Hello, I am Hillary. I hope you find something in these offerings that is useful in your health and exercise journey! Thank you for taking the time to get to know me.
A little about myself. I Love:
Walking
Snuggling with my kids
Staring into my husband’s eyes
Drinking coffee in the morning and eating toast
Puzzles and problem solving
I am a “now’s the best time” kind of person
Professional Passions:
Effective Home Self Care: Whether it is helping a client find a 5 minute stretch routine, encouraging use of heat or ice, I love seeing people taking care at home.
Hydration, Electrolytes, and Protein: I am a huge advocate for understanding the importance of these fundamentals for overall health.
Massage and Bodywork Empowerment: I love my bodywork clients! AND my goal is to provide sessions that equip you with knowledge and tools. I want to see you for as long as I am useful to you and then celebrate with you when you are ready to see less of me.
Advocacy and Support: I am your biggest cheerleader and supporter. I will provide information within my scope of practice and refer out to get you optimal support. Even when you are no longer coming for treatments or classes I am always just an email away.
Youth Sports Massage: I love the opportunity to work with parents and youth to facilitate strong, functional, flexible, knowledge empowered kids.
TRAINING
Licensed Massage Therapist # 18878
Upledger Institute CranioSacral Level 1
Oregon State University, BA Human Development&Family Sciences
John Barnes Myofascial Release - Fascial-Pelvis
Original Hot Yoga Academy - 330 hr Teacher Training
Original Hot Yoga Academy - Yin 96 Teacher Training
Restore Your Core® Certified Movement and Exercise Teacher Training
Yoga
I began practicing Bikram yoga (26 & 2 Yoga) in my mid-20s, and from the very first class, I was captivated. In that room I found a way to confront my inner critic/fears/anxiety that actually worked. Over time I began to come to yoga for different reasons than the ones that initially kept me coming back to class. I have found comfort and strength in this series of postures through pregnancies, Covid years, and the many highs and lows that life has brought my way. Sometimes it is physical pain, other times it is emotional, regardless I find what I need. I owe deep gratitude to Elizabeth and the incredible teachers at Heart of The Valley Yoga in Corvallis, who have taught and supported me throughout my yoga journey.
I LOVE the repetition of the 26&2 yoga postures. For some it may feel TOO repetitive but to me, that is an integral part of the beauty. Every day I meet myself on the mat and find out what I need within the framework of these postures. I love the mirrors and find the alignment based focus completely exciting every single day! This class is therapeutic in intent. It is not about scrutinizing your body, rather seeing where you are and taking care. It's about finding grace in the moment, showing up in whatever state you are in today and being proud of yourself for getting to your yoga class! I love to push my daily edge and that looks different pretty much every single day.
Massage clients who take a yoga class will recognize that the home stretches I provide are often yoga postures :-)
Massage Therapy and Bodywork
Coincidentally or not, shortly after finding my place in the yoga room, I attended a preview night at the Oregon School of Massage. I felt an immediate connection to the school credo Mind-Body-Spirit and somewhat impulsively (or you could say I trusted my instinct!) enrolled and paid my tuition up front using a generous gift from a family member. I haven’t regretted that choice for an instant and i have continued to grow and deepen my knowledge and passion with each passing year. I am a puzzle person and I treat each session like it’s a puzzle. I gather the pieces, follow the clues and seek solutions.
I prefer to treat my clients while they are clothed, as this allows for easy transitions, movement initiations, and postural reassessments. My focus is bodywork rather than relaxation massage (though treatments CAN be relaxing). Trigger Point Therapy, stretching and tissue mobilization, and myofascial release techniques are some of the various approaches I use to problem solve.
Core and Bodyweight Exercise
I discovered an online class called Restore Your Core® after exploring numerous avenues to heal from birth trauma. While pelvic PT was incredibly helpful, my insurance only covered a limited number of visits.
I loved pregnancy, I followed all directions from my OB - I was a perfect patient! I even took a morning 26 & 2 yoga class on the day my daughter was born. Despite all my preparation, nothing could have prepared me for challenging birth and then recovery I experienced. I felt isolated in my pain and out of connection and control of my body.
I returned to yoga as soon as I was cleared, but my body felt unstable and compromised and despite my body knowledge and best efforts, this continued and my frustration and sense of isolation grew. I continued to seek other forms of help to strengthen my pelvic floor.
It was 3 years later, after the birth of my son that I found the online program, Restore Your Core®. In this class I found more information than I had found elsewhere. My biggest misgiving was not having an instructor in person to help me. I felt that a crucial piece of my recovery was missing with the online format but I continued to use the program. Combined with yoga and my own self assessment/treatment based in my bodywork knowledge I have had much improvement in my pain and functionality.
Last year I decided I wanted to create the kinds of classes that I had been wishing for and bring them to the Philomath/Corvallis area. The classes I lead are the distillation of my experience and learning. My goal is to make space for you to come for support, clear instructions and exercises that will help you get strong!, find a community, self-assurance, and time and space for yourself (with or without your little ones in tow)
I was alone and in pain and I hope these classes can help avoid that for you ❤️