Clients share their experiences...
"When I lived in NYC, I received Polarity Therapy from Maya. Her sensitive, caring, and nurturing nature, along with her attentiveness and wisdom as a bodyworker, counselor, and meditation guide helped me do some life changing work. After a few months I witnessed and experienced permanent changes in my physical and emotional well being. I am ever grateful to Maya and her gifted touch!"
PC, former client
PC, former client
"Maya is someone who shines brightly in her fields of work and knowledge. I found her through careful research at a time when grasping to find meaning in some very painful, personal, and highly sensitive life experiences. It took a couple of sessions to learn about one another, but she asked for my commitment to giving it a go. It was a risk worth taking. In no time at all, we found our rhythm of working together. A mind / body practitioner should put their client at ease; this is natural for Maya, she exudes a natural warmth and is very perceptive, intuitive, and receptive. As a result, I have improved sense of self and state of life. Her insight and gentle guidance is immeasurably valuable. Additionally, she is one of the most honest and open human beings I have met; she is invested in her clients and truly cares while maintaining a healthy and professional relationship at all times. She has served as a source of support and a wise mentor through some difficult times and some positive times, too. She is one of those very rare and very real souls who digs deeply within herself to give conscientious care to her clients. She creates a safe and steady environment to invest your interests for self-growth. She is resourceful with a fresh perspective. After our sessions, I find myself literally glowing with possibility. I cannot recommend her enough. Her utilization of different modalities is definitely a positive asset to what she has to offer. If you have hesitations, my advice is to try a set number of sessions and feel out the dynamic. I think you will be pleasantly surprised!"
Current Client, NY Based Entertainment Professional
Current Client, NY Based Entertainment Professional
"As a psychotherapist, I'm always interested in learning different ways to help my clients (and myself) to develop awareness of the interconnectedness between the mind and the body. I learned a lot from Maya's workshop on Polarity Therapy and Stress Reduction. With years of experience in bodywork and in teaching, Maya was very at ease in explaining and leading the experiential exercises, which allowed the participants to be comfortable in exploring their senses, sharing what they discovered, and learning from each other. Even after years of yoga and meditation practice, this workshop helped me become more aware of where I hold certain emotions in my body and in what ways. I really enjoyed the movement and vocal exercises too. I find myself practicing some of them whenever I feel tense or fatigued and have the privacy to let out a good "HA." I was fortunate to be amongst a group of participants who were all fully engaged throughout the workshop, which made the whole experience more enjoyable and powerful. I highly recommend this workshop for anyone who has the desire to learn more about emotional and physical wellness. Thank you, Maya."
Julia Chan LCSW, Psychotherapist in Private Practice
Julia Chan LCSW, Psychotherapist in Private Practice
"I had been through a few years of conventional therapy and at no time did I ever feel as safe and as self-assured as I had in one session with Maya....
I first met Maya when she was practicing massage therapy at my local gym. I had gotten a massage session as a gift and she was randomly assigned to me. I had not received a massage ever before so I was both curious and hesitant about the experience. It must have been evident to her that I had not been touched in this manner in a very long time. I was certainly feeling quite vulnerable. She invited me to voice my reactions to her different touches in such a way that made me feel completely safe to say if a certain touch was too intense or not, and she was quick to adjust her touch to my level of sensitivity. In a matter of moments she made me feel comfortable and cared for. Sometime during the session she moved to my upper back and upon a particular stroke of my muscles I suddenly started to cry. I knew I was not crying due to pain or even discomfort; something had released in my spirit. My tears were coming from a place of deep sadness somehow stored in my muscles. This sudden lack of control frightened me and I wanted to get up and run away. But Maya gently encouraged me to stay with the feeling and with her own energy held my experience in a very compassionate and safe manner - much like a mother would to her newborn child. She gave me the permission to let the tears flow and in doing so the tension in my upper back began to dissipate. She completed the session gently and gave me plenty of time to compose myself and get dressed. Afterward, Maya explained to me that my body was storing years of emotion and that being touched in that way allowed those emotions to flow through me. I found this fascinating and asked her a few questions. It was then that she told me about her private practice and how she could help me release emotion and tension in a therapeutic environment.
My sessions began with Maya in May of 2002. I would have one session a week. At our very first session she explained how she worked. First, she would invite me to talk about how I was doing emotionally and physically. After talking, she would have me lay on her table, face up, and she would place her hands gently on my body and just listen to my body. She explained that her touch was not at all like massage, where the practitioner would work to loosen muscular knots with intense strokes. Instead, she would lay her hands on the body part that called to her and would just leave them there, magically receiving my energy and at the same time transferring her calm energy to me. In addition, she explained to me that the body and mind cannot be separated and that in order to heal any dis-ease whatsoever one must address the vessel, the physical body.
So we began talking. I told her that I had been suffering from chronic stomach pain and IBS for years and that healing this dis-ease was my primary purpose for our sessions. I told her briefly about myself, being careful not to disclose to much at our first session ( I was carrying a heavy burden of shame and wanted to be a "good student") Maya invited me to lay down and then ever so gently put one hand on my stomach. I instantly tightened up and held my breath. She recognized this and asked me to describe what I was feeling. In no time did I start to cry...again. The tears were the same tears I shed in my massage session with her - deep sadness. Again, Maya gave me the permission to ask her to stop if I needed to do so, and allowed me to express myself if I so desired. She made me feel so important and so cared for that I took the leap and described exactly how I was feeling: inside my stomach was as hard as tire rubber, deeper still it was filled with thick mud, under all that a sadness so powerful it ached, and on top of it all I was becoming afraid of my emerging awareness.
It was at that point that Maya did what no other person has ever done, including my own mother: she validated my feelings. She expressed her understanding of my feelings by giving them a voice. With her own words she captured both my felt emotions and my physical sensations. She looked upon me with compassion and respect. She completely saw me and heard me. She was absolutely comfortable in experiencing her student moving through a difficult emotional release. In other words, she allowed me to have my experience while staying completely centered in herself. She did not try to end the session early or move onto something else or discount my feelings in any way that would make her feel better about the situation. She was totally selfless in that way. She was there for me, to help me move through it, to help me hold it, to help me see it. She helped me to really listen to my own inner monologue and to see how I think of myself and how I've been so ashamed of myself and how I've held all this pain and fear and sadness and even rage so tightly inside my body. I had been through a few years of conventional therapy and at no time did I ever feel as safe and as self-assured as I had in one session with Maya. Typically, at the end of my conventional therapy sessions I would feel even heavier and more depressed and more ashamed. Not so with Maya. She gave me the permission to look upon myself with compassion, not shame. She created an environment that was safe to move at my body's pace. "
LM, former client
I first met Maya when she was practicing massage therapy at my local gym. I had gotten a massage session as a gift and she was randomly assigned to me. I had not received a massage ever before so I was both curious and hesitant about the experience. It must have been evident to her that I had not been touched in this manner in a very long time. I was certainly feeling quite vulnerable. She invited me to voice my reactions to her different touches in such a way that made me feel completely safe to say if a certain touch was too intense or not, and she was quick to adjust her touch to my level of sensitivity. In a matter of moments she made me feel comfortable and cared for. Sometime during the session she moved to my upper back and upon a particular stroke of my muscles I suddenly started to cry. I knew I was not crying due to pain or even discomfort; something had released in my spirit. My tears were coming from a place of deep sadness somehow stored in my muscles. This sudden lack of control frightened me and I wanted to get up and run away. But Maya gently encouraged me to stay with the feeling and with her own energy held my experience in a very compassionate and safe manner - much like a mother would to her newborn child. She gave me the permission to let the tears flow and in doing so the tension in my upper back began to dissipate. She completed the session gently and gave me plenty of time to compose myself and get dressed. Afterward, Maya explained to me that my body was storing years of emotion and that being touched in that way allowed those emotions to flow through me. I found this fascinating and asked her a few questions. It was then that she told me about her private practice and how she could help me release emotion and tension in a therapeutic environment.
My sessions began with Maya in May of 2002. I would have one session a week. At our very first session she explained how she worked. First, she would invite me to talk about how I was doing emotionally and physically. After talking, she would have me lay on her table, face up, and she would place her hands gently on my body and just listen to my body. She explained that her touch was not at all like massage, where the practitioner would work to loosen muscular knots with intense strokes. Instead, she would lay her hands on the body part that called to her and would just leave them there, magically receiving my energy and at the same time transferring her calm energy to me. In addition, she explained to me that the body and mind cannot be separated and that in order to heal any dis-ease whatsoever one must address the vessel, the physical body.
So we began talking. I told her that I had been suffering from chronic stomach pain and IBS for years and that healing this dis-ease was my primary purpose for our sessions. I told her briefly about myself, being careful not to disclose to much at our first session ( I was carrying a heavy burden of shame and wanted to be a "good student") Maya invited me to lay down and then ever so gently put one hand on my stomach. I instantly tightened up and held my breath. She recognized this and asked me to describe what I was feeling. In no time did I start to cry...again. The tears were the same tears I shed in my massage session with her - deep sadness. Again, Maya gave me the permission to ask her to stop if I needed to do so, and allowed me to express myself if I so desired. She made me feel so important and so cared for that I took the leap and described exactly how I was feeling: inside my stomach was as hard as tire rubber, deeper still it was filled with thick mud, under all that a sadness so powerful it ached, and on top of it all I was becoming afraid of my emerging awareness.
It was at that point that Maya did what no other person has ever done, including my own mother: she validated my feelings. She expressed her understanding of my feelings by giving them a voice. With her own words she captured both my felt emotions and my physical sensations. She looked upon me with compassion and respect. She completely saw me and heard me. She was absolutely comfortable in experiencing her student moving through a difficult emotional release. In other words, she allowed me to have my experience while staying completely centered in herself. She did not try to end the session early or move onto something else or discount my feelings in any way that would make her feel better about the situation. She was totally selfless in that way. She was there for me, to help me move through it, to help me hold it, to help me see it. She helped me to really listen to my own inner monologue and to see how I think of myself and how I've been so ashamed of myself and how I've held all this pain and fear and sadness and even rage so tightly inside my body. I had been through a few years of conventional therapy and at no time did I ever feel as safe and as self-assured as I had in one session with Maya. Typically, at the end of my conventional therapy sessions I would feel even heavier and more depressed and more ashamed. Not so with Maya. She gave me the permission to look upon myself with compassion, not shame. She created an environment that was safe to move at my body's pace. "
LM, former client
Maya Geyer, LCSW, RPP, LMT 917.545.0937 maya@integratedbodymind.com