Is Full Range Bodywork Right For You?
An integration of health arts used to help restore your body’s natural function.
Are you in pain and wanting alternative and complementary ways to address your situation?
Would you like to learn how to manage pain and improve the health of your body’s skeleton, joints, and muscles?
How would you like to increase athletic performance?
Or perhaps you’d like to improve the quality of your physical presence, balance, coordination, awareness, and posture.
If any of these points resonate with you, then you’ve come to the right place. I’m happy to help you on your journey to a healthier state of health.
Your Initial Session
The first step is a discovery call. This is to get some insight into what your situation is and to see if we are a good fit for one another. If we decide that we are, we will schedule a time to meet. Your initial session is way for us to become further acquainted and for me to familiarize myself with your body and your structural imbalances. It’s a time to explore different modalities and techniques to address your complaints and see which ones best fit your situation. In your initial session you may learn various movements to perform during and after the sessions, depending on which modality we choose for you.
What to expect from a typical session
During a typical session at Full Range Bodywork I will assess your overall structure and and aliment by reading the body from the front, back and sides. I’ll may also assess your gate. Once we have a good understanding as to what is going on structurally, we will explore various techniques to use based on the patterns I’m seeing. I’ll have you lie down on the table and begin to work your tissue to release these said patterns. I often administer simple alignment exercises to take home as homework if you so desire. Session typically last between 60 and 90 min.
Contact Me Today To Schedule An Appointment
Qualifications & Certifications
2007 Certified for Chinese Massage (Tui Na) by the Center of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences. Beijing, China
2003 Certified as a Zen Bodytherapy Practitioner by the International Zentherapy Institute. San Francisco, CA
2003 Certified as an Acupressure Practitioner by Berkeley Acupressure Institute.
Berkeley, CA
2002 Began training Chinese internal martial arts at Inmotion Center. Albany, CA
2001 Started a traditional Chinese medicine apprenticeship. Petaluma, CA
1994 Began Tai Chi at Redwood Coast Tai Chi Association—age of 15. Mendocino, CA
Experience
2018 - Present Full Range Bodywork private practice. Fort Bragg & Caspar, CA
2010 - 2013 Began seeing private clients—in/out calls. El Cerrito, CA
2006 - 2008 Worked at Massage Envy. Cotati, CA
2004 - 2006 Worked at Oasis Spa. Calistoga, CA
I work from a diverse background of education and experience, creating a multi-path approach that allows for a wide range of techniques. Drawing from Chinese medical theory, Structural and Functional bodywork modalities, Chinese medical massage, qi gong, yoga and internal martial arts of Asia I blend the cutting-edge knowledge of western science with ancient healing arts. Coordinating these practices into an integrated system. Such a foundation allows me to work with my clients individually in a unique way that is best suited to their needs.
Kurt BakerMy Story
Tai Chi
It all started at age 14 when I attended my first Tai Chi class. The class was mostly middle age and elderly students. I was definably the youngest one there by far, yet as soon as I arrived, I knew I was in the right place. Unlike a typical studio space, we met outdoors in the redwoods. The teacher, Sam, pointed out that practicing outdoors amongst the trees is ten times better than practicing in a stale environment inside, because the “qi” was richer. I quickly noticed these older folks weren’t your typical seniors. Demonstrating extreme strength and tenaciousness, during the push hands (a form of grappling) portion of the class; yet at the same time these folks strove for sensitivity and a soft, light-handed touch. I later learned this was because they were applying the ancient Daoist philosophy as presented by Lao Zi in the book the “Daode Jing”, showing there was great power and endurance in softness when the body structure is well coordinated.
I was sold and deeply in love. My martial arts studies, which took me to Taiwan at age 16, continues to this day and has led me to peruse other Asian health arts such as qi gong and Chinese yoga
“Nothing in the world is softer than water.
But, for attacking the hard, there is nothing like it!”
Chinese Medicine
At age 21 I was going to college in Arizona. After a couple years of dabbling in various studies I found that I couldn’t find what I was looking for in conventional schooling at that point in my life. After some thought I decided to move back to California to enroll for a traditional apprentice in Chinese medicine at the Center for Traditional Health Arts, in Petaluma, CA. I had met the instructor Sean Fannin and his father Bill, once years before after learning about them from my high school math and science teacher who had begun the same apprentice I was pursuing. At the time it was a father and son duo. His father Bill Fannin had been a lawyer and had a way of talking with people. His demeanor was very welcoming and pleasant. He asked me basic questions about my health interwoven with small talk about the weather and my interests. Once he finished, he left the room, and his son Sean came in to check the pulses and look at my tongue. At the time he was still learning under his father. A few days later I received my Chinese herbs in the mail with a nice letter describing my situation from the perspective of Chinese medicine, and the formula they chose for me. This left a great impression on me. After following the heard to University I decided to take the road less traveled and learn Chinees medicine the traditional way—one on one.
During this six year apprenticeship I learned the intricacies of Chinese medical theory and philosophy, pulse and tongue reading and assessment, the actions of Chinese herbals and how to combine them into custom formulas for clients, medical qi gong and how to understand and translate the classical Chinese into English.
Beijing, China
In 2007 I found myself on a plane to study Tui Na (Chinese medical massage). It was a program I learned about from my Chinee medicine teacher. With the help of my parents I was able to afford the tuition of $2000 which included the plane ticket, room and a few banquets. It was a great deal! There I studied at a university hospital observing Chinese orthopedic doctors massaging their patients in the mornings, and in the afternoons attended lecture and practice. It was a 10-day intensive. The teachers and doctors were a bit distant but at the same time willing to teach and answer my questions when I had them. I learned 10 basic technique which I use every day in my practice. After studying all day we would visit the local massage parlor for a $12 90 min massage, and I even got a suite tailored for $75. During the weekend we visited sites and outfits like the silk factory and an open market where I bought two high quality pearl necklaces for under $100, which I gave to my parents as a thankyou gift for helping me go on the trip.
Structural Integration
In addition to my Chinese medicine studies, became certified in Structural Integration through the Zen Therapy Institute in 2003. During which time I was taught the 10 series of Ida Rolf. This learning continues in the form of private lessons with my bodywork and martial arts teacher Bernard Langan in Oakland, CA, and is a primary modality of bodywork I offer in my practice, today.
The Decent
From my late 20’s and through my 30’s I was plagued with low back pain due to what seemed a minor snowboarding injury. This problem became exceedingly worse as time when on. I couldn’t practice bodywork, which I was doing in clinics and spas, which meant I had to get low paying job a health food/pharmacy. With these wages I couldn’t afford bodywork, so my back got progressively worse, until I couldn’t work at all!
With no ability to work because I could hardly walk most of the time, I had to leave my apartment in the East Bay Area and move in with my parents in Mendocino—not what I had in mind for mid-life! I went through weeks of very little sleep and extreme pain until I finally came around and was able to get a job and make a little money again. Though not 100%, my back was well enough that I could continue working as an inn keeper in Mendocino, and a lower cost of living on the coast it was able to afford a little bodywork.
“It is his own hurt that gives the measure of his power to heal. This, and nothing else, is the meaning of the Greek myth of the wounded healer.”
Recovery
It wasn’t until I found a particular bodyworker on the Mendocino Coast (who has requested to remain anonymous) that I began to see huge improvements in my back. Between his work and working with my teacher in Oakland, my back has come around almost fully, with only the occasional episode. Having come out the other side of the darkest time of my life I feel that I not only have the knowledge needed to help others but the wisdom and empathy of having gone through body pain myself, something that one can only get firsthand.
Restore your body to its natural state of balance
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