Individual Testimonials

  • “I started working with J.D. because I was in a tough emotional and spiritual space, and didn't recognize myself. After just two sessions, it was as though something deep inside of me was dislodged. I began to feel and connect with parts of myself that had been numb for some time. Working with J.D. has helped me to be more present in my relationships and provided tools I can use when I feel out of alignment with my true self. I highly recommend J.D."

    Michelle N.

  • “I went to see J.D. after throwing out my back, but our session brought up so much more. I could feel my whole self releasing tension and pressure and waking up. As if someone had just opened the windows in a stuffy house on a beautiful day. I left feeling like a different person. Yes, my back felt much looser and I was quickly on the way to healing. But I also felt more present and alive and more myself. I'm so grateful for the work J.D. is doing and recommend him highly."

    Vera F.

  • "Somatic coaching with J.D. has been more valuable than I could have ever imagined. He has a natural way of introducing breathwork, imaging and embodiment practices, and he provides a safe and comfortable environment to explore these techniques. In all of it, I've found my way back home to myself — a willingness to feel all the things along the journey and a deep trust in my intuition as a guide. I'm so grateful for J.D. and his work."

    Kathryn C.

  • “It has taken J.D.'s gentle (yet firm), open, and humble teaching to release some of the narratives and patterns that bind me... it's unpacking what I've already expressed verbally in therapy on a cellular level.”

    Ashley S.

  • “I worked with J.D. for 18 months and credit his new (to me) somatic approach for catalyzing a positive shift in my life. Many years of talk therapy had been helpful but I was at a plateau in my development. Somatics proved to be the perfect next step and I'm grateful I found J.D. He was gentle yet assertive, and helped me understand many facets of my shaping and ways to break through areas where I had been stuck as a parent, partner, and business owner."

    Christian G.

  • “J.D.'s work unlocked a reconnection to my body, and I was able to release not only physical tension but also emotional pain that I had carried for far too long.”

    Jamie A.

  • “Over the year and a half we worked together, J.D. helped me "find my feet" and gain a lot more confidence in my work. It became much easier to articulate my point of view, to fight for the principles I knew were right, and to inspire confidence in others. I would recommend J.D. as a coach to anyone. Especially if you are an emerging leader and need the space, tools, and support to do the inner work so you can show up as your most effective self.”

    Meg S.

  • "Working with J.D. helped me radically shift my relationship to my body’s experience of pain. Somatic sessions with him have been a valuable tool for truly long-term healing. JD is skilled as a provider of hands-on bodywork and holds space beautifully. I highly recommend his practice."

    Ben S.

  • “Somatic coaching with J.D. has been such a deep and valuable transformation and healing experience for me. J.D.'s presence and great capacity of sensing into my personal history and inner reality is a precious gift. In our sessions I learned how to find a better inner balance and meet day-to-day situations in new ways. If you are looking for high quality somatic coaching and healing with a very experienced professional, I wholeheartedly recommend J.D.”

    Antje F.

  • “J.D.’s tone, presence, and intuitive suggestions create a very quick sense of safety and trust. My whole system can then relax and get comfortable feeling what goes on inside me. I come without expectation or idea of direction, and leave being struck by the accurate support it gives me in the moment. J.D. is very skilled in what he does, and his presence is clearly grounded in his own lived experience."

    Vesta K.

  • “J.D. taught me proactive ways of recentering my patterns of behavior and thinking around my long-term goals. He gave me practices that continue to be valuable supports for my endurance, balance, and personal well being.”

    Justin F.

  • “It has been a privilege to work with J.D. His calm and accepting demeanor created a space where I could be fully honest about whatever came up in the work. He's given me some tools that are already helping me move through the world in a way that feels more aligned with my principles.”

    Ariel T.

  • “I really enjoyed working with J.D. He offered gentle invitations to try new practices that were incredibly attuned to my limitations, mixed with systemic awareness. I strongly recommend working with him."

    Selene A.

Ashley S:

“I met J.D. through a friend whose grounded and thoughtful energy I've always admired. One morning over coffee, I remember asking, ‘How are you this way? How is it that you are able to withstand the pain of this life and the pressures of your work? Whatever it is you are doing, please share it with me.’ He said, with a knowing smile, ‘You've got to meet J.D.’

I didn't know it five months ago when we began working together, but I was seeking someone settled — someone to help me discover myself and envision a future where I wasn't detached from, at war with, or in denial of who I've been and what my body (and spirit) need. I'm a 33-year-old dark-skinned Black woman and the eldest child of South American immigrants — who has been told that her purpose in life is to never settle. My body has kept the score of that mandate. I have been hyper-vigilant, deeply sacrificial, and not at all able to accept need as anything other than weakness in myself.

It has taken J.D.'s gentle (yet firm), open, and humble teaching to release some of the narratives and patterns that bind me. I can now think about what other kinds of experiences or outcomes might be possible if I become aware enough of my needs to choose different ways of being. Somatic coaching has been such a gratifying reintroduction to self; such an opening of the aperture of what my future could hold... and it happens moment by moment. There are conversations where J.D. offers new language for old patterns; languid afternoons spent breathing deep and watching the sky, grass, and leaves take on a more vivid hue; it's unpacking what I've already expressed verbally in therapy on a cellular level. 

I wish I had the words to express how incredibly healing this chapter of my life has been.”

Jamie A:

“I had the privilege of experiencing a somatic healing session with J.D., which was truly transformative and left a profound impact on me. During that session, J.D. skillfully guided me to remember past traumas that my body had stored away, traumas I had long forgotten about, even after years of various types of therapy. It was a powerful and emotional experience, but J.D.'s gentle and compassionate presence made me feel safe and supported throughout. After the session, I felt more present, grounded, and relaxed. J.D.'s work unlocked a reconnection to my body, and I was able to release not only physical tension but also emotional pain that I had carried for far too long.

Since my session with J.D., I've been on a transformative journey, working on both my physical and emotional well-being. His profound insights and therapeutic touch helped me confront and release the pain that was brought to the surface during the session. If you're seeking a compassionate and talented practitioner who can help you reconnect with your body and work through physical and emotional challenges, I wholeheartedly recommend J.D.”

Daniel C:

“Working with J.D. has been both transformational and practical. I walk away from our sessions with concrete tools that I am regularly using in my day-to-day life, but I can also feel the more subtle effect of deeper work happening inside of me. It's been really nice to have a session in which I feel both rejuvenated afterwards and, at the same time, feel like I am making some bigger movements in my life. I'm particularly excited to continue working with J.D. around themes of masculinity and partnership dynamics."

Meg S:

“I had been promoted to a new leadership role and was really struggling with stepping into it. The organization was moving through significant change and I needed to spearhead significant pieces of it. I felt out of my depth and intimidated — I knew I needed to think and act strategically but I kept freezing up in high stakes moments. I was hitting up against deeply-held patterns and I needed something more than verbal or cognitive coaching. A colleague suggested J.D. 

Over the year and a half we worked together, J.D. helped me "find my feet" and gain a lot more security and confidence in my work. This allowed me to think and act much more clearly, and I am a much stronger and more effective leader because of it. Each session, I would bring whatever I was struggling with, and he'd offer somatic exercises for us to work through it. This was helpful both in the moment — I would have insights about what was really going on, underneath my thoughts or reactions, and a wise next step would emerge for me — and ongoingly, as I noticed myself over time become less reactive and more grounded. 

J.D. helped me find and trust my confidence as a leader. It became much easier to articulate my point of view, to fight for the principles I knew were right, and to inspire confidence in others. I would recommend J.D. as a coach to anyone. Especially if you are an emerging leader, like I was, and you need the space, tools, and support to do the inner work so you can show up as your most effective self.”

Kathryn C:

“I called J.D. because I wanted to figure out how to be happy in my work and more effective in my leadership. I looked forward to our meetings every week because after every single session I felt more confident and motivated.  He often brought practices that revealed a new way of thinking about a problem or gave me insight into my own strengths and weaknesses.  I felt free to steer our sessions to get the help I really needed that day, and always left with follow-up materials or practical skills for working differently. Thanks to J.D. I'm more honest about who I am, I know my strengths, I know what I need to work on, and I'm able to articulate these things to my collaborators (and at home).  I know that being a leader looks different on me than other people, and that's okay.  He's turned me on to more effective approaches to leadership, of creating structure in my work, and bringing new life and purpose into my business. His work has not only helped me, but also spread to the leadership and resources I now share with my entire team.”

Couples & Partners Testimonials

Emily S. & Ryan N.:

“This couples work is a key for unlocking new ways to work through challenges in partnership. J.D. supported us in exploring how to find new ways to care for one another, feel into connection and play. He also helped us explore our own patterns when we go into overwhelm, and see how we can still be present to one another as we navigate all the tasks of modern life. Even though it can feel hard to make time for this sort of thing, it is truly worth it. We are grateful for the new possibilities J.D. has helped us co-create for loving and supporting one another in these times.”

Lena B. & Philip S.:

“Our sessions with J.D. had a very gentle, but lasting, power. We were able to explore the subtleties of our experiences as a couple and he led us to more clarity on what is true for us individually and also for our partnership. J.D. has a great way of bringing thoughts and dynamics back into experiencing the body, offering an open experimental space full of permission. We appreciated how he guided us in the sessions — with suggestions for an experiential way forward when we were stuck, and with a range of possibilities in which we could feel what was accurate for us. We left the sessions feeling closer to each other, and to our truth. We would highly recommend working with J.D. to anyone who is looking to explore partnership dynamics in an authentic and experiential way.”

Erin & Vance S.:

“We came to J.D. because we were grappling with a really big life decision and were stuck in patterns from the past that we realized we could not navigate just the two of us. J.D.’s joyful, creative, curious quality had us immediately feel like we had an ally and advocate for both of us. At the same time, he directed us with efficiency towards what we wanted, so that after just a few sessions, we could envision new possibilities and come up with small action steps that we were able to take right away. His presence anchored us to slow down, take the space we needed to get underneath the stuckness, and allow meaningful insights to come through. He offered new perspectives and somatic practices that got us to a place we simply couldn’t have on our own. If your partnership is at an impasse, we highly recommend working with J.D.”