Becca Whistler
I grew up practicing modern dance, which naturally led to a yoga practice in my late teens and early 20s. In 2014, I completed my first yoga teacher training at the Ashtanga Yoga Center in Encinitas, California. As I began to teach classes, I quickly realized that I needed to learn more about anatomy. I also found that I loved doing the hands-on adjustments that are part of the Ashtanga yoga tradition. This led me to attend massage school, graduating from the Bodhi Tree Center for Healing Arts in 2018.
Almost immediately after graduating from massage school, I was introduced to Structural Integration and had the often-described profound experience of going through a Series. Through this, the sticky areas in my pelvis that never seemed to budge were now fluid, and I began to understand movement in a different way. I felt emotionally lighter, yet grounded in my sense of self. I realized that this was truly the work I wanted to do. I started studying with Anatomy Trains, ultimately graduating from their Structural Integration certification program. Through Anatomy Trains I’ve learned to view the body in a holistic way, meaning that every bit affects the whole. It’s given me a lens to view how life’s experiences get written into our tissues, as well as a map to lead people through those experiences. My hope is always to spark curiosity about what the body is trying to tell us, so that we can come out stronger and softer on the other side.
These days, I see my bodywork and movement practices as inseparable from each other. Without movement, bodywork is much less effective. Sometimes, though, we can’t tell where we aren’t moving, and we need the informative hand of a bodyworker to help wake up our sleepy tissues. By using the two together, we become more present and connected to ourselves.
My work is inspired by the pioneering vision of Ida Rolf and her early students, Martha Graham's boundary-breaking approach to dance, Katy Bowman’s Nutritious Movement, Kara Duval’s Range, Kat Boehm and Tara Brach’s mindfulness meditation practices, somatic movement, Pilates, the way babies and dogs move, and the life cycle of plants through the seasons. These elements keep my practice playful, creative, and deeply human.
Thank you for sharing this space with me.
Certifications and Credentials:
Board Certified Structural Integrator
Sharon Wheeler ScarWork
Anatomy Trains Structural Integration Certification
Heart and Bones Modern Yoga Teacher Training Certification
Anatomy Trains Cadaver Dissections
Zoga Movement with Wojtek Cackowski
The Bodhi Tree Center for Healing Arts Massage Therapy Certification
Ashtanga Yoga Center Primary Series Teacher Training Certification
University of Nevada, Reno, Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and Linguistics