About Me
I am a teacher, a meditator, and a mother at heart. I can help guide you through the messiness of life to find peace at home in your body, heart, and mind.
My approach
I work with individuals and families of all ages, whom I know can benefit from my specific knowledge, care, and attention. Whether it is a fussy preemie baby, anxious new parents, a depressed teenager, discord in a couple, or someone who is facing the end of their life, when people are experiencing the stress of change or a transition in their life, there is overwhelm which manifests in various behaviors and unpleasant mental states.
Whatever the life circumstance you’re facing, I have found that we all ultimately want the same things: to be loved, to be accepted, to have purpose in community, and to be safe and at home in our Being. If this is you, then our work together is to identify and clear the pressure of the internal and external stressors.
We will take a look at and begin to untangle reactive habits and negative patterns that impact your relationship with yourself and others. What are your unique obstacles to achieving your peace of mind and happiness? What lightens your heart and what gets in the way?
I am compassionate, kind, and direct in my approach. It lightens my heart to pass forward the wisdom from my many teachers to you, the next generation. In so doing, I provide you with practical and useful skills and resources to use in your life.
Who I Am
Body
I am English and American. When I arrived in San Francisco in 1981 as an immigrant, I became trained and certified as a massage practitioner. I was introduced to a sensory world of respectful attentive touch which I found quite extraordinary. I apprenticed with my Shiatsu teacher for two years, and with her careful mentoring, I soon became a teacher myself. I taught at many Bay Area massage schools, teaching classes in Shiatsu, trauma in the body, and mindful touch
During this time in the Bay Area, I trained with many exemplary teachers and I was exposed to many different types of trainings in bodywork, yoga, tai chi, dance, improvisational theatre, psychology, and meditation practices. My teachers taught me how to be in a respectful, listening relationship with another human being, whether with aware touch or sitting in a chair, whether in stillness or movement, silence or conversation.
Heart
As I became more experienced as a somatic therapist, I noticed how the musculature, posture, and nervous system of the body correlated to an expression of emotions, anxieties, moods, and stories of past trauma in my clients and in myself. I needed more understanding of the realms of the heart and mind/brain. I studied Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies and became licensed as a Marriage Family Therapist in 1992.
In 2001, I became a single parent by choice, when I adopted my daughter from China. The transition to becoming a parent and attuning to the sensory world of a baby was so familiar. Here was the thread of integration for me, of body, heart and mind. I am now trained in Early Intervention, EMDR, and I have a National Certification as an Adoption Specialist.
In my consultations with families, individuals, and couples, I focus on attachment and trauma challenges that inhibit development and healthy patterns of communicating in relationship. I teach infant massage and other newborn care classes at UCSF Medical Center and in my private practice in California.
Mind
I also truly believe that the focused mindful attention and daily Metta practice became an intricate part of how I was able to meet and adopt my daughter in May 2001. I try to live my practice every day with everyone I meet. I enjoy sharing the skills of mindfulness in my classes and with my therapy clients.
I am a certified mindfulness teacher, having graduated from a two-year program taught by Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach. I now teach classes in Mindfulness at UCSF. I have a deep bow of gratitude to all my teachers.
In 1994, I began attending 10-day silent retreats and day-longs at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Northern California and meditating every day. My Dharma teachers have been both of the Vispassana tradition (Jack Kornfield, Jon Kabat Zin and Christina Feldman, Zohar Lavie) and Zen tradition (Toni Packer, Florence Kaplow).
During the global pandemic of 2020 to 2022, I found refuge in connecting to people all over the world in meditation sanghas taught 3 times a week online from Gaia House in England.
A little more about me
I enjoy being with my nearest and dearest, sharing food, laughter, and talking about the absurdity of life. Spending time in the presence of babies inspires me and makes me happy. I love the heart-opening experience of singing and playing music with others. I am a member of the threshold choir. I like being on the water on a sail boat or in a kayak.
A good cup of tea in the afternoon is always satisfying. I like to spend time writing and deepening my meditation practice and connecting to how to be of service in the world. Taking long walks and periods of time in solitude brings balance to that part of me that loves to travel and dance in the world.
Education & Certifications
MA in Integral Counseling, CIIS, San Francisco, California
BA in Art History and Literature, Middlesex University, England
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Certification in Parent/Infant Intervention, Child Trauma Institute of San Francisco
Massage Therapist Certification, Yoga Institute of San Francisco
Infant Massage Certification, Sonoma County
Certification Adoption Competency Training, Berkeley
National Certification in Adoption and Foster Care, CASE
Certification in EMDR, Part 1, 2, and Advanced, Laurel Parnell
