“I am experiencing anxiety, and that’s ok.” Recently, I shared this statement with a new mama who was struggling with insomnia and anxiety (a vicious cycle, especially when you’re already deeply sleep deprived). Turns out, the “simple” practice of repeating this to herself is what helped things shift enough so that she could fall asleep… → Continue Reading

Please go easy on yourself. Go easy on yourself when you forget to go easy on yourself, too. Saying this to myself as much as you, dear human. 🍃 It took me many, many years to understand and accept that I am human (what?!), and being alive during this time is bringing that back up… → Continue Reading

These last several months have opened up my perception of how the body can change, specifically the female body! As many of you know by now, I’m expecting my first child. Somehow in the last few weeks, I’ve gone from looking “most likely pregnant,” to “she’s definitely pregnant!” This process of expansion and change has… → Continue Reading

On this Winter Solstice, I wanted to say hello, and share this recent post I wrote that seems to have struck a chord with people. At a time of year when expectations and stress levels can sometimes run high, I hope you’ll let this be window in to harnessing deeper self-awareness and self-compassion. Your Gentle… → Continue Reading

Foam rolling has been a self-care love of mine for many years. Foam rollers helped me through my professional dance career, alleviating muscle soreness and tension so I could get through classes and rehearsals (though I no longer roll out my poor IT bands. Yeow!). Now as a bodyworker, I use foam rolling for quick… → Continue Reading

“Ugh, I should’ve known better!” You lifted too much. Bent too far. Stretched too long. Went too hard. Sat too long. You should have known. Or should you have? I’ve heard this so many times in my practice (and I’ll admit to having said it myself). And then I feel that subtle layer of shame… → Continue Reading

(Part One: Getting the right physical care for you) Google, ‘Self-Care,’ and you’ll be met with over 51 million search results (!) and article headings with everything from, “7 Steps to Exquisite Self-Care” blog entries to vulnerable personal narratives (“My painful and terrifying tell-all about what happened when I neglected self-care, grew two heads, and… → Continue Reading

If I had a dollar for every time someone comes to me because their last massage therapist went too deep, or heard they hurt somewhere and proceeded to grind away at that area for the better part of a session, I’d be a millionaire (well, almost). I’m happy, and honored, to be a safe haven… → Continue Reading

Have you ever caught yourself panicking when something that used to hurt terribly starts hurting again, even a little bit? Do you find yourself asking yourself things like, “How bad is this going to get? What if it’s as bad as the last time? What if it gets bad and doesn’t heal this time?” If… → Continue Reading

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with my friend and fellow bodyworker maverick, Karen. Karen’s been helping the fine folks of San Francisco feel better in their body for over a decade, and she’s truly a wealth of holistic wellness knowledge. Being the gentle bodywork nerd that I am, when she told me… → Continue Reading

(If you’re looking for a quick, gentle, surprisingly effective daily practice for reducing neck tension and eye tension, and increasing an overall sense of ease throughout your body, this is for you. It may seem too simple to work, but I urge you to give it a try : ) Three weekends ago, I packed… → Continue Reading

A fellow gentle massage therapist recently reached out to me to voice her struggle around feeling misunderstood at her work place, and asked how I might advise navigating this, as well as figuring out a way to do more of the gentle, powerful work she loves. Having worked with clients professionally for five years now,… → Continue Reading

Have you, like me, ever wondered… Self-awareness: friend or foe? Self-awareness is something that has intrigued, perplexed, delighted, and infuriated me for years. Both the topic itself, and the experience of it. In my last Gentle Nudge to you, I wrote about the mind/body connection and how viewing my mind as part of my body… → Continue Reading

I want to let you in on a major mindset shift that has amplified my health and the ease with which I navigate life. Perhaps more than any other mindset shift I’ve made. First, a little back-story: I’ve spent a lot of time researching human physicality and the mind/body connection. I’ve spent a lot of… → Continue Reading

I’m excited to share with you my very first interview! I had the great pleasure and honor of being interviewed by Ane Axford of SensitiveLeadership.com. Ane has been a mentor and role-model of mine in the last few years through her teachings about being an HSP (Highly Sensitive Person) and learning to strengthen and lead… → Continue Reading

A friend of mine recently got their eyes scanned and shared the photo of their retina with me. Holy wow! As if I needed one more reason to be fascinated by the body. (Is it me, or does the inside of the eye kind of resemble one of those lightning balls?!) I am a self-proclaimed… → Continue Reading

One of the most frequent complaints I hear from my clients is about jaw tension and jaw tension related issues. It seems we’re clenching our jaws at our desks, with our clients, in our sleep, on the train, when we’re focusing and thinking hard, or doing a tough yoga pose or a set of Pilates… → Continue Reading

Today is a VERY special edition of Gentle Nudges because it’s an INTERVIEW! On VIDEO! Whoa… I had the pleasure of chatting with my pal, James Graham, who teaches something called Gaga Movement Language. No no, this is not the creation of Lady Gaga, but rather of acclaimed Israeli choreographer, Ohad Naharin, of Batsheva Dance… → Continue Reading

I’ve been thinking a lot about pain recently — how we experience it, why we experience it, how to use it to our advantage, and how to transmute it. There’s a whole lot I could share about this, but for now, I want to talk about starting where you are, and learning to accept and… → Continue Reading

I’ve given and received a lot of Ortho-Bionomy in the last several days and had some interesting conversations with colleagues and clients and it’s gotten me thinking a lot about WHY I do this work and about SENSITIVITY. Some of you may know that I identify as an ‪#‎HSP‬ (Highly Sensitive Person). I’ve lived in… → Continue Reading

If you follow me on facebook or twitter, or have been reading my newsletters for a while (thank you!), you know that besides bodywork, I take care of an awesome toddler. And in the past month, her 5mo old adorable, squirmy and hefty baby bro has been added to the mix. It is wonderful and… → Continue Reading

Today, I want to share a personal story with you about recommitment and reinvention that I like to remind myself of from time to time. In college and for several years after, I had the privilege of studying the José Limón dance technique with the venerable Risa Steinberg. There are many reasons I loved her… → Continue Reading

It’s amazing how much that time change changes things, right? For me, the season of longer evenings, holidays, and chillier weather (though as a native New Yorker, getting away with wearing just a light sweater and a jacket in November is pretty awesome) means a desire to feel cozy, warm, and nurtured. Holiday stress and… → Continue Reading

Today, I’m here to wax poetic about one of my oldest, truest, most reliable and multi-talented friends. She goes with me wherever I go: work, overseas adventures, dance classes. She’s compact and fuzzy, and is always there for me after a long day on my feet or for a quick tune-up between clients. In fact,… → Continue Reading

I want to share something about curiosity and the body, because I’m in a sharing kind of mood, and I’m wondering if you can relate : ) Recently, I’ve watched myself want to KNOW and FIX what ails me or what I wish to improve. I’ve also noticed how tense cold constricted forceful my body… → Continue Reading

I’ve received a decent bunch of urgent calls, gchats, and emails from friends over the years saying, “Helena, I threw out my neck/shoulders and can’t get in to see my chiropractor/bodyworker/acupuncturist/trainer until _____. Blah! I’m in so much pain and I have so much to do. WHAT do I do?!” Let me start by saying… → Continue Reading

I’m a huge fan of hugs, but sometimes, what I truly truly desire most is to have my head held. Not my hand, my head. Are you with me on this? In fact, that is often my favorite part of receiving bodywork; a moment (or two) to give over the never-ceases-to-amaze-me weight of my head… → Continue Reading

I’ve been thinking about silence a lot lately. As I write to you, it is an unusually quiet day in my San Francisco apartment. Save for the dull hum of the city and the sound of eating my bowl of oatmeal heated in coconut oil (try it, so good!), it is silent. I’ve had more… → Continue Reading

Have you ever wanted to move or position your body in a certain way, but thought, nah, this can’t be the RIGHT way to do it. I should be sitting/walking/sleeping/dancing/doing yoga/meditating/exercising like THIS! Think sucking in your stomach, rigid military posture, gripping your butt muscles, long bouts of seated, still meditation… More likely, there was… → Continue Reading