Ellen Falconer, the principal of In Balance Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork, is a graduate of the Port Townsend School of Massage and a professional member of the American Massage Therapy Association. She is nationally certified, holds Washington State license #MA22097, and has received post graduate training in the following disciplines:
- Structural Relief Therapy
- Managing Edema and Pain with Lymphatic System Rx
- Side-Lying Somatics
- Therapeutic Touch
From a very young age I have been enchanted by the gifts of wonder I have observed: watching fireflies rise in the dark; blowing dandelion seeds; tracking my pet cats through freshly fallen snow; looking through the ice on a frozen pond to the living world below.
As I have walked through 5 decades, I have made conscious choices to keep the magic alive in my day-to-days. And, looking back, I realize how important my hands have been in my creative expression!
Working towards my degree in Broadcast Communications, I made a 16mm film called, “Hands” that was a collage set to music of the many things that hands can do, from the mundane to the abstract!
I was a baker and dessert chef for several years in the Seattle area. Pounding chilly pastry dough, decorating wedding cakes, or rolling out(and up) 10+ feet of cinnamon roll dough for the morning customers was a daily challenge and a pleasure....yum.
At the sensible age of 30, I became a sail makers apprentice and after a few years opened my first business, Sound Sails, in Port Townsend, WA. The art of sail making relies heavily on the hands and upper body, from seaming a sail together to hand-finishing the edges of the sail for beauty and strength. The details of the finish work, the way that sails move a heavy object through liquid had a palpable beauty, and 17 years of my life was dedicated to that.
One afternoon I watched the movie, “What The ‘Bleep’ Do You Know?” and it became a turning point in my life: to choose exploring the invisible ‘magic’ of existence by the means of massage therapy. Is our reality created by our thoughts? Does the body, at least in part, reflect ones subconscious habitual thoughts and actions?
This is a fascinating concept.
Massage can be a healing hands-on modality. Massage, at the very least, is relaxing and soothing-an essential tool in these days when the whole world is on edge!
And, massage can deliver so much more.
With awareness on the part of the practitioner AND the client, massage can connect the mind/body/spirit in a positive way to allow healing that can last a lifetime. So much muscle tension and range of motion restrictions are (I believe) connected to habitual protective movements, muscle memories of trauma, physical and emotional.
Wouldn’t it be great! To be able to let that stuff go?
It’s truly amazing what hands, positive intention, and a little ‘magic’ can do for these molecular structures we are so attached to!
