Upcountry healer offers unique experience
‘Healing catalyst’ Denise LaBarre goes beyond bodywork
Find relief from both physical and emotional problems ranging from stress, joint problems and back pain to fibromyalgia, anxiety and depression with Denise LaBarre’s out-of-the box “Healing Catalyst” approach.
“Our bodies naturally use sensation and symptoms to communicate with us,” LaBarre notes. “But early on, we are taught to ignore our body’s messages and suppress discomfort and unwanted emotions. At some point, the body begins to signal a backlog of stuck emotional energy with physical problems. I help people ‘hear’ what their bodies have been trying to communicate through pain, illness and disease and reconnect the healing process on multiple levels with fast, dramatic results.”
Examples of LaBarre’s success stories include resolving a decade of knee problems or long-standing back issues in only a couple of sessions. She also sees a lot of patients with food issues or who are victims of abuse.
Like the bodywork LaBarre performs, her book, “Issues in Your Tissues: Heal Body and Emotion from the Inside Out,” is about going in the body and feeling the energy without getting stuck in the head.
“It’s pretty straightforward once you understand a few simple concepts and give yourself permission to feel,” LaBarre explains. “Your healing answers are just waiting for you to discover them, and your breath provides the doorway to your healing experience.”
LaBarre, who is a university-trained linguist with a background in psychology, as well as a licensed massage therapist, uses her hands, intuition and decades of skill and experience to translate the body’s messages for the mind.
“I don’t do the healing,” she insists. “That’s up to your body and the divine. But I help you make connections on physical, emotional, mental and spiritual levels that catalyze deep and lasting healing.”
A 90-minute private session, available in her Makawao office, starts out like a traditional spa massage before evolving into a customized treatment designed for the needs of the client. No two sessions look or feel the same, and play, self-permission and emotional release are important aspects of the process.
LaBarre prides herself on her ability to “hold safe space” for any opening that wants to happen. The emphasis is on felt experience. It’s not unusual for her to go outside with a client to jump on a trampoline or chop out years-old rage with a machete.
As the mother of a 19year-old client put it: “I noticed my daughter was more open, grounded in her body and more confident after a session with Denise — and she hugs me more now, too!”