Hi! I’m Kie Williams, LMBT-10686
I’m a fully licensed Esalen® Massage and bodywork therapist with a focus on anxiety and trauma.
Esalen® Massage by Kie, LLC is my Esalen® practice and I’m the first certified Esalen® bodyworker in the State of South Carolina, in practice since 2017.
I graduated from a 600-hour program of Professional Training for Massage and Bodywork Therapy at the Center for Massage & Natural Health in Asheville, NC, my hometown at the time. There I was introduced to the modality of Esalen® Massage by the prodigious Robin Fann-Costanzo, co-owner, bodywork director, Esalen massage® instructor at Still Point Wellness during my studies at that time. Soon after I acquired my 100-hour Esalen® Massage Practitioner Certification at the Ohm Institute in Asheville, NC and bookended that with a course in An Esalen® Approach to Trauma in 2019.
Since then I have practiced for years alongside Dr. Elizabeth Williams, DACM, Lac, at Dragonfly Acupuncture in Greenville, SC. There I honed my Esalen® skills and gained a wealth of knowledge around natural health.
What is Esalen® Massage?
Esalen® massage (pronounced: Eh-Suh-Len) was born out of the Human Potential Movement in the 1960’s at the Esalen Institute and it continues to expand and grow as present-day practitioners add to the whole. The originators were dancers, yogis and people interested in expanding their consciousness and connectivity. This was the 1960’s after all! They were curious about the relationship between mind, body and awareness, as am I.
Esalen® massage techniques include long, slow integrative strokes using quality oils to glide over the body. Mindful touch, pauses, passive joint movement, rocking, compression and stretching and sometimes just holding space are common approaches. My pressure is slow and consistent and just deep enough. Gentle but firm. Balanced. Mindful. It’s easily the most relaxing massage you’ll ever experience. It has its roots in Swedish massage and was greatly influenced by many great bodyworkers including Ida Rolf, Milton Trager, Moshe Feldenkrais and Charlotte Selver. The teachings of Fritz Perls and Gestalt Therapy also influenced Esalen® Massage.
Esalen® massage practitioners approach bodywork as a moving meditation. It’s a mindfulness exercise; both giver and receiver are called into symbiosis. While there are specific approaches and techniques attributed to Esalen® massage, no two Esalen® massages will ever be the same. That’s because each practitioner, each client and each moment has a special uniqueness. To practice Esalen® Massage is to be open to subtle changes, to listen wholeheartedly to clients and to be truly present with every touch.
Being an Esalen® Massage therapist has taught me that touching and entering another’s energy field with presence, care and respect is powerfully healing. Esalen® Massage proves particularly beneficial in managing anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Please note
*At this time I do not offer prenatal treatments.
*My practice is currently not set up to process insurance claims.
