About Emily
My interest in the body and healing truly began through my passion for art. As soon as I could hold a paintbrush I have been painting the world around me with the human body being my favorite subject. I received my BFA in painting with a focus on the body in movement in 2007 from Radford University. While in school I was introduced to yoga, which became my next passion. I went to Asheville, NC to receive my vinyasa yoga training in 2009.
The more I taught yoga the more I realized that I would like a more complete understanding of the body – it’s anatomy and physiology – as well as a refined touch to better assist my yoga students in class. This desire and my growing interest in the healing arts are what led me to massage school. Massage was something that I had never thought that I would make a career out of. I was so inspired by the work the first day I received a session, that I went on to pursue my training through the Blue Ridge School of Massage and Yoga. I graduated from massage school in 2010 and was trained primarily in Swedish, Deep Tissue, Hot Stone massage, and Myofascial work along with some Travell, Strain-Counterstrain, Reiki 1, Shiatsu, Thai Yoga, and Cranial Sacral work. With the influence of one of my teachers I continued my education in bodywork in Boulder, Colorado at the Rolf Institute® of Structural Integration. I have been a Certified Rolfer™ since December of 2012, and have continued my studies in myofascial work with Til Luchau of Advanced-Trainings (click here to visit the Advanced-Trainings page). I have been an assistant to his trainings since 2013.
My more recent studies have led me to Cranial Sacral Therapy, marial arts (Kung-Fu and Ninjitsu), and back full circle to art again. The more I have worked with the body the more I have come to appreciate how much I know and even more of how much I don't. To me Cranial Sacral Therapy holds the secrets of the universe and constantly amazes me with power of healing available by simply being present and holding space. I received my Bio-dynamic Cranial Sacral training and certification from the Rolfing Institute in September 2017. Martial arts holds its own secrets and has always been a passion of mine since I was a kid! It is an ongoing study and one that has taught me both how to be a better person and a better healer. Currently I study the Stephen K. Hayes lineage of To-Shin Do Ninjitsu. Coming back full circle to my first passion, art/creativity, I am pursuing my studies through the amazing, beautiful, and wildly creative, Laura Hollick. This work weaves together everything that I do in my life giving me a foundation of inspiration, creativity, intuition, and love. I have been a Certified Soul Art Guide an assistant guide to the Soul Art Certification since June of 2017. My studies with Laura and my art are ongoing.
My friends call me the “Mountain Mermaid” because I don’t simply live surface deep; I am not afraid of swimming the deep waters of the Soul with myself or with others. My goal is to dive into the layers of being to unravel the truth of who you are so that you can be who you came here to be.
I enjoy seeing others grow, heal, laugh, connect, and create, and I love that my work can help facilitate and inspire these things. I try to encourage a joyous and mindful exploration of the body, heart, and Soul in all of my sessions, whatever form they take; reminding each and every one of us of the innate wisdom, healing, and power that we have to empower and create our lives. I try to approach bodywork, healing, art, and life with immense curiosity, creativity, compassion, and presence so that I may support each person’s unique journey and highest wisdom.
Book a session with me to dive into the next layer of you. Give yourself permission to show up and be who you came here to be.
Personal Message
The Journey of the Soul
We are all on a journey. Sometimes our journey is clear and sometimes it’s not. Sometimes we stumble onto something magnificent, something inspirational and unexpected, and sometimes we just flat out stumble. My journey with art started when I was just a little girl. I jokingly tell people that I began painting as soon as I came out of the womb, when in reality that’s not too far from the truth. I never questioned my creativity or asked anything of it at this point in my life. I seemed to flow effortlessly with whatever creation wanted to come through in the moment.
At some point, life happened - as it does with all of us - and my colorful world turned dull and dark for many, many years. I abandoned creativity. I abandoned myself and my purpose.
Even in art school I felt like I was just going through motions. None of my art had Soul or meaning, and despite the efforts of some amazing teachers to call my Soul back, I eventually left all art by the wayside.
Now, I believe everything happens for a reason. Everything. I found myself walking the path of a healer, journeying through many different alternative healing professions - yoga, massage, Rolfing, and Cranial Sacral Therapy to name a few. I was amazed at how much I actually enjoyed (and still enjoy) this work! Over time, however, I couldn’t help but to feel that something was missing; something drastically important. I could feel my heart and Soul screaming and I honestly didn’t know why.
I stumbled miraculously upon Soul Art. I found myself creating again with such exuberance, wildness, freedom, and joy that I hadn’t felt since I was a kid! Soul Art pulled me back to my heart, my truth, and back to myself. Soul Art - created by Laura Hollick - is a way to hear and decode the language of your Soul through art. It is a sacred journey grounded in intention to awaken your creative spirit and guide you in creating the life you long to live. By creating art you begin to realize that you are the creator of EVERYTHING in your life. By creating art with intention you learn how to focus your creative power and birth your dreams into reality.
I had to go to both the darkest and brightest places of the Soul and body to know how to navigate back to wholeness and path I am meant to be on. Now I am ready to creatively guide you to discover your deepest truths, your heart’s desires, and your Soul’s unique purpose. Whether we connect through movement, bodywork, Soul Art, or with others, my hope is that I can be a helping hand in your journey, whatever that looks like for you.
I am so excited to be on this life journey, and to be on this journey with such beautiful souls such as you. Please join me on this creative and healing path. I would be honored to work with you in a private session or group setting to witness your unique Journey of the Soul.
So much love and inspiration,
Emily
Story of EMbody’d·work
EMbody’d·work is a unique word. It came to me through random inspiration one day and over the years it has continued to evolve and its meaning to deepen. The uniqueness of it reminds of the uniqueness of our personal journeys, as well as how we have to both own and embody our personal process to truly grow as we walk our life path.
The capital “EM” began as a fun representation of the initials of my name. One day I discovered what the prefix, “EM” means. “EM” means “SELF.” For me, this took the meaning of EMbody’d·work to a whole, new level. The EM of EMbody’d·work symbolizes the ownership of our process, specifically our journey towards personal embodiment. The unique spelling, “EMbody’d,” with the apostrophe accentuates further the importance of this ownership. The dot in the word was inspired by two things: first, a spiral, which often makes its way into my art and life, and symbolizes our journey and the continued growth on that journey; secondly, the Japanese term, Wabi sabi. Wabi sabi is a philosophy, aesthetic, and/or worldview that revers simplicity and authentic beauty based on the notions of imperfection, impermanence, and incompletion.
Often we want everything in life we deem wrong or ugly to be fixed or perfect. Sometimes things absolutely get “fixed,” most of the time they greatly improve, but often there is still a shadow of something that we potentially deal with for a very long time. This, by wabi sabi definition, is the “crack,” or the imperfection that by the simple fact that it exists is exactly what makes us, our bodies, and the path we follow in this life, beautiful. The cracks allow the light to get in. Our cracks hold wisdom and beauty, and are the key to our most profound growth.
The next teaching of wabi sabi is that nothing lasts. It is very important to remember that nothing we are experiencing will last: joy/sadness, health/sickness, etc. I feel like this is so very important to state this because sometimes when people come to a healing session in pain it is hard to see things changing for the better, but they will. Just the same, if we are feeling amazing, at some point that will change, too. The work becomes learning how to hold gratitude and reverence for our experience exactly as it is in this moment, and doing so without judgement.
The last concept of wabi sabi is that our work is never done. We are dynamic and constantly evolving beings, and as such, we often need support to come back into balance. And if you have ever had a bodywork session, you know that there is always something more to be done. It is very easy for both me as a practitioner, and even sometimes for my clients, to have lofty expectations for a session. It is tempting to try and do too much, which is why the concept that “nothing is ever finished” is a good reminder to be present and to keep the work simple and intentional. Working in this way will inevitably increase the work's effectiveness and support us the best on our journeys.
Embodied work is about coming home to ourselves and to our personal truth. From this Soul aligned place, anything is possible. We realize that we not only have the amazing ability to heal and transform ourselves, but to create a life that we dream.