We were lucky to catch up with Denae D’auria recently and have shared our conversation below.

DeNae, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

A defining moment in my professional career was when I moved to Los Angeles. Los Angeles is full of amazingly talented people, in all arenas, and when I came here I made the choice to completely show up as my authentic self. I recognized that trying to be what I thought I “should” be, or mute who I am, wasn’t going to serve me in a place like LA– “everyone else” was already here. When I had to start from ground zero building a practice in LA, I trusted that if I stood in my gifts, truths and wisdom, those who could benefit from me would find me. And, they did and continue to!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a Practitioner of Structural Integration “Rolfing” and a Lagree Fitness Instructor. Most simply explained, I assist people finding their highest alignment on a mind-body level. As a Practitioner of Structural Integration, I work with the fascia to bring more ease, alignment and life energy to the body. In my experience with “The Work” (Dr. Ida Rolf”s Ten Series), the fascia holds the matrix of everything. When a person finds more ease, alignment and freedom in their fascia, their whole being can function at a healthier state with more precision and presence. And, as a Lagree Fitness Instructor, I take the principles of “Rolfing” and apply them to workouts on the Megaformer. During the classes I teach, I teach my students things like: finding their feet and literal center of gravity, about the importance of gluteal, pelvic floor and core engagement, activation and stability, and to protect their lower backs and necks (unwinding and helping to undo the effects of our modern day, sedentary and technological lifestyles).

I got into Structural Integration “Rolfing” after going through a Ten Series during a health crisis in my late teen years and having it greatly improve my health and my relationship with myself on all levels. I was en route to becoming an MD, but changed my path when I was introduced to naturopathic/functional/alternative medicine. Then a few years ago I was introduced to Lagree Fitness as a way to keep myself strong (mentally and physically) for the work that I do. When I realized I could use Lagree Fitness as a forum to teach a broader audience how to feel better and move better in their bodies, I became a certified instructor. Everything I teach is in integrity with what I do for myself– I receive “Rolfing” sessions as needed, and regularly take Lagree classes to keep myself on my mental and physical A-game. As a result, and as I age, I still truly feel amazing in my body.

What I’m most proud of about the work I do is the impact it has assisting my clients to feel better, healthier, more safe and at ease in their bodies, have a better relationship with their self on every level, to heal from trauma, and to feel overall more alive. I truly love assisting my clients to feel like a higher-functioning, aligned on all levels, version of them self!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I think it’s a shadow of the healing arts (and probably a lot of others arts) that you’re “not going to get rich” doing an art. This is something that was actually said to us by a teacher in school and stayed in the back of my mind: you’re not going to get rich doing this. But I have to disagree and ask for the definition of wealth? I think having passion for what you do is so important for health and well-being. And, that to me is wealth. Don’t get me wrong, with anything work/money related, you have to have a business-related plan and can’t just cross your fingers and hope it works out. I love the work I do and look forward to going to work almost everyday. I have immense gratitude that it financially sustains me. But, I didn’t build a successful practice passively– I have always had a plan and a back-up plan. I feel like there are so many messages about choosing a career that revolve around “getting rich” and playing it “safe” that can kill a person’s true love/passion/purpose/life energy/creativity. Some time periods have been a lot harder financially than others, but I couldn’t imagine having to stress about money while hating my job. Choosing a “not safe/stable/normal” career path maybe doesn’t guarantee “getting rich” monetarily, but honestly I am grateful I just filed that in the back of my mind and didn’t hold onto it too tightly as a value that needed to be important to me.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Being self-employed, and maintaining a career I love, has been all about the pivots. I compare this to big wave surfing and having to have the right timing to catch “your’ wave and then the mastery to ride it out… not to mention all the practice it takes to lead up to that point.

My first pivot came shortly after school. I had a successful practice, but hadn’t done enough self-work/healing to not take on all that came with assisting people to heal trauma. So, I took a few years off from having a practice, lived a bunch of life, worked in business related jobs, and then finally did the self-work I needed to do to have the wisdom and boundaries I needed to have in order to hold space for people full-time.

My next major pivot came when I left behind a waitlisted practice, moved to LA, and had to completely start over. I taught a ton of Lagree Fitness classes until my Structural Integration “Rolfing” practice became more steady. Then it took trust each time I cut back on the amount of classes I was teaching to make more time for Structural Integration “Rolfing” clients. The pandemic definitely added uncertainty– I had moved here not long before everything shutdown– and I had to ride many waves/pivot several times during that time. And, now, I’m traversing the LA fires and how it has directly and indirectly affected a lot of my clientele. Resilience and flexibility to pivot have largely been a part of my experience having a practice the past few years.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.denaedauria.com
• Instagram: @denaedauria

Image Credits

Veronika Reinert
Lagroove Studio Boulder
Molly Mitchell-Hardt
Marina Paganessi