Today we’d like to introduce you to Randi Kofsky.
Randi, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I moved to the West Coast in the late ’90s for a job at a women’s community health clinic. Later, I worked in patient education at a hospital that had a complementary medicine department offering Traditional Chinese Medicine including Qi Gong and acupuncture as well as western modalities such as Homeopathy. Learning about and experiencing these “new” modalities, I was struck by their way of viewing health as a summation of everything happening in my body and life, holistically, which ultimately is Wellness. Something needs to be working well in order to be alive. I incorporated these “alternatives” into the handouts for patients and signed up for Swedish and Shiatsu Massage classes, so I could take part as a practitioner. A few years later, after traveling for a few months, I made a quick decision not to obtain a Master’s degree in public health and turned my career focus to healing work.
I studied, reiki, deep tissue massage and cranial sacral therapy. Practicing this work forced me to pay attention to the energetic subtleties in the body as well as the tight knots in the muscle connective tissue. I began to perceive the fluidity between the physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of being in a human form. I completed graduate work in psychotherapy to ground my ability to work more effectively with emotions. I moved my Bodywork practice to West LA and in September 2019 will start a psychotherapy practice in Culver City.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
My childhood was on the east coast, but I grew up in California. When I arrived at 23, I didn’t really know myself as a person. I tended to be chameleon-like in my relationships in an effort to seemingly “go with the flow”, but ultimately it led to me feeling invisible to others and myself. As I was never going to thrive from this place, I slowly began to grow through my fears of being seen and known and becoming a Healer was a cornerstone of that undertaking. In 2006, I received a healing session in a class. The Master teacher looked at me and saw what I can only describe as a very old wound and when the area at my heart was touched, I felt a freeing feeling through my body like I hadn’t before. That was an illuminating moment in that I began to realize that there was really nowhere to hide and furthermore, no reason to try. This lesson was evident as I began claiming my worth as a practitioner. My inclination is to be a “helper” and I often tended towards over providing techniques and potentially useful information. Five years ago, I fully committed to “less is more” in the way I practice and my business took off.
As for words of encouragement to new holistic health professionals:
Seek out easy and accessible forms of self-care that refuel you. Working with people’s pain is a large undertaking at any level and the airplane oxygen mask analogy to put yours on first, definitely applies.
Massage is often the first type of work we Healers truly love because we often feel like we can finally show up as whole people. Learn the anatomy and the techniques and then give yourself space to geek out and be creative with how you practice. Your connection with the work is what will give you career options along the path. Make it yours.
Please tell us about InnerWave Bodywork – what should we know?
I practice Bodywork at a beautifully decorated office space in West LA and at a well-equipped neighborhood gym in Playa. It’s fun for me to bring this work to a variety of environments. Clients who come in for sports-related injuries at my office dig the chill zen vibe and I love when people are totally blissed out on an energy-work session in the middle of intense workouts happening around them at the gym.
I’ve refined my toolbox and basically use 3 modalities: Triggerpoint Release, Myofascial Release, and Cranial Sacral Therapy. Triggerpoint and Myofascial Release are deep tissue techniques that focus on the fascia and muscle tone, the idea is to increase movement in entire muscle group through releasing a few targeted points (knots) in the tissue. I find this combo really gets to the central issue in contracted muscles and provides long term relief. It’s really good for TMJ tension and jaw pain, persistent back, shoulder and neck pain; tingle-y, nerve sensations often felt in the arms; and hip and low back tension as well as sciatica-type sensations down the legs. I also use them quite a bit for releasing tension in the hands and feet. I’ve worked with many musicians and dancers, as well as programmers with standing desks, over the years.
Cranial Sacral Therapy (CST) is a gentle form of bodywork and can feel like energy moving. Essentially it connects the practitioner to the subtle rhythms of the body, connecting with all the systems, respiration, limbic, etc. The cranial nerves include the Vagus nerve for emotional regulation and are accessed through the bone structures in the head and can also be felt throughout the spine at the motility level. Such an intent focus at this micro-level in the body can elicit a calm, peaceful experience. Clients often report “drifting off” or seeing “movie-like images” flow by and feeling profoundly relaxed.
I integrate (CST) with the deep tissue modalities as well as provide it on its own. Pregnant women often add me to their pre/perinatal care team as there’s often a craving for deep muscle tissue work as the body shifts and expands. Integrative sessions are also an excellent option for people who have had an injury, whiplash or a fall for example, and need careful, deliberate pressure in some areas and hardly any in others. Stand-alone CST sessions are supportive for post-concussion care as light touch to the cranial bones can help with symptoms such as dizziness and headaches. Since CST influences the nervous system it can provide relief for issues such as Insomnia and Anxiety as well as complex situations such as pain experienced in Multiple Sclerosis and Lyme Disease.
I have a broad knowledge of alternative health options and enjoy collaborating with other practitioners for the well-being of clients. I will often refer to other services as an adjunct therapy and sometimes in lieu of bodywork if that’s what is most appropriate. I also keep up with a large network of healing providers and therapists, staying current with what’s available in LA.
Which women have inspired you in your life?
The more I pay attention, I notice how inspiration and gratitude are intrinsically linked and there are endless reasons for both. I’ve always been inspired by my Mother’s generosity and her ability to deeply care for the well-being of others; she’s really my first role model as a Healer. I get a ton of energy from my community of women holistic practitioners at Mother Nurture Wellness www.mothernurturewellnessla.com and how they bring perseverance, creativity and compassion to their craft and adventure of solo-preneurship. And the gracious words of the late Poet Mary Oliver have brought a backdrop of serenity to my life over the past 20 years, especially in the challenging moments, with the message of “Keep going, like everything else does.”
Pricing:
- $160, packages available
Contact Info:
- Address: Mother Nurture Wellness
2990 South Sepulveda Blvd, Suite 205 - Website: www.innerwavebodywork.com
- Phone: (415) 745-2542
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/innerwavebodywork
Image Credit:
Mimi Ton, Mother Nurture Wellness (Location)
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