Welcome to
Lilac Door Massage
Hello! Or, as neighbors say when they greet each other on the street in India, Namaste!
My name is Rachel Garcia. I offer South Indian style barefoot massage therapy from my studio in the enchanting Old Northeast side of St Petersburg, FL. My services cater to women (and men by referral only from a wife or an established client), who are physically, mentally or emotionally exhausted and in pain. Whether you have a taxing job, a demanding home life, or you’re an athlete in training, I provide a body-positive space where you can rest deeply, feel your substance, tap into your inner source of energy and power, reclaim your vitality, and orient toward your highest potential.
Bio:
- Florida LMT MA88768 MM38345
- Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology
- Licensed & Practicing Massage since 2001
- Daily Ashtanga Yoga Practitioner since April 2011
- Experienced Ashtanga Yoga Teacher
- Board Certified Hypnotherapist
- Certified Coach - Gibson Integrated Attachment Theory
Hi! I'm Rachel Garcia.
Licensed Massage Therapist in St Petersburg
Rachel Garcia is a Florida Licensed Massage Therapist, and has been practicing massage therapy for two decades. Before moving to St Petersburg, Rachel lived in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she earned a Bachelors degree in Movement Science from the University of Michigan’s School of Kinesiology in 2013. Alongside her formal education and massage therapy work, Rachel has dedicated herself to the study and practice of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga in the Mysore tradition of South India.
Formal Ashtanga Teaching Apprenticeship
A student of yoga for more than 20 years, Rachel has practiced Ashtanga daily since 2011 under the guidance of her teacher, Angela Jamison, A Certified Ashtanga teacher under Sharath Jois. Angela guided Rachel’s development as a teacher of classical Ashtanga Yoga through a formal full-time apprenticeship that lasted 5 years and thousands of classroom hours at Ashtanga Yoga Ann Arbor. Rachel has made four long trips to India to study yoga, the three most recent to Mysore, where she studied Ashtanga at KPJAYI.
Barefoot Massage Training
During her long periods of study in Mysore, Rachel spent the afternoons learning from her Indian massage therapy teachers. Known as The Three Sisters, Harini, Shashikala, and Aka have used their gifts to nourish generations of yoga student-pilgrims in Mysore. Harini and Shashikala learned Chavutti Thirumal massage from their grandmother, and Rachel is one of a small number of people who the sisters have taken as a student of their craft. Rachel practices Chavutti Thirumal – South Indian Barefoot Massage, exclusively, and she is delighted to share this profoundly healing work with others.
A daily practitioner of Ashtanga Yoga since 2011, Rachel returns to her teacher’s classroom at Ashtanga Yoga Ann Arbor regularly for guidance and inspiration. She returns to Mysore periodically as well for practice at the source of the ashtanga yoga method with Sharath Jois, and to continue learning barefoot massage from the Three Sisters.
Gibson Integrated Attachment Theory
Rachel has always valued and enjoyed helping people through her work in the healing arts. It has been her life’s work and inspiration to provide results-oriented solutions to balance and pacify the challenges that come with embodied existence.
Rachel’s personal story of healing is a long and chaotic one, and it has taught her a lot. In 2022, Rachel earned certification as a Coach in Gibson Integrated Attachment Theory; she has mastered the IAT tools and now turns toward others who face similar challenges in their lives to help them learn these tools, alongside hypnosis, meditation instruction, and embodiment practices that target and facilitate healing at the level of the subconscious mind.
Get in Touch
Have a Question?
All scheduling is done online.
If you need assistance or have questions, please feel welcome to get in touch with Rachel directly.