About Natalie

I am queer, trans, Boricua, Yamocan Opia meaning double spirit, Taino. 
I am a single, homeschooling parent of three amazing children. Living life and learning are very integrated as one full experience. In the last two years, I've been working hard reclaiming my life, and connecting with my ancestral lineage. I feel very excited and honored to begin my practice, and offer healing massage to the BIPOC, queer, and transgender community in the Pioneer Valley. I use they/them pronouns.
My massages are always clothing optional. 

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I’m aware of how structural oppression can make us ill, both mentally and physically. There is a vigilance we carry when ever we leave our homes. Questions we run over and over in our heads when we entertain the idea of seeking bodywork. Will I be safe? Will I be judged? Will their words be harmful? Do I have to take my clothes off? Can I speak up if the pressure is too deep? Will my boundaries be honored? 

Harmful and/or disrespectful experiences prevent us from seeking more support. Holding this heavy work is exhausting, and contributes to the discomfort, stress, and pain experienced.  I have known some of these places and their impact. Not only do I want your massage to be healing on a physical level, but one on a mental and emotional level as well. Possibly even reparative. It is important for your massage to feel like a collaboration. 

In this collaboration we will focus on pain alleviation, muscle relaxation, and stress reduction. I will verbally guide your breath to areas of the body that may need it. Many of us live off of taking shallow breaths and we don't even realize it.. I want to help people breath deeply again. 

My practice is about reawakening and reclaiming our healing, wellness, and connection to the inner wisdom of our bodies. It’s about integrating the awareness that our bodies hold our life stories with thought, emotions, and patterns. These stories are reflected by how and where we hold tension, stress, discomfort, and trauma. Our breath is our resource to get us through this healing work. Massage can help loosen the blocks with out having to unpack them. I encourage my clients to allow themselves the space to listen and connect deeply with their inner knowing, experience healing touch and loving energy, with gentle reminders to feel, receive, and release. Trust that the body knows what to do. 

As a survivor of sexual and emotional trauma, it is really important that my clients feel heard, seen, and like they are an active participant while receiving a massage. I want to make sure my clients feel like they are in charge of what feels good and what doesn’t. This is a practice in and of itself. This is important work.

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I founded HOT Community Clinic, Spring of 2017. It stands for Healing Ourselves Together, where Queer and Trans BIPOC  have access to free bodywork once a month. This is my baby. I'm always looking for QTBIPOC body workers who want to give back to the community. It is intended to be a collective of healers. Please contact me if you are interested. I will be bringing the clinic to Turners Falls. TBD

I am graduate from The Massage School in Easthamptom, specializing in relaxation and Swedish massage. I also studied deep tissue/ trigger point therapy, and myofascial release. I am an intuitive massage therapist with a style that combines what a client wants and needs with what the body speaks. 

In addition to massage training, I completed introductory, advanced I & II trainings at Shalom Mountain Retreat & Study Center (NY) that included experiential exercises grounded in Western psychology, Gestalt, Core Energetics, and body-centered processes including Somatic Experience, that engage the body, mind and spiritual dimensions.

In our culture, self care feels only available to those who can afford it. Some of my prices do reflect that for sustainability reasons. I am committed to making sure my massages are accessible prioritizing marginalized communities by offering two different sliding scale payment options. 

See offerings and prices.

Contact Natalie to set up your self care massage appointment: 413-992-8880 or
Nataliepiconelmt@gmail.com

Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare. ~ Audre Lorde