Linda Chrisman
Somatic Wisdom
awakening trust, opening to inherent wisdom, living fully
"Linda is a profoundly gifted healer, a wise teacher and a skillful listener. Linda met my desperate suffering with uncommon grace, compassion and warmth. Her unfaltering presence of mind and spirit instilled in me peace and security. As my world collapsed around me, Linda helped me not only survive my loss but also opened the window of possibility that I may even grow from it. For that, I am extremely grateful."
— Alex S., New York, NY
ABOUT MY WORK
Rarely are we simply touched and encouraged to feel our depth. More often the touch we receive is intended to fix us in some way. Rarely are we supported to feel all of our feelings, including the emotions that we have been told are wrong. Rarely too, does someone listen without giving advice, so that we can find our own inner guidance.
As a bodywork practitioner my work with people is primarily, but not exclusively, centered on touch. I listen with my hands to the story held within the tension of the muscles. This contact allows the tension to melt so that greater ease and vibrancy can emerge. Sometimes I suggest movements, sounds, or breaths that stimulate inner vitality, deepen feelings of peace and stillness, or create new movement possibilities. Other times, attuned conversation is what is needed to feel safe and at ease.
The heart of my work is my deep respect and appreciation for each person's "self-knowing." Rather than simply apply a technique, I meet each person where they are. I draw from my depth of training, experience, and guidance in unfolding how we work together.
SEE MY BACKGROUND
"O friend, understand: the body is like the ocean, rich with hidden treasures."
— Mirabai
"People travel to wonder at the height of mountains,
at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the river,
at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars, and they pass themselves by without wondering."
— St. Augustine
Due to the worldwide prevalence of the Coronavirus, I have not scheduled any in-person classes for 2021. Below is a description of Words and Waves, a workshop or retreat combining movement and creative expression. Please email me if you would like to be notified by email of future classes when they are scheduled.
Stay well, Linda
WORDS AND WAVES with Linda Chrisman and Rebecca Mark
In Words and Waves we follow the expression of the fluid field of imagination. With pen on paper, breath, sounds, images, words, and the movement of tissue flow together, becoming a multi-textural outpouring. The often hieroglyphic, sometimes humorous, always surprising writing that emerges creates a caldron in which old stories and personal narratives transform in surprising and evocative ways. During the circle of reading, the group invites the movement of our minds by shaping lines and words into new webs and maps of meaning. Continuum experience is not required.
Rebecca Mark, PhD. is a professor of American Literature at Tulane University, poet and artist with 25 years of experience teaching with Emilie Conrad. Together they created a unique context for articulating the experience of sensation and cellular movement through written and spoken language. Originally called Poetry in Motion and later Writing the Waves, the workshop has now become Words and Waves.
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CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS
CONTACT LINDA
(510) 507-2903
Please call or email for an appointment online. I am only seeing fully vaccinated people in person at my home office in Oakland.
"Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it."
— Rumi