So, who is Joanna?

I bring a large bag of healing tools - along with my lived experience - into my work with others. I have been studying trauma from the inside out for decades. I know what it's like to feel broken and to slowly, painfully piece yourself back together. I've learned that healing isn't linear - it's a spiral that sometimes brings us back to old wounds with new wisdom.

In my classes and private sessions, I create spaces where all experiences are honored. Whether someone is dealing with physical pain, emotional trauma, or spiritual disconnection, I meet them where they are. My approach is both practical and intuitive, grounded in science yet open to the mysteries of healing that can't be explained.

Growing up in the 1970’s and 80’s as a latch key kid, I learned early on how to navigate an empty house and cope with overwhelming feelings. At age 7, I experienced my first panic attack - a terrifying moment that would shape my understanding of fear and anxiety. While other kids were playing outside, I was developing complex systems to feel safe: checking locks repeatedly, creating elaborate after-school routines, watching television alone, and using food as both comfort and control.

Life had its own harsh lessons in store. Multiple concussions altered my perception and balance. Car accidents left me with chronic pain and a deepening disconnect from my body. Sexual assaults shattered my sense of safety and trust. These experiences led to a binge eating disorder and a pattern of relationships where I either lost myself completely or kept others at arm's length.

But even in my darkest moments, there was always a flicker of intuition knowing that I could help others heal. As a child, I would instinctively place my hands on people in pain, somehow understanding that touch could be medicine. This natural ability to sense others' pain became both a gift and a burden - I could feel everything, but I didn't know how to protect myself.

My own healing journey began unexpectedly when I found a Yoga for Beginners video by Patricia Walden at Blockbuster. The first time I practiced alone in my living room, she instructed me to sit on my heels with fingers touching the earth on either side of my hips, raise my arms to shoulder level, turn my palms toward the sky, and continue raising my hands over my head.

In those simple directions and movements, my life changed forever. When I turned my palms toward the sky, I felt a jolt of energy from my heart to my palms, and I burst into tears. 

As the hot, salty water poured from my eyes, I connected more fully to my body than I had ever done before. That simple act of connecting with Prana, life force energy, breath, and movement created a tiny crack in my armor. I began to practice regularly, seeking out that feeling of connection and release. 

This crack became a doorway when I discovered the World School of Massage and Advanced Healing Arts. Here, I found language for what I had always known intuitively about the body's capacity to heal.

Over the years, I've immersed myself in various healing modalities: Vibrational Healing Massage Therapy that releases trapped trauma, energy work that speaks to the subtle body, yoga that strengthens, nourishes, and connects us to the vastness of ourselves and life itself, JourneyDance that allows emotion to move through movement, Akashic Readings that connect to deeper wisdom, Internal Family Systems Coaching that honors all parts of our story, Scientific Hand Analysis that reveals our life purpose through our literal fingerprints, and Post Traumatic Growth Somatic therapy that brings gentle mindfulness to stored trauma and regulates the nervous system. 

This work continues to teach me. Every client, every class, every moment of holding space for another's healing journey deepens my own understanding and growth. I'm no longer the frightened child checking locks, but I honor her wisdom and survival skills. They helped make me the healer I am today.