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About Marissa

My path of reverence for the body began with the womb. Birth work found me early on as I processed my own experience in the womb, the epigenetic trauma carried through my mother line, and the wombs that came before me.

The study and practice of becoming a doula met me at that sweet spot between learning something fascinating and healing what had been passed down to me—exactly what I needed at that time.

I devoured books and dove into teachings with complete passion, attending births whenever possible.

Learning from reverent and radical teachers stewarded this same way of relating with myself. Through them, I developed a deep relationship with my body—through the felt-sense, symbolism, plant medicine, the elements, pleasure, movement, self-touch, and self-tending.

My body became my guide, and through that, my relationship to my womb blossomed. I grew intimate with the subtleties of each phase of my cycle and began teaching workshops, sharing what I was learning and embodying with others.

Womb work as Earth work became central to my life. Teaching and sharing with others emerged as a natural extension of this journey. It was affirming and empowering to enlighten people on topics that had been taboo and hidden for so long.

I loved seeing joy on people's faces—of all ages—when they learned something new about their bodies or discovered beauty in aspects of themselves they had previously hidden or ignored.

Attending births strengthened and humbled me. Being present at a birth heightens your senses in ways difficult to describe. It truly is the life-death-life portal, and everyone who has birthed a baby (and been birthed 😉) is incredible.

I had the honor of attending births as a doula in San Diego and Peru. After meeting a midwife named Ruro in the Sacred Valley, she generously allowed me to attend births with her during a busy month in Cusco and throughout the region.

Throughout my time as a doula, I attended births at homes, birth centers, and hospitals. Each one taught me immensely, ultimately showing me how precious and unique all of life is.

These experiences revealed how heroic our bodies truly are. The power and fragility grounded me on this Earth in a whole new way. It tempered my fire and showed me how little my opinions and ideologies mattered in the face of life happening in real time. As a young, passionate person in my early 20's, the magnitude of birth challenged me to clarify my purpose.

Working with the womb showed me the importance of helping people return to their body's wisdom—particularly in ways that included all of who they are, not just the polished parts I often encountered while teaching yoga in Southern California.

The pelvic bowl called me deeper to learn more, and embodying my own root gave me a restful, resourced place inside my body.

I discovered somatics after already beginning a relationship with my body. It was affirming to learn that what I was experiencing was "a thing."

I followed those threads, and wonderful teachers appeared. I got to use my hands more than ever before as I explored bodywork through Craniosacral and Womb Massage. It was nourishing to truly get out of my head and into my hands, directly tending to and holding bodies.

Currently, I'm continuing to hone my skills as a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner in training with the SEI Institute.

I feel grateful to learn what lights me up and to share that through workshops, immersions, and one-on-one sessions. I'm continuously finding balance between engaging my mind to learn something new and the gradual, beautiful process of bringing it into my body so it can inform how I show up—not only in my work but in the intimate, small moments of my life and relationships.

With love, Marissa

Trainings
+ Certifications

Trainings I am currently in

·Somatic Experiencing™️ Advanced Year

Trainings & Certifications

· Somatic Sex Education with Ellen Heed

· Craniosacral Therapy with Kirstie Segarra

· Healing Sexual Trauma Training with Ariel Giaretto

· Creative Body Practitioner Training: Jungian Somatics with Jane Clapp

· Holistic Pelvic Care Certification Training with Tami Lynn Kent

· Womb & Abdominal Massage with the Arvigo Institute

· Blossoming the Pelvis with Kirstie Segarra

· Year-Long Quantum Midwifery Course with The Matrona

· INNATE Postpartum Care Certification Training

· Holistic Doula Training with Whapio Diane Bartlett

· Theta Healing Beginning & Advanced with Alexis Davis of Core Visions

· Reiki Level I & II

· Yoga 200-hour RYT at Indie Yoga in San Diego, CA

Relevant Workshops & Immersions

· Shiatsu & 5 Elements Theory with Kirstie Segarra at UNM Taos

· Traumatic Stress and the Breath with Jane Clapp and Jennifer Snowdon

· Embodied Dignity and Boundaries with Jane Clapp

· My Grandmother’s Hands Guided Study Group with the Rooted Global Village

· Awaken Your Inner Jaguar and Forging a Feminine Path with Kimberly Ann Johnson

· Fluid Core: Coherency and Connective Tissue with Liz Koch & Sue Hitzmann

· Changing The Language of Body: Bio-Morphic Expression with Liz Koch

· The Great Remembering: Sex, Soul and Our Eternal Wildness with Sarah Byrden