My relationship with the water began early in life. I grew up in Ventura, CA where I taught swimming lessons every summer for nine years. I was a competitive swimmer which led me to the experiences of competing in the Olympic Trials as well as swimming for Oregon State University where I studied Exercise and Sports Science and Sociology. Shortly after school, I served 6 years in the U.S. Coast Guard before beginning my career as a massage therapist in 2012.

After working as a massage therapist for chiropractors and small studios, I opened my private practice in Encinitas, CA in July of 2016.

As I gained experience, I began to notice my bodywork shifting from my clinically based education to a curiosity of a deeper mind-body relationship. In order to understand these new observations, I attended Pacifica Graduate Institute to earn a master’s degree in Depth Psychology with a Somatic Studies specialization. My questions regarding how the body incorporates and holds emotion and our life experience were answered beyond what I could have imagined.

Through this program, not only was I introduced to the expansive depth psychology and somatics concepts and philosophies, but also became involved with the surf therapy community for my fieldwork and literary research. This allowed me to discover my specific areas of interest such as ecopsychology, archetypal psychology, dreamwork and alchemy, which shaped the concept for my practice, Saltwater Integrative Bodywork.

Though I have been in and under the water for years, it wasn’t until I took a freediving certification course that I realized that there was a profound connection between freediving and my current work as a bodyworker, and I knew I wanted to add it to my practice as a somatic modality. As an AIDA freediving instructor, I promote a soulful approach to freediving by integrating my background in somatic therapies within the dynamic classroom of the ocean to facilitate my students’ personal growth and transformation. The ocean is simply the vessel for which we bridge the body and psyche. I hope to see you in the water soon!

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Oh, and besides freediving, I love being in nature, shooting underwater film photography, petting cats, swimming through kelp, creating and appreciating music and art.