Today we’d like to introduce you to DeNae D’Auria.
Hi DeNae, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
The disempowered, lost for emotional vocabulary, eating disordered, in an asthma, and inflammation health-crisis girl I was when my story began is why I am where I am today. I believe we all have our lessons to learn that lead us to our path, that— as Jung would allude— our shadows are usually our biggest strengths/inner gold if we chose to heal them, and as I have come to believe, a lot of times what we need most from the world are the gifts we offer the world in our work.
Today I am aware of the different matrixes dis-ease can exist on: physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, epigenetically. Back when my story started, I solely believed in the science of the physical body (I was scientific atheist for a time period of my life). Through my own journey to physical-mental-emotional-spiritual-epigenetic health I came to the work I do now and the beliefs, knowledge, and awareness I have and offer to others.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Aside from my own physical-emotional-spiritual lessons along the way, I would say some of the biggest obstacles I have faced as a Structural Integration practitioner have been traversing some of the things that are misunderstood and unknown about Structural Integration “Rolfing.” I wish more people knew about SI and used it as part of their physical-mental health program, athletic program, and anti-aging program. Sometimes I find I spend a lot of time “defending” and more elaborately educating people on Structural Integration because there are a lot of rumors out there about it and/or bad experiences people have had with certain practitioners. And the fact that a lot of people don’t even know Structural Integration “Rolfing” exists.
I have found Structural Integration “Rolfing” gets a bad name because some people have received work that “really hurt.” Yes, SI work can be uncomfortable. But part of why Structural Integration is rumored to be painful came from the early days of the work being developed and the process has greatly evolved since. As far as the actual experience is concerned, an area being worked will vary in sensation and feeling depending on injuries, inflammation to an area, or holding of chronic stress. My goal as a practitioner is to work “with” my clients instead of “on” them. During a session feeling can range from pleasurable release to momentary discomfort but it should not be pain the whole time. Also, sometimes old gunk/holding patterns/scar tissue/inflamed areas do feel uncomfortable when worked on. And sometimes a client has a lot of inflammation— from overuse, diet, lifestyle, etc. I wish these where the things people knew more about. The education, intuition, and presence of a practitioner can create a less painful session for a client. It shouldn’t feel like childbirth.
I’ve also found I’ve had to traverse a lot of confusion about practitioners, certifications, and myofascial work vs. true Structural Integration work. Not everyone who works with the fascia is a true SI Practitioner “Rolfer.” There is specific schooling and education that differentiates true “Rolfing” from other work– Dr. Rolf’s “recipe” i.e., the Ten Series. I have found sometimes people have had a bad experience with “Rolfing” because what they experienced wasn’t truly Structural Integration.
Another challenge I find is there’s not a lot of knowledge out there about the magic of fascia. Dr. Ida Rolf figured this out decades ago and people are only now starting to research it more. I am in awe of the healing power of healthy fascia (thank you, Dr. Rolf).
To say it again, I honestly wish more people knew about Structural Integration “Rolfing” and used it as part of their physical-mental health program, athletic program, and anti-aging program. There’s such a wealth for health, performance, longevity, resilience, and youth in the fascia.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Across the Lines Integration?
I am a mind-body-soul alignment specialist. I am a practitioner of Structural Integration “Rolfing” and an empowerment coach. For fun, I teach Lagree Fitness at Pilates Platinum (Venice and Santa Monica).
My education background credentials my work– I studied Exercise Science and Wellness (pre-med) at Arizona State University, Health Psychology at Bastyr University, Structural Integration “Rolfing” at the Guild for Structural Integration (under Emmett and Peter while they were still alive), Non-Violent Communication with Marshall Rosenberg while he was still alive, and Lagree Fitness directly with Sebastien Lagree. I’m also a certified mediator and am certified in Family Constellation work (Hellinger work).
My investment into education wasn’t just for my work though. Most of it was an investment into learning more, understanding more, and healing more about myself. I’ve always had a natural curiosity and drive to learn. That’s one of the things I love about my work— I’m continuously expanding my awareness and mastery.
Another component of my work is my intuition. I’ve always just known things. Working with people I can perceive a lot more information than they verbally share with me. On some level, I would say I’m a professional listener. I wouldn’t call myself a “psychic”— I’m not the person to predict your future. But I can definitely perceive a lot about the somatic information a body holds.
One of my core values is to not to be a “wounded healer” — I do my best to be in integrity with my work; practicing what I preach, walking the walk, talking the talk. I’m also as honest with myself and clients as I can be— I believe truth and empathy (the antidotes to shame and trauma) are important to healing on all levels. By keeping myself as mind-body-soul aligned as possible (i.e., living my healthiest, best life) I better assist others to do so as well, and that vibration serves my work.
My clients range. I work on every age group (some of our first physical patterns come from the womb/childbirth experience so I have even worked on newborns and children). And my clients aren’t just people with injuries or athletes. I do work with injuries and professional and non-professional athletes, but I also work with entertainment industry, music industry, psychologists, psychiatrists and MDs, attorneys, artists, teachers, parents, students, you name it. Whether a person physically exerts, sits, stands, chases kids, or is recovering from an ailment/injury, fascia work can benefit any physical body. Let’s be honest— we basically start to decompose as soon as we are born, so it’s a matter of how we biohack longevity. Fascia work can help. Most people can benefit from fascia work.
I want my clients and students to feel empowered, healthy, and alive on all levels. That’s my brand.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
One of my favorite words is pneuma: the vital spirit; the soul; the breath of life; the creative force of a person. I love the amount of genius and pneuma I’m surrounded by in LA– it’s inspiring. The wealth of success for me is being able to financially sustain and support oneself (and family or dependents) while doing what makes a person feel alive/ignites their soul– living their pneuma.
Success on my own journey has been the continuous progression and alignment of my mind, body, soul and getting healthier, wiser, more aligned in my “Queen.” And I’m very grateful I get to work with my pneuma and financially sustain myself. Getting to a place where I am mind-body-healthy, and I feel so much joy and gratitude for my work, community, and life makes me feel wildly successful.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.denaedauria.com
- Instagram: @denaedauria
- Facebook: DeNae D’Auria
Image Credits
Molly Mitchell-Hardt
Marina Paganessi
Lagroove Studio
