Rising Stars: Meet Mandi Bom of Pasadena

 

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mandi Bom

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Hi, I am Mandi (she/they) – another being just like you! In this lifetime, I’ve worn many hats. At the moment I am immersed in my body & energy work practice as a licensed massage therapist and coaching Muay Thai for fun. My primary aim is to support people in becoming present and mindful of their bodies. Did you know mindfulness of the body is the first foundation of mindfulness according to the Buddha? Well, now you do. You also know my now-not-so-secret motive of working directly against the ongoing societal harm perpetuated by capitalism and its associated Western standards. More on this later!

My journey in the healing arts world began over a decade ago when I was an art teacher/facilitator primarily in early childhood settings while also volunteering in group homes in my home city of Philadelphia. I mirrored these roles in Portland and recently pivoted here in LA. Now I am the owner of Body Drift Healing Arts located in gorgeous Old Town Pasadena. Body Drift Healing Arts is a full-time Thai and ritual-inspired space for body and spirit medicine. People most often come in for pain and symptom management be it physical, emotional, and/or spiritual.

I stumbled my way into this field after years of pushing the physical limitations of my body. In West Philly, once upon a time, I was an art teacher, a bike messenger, and a Muay Thai practitioner (competing here and there, teaching, and training as much as humanly possible). Living this ”hard & fast” pace caused me to sustain ongoing injuries. At the same time, days off from the gym would lead me to experience waves of crippling anxiety. When I finally sought out medical and cognitive therapies, I was denied due to financial barriers. This disenchantment with the medical industrial complex (& Western society at large), led me to seek alternative (traditional) roads towards wellness & healing. I was already developing a deep respect for Thai culture and ritual care. I’d seen a glimpse and was amazed at how trainers would often perform Thai yoga massage on nak muays (fighters) before bouts and at the gym for recovery. At that time, I had a coach who had been encouraging me to meditate and he shared a few books on Buddhism with me. The next thing I knew, I found myself devouring each word of one on Zen by candlelight in a hammock in Tena, Ecuador. I experienced my first profound ”spiritual breakthrough” (I didn’t refer to it in this way til many years later) after wandering alone through the Amazon jungle and Andes mountains for over a month solo. This time spent “off of the grid’’ carrying only Mapquest print-outs, and a compass (no cell phone!) for my travels allowed me to connect to the land, its inhabitants, and most importantly, my spirit. This trip was invaluable wherein I became embodied, felt fully alive, and immersed in the present.

Returning home to Philly felt dreadfully painful. Immediately I recognized the need to focus on my inner work and healing. I was on a path to becoming an art therapist and decided to move to Portland, OR on a whim with this pursuit loosely in mind. My main desire was to be able to regularly access a connection with nature and create art. Digger deeper into the potentials of art therapy, I felt limited. I experienced significant traumatic events while working in a behavioral health center and was again disappointed in our foundational/structural systems and the myriad challenges folks face in attempting to access care. I decided instead to pivot and enrolled in a massage program with little interest in working as a massage therapist. At the time I had only a ‘selfish’ personal investment in my healing, understanding the nervous system, the brain, and the body. It was unknown to me that this program would change the trajectory of my life for the better. During this period I also got involved with a women’s self-defense collective and eventually would lead and facilitate self-defense workshops across the country. I now see how all of these pursuits are intertwined.

Just a few years ago, I continued my academic journey and studied Applied Anthropology and Psychology at the graduate level. This opened doors for me to teach Global Health & Anthropology, design a self-compassion training program for state-employed Community Health Workers, and develop then facilitate mindfulness-based art activities for women in recovery. I continue to hold a deep interest in the power of universal imagery, explorations of the subconscious mind, artful meditation, and combining all of the tools I’ve collected over the years to empower people to take their lives back – to meaning-make, to become WHOLE, embodied, live more in alignment with their desires and dreams and to share in the journey of becoming.

Today I am focused on the study of the relationships we cultivate (or avoid) with our pain – be it psychosomatic (mental formations/internalized and imposed societal programming/standards, trauma, etc), muscular, or even ‘phantom’ pain. At my healing arts practice, I offer Thai floor massage, fire-cupping, gua sha, energy work, and trigger point therapy (and more). I am truly grateful to honor ancient healing art traditions, to build ongoing relationships with clients, and to share the beautiful sacred space we have cultivated in support of my community. With a dedication to ongoing study and practice, I remain humbled by the vast wisdom of practitioners who have been sharing healing arts modalities for thousands of years.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Without going too far into personal detail, my upbringing was nothing short of ‘a total sh*t show’ as they say. Single teenage mom who worked the swing shift in the Atlantic City casino will give you enough insight regarding my earliest years. I was a highly imaginative and autonomous (some might say ‘’weird”) kid. For instance, I have vivid memories of attempting to ‘’hypnotize’’ friends at gatherings around age six. By age eight, I wrote my first report entitled, “Money Can’t Buy You Happiness”, and by nine, I destroyed my Italian family’s hopes by publicly rejecting the Catholic church.

Much of my adult life was spent in total dysfunction and despair, falling to my knees repeatedly, reparenting myself, and healing my mother wounds. In addition, I have internally battled with societal expectations of ‘how I should live a Western materialist life’ vs. how I desire to exist (feral and minimalist) for decades. It’s unsurprising to me that when I was given a taste, I would choose to immerse myself in the study of Eastern philosophy & wisdom traditions. Years later I would follow in the footsteps of teachers who center tradition, integrity, intuition, community, and a reverence for nature (& all living beings).

I only wish I had listened to heed the call sooner (and would have permitted myself to align with my soul’s purpose) rather than denying my creative and intuitive abilities to ‘’seem like a normal/stable/acceptable citizen”. This led to much turmoil in my 20s and early 30s when I felt disheartened and jaded ‘being a worker’ under capitalism. I certainly hope that should anyone be struggling with this, that they find the strength to be true to themselves. Today I continue on the path to becoming the hedge witch I have always been at heart while pursuing my private healing practice. Though being your boss is a lot of work – the fruits are well worth the commitment. I am freer now than I have ever been. Each day I am grateful to have made it to this amazing moment (for as long as it lasts), thank you Universe!

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a bodyworker who specializes in treating physical and emotional pain through a holistic evidence-based approach. I hold space for clients to journey inward and experience the deepest aspects of their being. People often visit the practice for pain relief from symptoms, specific conditions, and or for healing from injury- be it physical or emotional. These therapeutic sessions combine all of the benefits of a massage while also incorporating manual therapy techniques. Techniques may include joint mobilization, stretching, and the use of various bodywork ‘tools’. These therapeutic sessions include a consult to collaborate to better manage relationships with pain thus, increasing ease. I hope to demonstrate to clients their body’s innate wisdom and capacity to heal itself given time to slow down and rest. My approach to pain management often incorporates trigger point therapy (of the modern Western world) with fire-cupping (of the ancient). It has proven to be a truly effective and therapeutic form of bodywork. As a queer bodyworker, I also am honored to hold brave space for dysphoric experiences of disconnection with the body.

In addition, folks visit the practice to experience the deepest aspects of themselves. Whether they need to shift energy, let go of a situation, grieve, or feel their feelings completely, energy work sessions are nurturing for the spirit and can be combined with massage or divination; with or without touch depending on the individual’s preference. Most often sessions combine acupressure, reiki, and light touch to allow for a meditative experience. Clients frequently report gleaning insights about finding direction, conjuring up creative ideas, connecting with their inner child, and manifesting future dreams.

Body Drift Healing Arts is based on models of healing justice – it is not just ‘another place for a massage’. It is consent-based, trauma-aware, and inherently political. It is inspired by DIY punk ethos, West Philly activism, a liberatory praxis, and radical Women of Color to name a few. In my practice, we actively challenge:
1. perfectionism & grind culture
2. disconnection/ individualist cultural ideals (instead I draw from collectivist cultural ideas)
3. alienation (most often due to being over-identified with a role/job)
4. disenchantment (I advocate for spelling-casting through intention-setting)
5. devaluation of life for productivity (Body drift healing arts demands we rest and therefore dream!)
In short, I aim to bring people home to themselves, their bodies, breath, intuition, innate wisdom, and powerful ability to transmute/alchemize energy. By doing so, people are presented with an opportunity to recognize their ability to transform their lives based on their heart’s desire should they so choose.

With hopes to cross paths soon, Mandi

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
Recent Reading Recs: The Land of Open Graves by Jason DeLeon, The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins by Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing, Shakti Rising by Kavitha M. Chinnaiyan MD, The Utopia of Rules: On Technology, Stupidity, and the Secret Joys of Bureaucracy by David Graeber, Walking the Clouds: An Anthology of Indigenous Science Fiction, This Bridge Called My Back by Cherríe Moraga & Gloria Anzaldúa & more Radical Women of Color, Thai Occult by Jenx, Erotism: Death and Sensuality by Battaille, The Four Pivots by S. Ginwright, The Politics of Trauma by S. Moore + any poetry by June Jordan, Ocean Vuong, Audre Lorde, and/or Paublo Neruda.

Podcasts: This Jungian Life, Multiamory (on non-traditional relationships), Against the Stream dharma talks, Dharma Punx NYC, Upaya Zen Center (anything by Roshi Joan Halifax), Rune Soup, Awaken by Rodin Museum, Spinning the Wheel, Reiki Cafe Radio, Alan Watts’ “Being in the Way”, and “Be Here Now” (Ram Dass talks).

Apps: reverie – self-hypnosis app

Contact Info:

• Website: http://bodydrifthealingarts.org
• Instagram: thebody_drift
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100072421147792
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/body-drift-healing-arts-pasadena-3

Image Credits
https://www.instagram.com/alexjuliuscramer/

Alex Julius Cramer