My passion for connecting through touch, began as a kiddo. I would massage my Grandma’s hands, while sitting next to her at church; tracing the lines of her veins, the lines of her lines, imagining the lives she’d lived. Then hold her hand, feeling her heartbeat through her palm. Ah, how I delighted in the intimacy and closeness. 

Her Mama, my Great-Grandmother, was diagnosed with terminal cancer. We would visit her, in her final days. I would massage her aching hands and feet.  How it would make my little 5 year old heart soar, to know that I was able to provide a little bit of respite from her pain. 

I was known as the kid who hugged everyone and I was pretty damn good at it.

A handful of years later, I was sexually abused repeatedly by a close family member.  My ability to feel safe in my body and receive healthy touch diminished.  My mind learned how to cope through dissociating with my body and I began to have panic attacks. As a teenager, after many years of careful tending to this trauma, I stumbled upon Yoga. It became a gateway to reconnect with my body.  Over time, I could identify how I was feeling by how my body would react.  I was so far removed from sensation previously, that it felt overwhelming.  I sought out emotional and somatic tools to ride the waves of sensation instead of numbing it; finding coherence and catharsis. Through this continual Seeking, Studio Selah was born.

It is in this, our ability to ignite and sustain a close partnership to our body and Self, that I am dedicated to. We spend our entire lives living in these shells of skin and sinew, and yet we tend to forgo any relationship with them. Herein lies the magic. I believe, the art of attention, validation and tenderness towards oneself, has the power to heal us (and the world).

My continued healing is intrinsically linked to my offerings: to create a safe container for others to receive loving, healthy touch and somatic movement and to hold space for what may come through this work. As you heal, we all heal.

All is welcome. All are welcome.

Thank you for your time and attention. Truly.

amber