Hello, Fellow Sensitive Soul !

You might be here because, like me, you've known the deep ache of exhaustion that goes beyond tired. The kind that whispers: "There has to be another way to live." Well, let me tell you a little about my own long and winding embodied energy expedition and how I have at the precipice of this moment.

By the tender age of eighteen, my internal gas tank was completely empty. I'd inadvertently perfected the art of the "freeze state"—my go-to survival tactics of people-pleasing, overthinking, numbing out, and a particularly harsh brand of self-criticism had left me utterly disconnected from my body, my spirit, and my true self. My digestion was a grumpy mess, connection felt like a foreign language, and frankly, I was just plain exhausted. It was clear: I needed a new map for this journey called life.

My Quest for Alchemical Healing

I embarked on a personal quest, my sacred adventure, to uncover the embodied beliefs, behaviors, and traumas that were keeping me from living my most authentic, joyful, and creative life. For over 25 years and counting, I dove headfirst into understanding the human experience from every angle I could find. My studies spanned far and wide:

  • The wisdom of Massage Therapy to understand the body's language.

  • Bioenergetics & Shen Sensitivity training to explore the vibrant dance of life force.

  • The magic of Nutrition, Fermentation & Gut Rebuilding to mend my inner ecosystem.

  • Health Coaching to guide practical transformation.

  • Trauma Sensitivity Training to learn how to walk gently with the deepest wounds.

  • Body-Mind Integration to bridge the seemingly separate parts of self.

  • The ancient rhythms of Ayurveda for daily harmony... and so much more!

Each step brought me closer, yet there was a key missing piece.

  • 1976 - present - Christina Cunningham in the flesh

    2000 - Bachelors University of North Carolina at Wilmington - Creative and Professional Writing, minors in Sociology and Women’s Studies

    2001 - Utah College of Massage Therapy - certified Massage Therapist

    2004-2019 - Master level Shen Sensitivity Training & Bioenergetics

    2006 - 2009 - Adjunct Professor Vermont Community College

    2009-2012 - Lifestyle Educator at the Sanctuary Integrative Medicine

    2010 -2020 - Owner / Operator Chrysalis Healing Art, llc Fair Haven, Vermont

    2010 - Institute of Integrative Nutrition - certified health coach

    2012 - Fermentation Mastery - certified Gut Rebuilding specialist

    2016 - Yoga Healer Body Thrive training - certified Body Thrive coach

    2019 - Growing Resilience - Trauma Informed Principles certification

    2020 - the BodyMind Method - practitioner level certification

    2021 - present WNC resident

    2021 - Somatic Embodiment & Regulation Strategies level III certified

    2024 - Alchemical Healing practitioner in trainig with Lori Dechar and Benjamin Fox

The Spark that Changed Everything: Bioenergetic-Shen Sensitivity

Then, Wassim Nehme and Elisabeth entered my life, marking a deep turning point and initiating a profound journey through all the tender and tough aspects of my being to the center of my spiritual heart. Through many, many years of receiving Bioenergetic-Shen Touch and training in Shen Sensitivity, this experience formed the foundation for my reverence, depth of knowledge, and hands-on abilities to touch a person’s essence with such tenderness as to be touching the very beauty that lies within.

It was also my immense honor to study directly in Parma, Italy, with the founder and creator of Bioenergetic-Shen Sensitivity training, Dr. Pino Ferroni. Pino was a profoundly playful and serious Daoist Master and PhD Psychologist whose life's work was dedicated to the question of how to revive a person's spirit. To learn from him firsthand was one of the true honors of my life.

BST is grounded in a few exquisite truths:

  • Your body's bioenergy isn't just fuel; it's pure intelligence, capable of organizing itself in self-protective (and sometimes self-limiting!) ways.

  • Your energy system is also your inherent bridge, your personal antenna, for connecting with the larger, universal field of boundless potential.

  • And touch—reverent, attuned touch—is the fundamental language through which we restore a sense of grounded wholeness to your entire being.

Through this profound experience, I came into direct, undeniable contact with my own inner beauty, preciousness, and joyful expression. I came to profound embodied understanding of how the experiences of my past were shaping my self and my body and It forever changed my relationship to myself and to the world at large.

I am dedicated to repaying my debt of gratitude to Wassim, Elisabeth and Pino by living the most loving, tenacious and sensitive life possible.

The Next Leg: Weaving the Alchemy of Sacred Embodiment

My journey led me to Lori Dechar and Benjamin Fox, whose masterful Alchemical Healing became the vital framework weaving together all my previous transformative studies. This profound wisdom directly inspired my unique approach: The Alchemy of Sacred Embodiment.

Alchemical Healing is a deep devotion to living as the creative protagonist of your conscious adventure. It's about intimately connecting with the elements that form your essence, clarifying them into their most exalted, golden expression. Like an acorn holding the mighty oak, your heart holds the blueprint for your most vibrant life. Using the Taoist Five Spirits as a map of your inner landscape, this practice guides you to transmute challenges and old patterns into integrated, coherent selfhood, continually unlocking new possibilities. It’s a profound mind/body integration, a direct engagement with Carl Jung's Individuation process.

At its heart, Alchemical Healing believes evolution calls us to become Integral Humans, capable of utilizing the living matrix of consciousness as our personal playbook. It's a call to awakened consciousness, in service to reharmonizing with the natural world and its inherent magic.

My time with Lori and Benjamin was a luminous embrace. I offer them my deep and loving gratitude for their dedication to this alchemical path

 

My Trauma Sensitive & Whole Person Principles

  • challenge by choice

  • normalize needs

  • compassion & curiosity

  • boundaries & clear communication

  • accountability

  • everyone is whole & life is precious

I humbly acknowledge that my experiences and opportunities originate from a place of a certain amount of financial & societal privilege. I am very interested in the intersection of evolving the inherent biases of such a foundation AND my true calling as a guide to assist others in living an authentic, embodied & contributive life. I fully accept that this process is on-going in my life & in society at large. I am fully dedicated to realizing my place in the healing of people & the planet and the restoration of an interconnected consciousness. And I honor the land of the Cherokee on which I am grateful to practice.