Embody Freedom
What if you could experience your body as a place of safety, peace, pleasure and possibility?
“I am a more whole person because she is my teacher.
Ilana brings so much love to her practice as a massage therapist and yoga teacher. She creates a safe space to release fear, nurtures self exploration and creative movement, and has an incredible intuition.”
- Emma Gabrielle Silverman, author of The Joy of Yoga
Anahata Healing Arts uses therapeutic massage and yoga inspired practices as an access point to feeling more at home and comfortable in one’s body.
When we are guided or touched with compassion it can switch on our own ability to see ourselves through that lens.
These experiences have the potential to help us viscerally feel the interconnectedness of our entire being.
The benefits of this work can include:
Decrease in stress and anxiety
Better balance
Ease of depression symptoms
Increased strength & energy
Improved circulation
Increased capacity for pleasure
Increased relaxation
Increased range of motion & flexibility
Improved ability to be present for ourselves and others
Reduced inflammation and pain
Increased nervous system resilience
Managed low back pain
Improved heart health
… and much more.
Feeling body agency and ownership
Improved immune function
Reduced muscle soreness and tension
Improved sleep
About Ilana
Ilana established her practice in Ithaca and completed her 200 hour yoga teacher training at the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, in 2011. She graduated with her massage therapy license and 1000 hours of training from the Finger Lakes School of Massage in 2013, and went on to teach at FLSM in the modalities of Connective Tissue Therapy, Swedish Massage, Pregnancy Massage and Communication Skills.
She has completed several further trainings during the course of her career, and most regularly incorporates elements of Biodynamic Craniosacral Work, Thai Massage, Embodied Anatomy, and Pelvic Floor Yoga into her work.
For Ilana’s bio click here
“Listen to me, truly and deeply.
I feel seen and held and honored and I love your energy.
It is quiet and unassuming and peaceful, and you are very wise and skilled in the art of massage and in the lineage and teachings of yoga. You have such deep respect for both yoga and massage as art forms and sources of wisdom, as well as individual autonomy and the body itself as a healing, self-regulating system.
I always feel good when I leave your class or a massage”
Three ways to work with me:
Therapeutic Massage is a tool to support healing injuries, resetting the nervous system, calming the mind, addressing chronic pain, maintaining vitality and much more.
Ilana’s style incorporates intuitive combinations of flowing connective strokes, targeted deep tissue therapy and grounding energetic support.
Sessions are a collaboration of your intentions and goals for our time and whatever naturally arises to be held and felt.
Ilana will be on maternity leave starting April 2024. Her talented colleague Rose Zonetti will be taking sessions in her office at South Hill Business Campus 950 Danby Road, near downtown Ithaca, NY.
More on massage offerings and hours here.
Private sessions are individually crafted to meet any student exactly where they are and to progress towards their unique goals.
Private sessions can be a way to create a custom home practice and to empower you with the self knowledge to take group classes with confidence.
Ilana works with a large variety of individuals and groups, from those looking to heal and thrive in a context of chronic illness, to those looking for guidance into advanced postures , to group celebrations and more. She loves the opportunity to connect to the unique person or group and create an expansive experience that fits your goals .
Find her group class schedule here.
The Art of Relaxation experience combines superb body work with guided gentle movement and deep relaxation, for blissful rest in a supportive group setting. This is a resource for receiving exquisite care, with simple and tactile guidance, so you can let go and rest deeply.
Receive individual support from talented practitioners with massage, assisted stretches, energy work and prop and body adjustments for deepening your comfort, while being guided in breathing, stretching, meditation and deep relaxation.
Session dates will be added for Fall ‘24 when Ilana returns from maternity leave.
What clients are saying
“Ilana’s gift of healing is beyond description. Sometimes I can ask for something specific and receive just that, but more often it is just magic to arrive in her sphere and receive the wisdom of her healing touch. It is more than just pain relief. You listened and have come along on the journey. Always meeting me right where I am. It is profoundly energetic and spiritual and comes through in both private massage, yoga classes and the Art of Relaxation. Thank you.”
“Ilana’s classes are fun, interesting, non-competitive, nourishing, and I learn about anatomy and alignment.”
“The Art of Relaxation classes are glorious. I am a yoga instructor and this class is the one that brings me joy, peace, and as advertised, relaxation. ”
“I’m convinced if everyone I knew could experience Ilana’s massage work, then they’d all have their lives changed!! She really showed me what it means to feel good in my body, and that its worth it to treat myself to bodywork. ”
“The main reason I started working with Ilana was because of her expansive knowledge of anatomy and guidance into postures, utilizing alignment cues to encourage the safe and effective practice of practitioners, aside from all of the knowledge of yoga philosophy she possesses, and her ongoing quest for knowledge. I also love Kripalu style yoga, and I have immensely enjoyed her fun spirited warmth and kind nature over the years I have received her guidance in my practice. ”
“I have found massage therapy to be essential to my overall well being. Your sincere, thoughtful patience in understanding what my needs were drew me back. Over time I have come to appreciate Ilana’s magic touch and the way her massage releases stress, relaxes areas of extreme tension and leaves me feeling an overall renewed, rejuvenated well being.
What keeps me coming back is her gentle, nonjudgmental way of seeing me as a whole. Never do I feel less than when I’m in her presence. I am really impressed with her overall knowledge of the body and what to do for any given challenge or situation. She offers wonderful tips and things I can do between visits to stay limber, relaxed and take care of myself.”
“The only other thing I might add... and I am never quite sure how to say this.... is just that yoga and body work can be particularly challenging if body image is a challenge. There is a vulnerability to getting on a mat or a massage table. For me, while I have made my peace with both on some level, when I have occasionally found myself in a class of fit, flexible, slender bodies I am prone to feeling like the hippo in the room. The saving grace of such situations is an instructor whose warmth, grace and acceptance is genuine and heartfelt. With that energy guiding a class, meeting me where I am and supporting my growth, I feel liberated and able to literally (and emotionally) stretch. Ilana has always been such a teacher and her classes and massages have always felt warm and welcoming.””
“I think your work is magnificent- I love your yoga classes (you do a perfectly appropriate amount of reflective talking in the beginning, giving us food for thought as we move through class). Your classes are also easy to “scale” up or down in difficulty, depending on how sore I am from other physical activities. As for massage, I think you are a Touch Goddess and you always make me feel divine. You also have a very ‘clean’ energy which doesn’t leave me feeling anything other than myself afterward.”