A body-centered approach for healing and growth.

The Body Talks

Our bodies let us know when we are overwhelmed. In fact, they let us know all along the way, but we often don’t notice until an internal alarm signals that a boundary has been crossed. Exhaustion, sleep disturbances, shallow breathing, muscle tension — these are just some of the ways our bodies talk to us.

The Nervous System Adapts

Your nervous system can run your life until you address how it has adapted to people and experiences that have impacted you. When we experience something overwhelming to our body and mind, we develop unconscious (and conscious) responses to keep us safe. Some of these well-intended, but maladaptive, behaviors are so insidious that we don’t realize they have affected our health and sense of well-being until we can’t live with them anymore. It influences our daily lives — from medical diagnoses to relationship and work issues.

The Cycle Repeats

My work with clients starts at the body level, what is called a bottom-up approach. That is, we dialogue with what’s present in the body before the mind, addressing the nervous system’s responses of fight, flight, freeze and fawn. Somatic Experiencing™, which is the foundation of my work, helps you find safety and trust in your body.  We work to create connections to your life force while building your capacity to be with less desirable feelings and allow the natural release of energies your system has harbored for a long time. The body isn’t intended to accumulate the energy from difficult or traumatic experiences. Like animals in nature, our bodies are supposed to naturally release that energy, but our minds can thwart that biological process unintentionally, keeping us trapped in a cycle of trauma responses.

The Energy Releases

When we release those energies and patterns in the body, there is more access to the true self. You get to know yourself in a way that you never have. Who are you without those protective responses? Wouldn’t it be nice to know?

Testimonials

  • Kara is an insightful and curious coach. She cares deeply about her clients and asks the questions that help you discover things about yourself, promoting healing and growth. She has been instrumental in learning to trust my body and myself. I now have the tools to manage and understand the impacts of PTSD. Kara is love and light and she brings that spirit to her work and her clients.

  • Kara is an AMAZING practitioner. The breadth of her knowledge is vast and she continuously comes to sessions with new creative/innovative ideas, new knowledge and safety always comes first. She makes you feel as though you are her only client. The time she spends creating safety in the body before moving along, or even taking a step back if necessary, has helped me get in tune with the landscape of my body and nervous system, as well as noticing the messages they are sending. I have had nothing but insightful, well thought out and soothing sessions. I highly recommend Kara as she has been instrumental in my healing journey. 

  • Since working with Kara, my understanding of the way in which my body and mind react  from trauma has exponentially thrust me towards peace. As a practitioner, Kara has a way of subtly nudging my nervous system in just the right direction, to where I solve the puzzle  with her in unison, and even on my own:  A most gratifying accomplishment after years of personal torment. Kara inspires the glee that comes from the thought of an emotional pain-less life, of which I never thought possible. Our sessions are a pleasure in the way that I am now encouraged to appreciate the complications of my brain and heart and marry them to a dance of mutual respect. My system has calmed, my sleep is sound and best of all, my understanding of the behavior of others now starts with empathy and cummunion, without sacrificing my boundaries. Kara is my true blessing. 

  • I know from personal experience, how much freeing emotions and old ways of being in our body can bring about profound change. Kara is someone who can go deep. Her experience and ability to navigate difficult situations head on is clearly present and part of why she is a tremendous SE coach/guide/space holder. She has helped me release stuck energy in my body and increase my awareness to gain more control over what stays in my body and what I need to move out. It’s hard to put into words, but it’s tremendously powerful work that impacts all aspects of my life.

  • Working with Kara has been a godsend. She has helped me work through childhood traumas that impacted so many aspects of my life. I was full of stress, anxiety, worry and was having all kinds of physical symptoms as well when I started working with Kara. I had hit an emotional and physical wall. My mind and body needed to find a better way to deal with life. Kara helped me see my reactions to stressors, understand events in my life that led to these reactions, and showed me healthier ways to process information and respond with less anxiety. Thanks to my work with Kara, I feel like I am now so much better able to deal with life in an emotionally healthier way.

    Kara is knowledgeable, relatable, intuitive, holistic, realistic, compassionate and her techniques are effective. I can’t say enough good things. I am so thankful a friend suggested I make an appointment.