My Story

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     As the daughter of a psychotherapist specializing in infant mental health, I grew up steeped in the understanding that babies are wise, aware beings, capable of communicating and forming lasting memories. Observing my mother’s parent-infant classes throughout my childhood sparked a life-long curiosity about nonverbal intelligence, the mind-body connection, and the subtle dynamics that shape human relationships.

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     At the age of 11, I began volunteering at a therapeutic equestrian center in Santa Barbara, which served individuals with physical, intellectual, and developmental disabilities. What started as a volunteer opportunity blossomed into a decade-long immersion, filling every moment outside of school throughout my childhood, teenage years, and young adulthood. This work became a central part of my life, and I eventually became a certified therapeutic riding instructor. Witnessing moments of profound healing and connection, particularly between my nonverbal students and the horses, deepened my understanding of relational healing and continues to inform my life’s work. 

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     My passion for birth was ignited during high school when I shadowed an equine veterinarian and had the extraordinary opportunity of witnessing two mares give birth under the full moon. Remarkably, both mares went into labor simultaneously, birthing their foals just 20 minutes apart. The synchrony of their births and the innate intelligence displayed by the mares and their newborns, instilled in me a reverence for the natural process of birth. Just a few months later, I had the honor of attending my first human birth when a close friend invited me to support her at the hospital.

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    These pivotal experiences led me to complete my doula training at 18, embark on years-long apprenticeship with Midwife, Mary Jackson, and enroll in premed classes at Santa Barbara City College in preparation for midwifery school. During this period, I immersed myself in perinatal somatic therapy studies with Ray Castellino, which included a two-year internship at BEBA (Building and Enhancing Bonding and Attachment), a research clinic focused on early trauma and ​attachment. Ray introduced me to Anna and John Chitty and who later became my mentors in the fields of Craniosacral and Polarity Therapy. Shortly after enrolling in midwifery school, I became a mother and decided to pause my formal midwifery training, and focus on birth and postpartum doula care and somatic bodywork.

 

     In 2008, I moved to the beautiful Ojai Valley, where my husband and I have had the privilege of raising our two children. I continue to support families as a homebirth midwife assistant in Ventura County, and I run a somatic bodywork practice that serves people across the full spectrum of life transitions: birth and postpartum, grief and loss, trauma integration, and end-of-life care. I offer infant massage classes to parents and caregivers, and one-on-one supervision support sessions to birth professionals and pre- and perinatal somatic practitioners.

 

Mission
My mission is to transform our approach to birth, infant care, and parenting to reflect the profound sentience and innate intelligence of babies. I envision a world in which the most vulnerable among us (human and non-human alike) are treated with exquisite tenderness and respect, which I believe is essential to creating an empathic, heart-centered society. 

 

Certifications

• Holistic Doula – Santa Barbara Body Therapy Institute

• Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapist – Colorado School of Energy Studies (CSES) 700-hour program.

• Advanced Biodynamic Diploma/Teaching Assistant – CSES 

• Infant Massage Instructor (CIMI) – International Loving Touch Foundation

• Childbirth Educator – Childbirth International

• Midwife Assistant – Clinical Internships

 

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Trainings & Internships

• Pre- and Perinatal Somatic Therapy training / Internship with Dr. Ray Castellino -BEBA Clinic

• Breastfeeding for Infants with Tongue-tie and Oral Restrictions – Dr. Alison Hazelbaker

• Working With Babies (Polarity and CST) – John Chitty 

• Osteopathy for Babies – Kindred Academy, Jonathan Evans, DO

• Mentorship with Jonathan Evans, DO

• Clinical Neuroplasticity for Infants – Maxine Haller, OT

• Primitive Reflex Integration – Maxine Haller, OT

• Verbal Skills, A Somatic Approach to Trauma Resolution – CSES

• Mentorship with Anna Chitty

• Body Into Being Somatic Therapy – with Anna Chitty and Ray Castellino 

• Spinning Babies – Nicole Morales, LM, and Tema Mercado, LM

• Birthing From Within – Virginia Bobro/ Pam England

• Polyvagal Theory: Neural Exercises for Safety and Connection – Dr. Stephen Porges

• Teaching assistant at CSES biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy 2-year trainings 

• Midwifery - Clinical Internships with Dawn Dana, LM; Mary Jackson, LM, RN; Tania McCracken, LM; Mary Littlefiled, LM; Jill Dozier, CNM   

• Pregnancy Zenthai Massage – Merryn Pennington                            

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