Hi, I’m Yana.

I founded Embody Grace to empower people to pay attention to themselves, to listen to their bodies, quiet their minds and be a fuller version of themselves.

I went to massage school in 1995 and immediately fell in love with Shiatsu. I was fascinated by the philosophy of Chinese medicine, by how Shiatsu felt in my body and how it affected me not just physically but also mentally, emotionally and spiritually. It has been part of my livelihood ever since and has been an integral part of my personal development. I have taken classes in many different types of manual therapies (and they all inform my work) but it is the Shiatsu that has challenged me to open my mind and my senses beyond what I could see and physically manipulate. It has taught me to trust my intuition and the feeling of energy beneath my hands, to listen to the body and to know how to respond.

Shiatsu has helped me grow immensely AND it is also physically hard on my body. After about 20 years of practicing I had pain in my hands, neck and shoulders so I jumped at the chance to take a “MELT for bodyworkers” workshop which promised to help with repetitive stress issues. I was hooked after one class. I became a regular MELT student and learned that it not only helps my work related issues, but also helps me recover faster from exercise, helps me prepare my body for a run or big hike and it calms my nervous system when I’m feeling whacked out.

Then one by one my teachers moved away so in 2022 I decided to become a teacher myself. The trainings not only taught me how to teach MELT but deepened my understanding of it in my own body and how to use it to find balance and strength.  Now at 57 I have less pain and more strength than I had 10 years ago.  In the last two summers I did a 19 mile hike with my teenage son, summited my first Teton and my knees stopped crackling when I walk downstairs in the morning. I decided to take charge of my aging so I MELT everyday, get regular bodywork, meditate and drink lots of water.