Mouse Bird: Licensed massage therapist and artist

Tell me about the power of massage.

It’s a means to come into contact with self in multiple dimensions. I like to invite people into their bodies because our bodies are where we have access to the vast intelligence of life, it’s where we find access to our intuition, it’s where we find access to our power, it’s where we find access to our connection.

I refer to my practice as bodywork because it’s more than just massage. Massage is an element — which is like hands-on, touch with people — but body work in general incorporates many different embodiment practices through breathwork, through touch, through sound and vibration, through meditation, through movement practices, you know, different ways to invite people to tap into the feeling in their bodies.

A focus of your practice is on helping people who have been through trauma. What is an example of that?

It’s different for every person. And I think maybe it would be more helpful to speak to my own experience of receiving bodywork and the processes of reclamation of self that come out from that. First of all, it requires attuned touch. So touch that is listening — touch that is not forcing — touch that is listening to the body through the subtleties of the body and what is present.

You're also an artist. How do art and bodywork intertwine?

Bodywork is definitely an art. Living life is an art. Everything that we create is an art. Every day is a process of creation. We can listen and receive inspiration from the world around us. Masterful artists are able to listen and create from that place.

Bodywork is kind of the same. It’s like a dance of being able to tend to the human being who walks in the door and has varying degrees of relationship or understanding with their body.

What is something you wish more people understood about bodywork?

I wish that bodywork was [known as] a fundamental human knowledge and language. We grew up receiving and understanding touch as a primary means of communication. To learn to give and receive attuned touch, either to ourselves or with other human beings, is essential. It’s so primary.

Where do you draw inspiration for your artwork?

What inspires me to create artwork? It’s like a living prayer.

First of all, the materials that I’m using are really important. I don’t like to buy new materials when I’m creating art. And I use recycled materials. I use natural materials. I use materials that can be diverted from the waste stream. And my idea of art is that it can actually be made from anything and nothing at all. We don’t even need material to make art.

What has kept you in a community like Whatcom County?

I would say that the climate speaks to my frog nature, the water — being close to the ocean, the rivers, the rainforest, the moss. Having fresh water is such a privilege. And also my family — I have family that’s here, and within the last five years, really finding a community of people that I deeply resonate with, who are passionate about manifesting a healthier way of living.

You travel quite a bit. What's your next destination?

I’m going to Guatemala, I’m going to this little village on the coast of Lago de Atitlán, which is surrounded by volcanos. This is the very first place in the world that I traveled by myself 15 years ago, and I haven’t returned since.

I’m returning, and I will be going to a school of metaphysics. It’s called Las Pirámides del Ka. I’ll be there for five weeks with my sweetie.