Here you'll find complimentary therapists I've personally worked and/or networked with, and general health ideas I've learned, studied and researched for decades. Enjoy!

Complimentary Therapies

Physical Therapy

When I run into a chronic muscle or nerve issue, with myself or with my clients, that I can’t stretch or massage away, I recommend Physical Therapy. While I’ve studied kinesiology fairly extensively (muscles & their actions), I’ve found that PT work can relieve nerve impingements in a whole new way!  Profound change came about for me when I combined a small amount of regular exercise with PT & massage therapy. The folks at Great Lakes Physical Therapy (Sports Focus) in downtown Buffalo have help me to stay in tune physically which enhances my massage therapy practice and quality of life, and I will be forever grateful to them! Click HERE to schedule an appointment.

Great Lakes Physical Therapy (formerly Sports Focus)
Orchard Park Phone: (716) 662-2922
Buffalo Office Phone: (716) 332-4838

Chiropractic Adjustments

When we visit a chiropractor, they put our main support beams, our bones, back into alignment. I think this is amazing, what an opportunity to realize ourselves in balance and correct the repetitive stresses we cram our bodies into! It's great to carve out some time after a chiropractic appointment so your body has a chance to relax into the adjustment (they aren't cracking you, they're adjusting you back into alignment!) My favorite chiropractor is Dr. Patrick O'Neill, he adjusts his treatment to my person, wherever I'm at on any given day - if I'm having a fragile day the treatments are gentle yet effective, if I'm having a stronger day the treatments are more intense, but not painful. Another thing I appreciate about Dr. O'Neill's chiropractic work is that he does not make demands about appointment times, he trusts me to know my own body and when I need to come in.  Click HERE for more info on his practice.

O'Neil Chiropractic
716-884-4450
616 Potomac Ave near Elmwood Ave, Buffalo, NY.

Acupuncture Treatments

From the time-tested philosophies of Traditional Chinese Medicine, acupuncture utilizes meridian pathways in our body that correspond to organ and endocrine systems to affect change and move us toward our healthiest selves. One of the goals of these processes is in “retraining the body to work better”, Ashlyn Pardee. 

When answers are difficult to find in the western medical community, acupuncture may help because it works with a bigger picture of who you are and how you are in the world and how your body responds to life. It’s magic of a high order!

Karla Joy Vandenbergh, LAc at Dovetail Healing Arts
Elemental Acupuncture, Cultivation, Alchemy
DovetailHealingArts.org

Karla offers Alchemical Acupuncture , Flower Essence services, Traditional Taoist Medicine Herbal Formulas. Qigong and meditation inner work education, Alchemical Astrology Natal Chart Reading based on taoist and alchemical wisdom traditions, Consultations in Flower Essence or Herbal Medicine consult for non-acupuncture patients. That’s pretty unique and awesome! Karla is my all-time favorite acupuncturist.

Contact at: dovetailhealingarts@gmail.com
(716) 425-2692
Buffalo, NY

Toni Haugen at Buffalo Pelvic Health & Acupuncture Clinic

Co-founder of BPHAC and previously the owner of Queen City Health & Wellness, Toni is a licensed acupuncturist who works to bridge acupuncture and conventional Western medicine, treating symptoms along with their underlying causes. Toni believes that no person is fundamentally broken and that all people deserve to live with a sense of vitality.

1250 Niagara St.
2nd Floor
Buffalo, NY 14213

Contact: info@bphac.com

Emotional & Mental Health

Feeling a range of emotions is healthy; we are meant to move through them throughout our lives and days, we aren’t meant to live in one emotion long term.
If strong emotions remain at a high level of intensity in your day to day OR you find yourself in the abyss of apathy, I highly recommend pursuing a session with a mental health professional as it is a great way to honor those feelings and yourself.
Considering that we are all still in the throes of a global Pandemic as well as confronted by localized inequities on top of simply trying to exist in this world, I'd wager everyone could use some counseling.
 As homo sapiens we are meant to live in community and that means giving and receiving until everyone's needs are met. Since we have all but eradicated this way of life, we need help with various things from time to time; this is why folks pursue massage therapy as well.

You're worthy of unbiased, safe and productive opportunities to process your experiences!

Jasmine S. Thorpe
716-249-4605
JasmineSThorpe@gmail.com
Remotely or at: 2140 Eggert Road, Amherst NY

Erina Seaman-Graham
CMH Counseling
716-884-7569
https://www.cmhcounseling.org/
153 West Utica St., Buffalo, NY 14222

Spirit Work

A highly varied subject usually sought after based on current or curiousity-led belief systems. I recommend researching before leaping into any spiritual practice. I titled this section Spirit Work because enriching the spiritual part of our lives takes effort, it takes work. Exploring our own widsom in a deeper way is an ongoing practice. My personal approach to learning more about different spiritual paths has been to assess, attempt to utilize, and acknowledge positive, neutral and negative results. Respect to the founders and permission from current practitioners of these paths, if there are any, is paramount.

If this is your first rodeo outside your community spirit focus, I recommend a general study of the world’s religions to begin your journey.

Sometimes spirit work comes about as a result of internal examination. Something may seem to come alive when we encounter a deep truth within us. It can feel like a power and it is, it’s empowerment through acknowledgement and acceptance of your truth. That seems to be the foundation of a lot of spirit work, learning about yourself so that you can take responsibility for who you are, which frees you up to exist in harmony with.. well… everything!

Coherence Energy Healings, Personal Ceremonies and Rituals

These are my own offerings. Coherence Energy Healings are remote sessions which include a variety of energetic healing techniques and tools that I’ve been cultivating for decades as well as new modalities that I’ve recently studied. As I hold safe & non-judgmental space for whatever needs to happen in your session, I work multidimensionally with permission and energetic guidance from our resolved ancestors, guardians and spirit guides. I also offer guided meditations. You can find more info on both HERE

Ceremonies and Rituals I offer on a case by case basis and you can find out more HERE

The Shamans Cave

https://www.youtube.com/c/TheShamansCave
The Shamans Cave is a weekly talk show highlighting diferent aspects of a personal spiritual practice. The hosts are Sandra Ingerman who is world renowned for her work and has been teaching shamanism globally for about 40 years, and Renee Baribeau who specializes in wind work among many other things. Both of these teachers, writers and facilitators offer down to Earth stories and advice on regular practices to help keep us in tune with our spirit and the greater divine. I’ve found their videos to be helpful in keeping me grounded in this deep and personal work, especially during the 2020 pandemic.
You can find out more through their videos at https://www.youtube.com/c/TheShamansCave

Heart Seed Healing with Tara Bonner

HeartSeedHealing.com

512-436-5884

Tara offers Intuitive Energy Sesions using a combination of Reiki, Qigong, Pranic, Quantum, and Channeled Light Healing to channel from the highest frequencies available. She also offers Mediumship Readings. Tara is both talented and skilled in energy assessment & healing, as well as mediumship & tarot or oracle deck interpretations. She is compassionate & strong, curious & present, gentle with people and firm in her messages. Tara is a healer that I return to now and again to get a read on my current inner compass direction, and find out where I can make some adjustments and realignments. ***I highly recommend!***

Dream Interpretation with Lucille Altieri

Lucille is a skilled dream interpreter and trauma-informed spiritual guide. In her dreamwork sessions she works to help you understand the dreamscape through education, interpretation and spiritual diagnosis, offering time for inquiry and discussion. She channels source and accesses the Akashic records to pinpoint trauma(s) and whether or not they have manifested misalignment in one’s life. Using guided meditation, mirroring practices and shadow work she journeys with her clients through the past to realign the present in a more harmonious way. Her goal is to help individuals navigate the dreamscape for a clearer and deeper meaning of purpose in our waking reality, and to translate dream imagery into useful information to help guide people in their waking lives. You can find more information HERE

Recommendations

Getting movement and relaxation into your every day.

The brain-body connection is undeniable, the goal here is circulation and support. That big ‘ol brain of yours needs nutrients and it's not going to get enough if the roads are blocked by tension.
WALKING
It's free and it can relax the mind as well as the body. Walking offers an opportunity to find your rhythm. It can get you in better relationship with your breath and raise your awareness of your body: posture, restrictions or fluidity, and where you meet the world around you. Getting a 2 mile walk per day, three to five times a week would be excellent. Do what you can and start from where you are. Keep in mind that unrealistic expectations are great opportunities for failure and self-rejection.

Don't have time for a walk, not into walking in whatever weather is happening or suffering an injury that doesn’t support walking?
I offer informative self-care downloads on stretching and strengthening specific areas of the body for my clients through my portal at http://www.heat.center/emilys-portal

A note on stretching: don't push it! When caring for a tense or compromised muscle, try only moving 70% into the stretch, and relax there. The muscle may have more to go, the key is to relax into a smaller stretch and see if the muscle wants more.

BREATHE
We are all breathing all the time, supposedly we all know how to do this efficiently for the needs of our body. And yet… I encounter plenty of folks on my massage table that have shallow breathing and restricted breathing muscles.
One fantastic free app I've found is Insight Timer. While it's main focus is meditation, I've found that the guidance on breathing provides an excellent foundation for stressful times. Specifically the 'Learn to Meditate in 7 Days' program. I listen to this on repeat throughout my week between sessions.

CREATE
We are creative beings by nature. Art isn’t only for professional artists. Practicing Art doesn’t have to be expensive or very time consuming. Also, Art isn’t about being good at Art, it’s about the experience of creating. You can start with a piece of paper & a pen to write or draw or both. You could get a bundle of string and creatively craft a hanging piece or a bracelet.
There are many free videos on crafting and creating on YouTube, from cutting t-shirts into interesting designs to building your own canoe to baking & cooking, etc. Explore!
Practicing Music is, I’m pretty sure, our oldest form of communication. You needn’t pay for an instrument to access it. Music is sound and the exploration of sound. Your voice, 2 spoons clacking, hands patting on an overturned cooking pot, feet tapping the floor. This is another medium where the making of music isn’t about being “good” at it but rather, can you dig it? Are you groovin’ with others if they’re present?

SUPPLEMENT YA LIFE
For about ten years I worked in the health food and supplement industry and amassed knowledge about symptoms and related vitamin or mineral deficiencies. Some of this knowledge includes generally good ideas for people living in the climate of Western NY. I am by no means a health coach, a nutritionist, or a doctor. As with any advice on your health, speak to your primary care physician before beginning any new supplements.

That being said, I highly recommend the following for your further research!

Vitamin D
Carleson Co. makes an affordable, liquid, 4,000 IU bottle of vitamin D3 which has 365 doses for roughly $20. From what I've learned, we humans can take up to 10,000 IU's of vitamin D3 per day. Vitamin D3 is great for keeping our bones in good shape, our spirits up, our moods level, our hearts protected, our immunity good and more. Our bodies produce vitamin D when we are exposed to the sun. If you've lived in Buffalo for six months to a year then you know that we don't get that much, or enough sun to support a good amount of vitamin D3.

Adrenal Support
Our adrenal glands play a major role in our stress responses. Many of us take on more than any generation before us, considering the instant demands of technology. If you find yourself fairly stressed out, and notice that the heels of your feet are very dry and cracking, it might be time to look into support for your adrenal health. The supplements I take are from the Gaia Co. They are crafted in the style of Ayrvedic therapies (traditional Indian medicine) and they contain adaptogens : they literally help you adapt to stress! There are many forms of adaptogens out there, such as Lemon Balm which makes a great bedtime tea, as it soothes our cranial nerves and also happens to be an anti-viral! Look it up and let the relaxing times roll.

LEARNING MORE ABOUT YOUR BODY
I highly recommend online or in-person courses with Tammi Sweet. I encountered Tammi while studying at the Finger Lakes School of Massage, she was teaching Anatomy & Physiology and I found her education style engaging, relative and just challenging enough to keep my focus without presenting ideas in an unknowable way. You can find her at Heartstone Center for Earth Essentials, the link is below

https://www.heart-stone.com/