Touch of Presence - A Biodynamic Cranial Approach
These in-person sessions at Heartwood Center are an opportunity to slow down, breathe, and expand sensory awareness. My touch is light, gentle, present and oriented to wholeness. My hands rest in one place on your body for extended periods of time to allow for awareness to deepen and expand. These states of expanded consciousness and deep inquiry are both restorative and rich in personal discovery.
I am student of and assistant to Giorgia Milne in her Touch of Presence School for Biodynamic Studies. Her teachings emphasize orientation to wholeness and the biodynamic practice of being in connection with what is - as it is. As Giorgia Milne says, “Wholeness is health, Wholeness is holiness, Wholeness is love.” Her teachings are informed by American osteopathy and craniosacral biodynamics.
As a graduate, repeat participant, and teacher’s assistant, I have a deep passion for being in the Touch of Presence group field*. So I must recommend attending the group intensives! touchofpresence.com
As a certified practitioner, I offer Touch of Presence Biodynamic Sessions to clients at Heartwood Center in Evanston, just north of Chicago, IL.
*group field is the energy and space that is created when a group of people get together in person and practice the principles of the practice. Even more impactful is when the teacher is present, embodying the practice and the principles. The whole is truly greater than the sum of its parts.
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As a life long student, my studies continue…
2026
Giorgia Milne, Touch of Presence, Year Long Group Intensive, 120HR - Assistant (Current)2025
Mary Reis, Touch of Presence, Initiatory Course, 3 Day - Assistant2024
Giorgia Milne, Touch of Presence, Initiatory Course, 3 Day - Assistant
Giorgia Milne, Touch of Presence, Year Long Group Intensive, 120HR - Assistant2023
Giorgia Milne, Touch of Presence, Year Long Group Intensive, 120HR
Zen Shiatsu Chicago, Massage Therapy Diploma Program 715HR2022
Giorgia Milne, Touch of Presence, Embryology ~ Spirit & Essence, 3 Day
Giorgia Milne, Touch of Presence, Fulcrum of Being, 3 Day2021
Giorgia Milne, Touch of Presence, Year Long Group Intensive, 120HR2020
Misha & David Sol, Craniosacral 1, Zen Shiatsu Chicago, 2 Day
Alice Whieldon and René Fix, Katsugen, 6 Week Live Virtual2019
Paul Fowler, Blue Lotus Thai Healing Studies, 50HR - Apprentice
Michael Morgan, Upledger CranioSacral Therapy CS1, 4 Day
Ginger Crisenbery, 3rd Coast Biodynamic Craniosacral Intro, 3 Day
Giorgia Milne, Biodynamic Cranial Touch Initiatory Course, 3 Day2018
Paul Fowler, Blue Lotus Thai Healing Studies, 50HR - Apprentice
Randy Cummins, Thai Blossom Employee Monthly Classes
Randy Cummins, Stretching the Emotions, Zen Shiatsu Chicago, 1 Day
Nephyr Jacobsen, Naga School Thai Abdominal Massage & Scraping, 2 Day
Takashi Yoshizawa, Thai Massage and Reflexology, 6 Day2017
Paul Fowler, Blue Lotus Thai Healing Studies, 200HR Graduate
Takashi Yoshizawa, Thai Massage and Reflexology, 2 DaySo much appreciation to all my teachers, peers, and organizers.
Such deep gratitude for the opportunity to participate in each class.
Through these bodywork classes, I have had the opportunity to heal. -
“Feeling what it feels like to be feeling what you’re feeling” - Giorgia Milne
The formal practice of sitting with another, (sitting with our selves and one another), laying down next to another, observing the difference between being the one lying down vs the one sitting up, touching another in stillness, being touched by another in stillness, feeling the connection, loosing the connection, being awake, feeling restful, dropping in, being both asleep and awake, being in these states with an observer, with another in physical connection, with another in connection in ways that are other than physical, noticing when the stillness feels like movement, when the everyday mundane becomes psychedelic, when the boundaries soften, when both opposing realities exist as one... these observations are all supporting our ability to be more and more present, aware, and receptive as we traverse different states of consciousness and interconnectedness and also separateness. This practice of observation is a becoming more and more sensitive to the subtle changes that are occurring in and around us all the time. Stillness supports our exploration by heightening our awareness and slowing down the process to offer us more time and space to observe the subtle changes in and around us and our response/reaction to these changes.
Touch and interconnection are very powerful tools for holding awareness. Touch is such an intimate and meaningful experience, and our bodies are capable of so much awareness and sensitivity when we are really listening. Doing this practice with another person holds us accountable to ourselves. We actually have to ask ourselves, is this movement I feel in this space of stillness coming from me or the person who is touching me? Is this feeling I am feeling coming from me or the person next to me or are we both cocreating? Do I feel empowered to say when it doesn't feel right and do I feel safe enough to explore when I am not yet sure or when I am in the unknown? We can begin to see how important it is to be able to have a space to ask these questions and a practice that gives us experiential terrain to explore the answers.
Photo of me with Giorgia and the assistant team during 2025 Gainesville Intensive
A drawing from memory. I was participating this exchange between assistants meeting the day before retreat intensive.