Aloha, I’m Michelle, the founder and facilitator of Wild Women Hawai'i in Hilo on the Big Island of Hawai'i.  As a women's facilitator and eco-somatic guide, my focus is body-based with a bottom-up approach. This beautifully complements the top-down cognitive approach of talk therapy (which I do not offer), for those of you who are well-resourced.

 

I am Somatic Experiencing-informed with a 40-year background in dance, somatic movement, and women's advocacy. I hold an MA in Dance from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (2022), a degree in education and facilitation from the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, and I am trained in Kestenberg Movement Profile, Somatic Anxiety facilitation practices, trauma-sensitive mindfulness, and the nature-based therapies of Sylvotherapy and Ocean Therapy. With a lifelong background in embodied movement, my focus is experiential, honoring the body’s wisdom over cognitive analysis. Expect less talk and more open space for the felt experience so that you may tune inward and follow your body's lead. I don't teach, preach, or show you how to move, think, or become. Instead, I help fill your personal amulet of self-care and well-being so that you may tune into your own unique and wise self while reconnecting with our matrilineal humanity as a community. 

 

As a longtime Hilo resident of over thirty years, my goal for Wild Women Hawai‘i is to ignite genuine women's community that for generations has globally become a lost art of being a woman. These are intentionally down-to-earth spaces where women of all ages are invited.

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My Roots in the Work

I've spent years studying movement at an academic and experiential level, however, I operate on a creative, intuitive, and felt sense first and foremost. My approach is rooted in sensory awareness, listening to the body's wisdom instead of correcting, shaming, judging, or improving it. 

 

Years of working with women, raising a LGBTQIAP+ daughter, tending to land and lineage — all of it has taught me to lead not with regurgitated techniques, but with fluidity and curiosity as I travel this lifelong journey of inquiry and being the change.

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Guiding from Experience & Experiment

My offerings are rooted in embodied intelligence, creative instinct, and deep respect for feminine wisdom and our connection with the Earth and each other as Women. 

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Ongoing Learning & Credentials

My work is grounded in formal education, ongoing lifelong study, and real-world experience gathered across diverse cultures and healing modalities. I continue to learn, evolve, and deepen my skills so I can offer grounded, ethical, and effective support to the women I work with.

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Certifications & Formal Study

• Somatic Experiencing Cohort with Somatic Experiencing® International (ongoing)

• Ocean Therapy Practitioner Certificate — 40 Continuing Professional Development hours accredited by IPHM International Practitioners of Holistic Medicine (2026)

• Somatic Anxiety Therapy Practitioner Certificate — 30 Hours Certificate (2025)

• Sylvotherapy (Forest Therapy) Practitioner Certificate — 40 Hours accredited by the CMA, NCCAP, and IPHM (2025) 

• Introduction to the Kestenberg Movement Profile — 30 Hours ADTA Compliant Certificate (2023)

• Dance/Movement Therapy Intro Coursework — 30 Hours ADTA Compliant Certificate (2023)

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Degrees

• M.A. Dance — University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (2022)

• Hawaii State-Approved Postgraduate Teaching Certificate — University of Hawai‘i at Hilo (1995)

• B.A. Liberal Studies — California State University, Fullerton (1993)

• A.A. Dance & Liberal Arts — Mt. SAC (1990)

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Memberships

• Associate Member, American Dance Therapy Association

• Member, Somatic Institute for Women

• Member, The Embody Lab​​