Fiona Malamen, LMT

Hi, I’m Fiona Malamen and I’m a lifelong student of the body. We don’t live our lives in a straight line but in cycles, in ups and downs, moments of clarity and truth or confusion and distress. Since I graduated from the Massage Therapy program at Columbia Greene Community College in 2006, I have been holding safe space for healing and the recovery of homeostasis, the body’s “happy place.” This healing work is a collaborative partnership that prioritizes deep listening, something that is all too scarce in our broken and unequal healthcare system. After graduating from SUNY New Paltz with a degree in Biology and Psychology, a session with mentor and local luminary Nina Silverman, P.T. introduced me to the osteopathic modality of Counterstrain. In this Indirect Approach, the therapist follows the signals of the body and releases occur in the direction of ease, rather than going against the tension and the body/mind defenses, to effectively relieve pain and inflammation. Other influences in my life that helped me recognize the value of this approach include dance, West African dance, Eastern medicine philosophy and Buddhist psychology, a passion for Anatomy and my own self-compassionate healing process. When I’m not being humbled by this work, gardening, foraging and hiking the Catskill peaks are a great source of pleasure and perspective.