Meet Jaye Fishel | Somatic Therapist & Craniosacral Therapist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jaye Fishel and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jaye, what makes you happy? Why?
Deeply connecting with other humans makes me happy. It might seem obvious yet it feels more and more rarified in a world of interacting with machines increasingly more often than with humans. I love the feeling of being in the present moment with another person, on a hike, sharing a meal with great conversation, or even with the stranger at the checkout counter. It could be with a group of people, like at a concert or a movie. The feeling of sharing an experience with presence and awareness and appreciation, together. I love the feeling of being part of a collective, relational present moment enjoyment.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Jaye Fishel Somatics is a Somatic Therapy private practice located in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles and online anywhere. I offer one-on-one sessions and group practices to help people connect to their essential life force after the impacts of traumatic experiences.

As someone who encountered the major trauma of losing my mother to cancer at a young age, I lived most of my life believing that nothing could truly change the profound patterns of loss I learned to live with. I came to Somatic Experiencing myself quite by accident. I was formerly a Librarian, ten years into the career and quite unhappy with the path ahead of me. I started getting curious about a career change where I could help people more directly, so I started to see practitioners who offered work I felt I might like to do. In 2015, I went to see my now mentor, Shel Rasch, for Alexander Technique, not knowing about Somatic Experiencing at all. After just the first session working with Shel with Somatic Experiencing and somatic touch, I felt strongly that I found the modality that actually works to change deeply held patterns, and that I wanted to build a practice to offer similar work. I was lucky to have a Librarian job while I studied massage therapy, Craniosacral therapy, and Somatic Experiencing. When the Covid pandemic hit in 2020, all my trainings went online. Although I had not previously conceived of having a virtual practice, I learned that somatic work translates quite well to virtual space. In 2021, I opened my private practice, both online and in-person. I’m grateful now to get to offer Somatic therapy to anyone anywhere, including serving people who cannot travel or drive due to pain or other constraints.

My offerings differ from other therapeutic models in that I work to connect people to the intelligence of their nervous system and body rather than analyzing or interpreting thoughts. We connect with the body through a variety of means, including verbal dialoging to notice sensations, emotions, images or memories that arise. I might offer light touch, fully clothed bodywork and Craniosacral Therapy to support the verbal or non-verbal process. This way of working can offer deep, systemic change to re-wire outdated neural pathways into newer, more beneficial ways of being. I love guiding people into deep change through building small shifts on top of small shifts. It’s incredibly gratifying witnessing people changing in ways they never thought could be possible.

I absolutely love what I do and I’m grateful every day that I made a career change. I believe in lifelong learning and continue learning from wonderful Somatic Experiencing practitioners in trainings I assist throughout the US. I believe humans have an incredible capacity for change, we just need the right conditions, time, and support. I love supporting others in their change, as a piece in the way I work to bring greater peace to my community.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I love LA! I’ve lived here since 2013 and continue to find humor and inspiration in this place. If I had a visitor, I’d take them on one of my favorite very LA outings: food to-go at Gjusta, walk to the beach in Venice, eat on the beach, go for a walk, enjoy the gorgeous LA coast. Maybe we’d go for a hike in Griffith for sunset then walk to Little Doms and eat at the bar. Maybe we’d want to unwind at WiSpa. Maybe we’d go to an art exhibition at MOCA then walk around Little Tokyo and get delicious sushi. I love a classic LA place so maybe we’d go to The Prince or Jones or El Coyote. Or a new classic like Villas Tacos in Highland Park, then a walk in Debs Park.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to dedicate my Shoutout to FLOWERS. Whenever I encounter a beautiful flower, and even better if I can smell the flower, it brightens my spirit. The unique technology of each flower to attract pollinators and pass on the ultimate life force of the plant is astounding. I recently started working more earnestly with flower essences and I’m looking forward to bringing this offering into my practice in the future. I’m so deeply appreciative of the beauty and support that flowers bring.

Website: https://www.jayefishel.world/

Instagram: @jayefishelsomatics

Other: Substack: https://jayefishelsomatics.substack.com/