The fascination for the body’s ability to transform and to be a door to consciousness has been the steering force of my life since 1981.  I have spent the years since then traveling to different places in the world to study and practice various forms of bodywork and body therapies. Since 2010 I am again (independently) studying Psychology through the works of Bessel Van der Kolk (Trauma and the body), Peter Levine (Trauma and somatics), Stephen Porges (Polyvagal Theory) and Dick Schwartz (Internal Family Systems), which is shaping and informing how I practice my craft.

While pursuing and completing a degree in Psychology from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,  I completed 450 hours of training on Gestalt Therapy and practiced the work of Therese Bertherat (Self-Awareness Through Conscious Movement) for 2 years. In 1984 I came to California to learn massage and  bodywork.

Since then, I have completed the Holistic Health Practitioner program (1000 hours) at the International Professional School of Bodywork (IPSB) in San Diego, California , where I studied different modalities of massage and body therapies.

 Between 1991 and 1996, I studied and practiced Tibetan Pulsing Yoga at the Osho Commune International in Pune, India for 3 full years, giving individual sessions and assisting group processes in bodywork and emotional release.

I have been a student and practitioner of the Art of Jin Shin Jyutsu since 1988 and am an authorized Self-Help instructor.

In 2000, I completed the training and became a certified practitioner in Pfrimmer Deep Muscle Therapy at the Pfrimmer Institute for Corrective Muscle Therapy, San Rafael, California , with Master Instructor Victoria Ross,  expanding my practice and interest into rehabilitation. In 2010 that Institute was renamed International Institute for Corrective Muscle Therapy of which I am an authorized instructor.

In June of 2010 I completed "The Spirit of Learning", a 100 hr Teacher Certification Program for Massage, Somatic and Healthcare Educators at the  Center for Embodied Teacher Education and the Body Therapy Institute and in Siler City, North Carolina with Carey Smith. I have also completed “Developing Mastery” and “Teacher Trainer Development Intensive” with Carey Smith, with whom I continued in an apprenticeship program until 2014. 

In 2018 and 2019 I completed the Internal Family Systems Online Circle (Foundations of the IFS Model) and 4 extra Online Courses on aditional subjects.

At present (2023), I am pursuing the certification on Ortho-Bionomy, a modality developed from Osteopathy and have attended online conferences on Trauma and the Body with Bessel Van der Kolk and Peter Levine.