Maryam Sharifnejad, BSc, MSc, MPT Registered Physical Therapist and Craniosacral Therapy Practitioner

Maryam’s background in physical therapy, craniosacral therapy, somato-emotional release, yoga therapy, and mindfulness training, have given her the tools and skills to help her clients progress on their journey towards health and well-being. In addition, her personal experiences with non-ordinary states of consciousness through meditation, holotropic breathwork, and other methods have helped her trust her own inner wisdom as her guidance.  Maryam believes everyone has the power to access the guidance and wisdom that reside at the core of their being. Her goal is to help her clients believe that their inner wisdom is present and guiding them at all times. She gains great inspiration by her work which offers her the opportunity to connect to others on a deep human level. She sees vulnerability as a strength and a way of being present with another. Her favourite quote is “we’re all just walking each other home.”

Enhancing the Body’s Self-Healing Process

Maryam employs her extensive knowledge of anatomy and gentle manual therapy techniques to address long-held restrictions in the body.  By using whole body evaluation methods, she identifies and facilitates the release of primary sources of tension, promoting relaxation in the nervous system. Through breathwork and gentle hands-on techniques, Maryam facilitates a shift in the nervous system from stress to relaxation mode.  The relaxation mode activates the body’s inner healing mechanisms on physical, mental, and spiritual levels.

Somato-Emotional Release

During treatment, Maryam recognizes that physical pain may be linked to thoughts, emotions and memories. When addressing chronic pain, she acknowledges that during a session memories might surface for the client to re-experience, guided by their inner wisdom. The inner wisdom knows what the client is ready to process and when.  Maryam, trained in holding space for this, also draws on her personal experiences to empathize and support her clients’ healing process.

Advanced Training and Certificates

• SERTIP; Somato-Emotional Release Technique: Mastering the Inner Physician; Dec 2022
• Somato-Emotional Release 2: Intention, Inner Physician and Dialogue – Deepening Principles and Practice of Upledger CranioSacral Therapy; Oct 2019
• Somato-Emotional Release 1: Full Range of CranioSacral Therapy Tools for Gentle Trauma Resolution; Jun 2019
• CranioSacral Therapy 2: Moving Beyond the Dura for Assessing Acute and Chronic Conditions; Feb 2019
• CranioSacral Therapy 1: Assessment of Central Nervous System and Fascia for Full Body Treatment Protocol; Sep 2018

Other Relevant Training and Experience:

• Vipassana 10–day Silent Meditation: Merritt, BC; Jan, 2023
• Holotropic Breathwork Workshop; Sept, 2023
• 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training: Vancouver School of Yoga; Feb 2018
• Mindful Schools: Mindful Educator Essentials Course; Dec 2017
• Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Course; Oct 2017

University of British Columbia

• Master of Physiotherapy – MPT; Nov 2006
• Master of Science – MSc; May 2001
• Bachelor of Science – BSc; May 1998