There’s a lot to think about.

I help you slow the whole train down.

 

I’m Annie Bray (she/her). I’m a Somatic Practitioner and Registered Massage Therapist. I help caregivers, clinicians and helping professionals build embodied resilience so you can be with the fullness of your experience without constantly courting burnout.

In my holistic approach, we slow things down and open up a dialogue. We find ways to create a reliable relationship of care with our bodies. We discern our true needs and desires. 

We reclaim the sensual intelligence our culture neglects. And grow our capacity to feel pleasure, human connection and creative flow. 

 
I’VE BEEN WORKING WITH BODIES FOR 25 YEARS

Over the course of my career, I’ve trained and practiced in massage therapy, acupressure, Chinese medicine, meditation, yoga and trauma-informed somatic coaching. I’ve held private sessions, classes, workshops and retreats. Read more about my credentials and study here.

I'M A STUDENT OF ANTI-OPPRESSION

I believe our wellness is interdependent. I want all bodies to be able to go through life feeling safe, seen, and held. I’m committed to studying anti-oppression, dismantling dominant cultural stories, and holding influence and privilege responsibly in relation to the collective. Read more about my values here.

I’M EQUAL PARTS MYSTIC AND NERD

I have one foot in the wisdom traditions, one foot in the latest neurobiology and I love to see the way the science, practices and methodologies overlap and illuminate each other.

My Work

My approach to somatic mentorship can support you in developing embodied fluency, building discernment in your body and moving towards your relational, personal and creative goals.

We do this through custom 1:1 work or group sessions that can include dialogue, guided meditation, grounding exercises and movement, practiced in a relational space that fosters safety and connection.

This is Somatic Practice

When you come home to your right-now body

and listen to what is being whispered...

When you try to learn the language of your senses, 

even if it seems incoherent at first...

When you begin to explore the ways that 

you are part of a body, a family, a culture, an ecosystem, a universe... 

You're doing the somatic practice that is yours alone to do.

My Story

I work with people who care deeply.

Bodies who feel it all. 

I’ve been deeply concerned for the planet and it’s inhabitants since about fourth grade. 

This was 1985. How did I even find out?

Besides David Suzuki, my childhood hero, very few people wanted to talk about this stuff back then. My 8 year old concern about famine, nuclear war and the greenhouse effect was considered very strange. Certainly not to be brought up at the dinner table.

So I held it in. My fear. My rage. My shock.

It felt like a lot. 

Maybe this is why, after high school, I ran away to Cortes, a remote island off the rainforest coast of British Columbia. 

Laying alone on the forest floor, I had my first glimpses of embodiment.

A feeling of peace. Safety. Subtle wordless glee. 

At times I thought I should stay on the island forever. Or go live in a monastery. 

Instead I came back to civilization. Ever since, I’ve been drawn to healing. Particularly healing in relationship, with other people and with the earth. 

For as long as I can remember I’ve been trying to figure out how to live in the modern world in a body that wasn’t built for it, on a planet that needs us to plug back in to her care.

 

I believe embodied resilience can foster creativity which, in turn, can help us to imagine a better world for the next generation. And also be there for the fullness of our present experience. 

I identify loosely as sensitive and empathic. As a social creature who needs ample alone time. And no stranger to the chka-chka-chka of busy thoughts in a creative mind.

This is what I’ve conceded. If I’m going to keep showing up in my life I’m going to need a lot of different kinds of support. I’m going to have to cultivate the courage and the self-regard to notice what I need and ask for it or go find it for myself. This takes practice. 

I’m getting kind of good at it. 

I’m also skilled at holding space for others to find this level of support.

People who care deeply about others, who want to figure out how to show up while living in a system that keeps us overextended, disconnected, and in constant cognitive overload.

For many years I was doing everything I could to discipline my mind, stay mobilized and keep going for my family and community. Yoga and meditation gave me a sense of coming home. 

Still, I had a sense that my life was just beyond arm’s length, a little foggy and out of reach. 

My mind was starting to settle a bit. And yet I wasn’t rooted in my body.

 
 

At 40, I started learning a new language of calm, regulation and resilience in my body.

 
 

For my 40th birthday, I gifted myself with a series of somatically oriented mentorship sessions with a practitioner named Carmen Spagnola. I’ve been grateful for this relationship ever since.

At that time I was stuck in grief and going through a crisis of faith. I had lost my capacity to meditate.

My mentor of many years, Michael Stone, had died tragically of a fentanyl overdose. Michael’s ongoing experience of mental illness was not something I had been fully aware of. I was overwhelmed, disoriented, and had no idea how to proceed.

In a time that felt unsafe and uncertain, somatically oriented therapy brought me into deeper embodiment. A neurologically-informed, relational approach to trauma recovery and somatic healing became a lifeline back to sensation and action. 

I was able to unpack and release a lot of shame around my feelings and experience. I started learning to access secure attachment, creating a more reliable sense of calm, regulation and resilience in my body.

That hazy arm’s length between me and the moment got shorter, clearer. I started to move between states more easily, feeling a kind of coherence between my thoughts, emotions, sensations and external circumstances.

Eventually I came back to meditation, this time with a greater ability to bring that feeling of home I got on the cushion back into my daily life, and with sharper discernment—so I could say NO to dogmatic and shame-based practices.

This feeling of coherence and connection and self-regard is what I want for you. 

 

My Studies

I’ve devoted much of my life to the question:

HOW CAN WE BE WELL AS INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE BODIES LIVING THROUGH CHALLENGE & CHANGE?

  • 2019-Present: Training, mentorship and peer supervision with Carmen Spagnola

  • 2021-2022: Level 1 + 2 Rebloom Advanced Coaching Training with Rachael Maddox

  • 2020: Somatic mentorship course with Patti Ellidge

  • 2016: Facilitator Training of The Work That Reconnects with Joanna Macy

  • 2009-2017: 1:1 mentorship, group training and retreats- Socially engaged Buddhism, Yoga and Meditation with Michael Stone

  • 2010-2012: 2200-hour Massage Therapy Program at the International Academy of Health Studies in Ottawa

  • 2004-2008: Program coordinator for mindfulness based programming for youth with serious mental illness at Laing House in Halifax, NS

  • 2002-2003: 750-hour training in Chinese Medicine, Five Element Theory & Jin Shin Do Acupressure at the Canadian Acupressure College in Victoria, BC

    1999-2017: Ongoing and advanced Yoga teacher training

Here's a look at my studies and experiences, current and past...

 

Nothing can eliminate all our responsibilities.

Through practice though, we can build our capacity and discernment. We can face our challenges and responsibilities and we can to orient towards meaning, joy and connection.

Deep down we usually don’t want to bypass life’s challenges or the need for healing and justice. And yet, we don’t have to let the weight of it crush us. 

I want us to slow down, yet stay mobilized. To interrupt patterns of isolation and exhaustion.  

Your body can be a portal to reconnect to a deep sense of belonging and connection.

 

My Values

Consent

Establishing consent dissolves hierarchies and builds trust. It supports an ongoing dialogue between your body, your discerning mind, and your deep inner wisdom. And, it celebrates clear communication.

Body Neutrality

All bodies are inherently worthy of belonging, care, love and support. I believe that being alive, in a body, is the only criteria that should determine your access to the things you need.

HERE ARE SOME THINGS I BELIEVE IN...

Liberation

The oppressive systems we currently live in have a real impact on our whole selves.. That’s why I’m a student of anti-racism, intersectional feminism, engaged Buddhism, and climate justice.

Healthy Boundaries

Boundaries are key to relational work. All of my 1:1 mentorship work begins by articulating clear, consensual boundaries that can hold the container for warmth, safety, deep care and growth. 

Collective Care

Our wellness is interdependent. This goes beyond human life and includes all of life. I believe in caring for each other and showing up however we can to support life, dignity and liberation for all beings.

I believe that…

Bodies are brilliant. They’re great at relationships. Full of ideas. And deeply perceptive.

Let’s reclaim your sensual intelligence so you can experience the fullness.

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