I Grace LaLand has been a practicing healer since 1981. She is certified in Acupressure, massage, Tui Na, Shiatsu, Jin Shin do, Touch for Health, herbal medicine, psychic healing, vibrational and dimensional healing.

Grace is an experienced instructor of meditation, intuitive acupressure and aromatherapy, working from a tradition of acupressure from China, Ayurveda from India, Western Herbs and Universal Energy.

I have been studying healing since 1979. That's when I first discovered that the power of the body/mind, with the partnership of the natural world, was the key to healing. Balance. My 1st experience was with my own pain. The wrists, the sore back and the many other aches and pains had been going on for years, starting at the age of 19yrs old. I had a very different lifestyle then. One I might call toxic. I grew up in the city with working parents that smoked. I was often left to my own food choices and they weren't very smart. When I went out on my own, my eating, drinking and smoking habits were less than thoughtful. Much of the pain I was experiencing was understandable but much of it wasn't. I was now only 28 and could hardly sleep at night. I had to make a change.

It was my good luck to have my back go out on the way to work one night. That night I called a friend that was having good results with his chiropractor, so I gave him a call. I had never gone to an alternative practitioner before but I was willing to try anything. I had already been going to doctors for 9 years and was getting worse. I called the next morning to make an appt. I told him how much pain I was in and he squeezed me in at the end of his day. After asking all these interesting questions, (What did I eat? What was my work? How was my digestion?) unusual I thought, he then did something else that was new to me, he asked me to put my fist out in front of me and he pressed down gently on my hand and it was strong. Then he put a packet of sugar in my other hand and tried it again and my hand and arm went right down. Weak.

He then pointed to various points on my body and some were strong but my arm went down at most points. I was curious, very. In just a few minutes into the 1st visit I recognized his skill and his approach to be different. He asked me questions about my lifestyle and eating habits. Questions that the MD's never asked. To be fare, my physician did ask if I smoked and when I said 1-2 packs daily, he didn't bat an eye. He smoked 3. My Neurologist sent me to have all kinds of painful and uncomfortable tests. When the results came in he was scratching his head. They were all negative for his final diagnosis, Arthritis.

My new Guru/Chiropractor explained the energy field that runs through us and around us. He explained also the importance of exercise and our food choices and eventually the power of herbs. I had a cold one evening when I came for my regular appointment. He gave me a jar of capsules and told me to take 4 every 3 hours. I read the ingredients: garlic, parsley, oregano, thyme, sage, cinnamon and maybe a few more that escape me after all these years but they were also herbs that were in my kitchen cabinet. Most of which I realized, I could grow myself, if I didn't live in an apartment, on the forth floor, without much sun. Still, it was possible to grow one's own medicine? I could be free of these doctors that didn't know anything about health. Yes I would have to study the subject here and now. He sent me to the bookstore and I left with an arm full of ancient knowledge and modern nutritional information. My new life had begun.

I did indeed study herbs. I moved from my apt in Westchester, NY and went to the farm lands of Oregon. At first I found the local herb farmers and they loved to talk about there herbs and I began learning propagation and some folk lore. While there I ran into an energy workshop called Touch for Health. This gave me the knowledge of how we can heal the body by finding the points on the body that influenced each individual organ. It also made me aware of how to read the body, by feeling where it's weaknesses were and stimulating the points so that they could begin to heal. Assisting the body in healing itself.

I took my new found cornucopia or knowledge and went to start the herb farm. Meanwhile, practicing my craft, on family and friends. I continued to study healing herb books as well as the magical aspect of herbs and our Mother Earth(crystals, channelers, the power of prayer). The possibilities were endless. I even designed herbal weddings for a while, magical, but it was the healing knowledge that I craved. There are so many people in pain. That brought me to the California School of Herbal Studies, where I learned everything I ever wanted to know about herbs and things I had never imagined(I thought) but most importantly, the Goddess. She was the healer and an art form in every culture in our world and her healing is still practiced in many cultures, as it's 1st step to healing from the body to the soul. She dispensed the herbs, the music, and the healing love of a nurturing touch. Why was she missing from our culture?

This however was not to be the end all of my healing direction. There was more to healing and I wanted to find it. So, when my best friend and then my husband, both decided to enroll in Acupressure school, (a move that totally surprised me about my husband, I guess the sharing of all this healing work that my friend and I were bringing home, had rubbed off), I soon became a guinea pig for both of them. I loved the work. I could feel it already so I went to one of the teachers, for a treatment. I loved it. I wanted to know how to do it too.

I couldn't enroll just yet because I still had herb school and my psychic studies with the Berkeley Psychic Institute. I had to wait to enroll in the Acupressure Institute of Berkeley until the next semester. By then I had the benefit of both my friend's and my husband's experiences and was getting a jump on it. My husband eventually went on to become a Acupuncturist. This not only gave me so much of the knowledge that he was getting but I was able to incorporate the psychic/feminine connection and prayer to everything we were learning. I was also learning Chinese herbs and the different ways the west and the east look at the body. The Chinese seem to understand the energies of the herbs and the body, which helped in diagnosis and prevention. I could see how the two cultures could learn from one another. How I was learning to combine the knowledge. The only thing to learn next was Ayurveda. The Chinese had the energy and point system down but not the essential oils. After all, I was 1st the herbalist and loved the smells as well as understood the healing properties of them so I needed to know more about them and how to weave them into my web of information.

This brought me to Light and Brian Miller. Light Miller, being a magical healer from India, having direct lineage to Ayurvedic healers gave me practical application of Ayurveda but she also gave me the Goddesses of India. Brian, a talented chiropractor, along with Light, was gracious enough to share with me the art of Ayurveda and the Pancha Karma, some of which I share in my retreats. Their book Ayurveda and Aroma Therapy is the leading handbook on the subject. I can never repay all their generosity of heart and knowledge.

To every healer and teacher along my way, of which there have been many, a heart felt thank you. This doesn't quite seem enough, for all you have passed on. Know that you have helped to present yet another essence of the healing work, out to those also hungry for healing knowledge for themselves. And, who may one day, follow suit and also pass it on. To all my students, clients, family and friends. Thank you for all you have gifted me along the way. It has lifted me over the rough spots and supported my work and I have learned every thing I have needed from your kindness and love. Thank you.

This is just a short bio of my education in life and the arts. I am hoping we get to know each other better. However, it's not just about me, it's about you. It's about anyone who wants to make a change in their lives. No matter where you come from or what you know or think you know, if it shows up on your door, take a look at it. If you think that one of my workshops, retreats or sessions, can help you get to where you want to be, allow yourself the opportunity. In a world where you can be anyone you want, try being yourself. That may require relocating yourself. Open the door. Thank you, all! Blessed be! Namaste! Cheers!

Grace migrates from east coast to west and back a few times every year for business and personal reasons. She uses the email address below for all communications at home or on the road. If this is your first visit to her site, send her an email with some feedback or just to say hello: igrace1111@yahoo.com.