower legs.
SESSION THREE: Restructuring the side body, we better support a full range of motion while providing a fresh sense of lift.
SESSION FOUR: We can now make dynamic connections between the deep core and the feet and legs.
SESSION FIVE: We create coherence between the deepest core and the extremities, dissolving resistance and fear.
SESSION SIX: A healthy relationship with our physical resources and strength can be built from the vitalized core.
SESSION SEVEN: Balancing neck, shoulders, and head atop, our being comes online.
SESSIONS EIGHT - TEN: Custom somatic awareness and bodywork, personalized according to client needs.
WHERE IS YOUR OFFICE?
You can find me at 1800 Cooper Point Road SW, Building 2, Olympia WA 98502.
Hours by appointment only.
WHEN CAN I START?
If you’re reading this, it’s the right time.
Book here and now!
Your first Soma session will mark the beginning of the journey home to an awakened body—and the joy, ease, grace, vitality, natural richness of being which it provides.
Let’s chat on the phone or in my office and if it seems right for both of us, schedule your first session. Request your free 20-minute consultation here.
WHAT DOES SOMA COST?
Soma sessions cost $200 (tax + applicable transaction fees included) for two focused, effective hours of bodywork and movement educations.
Cash and cards welcome.
Check out my full menu of services!
MORE EXCEPTIONAL CHOICES
Hey, sometimes you just want treatment massage.
I’ve got you.
My super-effective therapeutic intentionality combined with a warm, meditative atmosphere naturally soothes & balances, quieting the fight-or-flight response and activating the natural, soothing flow of the parasympathetic nervous system.
IT’S HIGH TIME TO Commit to yourself, YES?
Plan ahead and stay up to date with the regular self-care you need to feel joyful and free.
Set aside time + space for yourself.
Get on the books!