Serenity
Lab
Hi, I’m Ourah!
Glad to meet you.
I teach relaxation and focus as refinable skills using therapeutic sound and movement.
What does that mean, exactly?
Well, I believe that anyone can get better at relaxing, and it’s actually really important to develop and hone that ability, just as you would any skill.
Most of us constantly practice activation of our physical body, mind and emotions. We’ve been taught to value action and doing, and we become hooked on emotional intensity, especially those sticky negative feedback loops.
Do you believe in yourself to steward your own wellness?
As a dancer and musician early in life, my fascination with the human body led me to study Chinese medicine in China, later returning to the US to complete board certification.
In my clinical practice, people often came to me because conventional Western medicine failed them. I saw everything from autoimmune issues and hormone dysregulation to scoliosis and musculoskeletal imbalance.
I noticed that, regardless of what people came to see me for, they could significantly improve their daily experience through lifestyle choices and skills like movement, diet, and mental and emotional regulation. For me, helping people learn how to heal and care for themselves became more important than cycling them through treatment sessions on a table. So I decided to dissolve my clinical practice and focus on teaching.
Do you crave peace and clarity but feel overwhelmed by all the options and advice?
With my professional backgrounds in medicine and the arts, we’ve got lots of tools to choose from, including taiji quan, qigong, dance, breathwork, guided meditation, self-massage and therapeutic sound. I don't champion any one tool or method as the best, and I don’t think these tools are the only tools that work. What I offer is simply what I know and what I have found to be successful through experience.
Rather than getting attached to a specific system or method, I believe the real goal is to gain meta-level skills and knowledge about connecting to yourself, exploring what works for you and why. We use the tools as a gateway to understand your body’s natural potential. This allows you to maximize your adaptability so that you'll know how to find your way even when your environment shifts or you transition into a new phase of life.
Flow
Lab
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What makes you feel free?
Sometimes people are afraid to let go of tension, because if we’re not stressed out or suffering, we are judged as lazy (by others and perhaps especially by ourselves).
I’m here to encourage balance through decompression and ease by working with the natural abilities of the human body rather than resisting or fighting against it. We'll work together to soothe your nervous system, improve vagal tone, regulate cortisol, and shift out of fight or flight. I’ll help you free up energy and space within yourself, which naturally leads to more peace and clarity during the day and better sleep at night.
Finding ease is not about giving up your power or becoming inert. Rather, it gives you the power to choose the way you experience the present moment, regardless of your external circumstances.
That, to me, is the ultimate freedom.
Want to join me?
With every session and every client, my goal is to help you:
Spark wonder
Keep asking questions and learning, infuse your approach to the world with appreciation and delight, and always remain open to awe.
Nurture connection
Reconnect internally to your mind and body and cultivate positive synergies with your community and external environment.
Savor beauty
Absorb the world through beauty-seeking senses, in whatever form beauty resonates with you, to nourish your foundational sense of serenity and fulfillment.
Testimonials
“Not only is Ourah an incredibly skilled and agile teacher, able to think on her feet and manage both small and large groups, but how she delivers information and the teachings that she offers is so beautiful, so unique and so needed. I have felt her authentic care for students and love for teaching and her art since the very first class I took with her.”
-Natasha K.
“I just wanted to say how grateful I am [for] classes such as the Sound Baths and Intro to Soundscapes taught by Ourah. These have been so valuable for my physical and mental health, I really look forward to each one. Ourah does a great job of planning the content and connecting with the students. I am planning to bring a couple of friends to the next Sound Bath.”
-Brian K.
“My core strength, endurance and balance has improved, and perhaps most important a sense of tranquility experienced during and after the [taiji] class. I have not previously attended a class whereby the emotional and physical benefits are so apparent. I go to great lengths to attend. No matter how tired I may feel beforehand, I always feel the benefit of having participated. Ourah is knowledgeable, patient, and has a sense of humor.”
-Norah L.