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Esalen® Massage
TRE Tension/Trauma Releasing Exercises
Sessions • Workshops • Retreats

“How Did the rose
Ever open its heart
And give to this world
All its Beauty?
It felt the encouragement of light
Against its Being.
Otherwise,
We all remain Too Frightened”
-Hafez-

My Inspiration & Intention

Present touch was like a powerful light that shone into my heart when I first received Esalen Massage at the Esalen Institute in 1999. It was a life-changer.

 

The present touch of a skilled massage practitioner enabled my heart and body to open and release the grief it had been holding since the death of my father 13 years before.

 

As I surrendered to the moment and shed what seemed like an endless river of tears, I experienced profound emptiness, peace, and an unexpected sense of bliss. I felt deeply in touch with my body and awakened to live in a new way.

 

I was so inspired that all I wanted was to pay it forward, to pass on this precious gift I had received.

 

That powerful moment marked the beginning of a deep and ongoing journey, an exploration into the lived experience of body, mind, heart and spirit.

 

By 2003 I was a fully trained member of the Esalen massage crew, and two years later I began teaching massage at Esalen and internationally. 

 

During my time living at Esalen I also had the opportunity to participate and assist in many of the pioneering institute's workshops. Through them, I discovered I had a gift for creating a space where people could safely open to their own experience.

 

My journey of self-exploration also led me to studying prenatal and birth therapy with Ray Castellino, training as a yoga teacher with Ana Forrest and learning movement-based expressive arts therapy at the Tamalpa Institute. In 2013 I became a provider of TRE Tension/Trauma Releasing Exercises. I’m also a long term student of the Diamond Approach for self realization.

 

Today I remain passionate about teaching the art of touch using sensitivity and listening hands. I’m equally as passionate about teaching people ways to come into direct contact with themselves and experience true presence, and I love being witness to the healing power that comes from these special places.

 

This has been my journey of almost 25 years, to serve others through massage, trainings, workshops and retreats. I am truly grateful for the opportunity to share my knowledge, skills and wisdom with you.

Portrait of Nora Matten

Nora Matten

Esalen®Massage Therapist & Teacher CAMTC License # 33164

TRE Tension/ Trauma Releasing Exercise Provider

Tamalpa Institute Graduate

Prenatal and Birth Therapy Graduate

Insured by ABMP

"Since writing Bodymind during the 1970s, I have enjoyed watching the fields of massage, bodywork, and alternative healing expand, diversify and blossom.  I have also had the special pleasure of experiencing many of the world’s finest massage therapists. 
I can honestly say that Nora Matten is one of the most gifted, talented and caring
bodyworkers/healers I have ever encountered.  Through her compassionate and sensitive work and her radiant and kind soul, Nora consistently endeavors to raise the art and science of massage therapy to an entirely new level."
Ken Dychtwald, Ph.D.

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