MEET NIK
Niksen "Nik" Kurtz
They | Them | Theirs Pronouns
Massage & Movement
CMT #50844 
"I'm a work in progress, mosaic of a human being,
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About:
Welcome!... I'm so glad you made it here!
I'm currently living in Sebastopol CA and have two locations where I offer Esalen® bodywork, Albany and Sebastopol. I commute to the East Bay to offer in person sessions to clients of my practice of 10 years. A little about me... I'm a heart connector through and through and the body is my pathway to expressing myself. Movement and Touch have been some of the deepest part of my healing and supporting others in this journey is a true gift. I'm also... a partner, a sibling, a friend to many, a person who prioritizes seeing the body through the lens of individual, interpersonal and systemic perspectives. I'm a dancer, a facilitator, I'm white, queer, trans, gender expansive, chemically sensitive (MCS), a person who enjoys laughter, connecting deeply in conversation, in love with my cat Luna of 14 years, a learner of new things, an artist, a bit of an introvert with extrovert tendencies, a connector, a heart relater, an explorer and a curious being! |
History:
"The issues are in the tissues," is a saying that I have witnessed time and time again on my table.
I had my first Esalen Massage in 2010, this session left me in a state of awareness I had not experienced before. My mind and my muscles were relaxed and my whole body felt at complete ease. I thought, "What was that and where could I get more of it?" In 2012, I began my massage training and in two years I completed over 1200 hours of body-awareness education. I lived, worked and studied at Esalen for a 2 year Extended Student program and found massage to be a gift for my own healing as well as the gift I wanted to share. After Esalen, I moved around taking my table with me and giving massages to friends and friends of friends, working as much as I could. In early 2015 I moved to Berkeley, CA and worked for Yoga Tree and Beau offering massages as an employee. Later in 2015, thanks to the support of the amazing owners at Beau, I began my own practice and have continued to run my own massage practice since. I am continually learning and growing my skills as a practitioner through continued education and life experience.
I have reopened after being closed during the beginning of the pandemic and am at a new studio in Albany, CA.
(... and in November I'll be in Sebastopol too, located inside True Nature Wellness - a Queer Wellness Space)
I had my first Esalen Massage in 2010, this session left me in a state of awareness I had not experienced before. My mind and my muscles were relaxed and my whole body felt at complete ease. I thought, "What was that and where could I get more of it?" In 2012, I began my massage training and in two years I completed over 1200 hours of body-awareness education. I lived, worked and studied at Esalen for a 2 year Extended Student program and found massage to be a gift for my own healing as well as the gift I wanted to share. After Esalen, I moved around taking my table with me and giving massages to friends and friends of friends, working as much as I could. In early 2015 I moved to Berkeley, CA and worked for Yoga Tree and Beau offering massages as an employee. Later in 2015, thanks to the support of the amazing owners at Beau, I began my own practice and have continued to run my own massage practice since. I am continually learning and growing my skills as a practitioner through continued education and life experience.
I have reopened after being closed during the beginning of the pandemic and am at a new studio in Albany, CA.
(... and in November I'll be in Sebastopol too, located inside True Nature Wellness - a Queer Wellness Space)
Specialties:
Scent / Fragrance Free space and practitioner. On a weekly basis, massage clients come to me in pain, with a desire to create more range of motion, curiosity to increase awareness of self ("emotional awareness"), to relax and most often to be seen and heard through a different medium. Having an embodiment based education, I do not simply offer a massage. It is my biggest wish to support you in creating wellness for your whole being. I offer tools to put into action between sessions, I encourage a routine in receiving massage and doing regular movement as well as offer support in re-patterning thoughts that no longer serve you. My specialties include: Working with Gender Expansive / Non-binary / Trans folks, folks who Bind, those who are pre/post chest/breast surgery (Top Surgery / Mastectomy), pre/post natal for all genders, support in nervous system regulating, alleviating/decreasing lower back and hip pain, opening the chest to allow upper back to relax, TMJ release, diaphragm/belly/breath work, creating more flow and ease in the neck and helping energy move smoothly throughout the entire body system.
Trainings & Education:
Esalen® Massage, Deep Bodywork® (Deep Tissue), Sports Injury Massage, Cranial Sacral, Gestalt Awareness.
2017-Present ~ Turtle Tank an Incubator for Radical Love and Freedom
2021/22 ~ Guest Facilitator for Holistic Resistance - Disrupting our whiteness
2020 ~ Holistic Resistance - Disrupting our whiteness 4 month program
2019 ~ Seeing the Racial Waters
2019~ Assisted Esalen Weekend workshop at Mckinnon
2019 ~ DanceAbility Teacher Training Month long summer Intensive
2019 ~ Trans/GNC/NB/2S/I + Healers retreat
2018 ~ Axis Dance Company Summer Intensive (improv/choreo/teacher training)
2017/18 ~ Queer Yes! Jam
2018 ~ Seeing the Racial Waters
2017 ~ Practicing Justice
2017 ~ Process Work: Looking deeper at White Privilege
2016/18 ~ Women Identified, Trans, Gender non-conforming - Meditation with Arinna Wiseman
2014 ~ Sacred Alchemy for Leaders
2016 ~ Queer Grief Ritual
2015 ~ White Awake: 5 month series
2015 ~ Interplay: Art and Social Change for Millennials
2014/15 ~ Soul Motion Teacher Training
2017-Present ~ Turtle Tank an Incubator for Radical Love and Freedom
2021/22 ~ Guest Facilitator for Holistic Resistance - Disrupting our whiteness
2020 ~ Holistic Resistance - Disrupting our whiteness 4 month program
2019 ~ Seeing the Racial Waters
2019~ Assisted Esalen Weekend workshop at Mckinnon
2019 ~ DanceAbility Teacher Training Month long summer Intensive
2019 ~ Trans/GNC/NB/2S/I + Healers retreat
2018 ~ Axis Dance Company Summer Intensive (improv/choreo/teacher training)
2017/18 ~ Queer Yes! Jam
2018 ~ Seeing the Racial Waters
2017 ~ Practicing Justice
2017 ~ Process Work: Looking deeper at White Privilege
2016/18 ~ Women Identified, Trans, Gender non-conforming - Meditation with Arinna Wiseman
2014 ~ Sacred Alchemy for Leaders
2016 ~ Queer Grief Ritual
2015 ~ White Awake: 5 month series
2015 ~ Interplay: Art and Social Change for Millennials
2014/15 ~ Soul Motion Teacher Training
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Esalen Integrative Massage is located on traditional Lisjan Ohlone and Coast Miwok/Southern Pomo territories. The Esalen Institute is located on Essalen territory.
© COPYRIGHT 2022. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Cover image Adamw1987 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, |. |