My life changed dramatically in 2009 when my father unexpectedly died at the age of 53 from a heart issue. The day of his memorial service, my naturally curly hair went straight and my left hip started hurting as soon as I crossed the threshold of the building. The following week, I stood up from my office chair and my lower back locked out. I suffered from 10 out of 10 pain most minutes of the day for about a year and a half.
Having always been an active person I couldn’t relieve my stress in ways that I previously had. The dual pain of mourning plus my back pain not only made every movement stressful, it jolted me awake at night so I never felt rested. Plus, when I looked in the mirror, my crowning physical identifier, my hair, was gone. I felt alienated from myself. After thousands of dollars spent on different healing approaches, plus an MRI, which revealed nothing, I started taking Pilates classes and trying a new, active stretching technique called Ki Hara.
These movement modalities helped me reconnect internally via the external. I tried grief therapy, but found the suggestions not-so-helpful. At the time I was a counselor for low income students--a job I loved and found rewarding, but also emotionally fatiguing. So, moving helped me not only move through my grief, it helped me embody myself so I could heal the physical back pain. Eventually I felt so strongly about helping people in this way, I changed careers.
Over time I learned that the more complicated chronic pains not fixed by a typical massage or two usually have this dual, root cause of physical imbalance plus emotional holding. I bring both awarenesses to our sessions so I can guide you to heal yourself externally and internally. The name Chulel (Ch'ulel) is a central tenet of Mayan medicine, similar to the eastern concept of chi/qi/ki, and it reflects this body and movement view that health is a balance of the physical and emotional. In 2014, I had a fork-in-the-road moment while meditating alone on a beach in Mexico (cue eyeroll, I know). The realization I had profoundly changed my work, which is why I decided to rebrand under this name--as an authentic experience I had, not as a point of cultural appropriation. Through our work together, you will find space and flexibility in your body while shifting those old patterns so that you can move with more ease and connection to yourself.
Degrees: M.A. Ed. The University of Texas at Austin, 2008 B.A., Spanish, International Relations, University of Wisconsin, 2003
Licensed Massage Therapist #MT133045, 2020
Certifications: NeuroKinetic Therapy Level 3 Advanced 2019, Barefoot Training Specialist Level 1 2019, Reiki 1st & 2nd Attunement 2017, Ki Hara Master Stretcher 2016, The Emotion Code 2016, Certified Pilates Teacher, Pilates Method Alliance, 2011
Continuing Education: Barral Visceral Manipulation 1, Postural Respiration, Anatomy Trains Balancing the Pelvis, Upledger Cranial Sacral Therapy 1, Walk the Lines (Anatomy Trains, myofascial meridians and gait), CoreAlign by Balanced Body, Thai Mashiatsu, Madeleine Black (biomechanics of Pilates), Pilates Method Alliance, The Franklin Method, Aston Patterning