James Girard Bodyworks

History

One of the most frequently asked questions I get asked is: How long have you been doing this? The simple truth is there are two answers to that question. I was formally trained at the National Holistic Institute in San Francisco and have been practicing massage professionally since 2009. I have also been giving massage my whole life; my mother still tells the stories of the backrubs I was giving at the age of 7, and my college friends fondly remember our study breaks with shoulder rubs and hand massages. There is something compelling about being able to put my hands on people and make them feel better. It is something I have always chosen to do, and to make it my career seems pretty magical. I established my formal, private practice in 2011 with a permanent studio setup. This has helped me as a practitioner to build my business as well as giving my clients a stable location to visit.

Specialties

Massage therapy can facilitate healing at all levels; physical, mental, emotional and spiritual and it is my honor to assist in this healing process. Working with healing intention, bodywork is a great complement to other wellness systems. I have been trained in a wide range of bodywork modalities, including shiatsu, Swedish, Thai, and deep tissue. Each session is tailored, and the pace and pressure throughout the massage will be modified for client needs and comfort. Most importantly for my growth as a healer, I have been working with Transformational Bodywork for several years. My experience with this has been about addressing core personal wounds that often start in base survival and grow to become unhelpful and unconscious coping mechanisms. As we discover the roots of these wounds we also trace where they are held within the body. Being given the opportunity to address and release these energies, to lance these wounds, allows us to become more authentic individuals.