owner, somatic practitioner, & AIDA freediving instructor

In 2012, Grace began her career as a massage therapist. She attended the National Holistic Institute in San Francisco, CA and went on to complete the Advanced Neuromuscular Therapist and Health Educator program. While in school, she worked the desk at one of San Francisco’s most prestigious clinical bodywork studios, Psoas Massage + Bodywork, where she was invited to attend in-house therapist trainings from some of the most renowned names in the industry. What was perhaps even more valuable was what she learned from the owners about what it takes to run a successful business. After years of working for chiropractors and small studios, Grace opened her private practice in Encinitas, CA in July of 2016.

Not long after moving to Encinitas in 2015, Grace began to notice her bodywork quickly evolving. Her attention towards pain and postural tensions developed from her clinically based education to a curiosity of a deeper mind-body relationship. In order to understand these new observations, she attended Pacifica Graduate Institute to pursue a master’s degree in Depth Psychology with a Somatic Studies specialization. Her questions regarding how the body incorporates and holds emotion and our accumulative life experience were answered to an extent she could not have imagined.

Through this program, Grace not only was introduced to the expansive depth psychology and somatics ideas and philosophies, but also became involved with the surf therapy community for her fieldwork and literary research. This allowed her to discover her specific areas of interest such as ecopsychology, archetypal psychology, dreamwork and alchemy, from which she eventually derived the concept for her expanding practice, Saltwater.

As an active AIDA freediving instructor, Grace promotes a soulful approach to freediving. Early on in her freediving career, she saw the value of the sport as a modality for bridging our physical body and the psyche. She integrates her extensive background in somatic therapies within the dynamic classroom of the ocean to facilitate her students’ personal growth and transformation.

Grace grew up in Ventura, CA where she was a competitive swimmer which gave her the experiences of competing in the Olympic Trials as well as swimming for Oregon State University where she studied Exercise and Sports Science and Sociology. Shortly after school, she served 6 years of service in the U.S. Coast Guard before beginning her career as a massage therapist. She loves surfing, freediving, being in nature, creating and appreciating music and art.

massage therapist

Ally became inspired to work as a massage therapist in 2016 while working at a women’s physical therapy clinic, where she spent her time teaching yoga, breath work and functional movement. She had the opportunity to learn integrative approaches to holistic wellness and train from physical therapists specializing in neurological, orthopedic and chronic pain conditions. In addition, Ally worked for a surf therapy company for several years, facilitating surf and yoga sessions for teens in rehabilitation centers. She became trauma informed and certified in order to learn how to support those working through painful experiences. Through her experience, she was incredibly inspired by how water therapy and collaborative support can positively impact the healing process.

Ally studied a combination of Eastern and Western modalities at the National Holistic Institute and became a certified Watsu aquatic therapy practitioner. Ally is passionate about supporting others by cultivating a safe space that encourages innate healing and mind-body fortitude by using a collective and individual based approach in her practice that addresses aspects of the emotional-energetic, lymphatic, myofascial, musculoskeletal and nervous systems.

Ally is originally from New York, where she studied biological sciences, worked as an ocean lifeguard and swam competitively for her college team. She made the move to California to pursue a lifestyle rooted in wellness and allowing for ample ocean time to surf and freedive and has yet to turn back ever since.

massage therapist

Charity graduated from Humboldt State University with a B.S. in Kinesiology in 2016. After a few years of traveling and exploring opportunities in wellness and bodywork, she enrolled in Pacific College of Health and Science where she became a certified massage therapist. The wellness of her friends, family, community, and all people/living things is of the utmost importance to her. She feels that surrounding herself with other members of the healing community strengthens her mentality of self care and compassion which she can then share with everyone she meets.

At home Charity strives to cultivate a more eco-friendly lifestyle by practicing permaculture and waste reduction. She hopes to inspire sustainable practices in her family and community as she gathers techniques and tools along her journey.

Charity has a strong passion for nature and the great outdoors. When she is not in her garden at home, she is likely to be found backpacking in the wilderness, kayaking or diving in the ocean, or doing yoga anywhere in nature.

Julia Smiley is a student at Bastyr University here in San Diego and will be a naturopathic doctor next June! Originally from Rhode Island, Julia moved here from Frisco, CO with her partner and pup. Her first love is regenerative farming and she also super enjoys traveling, getting into nature, surfing, music and connecting people with natural forms of healing. One of her very favorite healing modalities she’s worked with so far is craniosacral therapy and she’s really looking forward to sharing it with the Saltwater community.

office manager

Nicole brings it all together. Besides your therapist, she will be the voice you engage with the most. Over the past decade, she has managed and coordinated operations for legal services providers, local wineries and bakeries. In addition to providing her positive energy, she manages the organization of the day to days.

Originally from Los Angeles, Nicole and her partner have traveled the world while working in wine production before settling down with their baby boy in Encinitas. She has a strong connection with the ocean and designs beautifully unique jewelry inspired by her coastal living. In addition to being a mom, Nicole enjoys an active life on land and in the ocean, especially bodysurfing and diving.