Today we’d like to introduce you to Morgan Willow.
Hi Morgan, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
We can have many callings and this is among my strongest. It combines my love of the body and its wonders with my love of people and the many layers we have to explore.
Massage and healing arts have long been a part of my life, with family members sharing their knowledge of massage, nursing, and energy work.
Ever curious about my own body, this first led me to practices such as martial arts, yoga, and Reiki,
Growing up, I was blessed to have a nurse for a mom, and we often spent hours discussing the inner workings of the body. This anatomical knowledge base, coupled with my growing sense of self and the energies constructing this world have culminated into a beautiful outlet for this innate vision through massage, specifically
MyoFascial Release and CranioSacral Therapy.
During my 20s and 30s I was nomadic, traveling the USA and South America for work while meeting so many incredible people who inspired and opened me up to my own self. Through so much movement, I grew to know and trust my self more while gaining life skills that would serve me and eventually, my clients.
While traveling up the west coast for work, I stopped in Ashland, OR to see a friend and found the city had a massage school. After many years of searching for the right school, I hoped this would be the right fit, and it was!
I was accepted into their program in 2019, and it was like learning that I could already speak a foreign language, with others who were intuitively eloquent as well!
I completed my massage certification at the Ashland Institute of Massage, and found a home in the people and this stunning valley.
An avid adventurer and skier, I fell in love with these rolling hills, gladed mountains and flowing waters. So I stayed and began to build my practice here. Now I have deepened in ways I only imagined as a child, helping many people move towards their own healing and goals. My extensive traveling, soul searching, wonderment, and community have bolstered my overall self to be of the greatest service that I can be.
Its so amazing how life builds upon itself!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The road has been long and bumpy. There were so many days, nights, weeks, and months I questioned what the heck I was doing with my life.
My first profession was photography and I truly loved it, as it was something I shared with my father when I used to work for his photography business.
But there came a time, after I’d received my BFA in Film and Photography that I began to lose my love for it in the professional sense. What a time to begin to be disillusioned with the world and the rat race! It felt like a betrayal to my family, my efforts to building that career, and my own identity.
There was no denying I wanted something more, something different, and so I joined a company called The Oasis Express, that toured music festivals building their beautiful bathhouse for attendees to come refresh and reset themselves. It was hard, dirty, fun, amazing, fulfilling and often exhausting. I learned how to really swing a hammer as well as be present for people in new ways.
My parents thought I’d lost my mind, and worried for me but they also knew my spirit and trusted me through their doubts. One of the hardest parts was everyone else around me being attached to my identity as a photographer. It had certainly defined me for a long time, and I was talented. I saw and heard their fears of me throwing away a perfectly acceptable career to go wild and join the circus. It took much grit to keep my heart about me and keep showing them I was thriving, just in a different way than the status quo.
I began to feel calling toward massage as I traveled and worked for The Oasis, getting to know the massage therapists on staff and receiving their feedback that I had great intuition and touch.
Now for the hard part; dealing with my own fears and believing that I had a greater purpose and that I really could be a massage therapist.
I struggled to make ends meet for years, even living in my car for a few of those years. I wanted to make it in my own way, and I rejected anything that felt like society standards. I was hungry for more, and I went hungry. I got jobs at catering companies so I could eat, and work traded at places for showers. It was a wild time and I’m glad I was young for it.
I felt lost sometimes, even though I felt more alive than ever. So I continued my efforts towards my eventual massage career through yoga teacher certifications and Reiki trainings. I wandered forests, wrote poetry and learned to trust my machinations no matter how silly they might be. I grew communities worldwide, and see now how that has all led to where I am in this moment. Hindsight is surely 20/20.
I thank my midwest upbringing for building a strong reserve within me, so I could move through all these life lessons and come out more whole on the other side.
During massage school I even lived in a yurt with my dog, Bomber, with only a wood stove to keep us warm and alive. Chopping wood and honing my hands and heart became my everyday existence. We survived 2 winters this way, before I expanded into having my own practice and moving into a house. What an adventure this has all been.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I hold the opportunity for Quantum Shifting Body Reality
I’m on fire for how much healing
can happen when we are given the proper
space to drop into our own healing vibration.
When we are held in the ways to facilitate safe self-discovery and release for that which
no longer serves, we get the opportunity
to meet ourselves again and again.
It is so radical and beautiful.
It is a revolution.
My massage practice focuses on CranioSacral Therapy enhanced by Myofascial Release. I am deeply committed to creating a space that allows you to connect with your own healing process. Together, we work toward recovery from acute injuries, chronic pain, or the demands of everyday life.
In each session, I tune into the body’s subtle CranioSacral rhythm, particularly focusing on the cerebrospinal flow along the spine, sacrum, and skull. By tuning in to your CS system, I can identify energetic imbalances and areas of tension. Additionally, it can also serve as a tool for personal and spiritual growth, offering a meditative exploration of deeper self-awareness.
Incorporating the structural component of Myofascial Release facilitates connective tissues, helping reduce pain and improve mobility.
As an avid adventurer and skier, I understand the restorative power of nature and the vital connection between physical movement and well-being. Spending time outdoors, whether skiing through mountain trails or exploring new landscapes, has taught me about resilience, balance, and the body’s remarkable capacity for renewal. This connection to nature profoundly influences my approach to healing, as I bring that same spirit of harmony, adaptability, and flow into my practice. I believe that just as nature nurtures and restores, so too can mindful bodywork help clients reconnect with their own inner strength, balance, and healing potential.
.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Helping others makes me happy. When we find that place, that moment, that answer, that connection when they feel whole and seen it is so fulfilling. When someone walks out of the massage studio freer than they have been in years, it brings me joy to be a part of it and to have their trust.
Making a delicious meal for my loved ones makes me happy. To put my creativity and time into bringing people together to share a meal creates a space where ease and joy get to amplify. How cool!
Sunny days, wind on my face, being in the mountains, slowing down to float down a river. These are the joyous things we are made for, and engaging in the rhythm of the earth brings me a sense of belonging and happiness unmatched.
Every time I go home to Indiana to spend time with my parents and sister also makes me happy. I moved far away and so time is precious in this regard as it is limited. I love seeing my granny’s face and hearing her voice as she talks about her life. It is a treasure. And getting to know the young men that that my nephews are becoming is so fun.
Pricing:
- 1 hour Massage $100
- 90 minute Massage $150
- In home care add $30-70 for travel/setup
Contact Info:
- Website: https://wanderingwillowmassage.com
