About Altranise

“I didn’t plan to do the work of what I like to call birth & bodywork. This work is more of a calling. I became drawn to bodywork when, as an exhausted college student, I sought out massage as self care and personally experienced the endless benefits. During my graduate studies, I came across articles on trauma, how emotions and memories become stored in the body, and the many ways in which massage therapy can lead to recovery and a reclaiming of self.

 

After my graduate program, I enrolled into massage school and I did my independent project on trauma as I learned about the infinite, fascinating body. It was also during this time that I first heard the word “doula” (though I had already supported a few births, I didn’t have a name for this work). I hired doulas for the birth of my own children; birthing my son and then daughter were very challenging, beautiful, life altering experiences, and I couldn’t imagine going through those journeys without the support of doulas.

 

My experiences as a mother and as a birth & bodyworker has led me to one of my most important truths: it is through the art of mothering and nurturing ourselves that we are able to mother and nurture others. I mother myself by receiving bodywork, through various forms of expressive arts, through somatic practices: through showing up as my authentic self. I work to share these same acts of love and to provide a safe space for each person who entrusts me as their birthworker or bodyworker. My deep appreciation for openness and vulnerability allows me to witness and hold space, and I am always honored to be a part of human, sacred journeys.”

 

Altranise is a birth doula, holds a Bachelor's degree in psychology from Russell Sage College, a Master's degree in English and Africana Studies from the University at Albany, and is a graduate of the Center for Natural Wellness School of Massage Therapy.

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