Essence Ayurveda 

Headaches ● Concussions ● TMJ 
Back Pain ● Neck Pain ● Body Pain

Digestive Issues ● Chronic Health Conditions

Stress ● Anxiety
and more

Alexandria (Old Town North), Virginia

Holistic Healing Methods, Customized for Your Specific Needs

Susan is passionate about partnering with people who want to use natural therapies to address health and wellness concerns. 

The healing modalities Susan offers all recognize each person as unique and view the whole of each person—mind, body, and spirit. Because they work with the body’s innate ability to heal, they can be beneficial for a wide variety of health conditions and at any stage in the healing process. Each of these holistic healing arts can be used on its own, or Susan can integrate them as needed. Susan's offerings aim to truly restore balance and not merely relieve symptoms.

Susan has extensive training and more than a decade of experience in Ayurveda, Tibetan Cranial Therapy, Reiki, Marma Therapy, and Yoga Therapy, and is certified in Spinal Flow. Together, the healing arts that Susan practices allow her to offer holistic health and healing options for a wide range of goals. 

Susan has worked with people wanting assistance with anxiety, depression, stress, musculoskeletal and joint pain, back and neck pain, chronic pain, low energy, migraines, headaches, concussions and other head injuries, vertigo, TMJ dysfunction, chronic health conditions, insomnia, digestive issues, management of chronic conditions such as autoimmune diseases and diabetes, asthma, allergies, menstrual cycle issues, and many other conditions. With a broad range of tools at her disposal, Susan can tailor recommendations so that they are appropriate and workable for a particular person's circumstances.

Susan offers free 15-minute consultations (phone, video, or in-person) to answer any questions and to explore how her services may align with your goals. Call or email for more information or to schedule an appointment, or make an appointment online at Schedule an Appointment.

Tibetan Cranial Therapy

Focused touch on the head and neck for whole-person healing 

Tibetan Cranial® therapy is an ancient healing tradition from the Himalayan highlands. During a session, the recipient lies fully-clothed on their back while the practitioner works on the head and neck, using sophisticated pulse readings to deliver the most appropriate treatment and to help the person achieve optimal balance. 

Tibetan Cranial therapy is more than just physical. It integrates body, mind, and spirit, and can have profound effects on all of those aspects of our being. Recipients often have an overall sense of feeling better, and many have found relief from headaches, migraines, back and neck pain, head injury, traumatic brain injury (TBI), brain fog, TMJ dysfunction, vertigo, stress-related conditions, anxiety, depression, many nervous-system and neurological issues, and more.

Of all the healing arts that Susan practices, Tibetan Cranial therapy holds a special place in her heart. In part this relates to the sense of being blessed to watch what seem like miracles – sometimes small and sometimes profound – with people finding relief when other things they had tried had not worked. Some of it relates to the spiritual component, which includes holding the person receiving the work in true compassion and staying in mantra (essentially, being in a state of meditative prayer) throughout the session. Another aspect is that Tibetan Cranial nearly became extinct and still is rarely found. 

Susan is a Tibetan Cranial Teacher and has been a Practitioner since 2014. Please find out more here.

Ayurveda

Food as medicine, daily routine, lifestyle, herbal formulas, cleanses

Ayurveda is the traditional healing science of India. Ayurvedic medicine offers a holistic approach focused on helping people live long, healthy, and well-balanced lives. Ayurveda focuses on prevention but also can address specific health conditions. Through individualized plans, Ayurveda aims to address the root causes of imbalance as well as alleviate symptoms through diet, lifestyle, herbal remedies, cleansing practices (pancha karma), and other tools,

Susan has been an Ayurveda Practitioner since 2012. She is Board-Certified as an Ayurvedic Practitioner by the NAMACB (National Ayurvedic Medical Association Certification Board) and holds National Ayurvedic Medical Association's highest level of professional membership. She is a faculty member at an Ayurveda school offering Practitioner and Advanced Practitioner certifications. Find out more about Susan's Ayurveda offerings here. 

If you'd like to watch a brief introduction to Ayurveda that Susan gave at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, click here.

Spinal Flow Technique

Gentle yet transformative release of stress from the spine and nervous system

Spinal Flow Technique® is a touch-based healing practice that prompts our spine and nervous system to release stress and help heal itself. The body has an innate intelligence to grow, repair, and heal itself. This innate intelligence, or life force energy, flows through the spine and nervous system. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) likewise flows through the spine and nervous system. Gentle touch at "access points" on the sacrum and head stimulates a wave-like flow of CSF, clearing blockages and stress stored in and around the spine, and restoring the flow of this innate healing intelligence through every vertebra, the nervous system, and every cell in the body. Anyone can experience this healing practice; it is safe, gentle, and has no contraindications. Susan is a certified Spinal Flow practitioner. 

Reiki and Marma Therapy

Healing through gentle hands-on or no-touch energy work

Reiki Energy Healing is a system of healing that originated in Japan and involves the placement of hands on or near the fully-clothed recipient to bring balance to the recipient. Traditionally, Reiki has been viewed as stimulating the recipient’s own natural healing systems and thus can work at the physical, energetic, mental, emotional, and spiritual levels. Studies indicate that Reiki can help with fatigue, pain, and stress. If nothing else, a session typically leaves the recipient feeling calm and peaceful. 

Marma therapy is an Ayurvedic approach to energy work based on vital points on the body. Gentle fingertip pressure applied to marma points can relax the body and mind, relieve congestion in the channels and tissues of the body, aid the flow of prana (life-force energy), and activate the chakras, without deep tissue work or needles. Marma can be especially beneficial for those seeking energy work or gentle yet effective bodywork. During a marma session, the recipient lies down on a comfortable massage mat or table, remaining clothed. 

Reiki and marma have no contraindications and can be adapted for anyone. 

Susan has studied marma with multipe teachers, has been practicing marma therapy since 2012, and teaches marma therapy to Ayurvedic Practitioners and Ayurvedic Doulas. She has been a Reiki Master Teacher since 2015 and has Reiki certifications from three Reiki Masters in three different Reiki lineages. 

Reiki and marma can be experienced separately or used together in a session. Susan also offers group and private Reiki classes through the Master Teacher level. 

Learn more about Reiki here and about marma here.

Yoga Therapy

Breathing practices, meditation, postures, relaxation, spiritual path

Yoga therapy is the application of the principles and practices of yoga to promote physical and mental health and well-being within a therapeutic relationship that includes personalized assessment, goal setting, lifestyle management, and yoga practices that can include physical yoga postures, breathwork, meditation, philosophy, and more. 

In addition to offering yoga therapy on its own, Susan often incorporates yoga practices that can be done at home into recommendations for people who receive other services. 

Susan is a C-IAYT Certified Yoga Therapist with the International Association of Yoga Therapists ("IAYT") and is an RYT-500 with Yoga Alliance. She teaches Yoga Therapy for Ayurvedic Practitioners in an Ayurveda school.

Wholeness & Healing, Naturally

Please contact Susan with any questions about her services, or book a free 15-minute consultation to see if her services would be a good fit and to help decide which may be the most beneficial.

Call or email for more information or to schedule an appointment, or make an appointment online at Schedule an Appointment.

703-718-6894
susan@essenceayurveda.com