AWAKEN YOUR BODY AT SACRED LIVING CENTER
April 2022
According to co-owner Shannon Tinder, the Sacred Living Center (1806 Ashland Street) is not your cookie cutter spa & wellness center.
“The most common response we hear from folks after sessions is ‘Wow! I’ve been receiving bodywork for 30 years and have never experienced anything like that! It was like ten massages in one,’” said Shannon, who opened the center with her husband Nathan in 2018. “Clients report that they feel truly held and safe in the healing space we create. It’s quite simple really. We help to awaken the body through the senses and help it remember its perfection. We activate all of the senses and use soft listening hands to hear where the body is desiring balance. We both incorporate sound tools like tuning forks to support the harmonizing of body, mind, and soul. Sound brings the body into resonance. When all the beats match in the body, then infinite amounts of space between the beats is created for possibility.”
Shannon began with herbalism 18 years ago where she became a clinical herbalist with the Northwest School for Botanical Studies. Later while working as an herbalist in Arizona, she attended Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, completing an extensive massage program with a focus on Craniosacral Unwinding Polarity therapies, and energy healing. When she and Nathan moved to Ashland in 2015, she expanded into a focus on women’s health by combining Holistic Pelvic Care, somatic bodywork, and vibrational frequency treatments.
Nathan’s roots are in the wilderness, having spent his 20s being a hunting guide and interning with Tom Brown, who is an expert wilderness tracker on the East Coast. He played Division One football for the University of Utah, which gave him his hard work ethic and core strength. His specialty became fire making and storytelling through the hand drill, and he has taught this sacred way of fire all over the West Coast to all ages.
“Nathan and I met at a wilderness retreat center in the Superstition Mountains of Arizona,” Shannon said. “That is the place that became the foundation of our vision together. As we transitioned to Ashland, Nathan got inspired to study massage through Esalen Hot Springs, Harbin Hot Springs, and then finished it at Ashland Institute of Massage.”
The Sacred Living Center offers regenerative therapies for the body, mind, and spirit.
“Our goal is to help one return to their own center, that flow state,” Shannon said. “Life is about surrendering to the flow—the flow state that is the present moment. We don’t have anything else in life but Now. Our ability to believe that anything is possible allows us to hold this space for our clients. When grounded, centered space is created - healing happens.”
Nathan’s offering is Transformational Bodywork, which is a full sensory experience within his custom-built massage studio. His style is a mixture of Esalen, Deep Tissue, Myofascial, Neuromuscular Technique, Lomi Lomi, Cupping, Structural Integration, and sound healing. Deep Tissue massage with Sensitivity. “I give the massage I have always wanted, massage that creates lasting change,” he said.
Shannon’s offerings include Womb Wellness Care, which is based on Holistic Pelvic Care, Biofield Tuning Attunements, Peri Hydro Steaming, and women’s circles.
“Our skill sets allow us to cater each session to the specific needs of the client,” she said. “We love being flexible and having many tools in our tool bag. We also carry an eclectic array of local herbal products and elixirs for sale at the center, available to purchase when in for sessions.”
For more information and on-line booking, check out sacredlivingcenter.com, or you can follow them on Facebook (Sacred Living Center) and Instagram (@shannon-tinder).