holly sass

in my bodywork practice, i believe that:

there is nothing to fix

the idea of “fixing” is rooted in ableism and is embedded into most somatic practices. as a bodywork practitioner challenging this idea, my role resembles more of a holding environment, sans intention, ambition, or protocol, in which all i am “doing” is listening (via hands and ears) and offering support via still touch and attention. there is no goal, only a dialog. 

i do not know the answers

i often begin sessions by internally saying to myself, “i know nothing”. this is because your body is much wiser than my brain. i am not here to tell you, nor do i know, exactly why there is pain, discomfort or trauma. your body holds the capacity for that exploration, without my input. i am merely here to help facilitate and witness. you are in charge of your own body/mind story, not me. what a relief for the both of us.

meeting your access needs is my responsibility

i sincerely strive to make my sessions as accessible as possible to all people, which is a constant, ever-evolving, imperfect practice. if you find that my practice is not accessible to you in any way, big or small, that’s on me! please let me know via email, and i will do my absolute best to accommodate and maintain those access needs for future sessions and other clients. 

your bodily autonomy and felt sense of safety is the baseline

receiving touch, especially from a practitioner you may not know well (or at all), can feel vulnerable and activating for some. together, we can cultivate ways of communicating throughout the session that can help promote your inner sense of safety. we don’t need to “push through pain”. the invitation to tell me to adjust my quality of touch or where my hands are is always available. we can end touch, or the session, at any time.

“healing” is slow, non-linear, and forever

i am often met with a sense of urgency from clients who want to “heal quickly” or “overcome pain”, who seem disappointed or confused when things don’t feel fully “resolved” at the end of a session. the air quotes represent concepts that capitalism has taught us about ourselves – that suffering can end, with haste, and you can buy it. this is not how bodies work. my sessions lean into the slow wisdom of our bodies, at the pace of your system and not mine. while we can surely celebrate when we sense ease, relief or liberation of pain, i cannot guarantee this as an outcome. similarly, i do not believe that our bodies’ healing capabilities are quantifiable, and therefore i cannot tell you with certainty how many sessions your body may need. we may work together as long as you feel supported by my practice, and i’m always grateful to witness the unfolding of one’s unique somatic story.

i’ve been in a dance practice since i was two years old, first for pleasure, then professionally. alongside a freelance dance career in nyc, i worked as a physical therapy aid for 5 years. although a rich entry into movement from a therapeutic lens, i continuously felt at friction with the mechanical way of treating the patients, often involving a hard separation between the emotional and physical bodies, not having the patient in a place of bodily autonomy, and with an underlying goal of “fixing”. i then decided back to school for bodywork to find my own way of approaching care. 

from 2017-2019 i studied massage at pacific college (nyc, usa), and i am a new york state licensed massage therapist. at pacific college, i participated in internships at joffrey ballet school and nyu langone hospital’s center for women with disabilities. within this time, i also completed my foundation training in biodynamic craniosacral therapy at stillpoint (nyc). from 2019 until its closure in 2021, i began practicing bodywork at thirdroot, a community health center in brooklyn, ny, oriented around healing justice. in 2021, i began working with, and learning from, hyp-access, a disability justice organization creating access care for folks on the hypermobile spectrum. both third root and hyp-access have been pivotal guidances in my learnings of disability, healing and transformative justice and i would not be practicing the way that i practice now without their generous, compassionate teachings. 

from 2019-2022, i held a private practice in brooklyn, ny, committed to offering a safe space for queer folks to find rest and a wide sliding scale for financial accessibility. i began my journey into organizing free clinics through bodies for bodies, a collective of queer/trans teachers, bodyworkers, and healers of many capacities who offer free/sliding-scale treatments and workshops for the queer/trans community (no longer active). in 2022 i completed a training in the ilan lev method: i no longer practice this work, but carry some of the teachings into my practice today.

in march 2023, i moved to berlin, germany, where i currently live. alongside a (smaller) private practice, i co-organize the bodywork community salon, a group of queer bodyworkers, somatic practitioners and herbalists offering weekly free sessions to palestinians, community organisers, activists and allies, which has been active since shortly after october 7th, 2023. 

i acknowledge that not all bodywork modalities feel safe and supportive for all bodies – which is exactly why work with a wide range of options. please reach out if you have a question about which modalities might be best suited for your needs.

craniosacral biodynamics

craniosacral is a gentle hands on practice that non-invasively orients to the inherent health and wholeness of a person. without physical manipulation, the practitioner acts as a support and facilitator towards one’s unique experience of homeostasis through light touch and keen listening to the body’s subtle, yet profound, cycles of primary respiration. these palpable, steady cycles of respiration encourage our bodily fluids to travel throughout our systems and bring gentle motility into our bones, organs and all other tissues. 

as humans, our bodies regularly endure trauma, pain, and conditional forces, which can show up as patterns and stagnation within our system. with this practice, we can listen to these places of holding while orienting to the intelligence of the forces within the body to uncouple these patterns and move towards rest, reorganization and regeneration. 

bcst would not exist without the influence of cherokee and shawnee people. read more of the complicated history of bcst and osteopathy by susan raffo here​.

massage

massage involves a tactile conversation with the tissues, fascia and joints of the body. through gentle physical manipulation of the tissues, we can invite more flow of fluids within the body, soften facial congestion, and find more ease in joint movement. through this slow touch, we will also be communicating a sense of grounding through the nervous system. i sometimes involve elements of the Ilan lev method – a passive movement based bodywork practice that supports the integration of massage.

massage therapy can support inflammation, acute and chronic pain, post-op healing, and a general desire to to reconnect with one’s own body.

the ideal session time is 90 minutes, including the preliminary check in/communal grounding, the hands-on practice and post-session rest/verbal processing. though, if shorter sessions are more accessible to you, physically or financially, we can also work for 60 minutes. 

if we are working with massage, you can be as clothed or unclothed (with drapes) as you’d like. craniosacral sessions are fully clothed. there will be ample props, pillows and blankets for your comfort. 

you have autonomy: i will ask about your need for communication about where/when touch will happen. you may say “stop” at any point, you may leave at any point. throughout the session, we will be in verbal (and non-verbal) dialog about what feels supportive and safe for your body.

everyone’s experience with bodywork is vastly different: some feel very little sensation, some find relief and pleasure, some move through extreme catharsis via tears and/or laughter, some fall asleep, along with an infinite amount of other journeys. i will not tell you what you are supposed to experience, i will only ask what is present for you. 

we will often begin with a short verbal grounding together. depending on the modalities we engage with, touch may range from the very light, still touch, to the kneading of tissues, to the gentle passive movement of the skeleton and joints. i will always leave time for reflection and rest at the end of our session. based on your needs, we may fluctuate between modalities multiple times or stay with one modality for the entire duration. there is no one way the session should go, it can shift and unfurl in real time.

my sessions are around 90 minutes, offered on a suggested sliding scale of 50€-100€

no one turned away for luck of funds <3

please refer to this graphic to assess where you might land on the scale

i am self-employed, therefore last minute cancellations that don’t leave me enough time to fill the slot severely impact my income. i ask that you give me at least 24 hours notice if you need to cancel.

if you feel you may be contagiously ill, covid or otherwise, i may request us to reschedule for the safety of myself and my other clients. please email me at your earliest knowing of any symptoms.