Bio

Mandy has been interested in alternative healing modalities and transformational mind and bodywork practices for most of her life. Being born and raised in Las Vegas with the interesting juxtaposition of the emptiness of the vast desert landscapes with the excessive over-stimulation of the blinking lights of tourism lead to a search for a more meaningful life. After a motorcycle accident that caused a cervical spine injury in her late teens she moved to the Pacific Northwest for greener pastures. Yoga, Chinese Medicine, Massage Therapy and Holistic Nutrition all were pivotal modalities in her process of healing. Thus, it was a natural course to deepen her knowledge of these wisdom-based systems.

Mandy completed a 500-hour comprehensive yoga teacher training in 2002 in Thailand, and a six-month study of the basics of Ayurveda in India. She received her massage therapy license in 2006 at East West College in Portland, Oregon, and a Masters degree in Depth Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara in 2012. She has continued an on-going study with senior teachers and contemporary evolutionary thinkers in the field of alternative medicine and yoga. However, beyond all these degrees and credentials her own yoga practice has provided the most in-depth learning, currently, under the guidance of Sundernath (Shandor Remete) and Emma Balnaves of the Shadow yoga school. Mandy is currently in training with the Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute.

“The revolution in society must begin with the inner, psychological transformation [and healing] of the individual.” Krishnamurti

Philosophy

The body is always under siege from the imposition of our mind. This is shaped by our cultural, societal, familial conditioning and inherited thought patterns and often unconscious destructive behaviors of our ancestors. It is our responsibility to discover our true essence that is unobstructed from these layers of conditioning. The body is nature; it is the microcosmic expression of the whole of creation. When symptoms arise in the body as pain through disease or injury we often want to quickly and impatiently “fix” the problem without much listening to the deeper message that wants to enter—something wants to be made conscious. This quick fix is a product of the modern capitalistic society that keeps us out of sync and out of rhythm in a race to get “more,” yet further undermining the needs of one’s soul. We leave behind the body and in a larger scale, the planet. Finding freedom, ease, and love for the body even in its imperfections is one of the greatest works we can do to contribute to the unfolding of our personal and collective evolution. “The sound of the Moon, the sound of the Sun, that sound stays completely within the body, in the heart, in the soul, in the mind. The soul is small, the immense is smaller than the smallest measure” (Shandor Remete).

Study & Trainings

In many shamanic traditions, the teacher or healer can only take the student or patient as far as they have gone in their own healing journey and consciousness making, thus I offer my own diverse personal and academic background as a reflection to your own uniquely human quest to see if we have resonance in working together as therapist/teacher and client/student. Mandy supports  her clients/students in finding their own inner ‘healer.’

Credentials:

• Somatic Experiencing Practitioner Training; Training with Joshua Sylvae 2018-2022

• NARM (Neuro Affective Relational Model) Level 1 Training; Brad Kammer 2021

• Private Massage Therapy Practice; Portland, OR. 2005-Current

• Private Yoga Instruction and Group Classes; Portland, OR. 2007-Current

• Structural Integration Ten Session Training with Larry Kauffman; Portland, Or 2018-2019

• Myofascial Release with Moving Mountain Institute with Michael McMahon 2015

• Pacifica Graduate Institute; Santa Barbara, CA. M.A. Emphasis in Depth Psychology and Mythology

• Shadow Yoga School; Ongoing yoga study with founder Zhander Remete, and Emma Balnaves. 2007-Current

• Cranial Fluid Dynamics; Inner Dialogue work of Solihin Thom DO.. 2006-2009

• East West College; Portland, Oregon. 2004-2005

• Ashtanga-Vinyasa Yoga; with Timo Jimenez, Portland, OR. 2003-2008

• Gravity and Grace workshops; with yoga teacher Peter Sterios. 2004-2008

• Basics of Ayurveda; with Dr. Partap Chauhan of the Jiva Institute, Faridabad, India. 2004

• Bachelor of Arts; English Literature; Portland State University, OR, 2004

• Two-Month Iyengar Yoga Immersion; Rishikesh, India. 2004

• Wisdom Yoga Teacher Training; Koh Phangan, Thailand. 2002