About Matthew
License# 14251
Hello, I’m Matthew. I started Centered Everyday as a way to help people with their health, vitality, spiritual growth, and emotional healing. To do this I am offering classes in meditation, stretching, weight lifting, and chi gong. I also have a healing arts practice in which I offer a style of body work I call Fascia Energetics which is a combination of deep tissue massage, energy work, and specific techniques for treating the dense connective tissue and joints. I also offer energy work sessions for emotional healing and spiritual awakening.
My journey in summary:
I started training in Kung Fu and chi gong in 2001. It started as just a personal interest but within a year I was able stop using all of my asthma medications. I had pretty bad asthma since childhood and even though I lifted weights and did cardiovascular exercise it never subsided until I started chi gong, so obviously this got my attention.
During that first year I also had the experiences of my chi “waking up” and of having this personal insight - “In order to master Kung Fu I must get more flexible, to do this I need to clear my energy, and to do this I must heal my emotions”. I didn’t really understand the significance of these things at the time but I do now.
My Training
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After 2 years of almost daily training in Kung Fu with my sifu Damon Honeycutt I moved to Ashland OR. to study Brazilian jujitsu and Yin Yoga with Paul Grilley. I ended up only doing BJJ for a little more than 1 year but continued learning about yoga and A&P from him for several more years. Paul introduced me to almost all of the ideas that set the foundation for what I do today. The most important parts being the work of Hiroshi Motoyama explaining the perspective that the fascia is the Chinese meridian system and Paul’s own integration of taoist and Hindu yogas focusing on the internal development of the chakras and chi. These ideas have shaped my thinking for 20 years now.
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In 2005, still in Ashland, I met spiritual teacher Dianne Oceana. I saw her first as a client to receive energy work for emotional and spiritual healing. At the time this was pretty “woo” for me and I didn’t really get it at first. But I did notice that some of my negative internal dialogue stopped after seeing her so I kept with it. After 6 months of working with her she offered to teach me meditation and she has been my teacher ever since. With her guidance I have been able to gain almost everything I wanted from my spiritual practice. She helped me transform from a person full of feelings of rage and isolation into a person who feels mostly at peace with himself with a deep sense of connection with the divine and other people.
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Professionally I’ve been a full time licensed massage therapist since 2007. I attended the Ashland Institute of Massage in 2006 and went directly into private practice and haven’t stopped since. I was hired to teach kinesiology at AIM for the 2007 school year and I am still on staff there. I have taught kinesiology, anatomy & physiology, pathology, clinical massage and I now teach a class called Eastern Massage which is a combination of Chinese medical theory and connective tissue massage.
I’m now based in Portland, Oregon where I practice my healing arts and teach chi gong, weight lifting, Yin Yoga, and meditation classes weekly. Both in group classes and private lessons.
My Primary Teachings
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Yin Yoga
Stretches held for 5 or more minutes at a time. This allows the fascia to get a deep stretch and the nervous system gets to calm down. This is one of the most helpful physical practices I have ever done. It is a wonderful bridge into meditative stillness as well.
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3 Dan Tian Breathing
This is a deep taoist chi balancing meditation that uses the breath. This will teach you to tonify, clear, and balance the life force of your body. You strengthen and clear the chi of your 3 centers (brain, heart, center) to keep your mind, body, and energy in harmony. This is a great introduction to feeling your energy in a tangible way and a very deep meditation practice by itself.
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Bija Mantra Meditation
This meditation introduces the inner vibratory realms of the chakras through the cosmic vibrations of the Bijas and Om. Using the seed mantras of the chakras and Om this meditation harmonizes the energy of your chakras and is a classic technique of Raja yoga (the yoga of spiritual liberation).
