Selena La Brooy
Certified Rolfer, Certified Movement Integration Practitioner
I have been a body nerd most of my life. I have travelled to many parts of the world in inquiry of what it is that makes us tick, how we live and why we do it. I love being physical in my body and love hiking, snowboarding, running, team sports, yoga, contemporary dance, theatre and circus arts. I have also had a strong personal practice in yoga, meditation and mindful movement for over 20 years.
In the passionate pursuit of my physical activities, I have sustained a number of injuries. During the diagnostic and rehabilitation processes, I became fascinated with understanding body mechanics, injury prevention and how we can use our bodies in more harmonious ways. These curiosities led me into further studies in Laban movement patterning, Body Mind Centering, Feldenkrais, Axis Syllabus and a career in Rolfing® Structural Integration and Rolf Movement.™
I studied Rolfing and Rolf Movement in Boulder, Colorado as well as in Sao Paulo, Brazil to obtain my certifications and continue to study as often as I can.
It is my passion to empower people to make lasting changes and find stability. With this comes the confidence, hope and joy of inhabiting one’s body.
In my mid thirties, I began experiencing a debilitating and mysteriously intermittent kind of pain. I went to many different therapists who each had their own theories about what was wrong and how to resolve it. Often the symptoms would be relieved temporarily only to come back, sometimes changing and getting progressively worse. I spent 7 years in chronic pain and frustration with my degenerative condition.
Determined to find a solution, I started exploring movement patterning, functional anatomy and learning about connective tissue called, fascia. While studying the “Biomechanics of Walking” in Berkley, a fellow student gave me a book called “A Dynamic Relation to Gravity” by Rolfer, Edward W. Maupin, Ph.D. So many of the concepts I had been investigating for years started connecting! This began my fascination with Rolfing Structural Integration work. Unfortunately for me, my condition had deteriorated to the point where I needed corrective surgery (Total Hip Replacement). Repatterning years of dysfunctional movement takes time and patience. Before and after this procedure, I worked and trained with a number of different Rolfers and Somatic Experience Practionners in Canada, the US and Brazil to relieve chronic pain, better understand what my body was telling me, and discover more harmonious ways of living in it.
Finding peace with our bodies affects the way that we relate to others and the world around us.
Having lived for 7 years in chronic pain, I know first-hand how important it is that we have the a sense of support and balance of our own physical structure, in order to show up in a healthy and compassionate way for ourselves and others.