Hi there! My name is Laura Lea, and my West Nashville-based Craniosacral Therapy practice is centered on three core beliefs I hold: (1) humans are primarily energetic beings, (2) our bodies' wisdom is the ultimate source of truth, and (3) when well-resourced, our bodies are perfectly designed to heal themselves.
In today's world, many of us have come to believe that health comes to us from outside ourselves — from a doctor, a pill, a diet, a procedure, etc. I strongly believe that health is, in fact, inherent within all of us. It is our most natural state of being!
Humans have an incredible built-in wisdom that is constantly working beneath the awareness of the conscious mind to move our bodies in the direction of harmony and well-being. Our job is to ensure this wisdom has the resources and supportive environment it needs to properly support us.
I practice a unique and highly energetic form of Craniosacral Therapy that allows my clients' bodies to access and unlock their inherent capacity for self-healing. This powerful bodywork modality restores balance within our physical and energetic being, regulates the nervous system, releases trauma from the body, and helps the body unwind areas of tension.
The way we feel inside our bodies is inextricably linked to our relationship with stress. Acute stress is an inevitable part of life, and when we learn how to manage this stress and transmute it into positive action, our bodies can easily carry out essential self-healing processes.
But when we live in a chronic state of stress — because of overbooked schedules, toxic relationships, unresolved past trauma, a loud inner critic, chronic illnesses/pain, etc. — our body’s capacity for self-healing is diminished. Our nervous system, whose sole purpose is to protect us at all costs in the face of real or perceived threats, has to work overtime to keep us safe from all the stressors in our lives. For some of us, our nervous system can get stuck in an intense self-protection loop, and at this point, our stress catches up to us in the form of illness, pain, fatigue, brain fog, emotional dysregulation, and/or a general lack of enthusiasm for life. The bottom line is this: it is very hard to heal, feel good, and experience peace when we’re in a prolonged state of stress.
Craniosacral Therapy is an invitation for the nervous system to shift from dysregulated to regulated, and for the body to shift from a state of stress to a state of ease.These shifts are a non-negotiable prerequisite for the body to do any kind of meaningful self-healing work. When my clients receive Craniosacral Therapy, they naturally move into a regulated state in which their body can direct its inner resources to prioritize self-healing over self-protection.
The energetic form of Craniosacral Therapy I practice reaches people at the deepest levels of their being. Most people experience physical, mental, and emotional shifts as a result of this work, and on occasion, clients speak of having a healing spiritual experience while on the table (this can happen when enter an expanded state of consciousness).
Because Craniosacral Therapy can affect people in many different ways, everyone has a unique experience of this work and no two sessions or session outcomes are alike. While one person might experience a dramatic alleviation of pain, another might clear past trauma and old emotional wounds from their body. Someone else might gain a new perspective on a challenging relationship dynamic they're dealing with, while yet another person might receive a healing message from a deceased loved one on the other side.
In each of my client sessions, I trust that the body/subconscious/inner healer of the person on the table knows exactly what needs to be processed, cleared, released, or awakened within them to move them in the direction of balance and coherence. Each body I work with is my partner and guide, showing me (through the subtle movement of fascia and/or energy in their body) where to focus and how to provide support. As the practitioner, I am listening deeply (via my sensitive hands) to the needs and requests of the body on the table, and I respond accordingly to provide a highly personalized bodywork experience.
In my practice I serve the communities of Davidson County and Williamson County, including West Nashville (Green Hills, Oak Hill, Forest Hills, Belle Meade, West End, Sylvan Park, The Nations, Bellevue, etc.), East Nashville, Brentwood, Nolensville, and Franklin, TN. I welcome all clients, and I work primarily with women, including prenatal and postpartum women. I support people working through a very broad variety of health conditions, from concussions to PTSD; hormonal imbalances to depression and anxiety; and chronic pain to autoimmune diseases. The work I do facilitates deep healing and transformation within my clients at the physical, mental, and emotional level.
I developed a passion for holistic wellness and alternative medicine in my mid-20’s, after learning the hard way that Western medicine did not have helpful answers for a variety of health challenges and chronic running injuries I was experiencing during that season of life. When years of doctor appointments and tests ultimately proved unfruitful, I decided it was time to educate myself and take charge of my own well-being. I began exploring how to help my body, mind, and spirit heal with nourishing foods, mindful movement, and meditation. The more I learned, the more empowered I became — and the better I started to feel.
In 2021, while working to resolve some lingering structural issues that continued to cause me pain, I realized that in a lot of ways I was still just treating my symptoms — not the root causes of my issues. I was determined to finally get to the bottom of whatever was causing the dysfunction I was experiencing. That’s when bodywork solutions started to come into my awareness.
Over the next few years, I was fortunate to work with many skilled practitioners in Nashville who helped me uncover the unsuspecting fascial restrictions and stored emotional energy within my tissues that were responsible for persistent structural issues in my gut and my hips. I was amazed by the various modalities that helped me restore balance and stability. I felt a strong pull to learn more about the effects of physical and emotional trauma on the body and the different approaches for addressing these wounds.
My experience receiving bodywork ultimately inspired me to make a dramatic and heart-led career change. After working as a writer for environmental non-profits for seven years, I decided to go back to school to learn Craniosacral Therapy and a variety of energy-based healing approaches. I love the work that I get to do, and I feel deeply honored to support my clients as they pursue lives of greater peace, joy, balance, ease, and connection.