About Us – Renee Naumann
she/her/hers
Like many, I come to an interest in healing modalities to address my own needs. I went to college to complete a Bachelor of Fine Arts, and during that time, I began lifting weights. After college, I moved out west and explored the outdoors through hiking, backpacking, cross country skiing, and climbing. These activities lead to chronic muscle soreness and some injuries. What can I say? I like to play hard! I knew if I wanted to have longevity with this lifestyle, I needed to address my physical limitations and misalignments due to bad habits or injuries. I knew stretching would be key as well as continuing to find ways to support my body in it’s healing process with diet, different bodywork modalities, and herbs.
Through my 30s, I took numerous different types of yoga classes and eventually developed my own daily practice that I continue to this day. About the same time, my sister introduced me to Ayurveda, the sister life science to yoga. I read many books about Ayurveda and then completed an online course to obtain an Ayurvedic Lifestyle Consultant certificate. Ayurvedic techniques helped me reconcile or greatly diminish various chronic health issues. I thought I would take my Ayurvedic practice to the next level to become a practitioner, and I enrolled in the Kerala Ayurvedic Institute and completed one year of coursework, but then I considered massage. Though I follow an Ayurvedic lifestyle, I really enjoy the tactile nature of massage, healing by working through my hands.
I studied Swedish Massage at the American Institute of Alternative Medicine to become a Licensed Massage Therapist and received a Neuromuscular Techniques Certification. I am interested in pursuing various other modalities like Thai massage, Acupressure, Lomi Lomi, and Ashiatsu. I want to help people be more connected or grounded in their bodies, something that is fading fast in our technologically-driven culture. I not only want to facilitate the healing process for others, but I also want to offer people a deeper experience connecting to their bodies. I don’t want massage to be just therapy. Massage surprised me, I become as relaxed as my client. This shared experience is a beautiful thing. One of my Ayurvedic teachers said, “the mind will lie to you, but the body will not.” As I foster my own relationship to my body, I want to encourage the same for others. Our bodies are the healers, we are just along for the ride so why not make it a pleasant and less painful one?