As a Wellness Facilitator,  I love lifting boundaries between modalities to offer holistic, individualized services and resources. This gives a sense of wholeness to my massage sessions and leaves a wonderful post-massage feeling to my clients.

Ten years ago, I left my corporate career to start studying Natural Medicine and came out fascinated by the human body! As the owner of our body, I really do believe we are in charge of the most complex and miraculous organism on the planet!

Every cell in the body works to keep it alive, well and balanced. As I dive deeper into the studies of anatomy, physiology, nutrigenomics and neurosciences, I realize that our body structure, our body functions and our mind are intermingled and impact each other.

Our body continually sends us signals about the state of our internal balance. While it tries to communicate with us, we rarely listen. We are so focused on our external environment that we miss the connection to our inner state. Until the body complains enough through physical disturbances, physiological disorders or mental imbalances that we call discomfort or disease.

The result of body messages ignored for too long

Pain, tension, tenderness is what I deal with in my massage practice, daily. While I do focus on the physical aspects in my treatment plan – alleviating tensions, releasing knots, stretching and so on, I always keep in mind the three dimensions of who we are  –physical, physiological and mental – through my fascial work.

My three-dimension fascial approach facilitates our ability to sense the internal state of our painful body – to develop what we call interoception. That’s when the breath becomes essential as a window to our inner body world. Breath is our conscious access to the autonomic nervous system. Bringing breath awareness during a massage session supports the process of healing.

My three-dimensional fascial approach also embraces posture beyond the body’s position. Posture is a response of the body from moment to moment. It is a dynamic process we are not aware of[i]. And yet, our posture is what makes us feel safe in an unstable world. Changing the posture requires strategies beyond the ideal positioning of body parts. It involves paying attention to our inner state. It is not a quick fix. A three-dimensional fascial approach facilitates awareness and brings the body, the physiology and the mind together.

Paying attention to our inner state gives us a chance to be deeply in touch with our body, so we can acknowledge our physiology (respiration, circulation, digestion), and observe how it reflects in our mental, emotional and physical states. Massage is a great tool to be at peace and revive our body’s sensations for the best. So we improve our resilience.

“Valerie is not only a brilliant therapist but to be in her presence is also a big hug for your soul. Valerie is truly professional yet personable. She always consults on what you want to achieve and then delivers to the highest level.” – Julie, mother of 3

[i] Mary Bond