Here is a bit of my story…

My path of reverence for the body began with the womb. Birth work is something that came and found me pretty early on in my “journey”—by way of the healing that emerged through processing my own experience in the womb and all that wanted to be felt through my mother line and the wombs that came before me. The study and practice of becoming a Doula met me right at that sweet spot between learning something fascinating and healing what had been passed down to me, which I so needed at that time. 

I devoured all of the books and dove into all of the teachings that I could. My passion was totally ignited and I attended births whenever I could. Learning from such reverent and radical teachers really stewarded this same way of relating with myself and through this time I developed a deep relationship with my body—through the felt-sense, through symbolism, through plant medicine, through the elements through pleasure, through movement, through self-touch and self-tending.

My body became my guide and through that my relationship to my cycle really blossomed. I got intimate with the subtleties of each phase of the cycle and slowly started teaching workshops, sharing what I was learning and embodying with others. Womb work connected to the Earth became central to my life and teaching and sharing with others was such a natural part of that. It was so affirming and empowering to enlighten folks on a topic that had been so taboo and so hidden for so long for all of us. I loved seeing the joy on people’s of all ages faces when they learned something they never knew about their bodies or discovered something beautiful about an aspect of themselves they had previously tried to hide or ignore. 

Attending births strengthened and humbled me. Being present at a birth heightens your senses in ways that is hard to describe. It truly is the life-death-life portal and everyone who has ever birthed a baby (and been birthed ;)) is so incredible. I had the honor of getting to attend births as a Doula in San Diego and also in Peru! I was a doula for my friend who lived in the Sacred Valley and after meeting her midwife, Ruro, she generously agreed to let me attend births with her during a busy month in Cusco and throughout the Sacred Valley.

I attended births at home, birth centers and hospitals. Every single one of them taught me so much. Ultimately, they showed me how precious and unique all of life is. And, how heroic these bodies truly are. The power and the fragility of it all grounded me down onto this Earth in a whole new way. It tempered my fire in a very needed way and showed me how little my opinions and ideologies about life mattered in the face of life happening in real time. As a young and passionate person in my early 20’s the bigness of birth challenged me to get clear about what I am here to do and why. 

Working with the womb showed me the power and importance of helping people return to the wisdom of their bodies. Particularly, in a way that included all of who they are, not just the nice, shiny parts of who they are as I so often in the earlier “embodiment” spaces I encountered while teaching yoga. The pelvic bowl continued to call me deeper to learn more and the embodiment of my own root gave me a restful and resourced place inside of my body. Somatics is a language I discovered after I had already begun to be in relationship with my body and it was so wild and affirming to hear that what I was experiencing was really a “thing”. I got excited and I followed those threads and some really wonderful teachers appeared. In 2021 I got to use my hands more than ever before as I dove more into bodywork through Craniosacral and Womb Massage. It was so nourishing to truly get out of my head and into my hands to tend to and hold bodies directly in that way. 

I am currently continuing to hone my skills as a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner in training with Ariel Giaretto and in STREAM Training with Ellen Heed exploring all things pelvic health and sexuality. Below you can see a complete list of my trainings. I feel so grateful to get to learn what lights me up and to get to share that with people in the workshops, immersions and 1:1 sessions that I facilitate. I am continuously finding that balance and connection between engaging my mind to learn something new and the gradual and beautiful process of truly bringing it into my body so that it can inform how I show up in the world, not only in work but also in the more intimate and small moments of my life and relationships. 

With love,
Marissa

Trainings + Certifications

Trainings I am currently in:

·Somatic Experiencing Practitioner Training with Somatic Experiencing International with Ariel Giaretto

Scar Tissue Remediation, Education and Management + Somatic Sex Education with Ellen Heed

Trainings & Certifications

· 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