about me + my
Lineages of practice

Somatics is a vast field of philosophy and practice that draws from many lineages and disciplines. Prior to colonization, all of our ancestors had ways of connecting with their bodies that were embedded in daily life. Within our current conditions many of us have lost touch with our bodies and find that somatics offers a much needed pathway to reconnection.

Contemporary somatics has stripped much of the cultural and spiritual aspects of embodiment, emphasizes clinical applications, and in many cases - fails to acknowledge the origins of these practices in BIPOC cultural + spiritual traditions. I am committed to ongoing learning and repair around the colonization of embodied wisdom traditions. As we work to heal the divide of mind/body we must also acknowledge the systems that created such a divide, including how they manifest in healing and embodiment practices today.

I name some of my lineages, mentors, and communities here to help situate myself within this broad field. I openly and gratefully offer acknowledgement as someone who is both seeking reconnection with my own ancestral practices, as well as intending right-relationship to the cultural lineages that have shaped my ongoing healing and learning.

This list is not exhaustive, I am continually learning about the fullness of these living lineages.

Practice Foundations

Somatic

I don't adhere to a single discipline or methodology; I practice an integrative approach to embodiment. My practice integrates studies in: generative somatics, Biodyamic Craniosacral Therapy, Focusing & NeuroAffective Touch. I am also a former somatic psychotherapist with a focus in developmental trauma.

I came to somatics through healing justice movement work via generative somatics and the Allied Media Conference. I have also participated in training and movement exploration in: Somatic Experiencing, Resmaa Menakem’s Cultural Somatics, and Continuum.

My own healing journey with my body began in my early 20's when I worked with a Brennan Integration practitioner. In 2013 I found my way to generative somatics (gs), which had profound impact on my healing, alongside Biodynamic Craniosacral therapy and other developmentally informed approaches. I had a personal yoga asana practice for over a decade, mostly rooted in Ashtanga and Hatha based practices.

My mentors and teachers have included Danielle Bezaire, Karishma Kripalani, Susan Raffo, Aline LaPierre, Don Hanlon Johnson, Lesley Greco, and Staci Haines. I am also shaped by the work of Resmaa Menakem, Aurora Levins-Morales, Vanissar Tarakali, Bonnie Burstow, Donnalea Van Vleet Goelz, Paula Scatoloni, Kathy Kain, Sage Hayes, Lisa Thomas-Adeyemo, and Prentis Hemphill. I am nourished by close collaboration with other queer politicized healers.

I was a dance and theatre kid, spending much of my early life in spaces where movement and voice were engaged in creative and playful ways. I studied with Young People’s Theatre, the York University Fine Arts program for children and youth under the direction of Mary-Elizabeth Manley, and I attended the Etobicoke School of the Arts. These experiences taught me to move beyond the bounds of what felt “normal” and possible for my body as a young person. I am grateful to have had these experiences early in my life.

I have a background in community health, and spent the early years of my career in the public health sector. I also worked as a somatic psychotherapist with queer and trans people in both private practice and agency settings.

Political

While I don’t claim Healing Justice as a term for my work, I have learned and benefitted from this lineage that originates with Black disabled women and femmes in the Southern United States, and am guided by Healing Justice principles in my practice. I also draw inspiration from community acupuncture as practiced by the Black Panthers, and the care work that lies at the heart of queer community — from dance floors to hospital wards.

I was a founding member of the People’s Healing Fund collective, a mutual aid and economic justice initiative supporting BIPOC healing practitioners. I give deep bows to the Turtle Tank School for Radical Purpose which has profoundly shaped my practice.

Queer community has always been my greatest source of learning in this work, in particular BIPOC and white people engaged in racial justice through the lens of mutual liberation. I have been involved in racial justice and anti-colonial organizing for over a decade, and have been a regular attendant of the Allied Media Conference in Detroit. I hold a Masters in Environmental Studies, where I focused my research on settler colonialism in Canada and nation building through the public school history curriculum.

Spiritual

My spiritual practices are influenced by my somatic and embodiment work, as well as the earth-based folk traditions of my people. I do not come from a specific tradition or lineage, my ancestral reconnection work is informed by many paths including Embodied Inquiry, transpersonal psychology, and Celtic and Germanic earth-based spiritualities and cosmologies. I learn through collaboration with Stevie Joy Leigh, mentorship with Michael Dunning, Susan Raffo and Owen Marciano, the work of Sharon Blackie, the Irish Pagan School, Ari Di Nardo, Sophie Macklin, Pegi Eyers, Marija Gimbutas, Ralph Metzner, Max Dashu, Chiara Baldini, and many others.

While I have participated in many workshops and courses over the years, my most meaningful and impactful anti-racist and decolonial learning has always happened through relationship. I participate in ancestral reconnection work though both personal and group healing that is intimate and sacred. It’s impossible to list or account for all of the people and experiences who have informed my practice on a website. Sharing and honouring my lineage is something I offer organically through teaching and relationship.

Credentials

Master of Education in Counselling from Acadia University (2015)
Master’s in Environmental Studies from York University (2012)
Certified Focusing Trainer with the International Focusing Institute (2015)
NeuroAffective Touch Foundations Graduate (2022)
Registered Somatic Movement Therapist with the International Somatic Movement Therapy Association (2022)
Safe and Sound Protocol Certified Provider (2023)
Registered Psychotherapist (Inactive) with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (2016-2023)

As a Registered Professional Member of the International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association, I meet the high Standards of Practice and uphold the Code of Ethics. For more information visit www.ISMETA.org

Additional Training

Masterclass Embodying the Unified Self: Awakening the Inner Child through Sound, Science, and Somatics Paula Scatoloni, 2024
Embodying the Authentic Self, Somatic Experiencing, Relational Movement + the Safe and Sound Protocol: Paula Scatoloni, 2022-2023
Doctoral Program (year 1) in Transpersonal Psychology with an emphasis in Somatics: California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), 2021-2022
Essential Elements of Continuum Movement: Donnalea Van Vleet Goelz, 2021
Somatics, Trauma and Resilience: Strozzi Institute, 2020-2021
Cultivating Resilience: Change, Connection and Skillful Action: Strozzi Institute & generative somatics, 2020
Restore, Reclaim, and Re-source – Healing the Body’s Racial Trauma: Resmaa Menakem, 2019
Traumatic Stress and the Breath: Jane Clapp, 2020

Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy Foundation Training: Body Intelligence 
Module 1: Relational Touch, October 2019
Module 2: The Midline, November 2019
Pain Program for Professionals : Maggie Phillips, 2019
Clinical Applications of Internal Family Systems: Frank Anderson, 2019
Somatic Experiencing Beginner 1: Linda Stelte, 2019

Unwinding Oppression in the Body: Vanissar Tarakali, 2018
Somatic Bodywork Intensive: generative somatics, 2017 + practicum and group supervision
Healing Developmental Trauma: Attachment-Focused Interventions: Dan Hughes, 2017
The Body Keeps the Score: New Frontiers in Trauma Treatment: Bessel Van der Kolk, 2017
Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy Level 1: Sian Phillips- Attachment Association of Canada, 2015

I have participated in over 200 hours of individual and group supervision in the above modalities and I participate in ongoing peer-mentorship, as well as my own healing and self-study.