We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kate Barvainis a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kate, appreciate you joining us today. We love heartwarming stories – do you have a heartwarming story from your career to share?

While I am grateful for every opportunity I have to work with clients, one experience really stands out. After closing my practice for many months due to the lockdown in 2020, I slowly reopened and began seeing clients again.

One of the first people I met with was a longtime massage therapy client who had been going through a divorce and living alone throughout the lockdown. Within minutes of starting the session, she began to weep and expressed her immense gratitude to be receiving bodywork again. She realized that she had not experienced human contact or touch in nearly five months and the emotional impact was overwhelming for her in that moment. She expressed how wonderful it was to have a long history of working together and the trust and safety she felt in knowing she could continue her healing journey.

It has been long established that human-to-human contact triggers the release of oxytocin and other feel-good hormones that have a measurably uplifting effect on our biochemistry. Given the right environment and energy, the body shows its innate wisdom and ability to heal itself. It’s clear to see how periods of separation and isolation can have a negative impact on our wellbeing. Stories like these highlight the intrinsic value of human connection and the healing power of therapeutic touch.

Kate, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

The work that I do involves a multifaceted approach to health and healing. As a holistic health counselor, educator, and bodywork practitioner I work with clients on an individual basis, providing support and recommendations to improve lifestyle, nutrition, and to facilitate healing. I hold professional licenses as a massage therapist and also offer additional modalities including CranioSacral Therapy and Reiki.

I started building my educational foundation at SUNY Cortland, receiving both a Bachelors degree in Health Science and a Masters degree in Community Health Education. I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to work as a graduate assistant with the Health Education Office, focusing in the areas of health and wellness promotion, HIV/AIDS awareness, as well as alcohol and substance abuse education and prevention.

After completing my graduate program, I immediately enrolled in a massage therapy program at The Onondaga School of Therapeutic Massage in Rochester, NY. There, I was introduced to a new world of alternative health and healing that opened doors for me that I am still walking through. After a few years working and gaining experience as a massage therapist, I attended the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in NYC. There I had the opportunity to study with teachers including Deepak Chopra, Andrew Weil, Michio Kushi, Mark Hyman, Marion Nestle, David Wolfe, Debbie Ford, and Sally Fallon.  In June 2011, I completed a rigorous ten-month Ayurveda and Yoga Teacher Training gaining a certification as a Hatha Yoga Teacher.

In recent years, I’ve also had many opportunities to co-direct yoga and wellness retreats, workshops, and fundraisers throughout Western Massachusetts, Vermont, Martha’s Vineyard, New York, Maine, Hawaii, Mexico and India. I have also volunteered for organizations including AIDS Rochester, STAP (Southern Tier AIDS Program), and Big Brother/Big Sister of Hampshire County.

Currently, I am focused solely on my individual practice comprised mostly of holistic health counseling and the bodywork modalities I offer such as massage therapy and craniosacral therapy. One of the most important parts of the work I do is the first step, which is meeting people where they are. Each person that comes to my practice is a unique individual with a specific story, health history, and set of concerns and goals. Getting to know what each individual needs allows me to best apply my knowledge and skill set to help them. The work I do encourages people to take responsibility for their health mentally, physically, and spiritually, by building the foundations of healthy lifestyle, nutrition, and self care. The idea of the “quick fix” when it comes to health and healing is generally unrealistic and not sustainable. There has never been a more important time than now to invest in your own health.

I strive to achieve the highest level of integrity and trust within each session I provide. I’m proud to create a safe space for my clients to come and focus solely on healing. Each session is an opportunity to drop in, go deeper, and support the body’s innate wisdom and healing power. I am incredibly grateful to be a guide on each client’s path to health and wellbeing.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I remember as far back as my childhood years wanting to help people feel better and take their pain away. As I got older and began to think about what kind of work I would do in the world, I dreamed about becoming a massage therapist. I had heard other people speaking about the healing experiences they had through this work, and knew that was what I wanted to do.

I was strongly encouraged to first go and get a formal college education to have something “to fall back on” in case my dream didn’t work out. Towards the end of my college career when I had a chance to choose an internship idea, I suggested to my professor my interest in massage therapy. Disappointed, he looked at me and said “that would be a big step backwards for you.” While I didn’t end up doing my internship in massage therapy, my moment of resilience came as soon as I finished grad school.

With my new sense of accomplishment and freedom, I channeled that energy into moving forward towards my dream. I immediately enrolled in massage school which ended up being one of the happiest times of my life. I’ve never viewed any part of my education as something to fall back on. I’ve honored each part as a building block for the foundation of creating my career. Because of that resilience, doors have continued to open for me, not only supporting my original vision but helping me to surpass my expectations.

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

My own personal journey of health and healing started when I was young. I was a very introverted kid with various allergies, illnesses, and sensitivities. My family ate the standard American diet and turned to Western medicine for everything. Most often, doctors didn’t know exactly how to treat my ailments and prescribed strong medications that had harmful side effects.

These experiences of not feeling well for so many years motivated me to do research and find more holistic approaches to healing. It was certainly a driving force behind my life’s work. The challenging part was having to unlearn so much of what I had been taught about healthcare, western medicine, nutrition, etc.

For me, and for so many of the people I work with, these traditional health systems are not built to support true health and freedom from disease. In many cases they create a dependency on something outside of yourself with the potential for long term side effects and ever increasing costs to maintain. Taking responsibility for my own health was one of the biggest lessons I’ve had to learn and the most life changing. More and more people are seeking out alternatives to traditional health care for this same reason.

Investing in your own preventative health care is essential, especially in the world we live in today. We currently have some of the highest rates of chronic illness, exposure to toxins from the environment, and chronic stress than ever before. The good news is you can start “unlearning” at any time. You can start wherever you are. Begin by looking at what you consume on a daily basis. How might you improve the quality of your food? Could you try less invasive herbal remedies and therapeutic bodywork instead of pharmaceutical drugs and surgery? Can you start exercising more or commit to other stress reducing activities such as yoga or meditation? If you need help getting started, there are many natural health practitioners like me that can guide you.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.reconnectionwellness.com , www.reconnectionwellness.zenfolio.com
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/kate-barvainis