Through the personal history, education, training and experience outlined below, I have made my way to the here and now.

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Personal

Nice to meet you! I’m Rachel (she/her and they/them), a white (French and Italian ancestry), queer woman. I grew up and currently live on unceded Anishinabewaki, Potawatomi and Mississauga land - also known as Southeast, MI. I was brought to this work, like so many of us, by personal experiences, my own healing journey and drive for political activism. I am passionate about this work and about devoting myself to a praxis that is self-healing, community healing and cultural healing all at once.

Growing up I attended high school at Farmington Hills Harrison, and later moved to Ann Arbor, MI to complete my bachelor’s degree. I have lived in Michigan my whole life, and love to explore the state. I built many memories and traditions with family and friends in Michigan landscapes. My partner and I now love to travel all around the state visiting it’s natural wonders and it’s state and national parks. I have great pride as a Michigander, and love where I live!

My spouse and our two dogs love to spend our free time slowly building a wildflower garden full of Michigan Native plants, and enjoying the outdoors.

Please follow me on Facebook or Instagram, and check out my blog for more content about what I am currently up to!

 
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background and training

academics

I graduated from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 2009 with a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology and a minor in Women’s Studies.

I am currently pursuing a Master’s of Professional Studies in Sexual Health from the University of Minnesota.

full spectrum doula support

In 2018 I completed a DONA International approved Birth & Postpartum training in Ann Arbor, MI at Lifespan Doulas ( formerly known as the Center For Childbearing Year). Patty Brennan, the director, owner, and lead trainer at the center was an incredible wealth of knowledge. Her experience in the field of birth work for over 35 years as a doula, midwife and childbirth educator are so valuable, and combined with the DONA International’s thorough curriculum, I felt confident and prepared to start working with clients immediately. Our training included a full day of breastfeeding curriculum with Barbara Roberston, MA, IBCLC, founder and director of the Breastfeeding Center of Ann Arbor.

  • DONA International Training, 2018 [Birth and Postpartum] - The Center for Childbearing Year in Ann Arbor, MI

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In 2020 I expanded my offerings to include holistic fertility doula services for people working to heal their womb, prepare for conception or address fertility issues. I completed my training and became certified in May 2020.

In an effort to contribute to and create decolonized and intersectional reproductive spaces for people who are queer, trans & non-binary, and to further develop my advocacy skills, I continued my birth worker education under a reproductive justice framework by participating in king yaa’s 12 week course:

 

pelvic steaming

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In 2017 I began my own steaming journey as a way of healing myself. I was suffering from painful, irregular periods, as well as painful ovulation caused by multiple ovarian cysts, which were bursting on an almost monthly basis. I was desperate to find relief, and GYN doctors had zero solutions to offer besides pharmaceuticals or surgery. This increasing bi-monthly pain put me in the ER on more than one occasion, cascaded into other health issues and was affecting my ability to maintain a normal life.

I spent some time working one-on-one with Marissa Corriera of CYCLICAL BODIES, and she was my guide into self-healing. Her patient, compassionate presence and her wisdom about the nature of women’s bodies felt like a miracle. Ask me about this experience if you are having trouble with your cycle! She is the person who introduced me to the concept of pelvic steaming as a womb wellness practice, and directed me towards Keli Garza and the Steamy Chick website.

As soon as I had a handle on my own healing, I knew it was a practice that I had no choice but to spread the word about. I completed the Steam Facilitator Course and became a Certified Pelvic Steam Facilitator. I have also completed additional training modules including womb wellness, steaming for miscarriage, and steaming for postpartum.

  • Certified Steam Facilitator, 2020 - The Steamy Chick

Energy healing

My first training was with my own Reiki Master and shaman, Vickie Evans, with Old World Wisdom in Waterford, MI. I have been receiving consistent and regular treatments with Vickie since meeting her in 2014. I have found her to be an incredible resource and mentor for exploring my own spirituality and my energetic gifts. With her warm, gentle and compassionate nature she created a space for me to safely explore my own energetic pathways, and understand the powerful healing potential offered through reiki. She has also patiently guided me as I learn to develop and refine my own reiki healing skills, and clairsentient and clairaudient abilities.

In looking to enrich my experience with a diversity of practitioners and explore new techniques, I completed additional training with the talented and accomplished Tanja Krupa of Be Well Holistic, who has studied all levels of Reiki with William Rand, Founder of the International Center for Reiki Training. Our 2019 training included the new Holy Fire® as well as Sacred Childbirth with Reiki™ tools.

  • Reiki I & II, 2017 - with Old World Wisdom in Waterford, MI

  • Reiki I & II, June 2019 - with Tanja Krupa in Ferndale, MI

  • Usui/Holy Fire® Master Reiki Certification, December 2019 - with Tanja Krupa in Ferndale, MI

yoga

I am grateful to live in Southeast Michigan where we have such a rich and diverse yoga community, which has exposed me to many different lineages and traditions in the yoga world.

As a student, my first yoga studio was Evolve Yoga in Keego Harbor, MI (formerly known as Breathe Yoga), where owner Cinda Lark looks to Sri Dharma Mittra and the Dharma yoga tradition, and I built a strong foundation for practice through Hatha yoga. I then explored at the Center for Yoga in Birmingham, MI, where Johnny Kest took the teachings of David Williams and the tradition of Ashtanga and developed a distinctly Midwest style of hot vinyasa yoga. Later, I found my way to Citizen Yoga, founded by owner Kacee Must, who is dedicated to building a welcoming community, rooted in alignment yoga and Vedanta philosophy. There I learned boundaries and safety within the vigorous and advanced practice I had developed. In practicing at Citizen Yoga, I also found myself a student of Todd Tesen, whose lifetime of practice and experience in Ashtanga, vinyasa, and Anusara yoga (studying with his teacher and friend, world renowned tantric scholar, Dr. Douglas Brooks) are invaluable to the community; and I am deeply grateful to have access to his distinct and transformative teachings.

I am profoundly humbled and thankful to have access to such a strong, diverse group of teachers, whose knowledge and presence are all priceless. Each teacher and tradition I have been exposed to has influenced my experience as a student, and my style as an instructor.

  • The Center for Yoga, 2016 - Yoga Alliance Certified Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT-200) in Birmingham, MI

  • Citizen Yoga Apprenticeship Program, 2017 - Citizen Yoga in Bloomfield Hills, MI

  • Citizen Yoga Prenatal, 2018 - Yoga Alliance Certified 25 hour Prenatal Training in Royal Oak, MI

  • Skillful Strength and Stability - Yoga Alliance Certified Continued Education, 2020 with ERYT-500 Erica Treais

additional training and Continued Education

  • Sensitivity and Diversity Training: Identity and Intersectionality - at Affirmations Community Center in Ferndale, MI, 2019

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