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Paula Mae, LMTI dream of a world where ...
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Practice Goals
Paula's Body Shop is about the serious joy of healing through innovative manual therapies that keep our fascia clean and functional.
When our connective tissue (fascia) is clean and clear down to the bone, and the attitude we choose for life is a good-natured one, then our health is about as good as it can be, regardless of appearances. Paula uses and adapts whatever techniques work best on an individual, to clean and clear the body of the soft and hard congestions that lead to inflammation and pain.
Getting "clean" sometimes means changing our perceptions.
Louis Pasteur realized, shortly before his death, that “The microbe is nothing; the terrain is everything.” He was right. Our body's fasciae system is the terrain of our immunity! And reasonably-clean fascia means more resilient immunity, therefore our best defense against today's more virulent pathogens.
Stress is often blamed, but the right stress is necessary to a healthy, sustainable life.
What must be identified and rooted out like the invasive weed it is, is pathological stress. Pathological stress can come from anywhere, but is most prevalent and insidious in poor attitudes, high-carb diets, and extreme lifestyles, all of which contribute to the "polluting" of our body's - and society's - immune terrain.
The body is not a machine, it is a conscious, emotional being.
One, common pathological attitude results in treating the body like a machine. Did you know that we can survive without our logical brain, but not without our emotional brain? That means emotions matter more than logic, although both matter. Not only does the body never lie, but emotions are the drivers of personal freedom. Have you ever noticed that the less personal freedom you have, the more emotional you are? Paula respects and admires the honesty behind authentic emotions - and that, alone, can create healing. When we tend to our emotions when they first appear, they need not get louder just to get our attention! And physical pain is like a subtle emotion ignored for too long.
Our bodies exist (we exist) to be of service, not to be enslaved. Fine line. Big difference.
Freedom, whether of country or individual, is about balancing self-sufficiency, self-control, and respectful connections with the demands of the world. Amazingly, the same is true inside our body! This is why Paula helps her clients gain as much freedom as possible, including freedom from needing her. All professionals should be there to help us gain as much freedom as possible, not there to make us dependent on them through what amounts to (subtle) organized crime or disorganized insanity. Paula, therefore, does her best to minimize client dependency through self-sufficiency, education, and therapy. If you like that idea, give this short blog a read: Freedom from Hidden Enslavement
When our connective tissue (fascia) is clean and clear down to the bone, and the attitude we choose for life is a good-natured one, then our health is about as good as it can be, regardless of appearances. Paula uses and adapts whatever techniques work best on an individual, to clean and clear the body of the soft and hard congestions that lead to inflammation and pain.
Getting "clean" sometimes means changing our perceptions.
Louis Pasteur realized, shortly before his death, that “The microbe is nothing; the terrain is everything.” He was right. Our body's fasciae system is the terrain of our immunity! And reasonably-clean fascia means more resilient immunity, therefore our best defense against today's more virulent pathogens.
Stress is often blamed, but the right stress is necessary to a healthy, sustainable life.
What must be identified and rooted out like the invasive weed it is, is pathological stress. Pathological stress can come from anywhere, but is most prevalent and insidious in poor attitudes, high-carb diets, and extreme lifestyles, all of which contribute to the "polluting" of our body's - and society's - immune terrain.
The body is not a machine, it is a conscious, emotional being.
One, common pathological attitude results in treating the body like a machine. Did you know that we can survive without our logical brain, but not without our emotional brain? That means emotions matter more than logic, although both matter. Not only does the body never lie, but emotions are the drivers of personal freedom. Have you ever noticed that the less personal freedom you have, the more emotional you are? Paula respects and admires the honesty behind authentic emotions - and that, alone, can create healing. When we tend to our emotions when they first appear, they need not get louder just to get our attention! And physical pain is like a subtle emotion ignored for too long.
Our bodies exist (we exist) to be of service, not to be enslaved. Fine line. Big difference.
Freedom, whether of country or individual, is about balancing self-sufficiency, self-control, and respectful connections with the demands of the world. Amazingly, the same is true inside our body! This is why Paula helps her clients gain as much freedom as possible, including freedom from needing her. All professionals should be there to help us gain as much freedom as possible, not there to make us dependent on them through what amounts to (subtle) organized crime or disorganized insanity. Paula, therefore, does her best to minimize client dependency through self-sufficiency, education, and therapy. If you like that idea, give this short blog a read: Freedom from Hidden Enslavement
Palpation
Paula openly shares what she is picking up from the body as she works it. Plus, you cannot repair what you can’t see is broken, so she also has a reputation for identifying what many miss. Eg., as a computer programmer she had a reputation for finding and fixing old system bugs that no one else could. Ironically, she's just as adept at finding "bugs" in the human body, thanks to her devotion to developing accurate palpation skills - an earned listening skill she willingly shares with others.
Personal History
Paula retired early from a successful career as a computer programmer/analyst in the education, military, and financial industries. Always independent and outspoken, Paula was not satisfied with increasing job limitations (it's a soul killer), so she left behind 20 years of computer passion to create a new, independent life devoted to helping others, even though she didn't yet know in what way. With her health history, it was a scary, daring thing to forgo both her salary and health insurance without a safety net, and yet it was the path that led her to innovative health and healing through natural and self-empowering means.
Paula has a remarkably sensitive, caring, and inquisitive nature grounded in the search for truth through accuracy and balance. Like many, she was encouraged to ignore her body's needs and “toughen up” to serve only the needs of others, eventually becoming habituated to nervous gregariousness, which plays a role in poor health. Consequently, instead of giving her sensitive system the care, education, and understanding it needed to thrive, Paula's body succumbed to the inevitable: chronic pain and sensory overload.
Three events woke her up to the benefits of alternative (natural) therapies and nutrition models:
Despite false propaganda that alternative practitioners were quacks, Paula could not dismiss the fact that allopathic medicine disempowered her and thereby kept her chronically ill, while so-called quacks were actually making a difference. This impressed her to her core and left her thirsty for a better understanding of human health so that she could help others avoid the unnecessary pain and sickness that marked too much of her life.
Two years of soul searching after her corporate retirement and four months working by the side of a gifted veterinary surgeon while on hiatus in Mexico, Paula discovered she had a natural gift (so to speak) for touch-based healing and at the urging of a friend, entered massage school - and was from there introduced to a plethora of other forms of healing, from Eastern philosophies to vibrational medicine.
Paula entered carefully into these other forms of healing. Open minded, yet critical, she discovered how to quickly separate what matters from what is superfluous, keeping what worked, and dismissing what did not. The ancient and storied explanations behind various methods did not sit well with her, yet the methods worked and that was worth investigating from a logical and scientific point of view. She is, therefore, open to collaboration with physicians and scholars who can also look beyond ancient stories to focus on the reality of the effectiveness of given techniques.
Regardless of where she might dabble career-wise, she is devoted to going above and beyond for her clients with her joy coming from her work and being able to help make a positive difference in the lives of others, often using her own body as a laboratory.
There are great and cost-saving benefits to manual therapies, vibrational healing systems, and food-as-medicine-or-poison. Paula hopes that one-day natural medicine modalities and Eastern philosophies will be a welcome addition to mainstream science and medicine, and the gold standard for preventive care.
"I strongly suggest that the GP doctors of the future be hands-on, full-body palpation experts." ~ PMae.
Paula has a remarkably sensitive, caring, and inquisitive nature grounded in the search for truth through accuracy and balance. Like many, she was encouraged to ignore her body's needs and “toughen up” to serve only the needs of others, eventually becoming habituated to nervous gregariousness, which plays a role in poor health. Consequently, instead of giving her sensitive system the care, education, and understanding it needed to thrive, Paula's body succumbed to the inevitable: chronic pain and sensory overload.
Three events woke her up to the benefits of alternative (natural) therapies and nutrition models:
- An MD specializing in functional medicine drastically reduced her colds, flu, bronchitis, and pneumonias through lifestyle and dietary changes that focused on boosting immune function;
- an astute chiropractor wiped out 1.5 years of back pain from an injury in just one visit, and he straightened her crooked spine over the next year;
- and a bodyworker devoted to neuromuscular exploration provided complete relief from severe neck and shoulder pain, in just one, 2-hour visit that lasted an entire year.
Despite false propaganda that alternative practitioners were quacks, Paula could not dismiss the fact that allopathic medicine disempowered her and thereby kept her chronically ill, while so-called quacks were actually making a difference. This impressed her to her core and left her thirsty for a better understanding of human health so that she could help others avoid the unnecessary pain and sickness that marked too much of her life.
Two years of soul searching after her corporate retirement and four months working by the side of a gifted veterinary surgeon while on hiatus in Mexico, Paula discovered she had a natural gift (so to speak) for touch-based healing and at the urging of a friend, entered massage school - and was from there introduced to a plethora of other forms of healing, from Eastern philosophies to vibrational medicine.
Paula entered carefully into these other forms of healing. Open minded, yet critical, she discovered how to quickly separate what matters from what is superfluous, keeping what worked, and dismissing what did not. The ancient and storied explanations behind various methods did not sit well with her, yet the methods worked and that was worth investigating from a logical and scientific point of view. She is, therefore, open to collaboration with physicians and scholars who can also look beyond ancient stories to focus on the reality of the effectiveness of given techniques.
Regardless of where she might dabble career-wise, she is devoted to going above and beyond for her clients with her joy coming from her work and being able to help make a positive difference in the lives of others, often using her own body as a laboratory.
There are great and cost-saving benefits to manual therapies, vibrational healing systems, and food-as-medicine-or-poison. Paula hopes that one-day natural medicine modalities and Eastern philosophies will be a welcome addition to mainstream science and medicine, and the gold standard for preventive care.
"I strongly suggest that the GP doctors of the future be hands-on, full-body palpation experts." ~ PMae.
Professional and Education Background
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Volunteer Appointments / Independent Study
- Thermography Researcher and Motor Recovery (stroke) Research Lab Assistant at NYU Medical Center's Rusk Institute for Rehabilitation Medicine, under the direction of Preeti Raghavan, MD. 2010-2011 and ongoing as needed.
- Fascia and Connective Tissue Dissection Research Assistant to Antonio Stecco, MD, from Padua Italy at the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine Cadaver Lab. 2011-2013.
- Veterinary Surgical and Animal Hospital Care Assistant to Dr. Delfino Guevara from Mexico; an extremely talented surgeon and incredible humanitarian. 2001. "He changed my life just by believing in me." ~ Paula
- Administrative Assistant and understudy in healing through nutrition to the brilliant, unusual, and now deceased Serafina Corsello, MD, a specialist and teacher in the fields of Functional and Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). 2002-2007
- Paula's Body Shop, previously Massage Energetics, New York, NY, 2003-Present
- Health Sciences Editor, Writer, Independent Contractor, 2010-Present
- Oncology Massage, Breast Cancer Department, Beth Israel and St. Luke's/Roosevelt hospitals, NY, 2004-2010
- Computer Software Design and Senior System's Analyst, various, 1981-2001
A Note About Paula's Education
Despite great desire to receive a formal education, it just wasn't possible. Thankfully, her love of learning more than made up for any lack in formalities. With many thanks to some great educators early in life, a few astute bosses later in life, and being lucky to work with and learn from top professionals from a wide variety of disciplines, she gained at least the equivalent of a bachelor's degree. Eventually, Paula learned to appreciate the intrinsic rewards that come from gaining mastery in subjects of interest, in lieu of seeking certificates, diplomas, or awards. Your understanding is appreciated.
Despite great desire to receive a formal education, it just wasn't possible. Thankfully, her love of learning more than made up for any lack in formalities. With many thanks to some great educators early in life, a few astute bosses later in life, and being lucky to work with and learn from top professionals from a wide variety of disciplines, she gained at least the equivalent of a bachelor's degree. Eventually, Paula learned to appreciate the intrinsic rewards that come from gaining mastery in subjects of interest, in lieu of seeking certificates, diplomas, or awards. Your understanding is appreciated.
Education
- Ongoing self study, experimentation, and innovation in:
- Natural healing through integration of ancient and modern forms of bodywork;
- How foods and meal timing affect the fascia, allergies, sensitivities, and general health and longevity;
- How bone fasciae influence inflammation, pain, stiffness, and regulatory hormones; and
- Seeking the true, active components within alternative and ancient mechanisms that scientists will find worthy of exploring.
- Tai Chi Rehabilitation: Instructor Certification, Patricia Lawson MSED, 2019
- Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction, Kyndall Boyle PT, PhD, OCS, PRC, 2018
- MELT Method, Sue Hitzmann, 2018, ongoing self- and structured-study
- Bruce Bentley, Health Traditions, Australia, Theory & Practice of Gua Sha, 2013
- Gil Hedley PhD, Somanautics Workshops, Integral Anatomy Intensive, 2011
- Antonio Stecco MD, Cadaver Dissection and Ultrasound Course, 2011, 2013
- Massage Cupping Therapy, Sedona College of Natural Health, 2011
- 2nd International Fascia Research Congress, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2009
- Natural Medicine Conference, SMOKH, Scottsdale, AZ, 2008
- Cranial Sacral Therapy, Upledger Institute, NY, 2008
- NY State Law & Legislation Symposium, AMTA, NY, 2008
- 1st International Fascia Research Congress, Harvard Medical, Boston, MA, 2007
- Mastectomy Massage, Cheryl C. Chapman, NJ, 2007
- Secrets of Deep Tissue, Body Mechanics School, WA, 2006
- Hospital Based Massage Therapy, Mount Sinai, NY, 2006
- NY State Education Department, License #016325, 2003
- Finger Lakes School of Massage, Ithaca, NY, 2003
- Davenport College, Grand Rapids, MI, 1988
- Grand Rapids Junior College, MI, 1984
