Trans Care
What is Gender Supportive Care?
Sessions Available at the Rohnert Park Location
Gender is a spectrum, which means no person experiences gender the same. No person, regardless of gender, experiences massage or touch the same.
What is experienced as supportive, pleasurable, healing for some, can bring up a lot of sensation, pain, discomfort, numbness (physical/emotional) for others.
I work to provide care that is unique to you and allows you to receive the kind of touch that gives you more space, capacity for sensation and agency.
I cannot simply provide a safe space, I don't know you yet and I don't know what safe is for you. It is important to me to learn what that means to you and it is something that we will learn and create together.
Trans Tuesdays
$100 for 90 mins
4th Tuesday every month
*For Trans, Non-Binary, Gender Non Conforming, 2 Spirit and Gender Expansive Folks
Embodiment Support that Centers YOU!
Gender Expansive Care is constantly evolving and means different things depending on your individual journey. I am committed to learning, adapting and changing my practices and techniques to support you to the best of my ability. I am committed to learning new techniques and tools that support me to support you, by doing research, taking courses on massage that specifically relates, learning from surgeons and doctors and most importantly listening to you because I believe that you know best what your body actually needs.
Again, no one experiences gender/transition the same. I am here to support you with body care while you navigate social, physical, mental, emotional, medical or non-medical transitions as well as being someone who never fit the "default" gender you were assigned at birth.
Support Needs:
Pre and Post Surgery
I work with folks who are pre/post chest mastectomy, radical reduction, augmentation and those who have had a hysterectomy.
You must be at least 6 weeks post surgery and have doctors okay to receive specific massage around the incision area and Craniosacral sessions can typically happen earlier to support with integration and help move trauma from the surgery with doctors okay.
Hormones
Taking hormones changes you physically, emotionally, spiritually and cognitively which often brings up a lot of new sensations in the body.
Massage can be a supportive way to help you to integrate these changes, support with physical pain and discomfort as well as allow your body to rest and restore.
Multiple Identities
You are not just a Trans, Non-Binary, Gender Non Conforming, 2 Spirit or Gender Expansive person. You have a full life that includes other resilient identities. You may be a parent, an elder, BIPOC, chronically ill, disabled, have 2 jobs, an activist.
I do my best to work with the whole of who you are. I listen to what you share with me and work to support you in the best way possible. There are many ways the work I offer can support various identities and I recognize that I am not going to be the right fit for everyone. If I am not the right fit and you'd like a referral please let me know and I will do my best to support you in finding someone who is.
Binding and Prosthetics
Binding and wearing prosthetics can be life saving! And they cause constriction, add extra weight and are typically worn for long hours. I will never discourage anyone from wearing a binder or prosthetics and it's important to receive care and do exercises that can relieve some of the tensions that these create. With consent, some of the ways I work on this specifically related to the chest are to slowly and gently work the pectoralis muscles, the intercostals of the rib cage, into the rib attachments, the abdominal and neck muscles. This can really open up the breath and give some reprieve to any pain you might be experiencing.
Cultural/Language
My frame of reference around gender has come through being raised in the USA in rural and suburban West Coast and Central Valley, California as a White- Gentile European English speaking person. I continually work to gain understanding of how colonization, capitalism and the fashion industry (to name a few) has molded, destroyed, controlled and shapeshifted gender globally.
Fertility / Birthing
It is a joy and a honor to work with anyone of any gender who is going through the process trying to conceive and birthing a child as well as working partners / supporters. We will mostly focus on nervous system support and specific muscle tension patterns to help you be experience as much ease as possible.
Session Expectations:
Intake
There is an online intake form when you sign up for a session that allows me to get some information and to get to know you a bit before you come in. The pronoun(s) and name you state there will be respected and used. If / when you have any changes to these please let me know. I will spend a little time at the beginning of our in person session checking in about what you shared to clarify any specific needs.
Draping
For oil session, always drape and only the areas I am working on are uncovered. I use warming rice bags that hold draping in place which can provide an extra layer of support in knowing that there is a barrier. In massage school we are taught a very binary way of draping, people who are presumed female must have their chest draped while people presumed male are okay to uncover. I keep everyone draped on the chest area unless we are doing specific scar, diaphragm, abdominal work that I have your consent to do that work. I can also do this same work with draping which allows anyone of any gender to have consent to what they are comfortable with.
It is always 100% your comfort level how much clothing you remove. You are welcome to leave on underwear or to take it off.
Taking off underwear allows me to work more precisely in the gluteal and hip flexor areas with oil on skin and I can also work over the sheets with underwear on.
Bathrooms
At The Lemon Tree Clinic, the building where I practice, there are two, single stall all gender restrooms.
Adapted Sessions/Craniosacral
Again because no person receives touch the same I offer sessions that are easily adaptable.
There are ways that I can guide you through a session where I tell you every time I'm about to change to working on a different part of your body. We can work together to come up with a session guide that allows you to feel safe to receive touch / to work with feelings that may be coming up related to touch.
I also offer 60 min Craniosacral sessions. These sessions are an alternative to the oil on skin massage and you are completely clothed. It can be less physically stimulating than a massage, uses long holds, small movements, and gentle traction instead of sweeping massage strokes. It can help bring you out of your head and into the safety of your body in a controlled, gentle manner.
Feedback
At any time, before your session, during your session or after your session, I'm always open to hearing your thoughts and needs. During our in person intake I give gestural ways of getting my attention if you are unable to speak for any reason. I'm open to feedback on my website, the physical space, the ways I communicate and anything else that uplifts the support of gender affirming care.
Have more questions...You are welcome to contact me through my website or email me at BodyCuriosity@gmail.com
“Nik's care was deeply relaxing for me. I have a lot of nervousness about people touching my body and I noticed almost immediately that my body could relax with Nik, due to their thorough communication, kindness, and care. They are very responsive to my needs each time I've gone to them - from firmness of touch to type of massage, from talking to not talking, and take great care with any part of my body that is injured. If I have an injury they give thorough instruction around rest and stretching. As a trans person I especially noticed my body could relax around them with their care around draping and deep knowledge of trans care.”
~Dylan Wilder Quinn, Founder of Transintimate