Memberships & Certifications

Member of the American Massage Therapy Association
Certified by the National Certification in Massage Therapy & Bodywork
Licensed by the State of Illinois
Certified Healer: Barbara Brennan School of Healing
Certified Sufi Teacher: Jaffe School of Advanced Energy Mastery
Member of the Institute of Heartmath

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Biography

Carla Gorsky has been in private practice providing massage therapy and spiritual healing since 1979, specializing in the treatment of chronic pain. She is licensed in Massage Therapy in the State of Illinois, a member of the American Massage Therapy Association and is Nationally Certified in Massage Therapy and Bodywork. She has completed training at the Center for Advanced Bodywork in Chicago and has integrated Structural Therapy into her practice.

Carla is also a graduate of the Barbara Brennan School of Healing and completed the Energy Mastery School with Robert T. Jaffe, M.D. She has completed a Teacher Internship Program with Dr. Jaffe at the Jaffe Institute of Spiritual and Medical Healing and is a certified Sufi Teacher. Most recently, Carla has been teaching workshops on energy awareness, heart meditation, spiritual growth, and a body/mind/spirit approach to the mastery of golf.

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The Evolution of My Healing Practice

It was very early in my healing practice that I recognized the healing capacity of stillness in our fast-paced goal-oriented lifestyles. I began in 1979 in California where I was one of the first to combine massage therapy, a hot tub, and an isolation tank. Many times the comment after the massage was "I feel like I died and went to heaven". It became obvious that for many this was their first experience of deep peace.

As I continued my technical training, I began to focus on the treatment of chronic pain. With explorations into neuromuscular massage, myotherapy, and myofascial release, my work was able to deepen and address underlying tissues. But it was my structural therapy training (based on the work of Ida Rolf) that truly developed my vision to reveal the relationship between postural distortion and chronic pain. My ability to help people was greatly enhanced.

Throughout my career as a massage therapist, I have also been a student of spiritual healing. Thanks to the incredible teachings of Barbara Brennan, Dr. Robert T. Jaffe, and many others, I could actually track the pain beyond the tissue to the emotion being stored there. Bringing awareness to the emotion, and tracking it to the thoughts and beliefs that elicited this particular response was the key to transformation. I could see how our emotions, thoughts, and beliefs were at the core of many postural distortions, and therefore a significant and underlying cause of chronic pain. My ability to help people was taken to new depths.

I continue my spiritual study within the mystical traditions. I find myself drawn especially to Sufism and Kabbalah. But no matter which tradition I explore, at the heart they seem as One.

So many faiths on the planet... each one is so rich in its wisdom, traditions, and holy prophets. And so the invitation... can we honor the diversity while in remembrance of the Unity?

"The problem is not how to wipe out all differences, but how to unite with all differences intact."
- Rabindranath Tagore, (1861-1941) Poet, philosopher, author, songwriter, painter, educator, composer, Former Poet Laureate of India, Nobel Prize 1928

Amidst all the classes, workshops, books and tapes that I have explored, I find that the single most important factor in my spiritual growth has been (and will probably always be) the daily practice of meditation. I have found Heart Meditation to be quite potent in its capacity to transform one’s health, relationships, and connection with the Divine.

I offer the introduction to the Heart Meditation called Remembrance as an invitation to this place of Unity and hope you will share it with those you love. Within our hearts there is a sacred place where we are One. I invite you to discover this for your self by the daily practice of Remembrance. I invite you to discover the secrets contained within your heart.

"We can only be said to be alive in those moments
when our hearts are conscious of our treasures."
- Thornton Wilder

I pray that as more of us open our hearts to know the place we are One, the essence of the Love and the Peace that already is will be manifest; in our hearts, in our lives, in our homes, in our relationships, and among nations. I pray that we know peace on Earth in our lifetime. Amen.

"To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order;
to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order;
to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life;
we must first set our hearts right."
- Confucius

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The Evolution of Getting to the Heart of Wellness

As a massage therapist, I was well aware of on-site massage programs for the reduction of stress in the workplace. On-site massage has proven to be a wonderful “time-out” for addressing stress and achy muscles from sitting at a computer all day. But what happens during the days and hours when massage is not available? How does one address their stress during those times?

"The vacation we often need is freedom from our own mind.
Appropriately curtailing our obsessive thought patterns
is our plane ticket to the pristine beach, the vibrant jungle, of our deeper hearts."
- Jack Adam Weber

In these changing times, it is more important than ever that people have the tools to address the physiological effects of stress.  Heart Meditation offers an easy -to-learn technique that has proven to reduce cortisol, the stress hormone, and elevate DHEA, an anti-aging hormone.

"It's not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it."
- Hans Selye

Heart Meditation is an incredible adjunct to any wellness program because it empowers individuals to transform stress on their own. As participants learn to change the rhythm of their heart through biofeedback, they learn to alter their reaction to stress at will. The effects are not only palpable but clearly seen on the computer screen to validate their experience.

"Between stimulus and response, there is a space.
In that space lies our freedom and power to choose our response.
In our response lies our growth and freedom"
- Victor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning

Heart Meditation can be taught to individuals as well as groups. The results are seen in not only in improved health, but in cooperation amongst employees, and a sense of well-being that permeates the environment. Participants are able to use this technique in their daily lives and in their relationships to promote improved health, clear thinking, and emotional well-being.

"Our ultimate freedom is the right and power to decide
how anybody or anything outside ourselves will affect us."
- Stephen Covey

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The Evolution of The Heart of Golf

As I became personally involved with a serious golfer, I realized that my body, mind, and spiritual training was incredibly useful for the mastery of golf.

Therapeutic massage not only addresses but also can prevent the pain associated with the repetitive nature of the golf swing.

Structural Therapy creates spinal alignment for improved accuracy and distance.

Energy Balancing can clear the negative thoughts and emotions and restore positive thinking and emotional balance.

Heart Meditation is used by both PGA and LPGA professionals to enhance the odds of entering the Zone.

And honestly, I am so passionate about Heart Meditation that I welcome the opportunity to teach all those that are receptive to becoming heart-centered.

"Come, seek, for search is the foundation of fortune:
every success depends upon focusing the heart."
- Rumi

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