Vera Massage Studio

07/25/2025

🌿 Your Body Is Talking — Are You Listening? 🌿

If your neck is stiff, your back is aching, or your nervous system is fried… this is your sign to stop pushing through and come get the care you deserve. ✨

💆‍♀️ Massage appointments available TOMORROW + limited openings next week!
Whether you’re recovering from stress, pain, trauma, or just life — we’ve got space for you.

🔸 Regular & Trauma-informed massage
🔸 Deeply grounding, nervous-system based work
🔸 Local therapists who are considered experts in the field

📍Vera Massage Studio | Skagit County
📆 Book now at verastudio.org
📲 Or text 425-923-7505 — we’ll help you find a spot that works.

✨ You deserve to pause, breathe, and receive care — simply because you exist ✨

07/23/2025

“A ‘healer’ is not someone that you go to for healing. A Healer is someone that initiates within you your own ability to heal yourself.”
-Unknown

While we may help the process, here at the Studio we do not heal you.
We only empower what is already within you - sparking the inner wisdom you & your body were born with.

Verastudio.org

07/20/2025

If you come to see me with low back pain, what is it I suggest you do every single time?…

Stretch the front of your body!!

Our low back takes the brunt of being front-forward facing creatures.
The front of the body is often chronically shortened, and the back of the body is chronically over stretched, or overworking to compensate.

Stretching your quad muscles, along with your hip flexors and adductors (inner thigh muscles), will make a substantial difference in lower back discomfort.

Don’t take my word for it, just give it a try 🙂

07/17/2025

It may be uncomfortable or unlikeable, but it’s still all okay & necessary for a healthy life❤️‍🩹

07/17/2025

🤲🏽Meet the Art of Bodywork🤲🏽

The Art of Bodywork is an integrative, hands-on healing method developed by Alastair McLoughlin out of Germany.
It is an approach that emphasizes scar tissue, fascial balance, and a nuanced understanding of structural, functional, and emotional aspects of the body.

👇🏽What a session looks like:

✨Every Touch Is Purposeful✨
Laurel is our therapist that integrates Art of Bodywork into her treatments. A central tenet of her work that was taught by Alastair McLoughlin is that intention behind touch is just as important as the physical technique. Even minimal contact can have profound effects when applied with clarity, respect, and attunement.

✨Focus on the Nervous System✨
The Art of Bodywork deeply considers the autonomic nervous system, aiming to shift the body out of "fight or flight" and into "rest and repair." Laurels sessions often help clients experience parasympathetic regulation and deep calm.

✨It Honors the Body’s Intelligence✨
Rather than trying to "fix" dysfunction, Laurels work respects the idea that the body already knows how to heal—it just needs the right input, environment, and support.

✨Client-Centered to the Core✨
Sessions are customized moment to moment. Practitioners are trained by McLaughlin to respond to what the body is communicating, not just follow a scripted sequence. This responsiveness is what makes the work feel so personal and effective.

Art of Bodywork was developed from decades of clinical experience.
Alastair McLoughlin drew from over 30 years of bodywork experience, including osteopathy, massage therapy, and structural integration. The Art of Bodywork distills his lifetime of insights into a teachable, accessible method, and our therapist Laurel is eager to share this integration with you.

Click the link below to experience the Art of Bodywork with Laurel:

https://book.squareup.com/appointments/6m0sq5fnx41j9o/location/L7VC047ZPJ73Y/services/OJEHYMM4BJVBFTX6T6QGYT3K

07/15/2025

We have been struck with summer sickness a lot this year!

Vera is currently fighting a stomach virus 🦠
So of course, a medicinal soup is on the menu!

The main ingredient in this recipe is extra love ❤️‍🩹 and ginger… so much ginger 🫚 😂

07/14/2025

🤲🏽Meet Craniosacral Therapy 🤲🏽

Craniosacral Therapy (CST) assess and supports the craniosacral rhythm—a subtle, natural movement of the cerebrospinal fluid that flows from the head (cranium) to the sacrum.

❓What is a session like, and how does it help?

It offers a non-verbal, body-based path to regulation, integration, and soft reconnection—one that honors the pace and intelligence of your own system.
CST is uniquely suited to trauma work because it meets the body where it is—without force, pressure, or overwhelm.

👇🏽What a session looks like:

🧠 1. Tuning into the Craniosacral Rhythm

Matt, our Craniosacal therapist, places his hands lightly—often on the head, sacrum, spine, or other key areas—and feels for the craniosacral rhythm: a subtle pulsing of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that flows between the skull and sacrum. This rhythm is like a tide, and its quality gives information about the health and restrictions in the nervous system.

🧩 2. Sensing Restrictions or Imbalances

Just as a skilled listener hears tension in someone’s voice, Matt "listens" with his hands for areas where the body feels stuck, compressed, or imbalanced. These could be physical (like fascial tension or scar tissue) or energetic/emotional (like trauma held in the tissues).

🌬️ 3. Creating the Conditions for Release

Using extremely light touch—often less than 5 grams of pressure (about the weight of a nickel), Matt supports the body’s self-correcting mechanisms. He may follow subtle movements or shifts in tissue, gently hold space for stillness, or cradle an area until it begins to unwind naturally.

🧘 4. Facilitating Nervous System Regulation

Because CST works so directly with the central nervous system (brain, spinal cord, and fluid), it can help the body shift from sympathetic (fight/flight) to parasympathetic (rest/digest) dominance. This helps us feel deeply relaxed, emotionally safe, or even enter a meditative, dreamlike state.

🌊 5. Following the Body’s Lead

Importantly, Matt is not imposing changes—he is responding to what the body reveals. If something is ready to release, he gently supports that process. If not, he remains in a neutral, holding presence. In this way, CST is deeply respectful of the body’s pace and intelligence.

Click the link to schedule a craniosacral session with Matt:

https://book.squareup.com/appointments/6m0sq5fnx41j9o/location/L7VC047ZPJ73Y/services/XND26LGSNFBIJ3CMS4SSEMU7?utm_source=sqmktg_email

07/13/2025

🌿 **You're Invited!** 🌿

Join us for an **Open House at Vera Massage Studio**
🗓️ **Saturday, August 23rd** | ⏰ **12–5 PM**
📍Same plaza as Trendz Hair Salon (don’t trust Apple Maps — it takes you 2-3 blocks too far!)

We’re opening our doors for a special **Pay-What-You-Can Day** — a chance to experience 20-minute private sessions in our treatment rooms, connect with our therapists, and ask questions about the services we offer.

✨ **What to expect:**
— 20-minute donation-based sessions (pay what feels right)
— Calm, private treatment rooms
— First come, first serve sign-in
— A chance to learn more about trauma-informed massage, nervous system work, trauma focused energy work & coaching, craniosacral therapy & more
— Free & accessible parking

Whether you're curious about bodywork, need a moment to reset, or just want to stop by and say hello — we’d love to see you there. 💛

📲 Questions? Text us at 425-923-7505 or email veramassagestudio@gmail.com
🌐 Learn more: verastudio.org

07/11/2025

Energy-Based Trauma Healing

Energy work and somatic tools like sound healing, tapping, visualization, and breathwork can be powerful complements to trauma recovery. These approaches help regulate the nervous system, release stored tension, and restore a sense of safety in the body—without needing to retell the full story of what happened.

Trauma isn’t just a memory—it’s a physiological imprint. When the body doesn’t get a chance to complete its stress response, energy can become stuck, leading to symptoms like anxiety, fatigue, brain fog, chronic tension, or a feeling of being “on edge.” Energy-based healing helps gently move this stuck energy, supporting the body’s natural return to balance.

Here’s how these tools support trauma healing:

🌿 Energy Work – By working with the body’s subtle energy field, this modality helps clear blockages, soothe overactive stress responses, and restore energetic flow. Many people leave feeling lighter, calmer, and more grounded.

🌿 Sound Healing – The use of vibrational instruments (like singing bowls or tuning forks) supports deep relaxation, lowers brainwave states, and helps reset the nervous system. Sound bypasses the thinking mind and reaches deep layers of the body and psyche.

🌿 Tapping (EFT) – This gentle acupressure technique calms the amygdala (the brain’s fear center) and helps process emotional pain. It’s especially helpful for reducing anxiety, intrusive thoughts, or feelings of being “stuck.”

🌿 Visualization – Guided imagery helps rewire the nervous system and access internal safety. Visualization can support nervous system regulation, inner child healing, and the building of new, empowering narratives.

🌿 Breathwork – Conscious breathing patterns calm the body, increase oxygen flow, and interrupt fight-or-flight states. Breath is a direct line to the parasympathetic nervous system—your body’s natural rest-and-repair mode.

These tools don’t force change. Instead, they create the internal conditions where healing becomes possible—at your own pace, and in your own way.

This is not psychotherapy, and it doesn’t require you to rehash painful memories. Instead, it honors the wisdom of the body, offering a safe, compassionate space to regulate, reconnect, and reclaim your sense of self.

Hi, I’m Kris—a trauma-informed energy practitioner, herbalist, and coach.

My work is rooted in the understanding that healing is not just physical—it’s emotional, energetic, and deeply personal. I support women and sensitive souls in releasing stuck energy, reconnecting to their bodies, and coming home to themselves.

My approach is gentle, grounded, and collaborative. I don’t “fix” you—I help you soften back into yourself. Energy healing pairs beautifully with massage, coaching, or therapy—especially for those moving through stress, burnout, grief, or major life transitions. Whether you’re feeling off, overwhelmed, or simply ready to reconnect, my sessions are designed to meet you where you are—with presence, compassion, and care.

I look forward to supporting you on your journey.

Click a link below to book with Kris:

Click here for an update from Vera Massage Studio!

06/25/2025

🌿 Welcome, Kris! 🌿

We’re so excited to introduce the newest member of our team—Kris, a trauma-informed energy practitioner, herbalist, and coach.

Kris brings a deeply compassionate and holistic approach to healing, rooted in the belief that healing is not just physical—it’s emotional, energetic, and personal.
While completing her Masters of Science in Psychology from Western Washington University, her emphasis was on storytelling, identity development and well-being.
LShe supports women and sensitive souls in releasing stuck energy, reconnecting with their bodies, and gently coming home to themselves.

Her presence is a beautiful addition to our mission of providing thoughtful, trauma-informed care—and we can’t wait for you to meet her.

Kris is available Monday's and Wednesday afternoons starting July 9th.
Feel free to email veramassagestudio with any questions, or call/text 425-923-7505.

06/24/2025

Resource fair this weekend, Saturday June 27th at Burlington Public Library WA!

-Food
-Free cell phones for those who qualify
-Dental Van
-Skagit legal aid
& more!

If you need assistance attending this event, Vera Studio may be able to help.
Send us a dm, or call/text 425-923-7505.