Nianna BRay
Somatic Experiencing™ Practitioner & Yoga Teacher
* Currently taking new Somatic Experiencing™ clients in person at Wise Counsel & Comfort in Portland, OR and online via zoom
Nianna Bray is a life-long learner and encourages curiosity in her clients. She trusts in the human spirits ability to rise from despair and the human body's ability to heal given the right conditions. She reminds you of the healing power of embodiment and encourages you to lean toward tenderness. She’s a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, yoga teacher and mother living with her family in Portland, Oregon.
Your presence is your power
Through a commitment to wholehearted living we honor love as our regenerative power and each breath as the unifying force that connects us all. We are all travelers here learning about love and walking each other home.
As a Graduate from UCLA's World Arts and Cultures Dance Department and the UCLA Education Abroad Program in India I began to identify my work in the world and the relevance of ritual space and movement therapies. I completed my three year training in Somatic Experiencing, a trauma integration technique developed by Peter Levin. I work as an assist and former coordinator for Somatic Experiencing International trainings.
Our relationships are our greatest resource and asking for help is a super power. We are stronger together. Over the years I have found that a poignant, compassionate, relatable and down-to-earth approach communicates effectively. I emphasize the importance of practice, presence and pause with a playful curiosity.
Before arriving in Portland, I spent 10 years teaching and traveling across the globe. I took students on retreat to India, Nepal, Tibet, France and Bali. I was invited to help launch Aro Ha, a luxury wellness retreat in Glenorchy. I enjoyed 3 seasons teaching in New Zealand where I created a teacher training program in Queenstown. I spent 7 seasons teaching in Mallorca, Spain at the prestigious retreat center, The Ashram. I spent 7 seasons teaching with rich and famous privately in the Hamptons along with group classes at local studios. My passion for travel was combined with my love of travel and I was blessed to see much of the world and share yoga with students in London, Paris, Perth, NY, LA, Amsterdam and beyond.
My journey of motherhood brings me into deep connection with the burdens, struggles, pains, joys, ecstasy and elation that life with a little human brings. As well, I have chosen to create a family with a man whom has a teenage daughter from his previous partnership. Being a “Step-mom” and “blending” families is hard and we can benefit greatly from seeking help and support from those who walk this path.
nature is our teacher
Our connection to all that is living is profound. We are nature itself. It is essential to slow down, rest and listen deeply to the wisdom of our body and the clarity that comes from immersing our soma into wilderness and relaxing into being.
WILD GEESE
You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes, over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again. Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting over and over announcing your place in the family of things.
- MARY OLIVER
A journey of discovery, healing from Trauma
On May 21, 2017 while on an adventure in Mallorca, Spain I severely broke my ankle. After a beautiful hike I joyfully jumped into the Mediterranean Sea and smashed my foot on the seafloor. The impact shattered my distal tibia and completely fractured my fibula. In severe agony I was taken by ambulance to the hospital. I was drugged up and unable to move for three days. Since then I have been on a journey of rediscovery as my body heals and releases trauma from such a tragic event. Read more about my experience here.
Somatic Experiencing has been a tremendous resource for me on my healing journey. My interest has shifted toward how I can help others integrate their own traumatic experience because I believe that the healthier, happier and more resourced people are the better off we all are. My commitment is to serve the wellbeing of our shared humanity and my local community.