Grounding Bodywork,
Therapeutic Support & Functional Medicine Insight

A woman with curly gray hair and glasses smiling, wearing a blue shirt over a white t-shirt, standing with arms crossed in a cozy, well-lit room decorated with a colorful abstract painting and a small plant in the background.
A woman with curly gray hair and glasses smiling, wearing a blue shirt over a white t-shirt, standing with arms crossed in a cozy, well-lit room decorated with a colorful abstract painting and a small plant in the background.

I am a mature practitioner offering grounding bodywork, therapeutic support & functional medicine support for women and AFABs approaching or experiencing changes related to perimenopause and menopause. With a 25-year background in Chinese medicine and functional medicine as well as yoga teaching, I bring a wealth of experience honed by my own midlife journey. My focus is on nervous system regulation, holistic nutrition principals, sensible strength and balance development and support for the many and varied ways midlife reshapes every aspect of ourselves and our lives.

I describe the change in my practice as moving toward the nervous system with a narrower focus on perimenopause and post menopausal change. I’ve moved away from acupuncture (see my blog post: Why I let go of the needles) and toward something I feel is more intimate, deep, spacious and impactful.

I’m also drawing on my skills as a space holder to join with women in exploring what this change means for them - not just symptoms - it’s so much more than that. I enjoy taking time in one-on-one consultations to explore with you how self-knowledge, relaxation practices, whole foods and strength training, combined with functional medicine insight, support, accountability and consistency, might be a path to a certain kind of enlightenment.

You don’t have to figure it all out on your own.

Why the change?

I've often said to patients: “The only way out is through”. Thich Nhat Hanh, A Buddhist monk that I admire, goes further, saying “the only way out is in”. In finding my rhythm dancing with midlife and menopause, both turned out to be exactly right for me - I needed to look within to find my way through. I suspect it is the only way through.

After 25 years of practice — acupuncture, functional medicine, yoga teaching, doula work — running multiple businesses, a micro farm — perimenopause dismantled everything.

It took a broom to my life, sweeping away what was no longer needed. Not all at once. But the shift was, nonetheless, seismic. So much no longer felt like a fit, and ‘next’ was not immediately offered up. A pause was long overdue but certainly a challenging step to take!

A person wearing a white hoodie and dark pants walking along a path through a lush green landscape at sunset, with the sun low on the horizon casting golden light and rays across the sky.
A person wearing a white hoodie and dark pants walking along a path through a lush green landscape at sunset, with the sun low on the horizon casting golden light and rays across the sky.
A white pickup truck with a black front bumper and four round off-road lights parked in a desert canyon. Behind it is a small white camper trailer with green accents. The canyon walls are reddish-brown and the sky is clear blue.
A white pickup truck with a black front bumper and four round off-road lights parked in a desert canyon. Behind it is a small white camper trailer with green accents. The canyon walls are reddish-brown and the sky is clear blue.
Two hikers, a woman and a man, standing together outdoors on a rocky terrain with a clear sky in the background. They are smiling and wearing hats, backpacks, and hiking gear.
Two hikers, a woman and a man, standing together outdoors on a rocky terrain with a clear sky in the background. They are smiling and wearing hats, backpacks, and hiking gear.

So, my husband Brad and I took our vintage Millard caravan — our tin tent — and drove west. South Australia and Southwest WA. Weeks completely off grid. Barefoot. Books. Water. The natural rhythm of light and dark, stars, tide and stillness. Early nights and afternoon naps. No schedule, no patients, no next thing to build.

It was the riskiest, hardest and most necessary thing I've ever done.

Not everyone can stop the world and get off for a while as we did. That’s why you need support to figure out what is right for you on this new path. A figuring out process; space to, step by step, bit by bit, find your new you.

Midlife was the mixed blessing that changed everything. While challenging, the learning has been rich, and I return with something that only a dark night of the soul can deliver. Thus, my practice has changed too — and I hope it will reach you and support you to find your blessings, whatever they may be.

Milly