Donnella Wood
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BodyWise FounderCertified Somatic Movement Therapist
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Donnella Wood is a certified Somatic Movement Therapist, Pilates instructor, and Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analyst with a background in mental health and dance. She has worked for 15 years with athletes, dancers, injured individuals, and those wanting to feel more at home in the their body. Her work focuses on helping individuals develop a deeper ability to listen to their bodies and develop the strength, awareness, and connection needed to move free from pain and tension. She has a passion for working with Tango dancers and individuals seeking to understand themselves more deeply through movement. She was the founder and director of the movement and healing arts studio BodyWise. Currently she works with clients privately and teaches classes in inner SE/NE Portland.
What I Believe
I believe that the body has it’s own wisdom.
I believe that Movement Therapy is about listening to this wisdom.
That by listening, we can feel more connected with ourselves, other people and the larger community around us.
I believe that our environment and our bodies are intricately connected. We learn and understand ourselves through interacting with our physical environment. We do not learn in a vacuum.
I believe that the demands of this life and the numerous experiences we must integrate on a daily basis, can overwhelm our nervous system. Slowing down and listening to the body helps digest & process this stress and find new ways to help us deal with life’s complexity.
I believe that changing our perceptual awareness -where our attention goes and how we see, listen, or feel - changes the way we move.
This awareness can heal pain and create ease of movement.
But it can also do more.
It can create insight.
It can spark change.
It can help us to learn to trust ourselves; our voice, our unique way of expressing ourselves, and our ever-changing body.