welcome 2026

Happy new year dear clients!

The fervent march of time has been most palpable in the past year. Where did 2025 go? As always I will work toward more spaciousness and slowness in the new year, a years-long practice, which fruits successes and failed attempts.

(L to R: construction Stephanie in the new addition, Florida sunset, Puget Sound sea star, early summer garden and the sauna shed, Tom and I hiking in Bellingham, my parents and I on the Oregon Coast, a performance at Word Virus Books, December sunset over the Willamette on my favorite walk.)

This year I will try to keep a few appointments available every week to get folks in ASAP, when those pesky pains start talking a little more loudly. Likely these appointments won't be visible on my online schedule -though it never hurts to check as there have been some last minute appointments become available- if you reach out I should be able to get you in.

https://deepgroundmassagebodywork.fullslate.com

It is a new year, and I need up-to-date information for my records. If you haven't already, please take a moment to fill out the intake form before your next appointment. I appreciate you taking the time to help with this administrative task.

2026 marks my 16th year in practice as a bodyworker. As an old friend said the other day, your practice can drive! I am grateful for this work, my continued inspiration from my mentors and colleagues, and of course, you!

I also want to mention that my friend, Becky Miller, and I are starting up a monthly endometriosis meet-up for folks experiencing this debilitating pelvic pain. If you are or know someone who might benefit from a hour-and-a-half guided somatic practice and resource sharing session, send them my way! Our first meeting with be Saturday, January 24th at 3pm in SE Portland.

I look forward to seeing you sometime this year!

updates, and...

It is my 10th anniversary of opening my practice in Portland! I have been a LMT for 15 years, and the vast majority of that has been here, with you. So thank you for your support of my practice, and thank you for letting me support you.

At Apex Wellness Clinic, Dr. Rebecca Schacker has retired and Dr. Krystal LaPlante, DC has returned to a full time schedule at the clinic. I refer all of my clients looking for chiropractic work to Dr. K, she is attentive, thorough and a delightfully collaborative practitioner.

Summer update: NEW location

 I am so excited to share that I am moving into a thriving wellness clinic in Foster-Powell, Apex Wellness Center. This clinic may be familiar to those of you who began to see me 7-8 years ago, though I will be in a new room. I am excited to move my practice to this lovely space, full of incredible practitioners. I will start seeing clients there beginning June 1^st.

Please let me know if you need to update any currently scheduled appointments. I realize this new location may impact the days and times you’d prefer to schedule, or travel times. I hope this move won’t be too inconvenient. After the past three years of a temporary landing at Laurelhurst due to Covid and subletting between two rooms, I am so excited to stretch back into my full practice. I will be opening up my schedule with more availability, and able to get you in when you need.

Check the schedule here: https://deepgroundmassagebodywork.fullslate.com

Spring updates (masks, and other news)

Spring is here now, the bulbs are really popping up, the trees budding out. I am welcoming the light. The longer days have me imagining bike rides and long walks, yard projects and picnics with friends. 

Though the Oregon Health Authority will remove the mask mandate in Oregon healthcare settings beginning April 3, the providers at our clinic have agreed to continue to require masks out of respect for our immunocompromised clients, our community elders, and our own health in this work that requires such close proximity. We appreciate your continued care of the community of people and families that thrive at our clinic.

I've gotten very use to wearing masks.

June 30

The dates demarking changes to our safety practices seem arbitrary as our world continues to suffer from COVID-19 infections. I am charged with keeping you, your families, and our community safe and I will continue to do so to the best of my ability.

With Oregon amending its COVID-19 mask and physical distancing mandates on June 30, I am still asking you to wear a mask into the clinic and throughout our session and wash or sanitize your hands upon entering the building. I will be wearing an N95 mask and gloves, and our air filters will still be humming.

We will no longer request responses to the COVID-19 Screening Form. And when you arrive, you may enter the building (using the key code) and wait in the lobby if you chose.

Below are the changes to our COVID-19 Protocols and Procedure:

understanding the carpal tunnel

What is the carpal tunnel? Many clients have wrist pain here, but aren't quite sure what the structure looks like, or the pathology of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

carpal bones: scaphoid, lunate, triquetral, pisiform, trapezium, trapezoid, capitate, hamate

The carpal tunnel is comprised of the 8 carpal bones (bones of the wrist) the transverse carpal ligament and the flexor retinaculum (a fibrous sheath of tissue that covers the joint to offer it more integrity). The median nerve and tendons of the muscles of the fingers and palm pass through the carpal tunnel. When the tendons are inflamed from over-use or repetitive use, they swell under the carpal tunnel, pressing on the median nerve.

I often recommend icing or an ice bath for the wrist and hands. And, stretching:

If it becomes a prolonged and severely aggravated complaint, your primary care provider might offer these treatment suggestions:

Cortisone (steroid) shot: This is an injection of the steroid -cortisone- into the joint space. It aims to reduce the chronic inflammation, beginning anew a healing process for these chronic injuries. Recovery with this treatment can be felt immediately to a week or so, and the effects can be felt for months to even years -especially when the source of aggravation is removed or amended.

Physical Therapy: A PT can provide many manual treatments, and often help to address the daily habits that might be aggravating this particular injury. By stretching. strengthening, and either avoiding or altering certain activities, pain can be reduced and recovery can occur.

Surgery: Surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome is a minor surgery, where a small incision is made in the transverse carpal ligament, which alleviates the pressure on the median nerve. The incision is then stitched back up. There is often a very small scar from the incision which, as almost all scar tissue, improves with massage to decrease the buildup of fibrous tissue. You may feel relief immediately, or within a few weeks or months. Recovery time from the surgery will take a few weeks before you can return to regular, rigorous use of your affected wrist.

online booking with Full Slate

I know it can be so much easier to book online!
https://deepgroundmassagebodywork.fullslate.com/

year one

 It has been an incredible year at my studio, practicing on SE Hawthorne Blvd inside Karuna Contemplative Living. Thank you all for your support!

Now Taking Insurance

ASH

REGENCE BCBS

PROVIDENCE PREFERRED PPO

Stephanie Lavon Trotter, LMT is an In-Network provider with ASH Network (a CAM clearinghouse for plans that may include Aetna, Cigna, First Choice, and Healthnet) , Providence Preferred PPO, and Regence BCBS. 

Plans vary with massage coverage, so please be in touch for a complimentary insurance verification.

The Luxury of Self-Care

I am so proud of my clients who have begun to take more time for their own care; who view their monthly, or twice-monthly massages as a part of a Self-Care routine that insures their continued comfort and ability in their day-to-day. Our bodies often are the last thing we think to care for, unless we are in so much pain we can't sleep or sit comfortably, or we can't walk or move throughout our day without extreme discomfort. It shouldn't have to feel this bad to become an excuse to finally take care of ourselves.

Luxury is really a misnomer when it comes to getting massage or bodywork. It shouldn't be labeled a luxury to care for yourself. One of my clients works in construction, and he tells me that his co-workers often give him a hard time for getting regular massage; 'oh, that must be nice', they tell him. He laughs, but as hard as he is on his own body; lifting, twisting, walking around on cement all day, he knows that what keeps him going is his regular massages. He tells me, he probably couldn't get out of bed in the morning without massage.

Hyperbole aside, I stumbled across an article recently from a 2008 issue of Body Sense. Lee Picciuto explained this Luxury rhetoric well:

"Some people believe that massage therapy is either an indulgence for the wealthy or a "treat" for special occasions. Most therapists have some clients who only come in once a year, usually for a birthday or special holiday.

I have also encountered clients who have been influenced by others and made to feel guilty for spending money on a monthly massage session. These clients seem to think of massage therapy as a frivolity they don't deserve. 

Admittedly, massage therapy has a monetary cost, but that should be weighed against the benefits of the treatment--diminished stress, decreased pain, improved moods, etc. There is usually a way to budget for a monthly massage with a bit of reprioritizing."

My clients who have committed to regular massage have noticed a huge difference in the way their bodies feel; decreased chronic pain in common areas that hold stress, or do repetitive motions, and they tell me the just feel better, less "stressed". We hold the tension we collect from the world in our bodies; our physical reactions to what we experience, in addition to what we do (walking, running, sitting at a computer, gardening, lifting heavy boxes...). It is always a joy to witness my clients continued relief of their pain and stress, these are not things I believe they should carry with them every day.

I notice in my clients a difference in the tissue, the way the muscles move and feel, the way the body reacts to receiving massage, how quickly muscles release tension and adhesions. I cannot speak for their change in emotions, but I do notice their stress dissipate. I notice more smiling. I notice a deeper connection with their breathing on the table, and an understanding of how they are living in their bodies from appointment to appointment, as we continue to change and effect a more comfortable way to live with each massage.

Think about you commitment to caring for yourself. It isn't selfish, it isn't a luxury. You can save money when you sign up for a "monthly maintenance massage" with a 6-month commitment.

One 60 minute massage per month : $50.00 USD - monthly One 90 minute massage per month : $80.00 USD - monthly

knowing your body

I recently had acupuncture. It had been several years since my last treatment, and my neck and arm muscles were feeling particularly taut. She placed needles in my lower leg to alleviate my head and neck tension. The muscles instantly released upon the prick of the needle. My mind drifted, my body rested. This treatment reinforced my thinking around the systemic connection of the body; that one point can hold deeper sense of inner workings.

I must admit, I haven't been taking very good care of myself lately -a lot of working, and planning, and performing, and...not enough revitalization. I am determined to prioritized self-care. I've had massage. I took an Epsom salt soak. I stretched every morning and evening. It takes a lot of work, and after a week of working on myself, I don't feel better -(!!!)- I feel pretty mediocre. There is no miracle, and it takes time and energy. Our bodies are ever-changing, adaptable, and impermanent. When we heal, we don't heal to our former self -our "pre-injury" status- but rather a new status, one that remembers the pain and weakness, yet strives for physical knowledge beyond our past afflictions.

full moon of feelings

Cancer Sun //Capricorn Full Moon exact at 7:20pm PDT July 1st, 2015

Stephanie Gailing of Planetary Apothecary says:

"What’s...highlighted during this Full Moon is the importance of maintaining a balanced sense of perspective. Cancer inspires us to both feel as well as value our feelings. It has flowing, soft, and undulating energy. Capricorn, on the other hand, is not focused on feelings but rather on diligent and responsible approaches to accomplishing tangible outcomes. The question becomes how the nurturer (Cancer) and the achiever (Capricorn) can co-exist."

Read her full article here: http://planetaryapothecary.com/2015/06/capricorn-full-moon-2/

What interests me in Stephanie's words is this balance between self-care, and what we need to get done. These things are more often than not contractions. It is hard to make the time with our ever-swiftyly-moving lives for us; for a breathe, for meditation or mindfulness practice, for self-reflection, or self-care.

I've recently shifted my work-load, I don't know how I was doing it, working three jobs, attempting to create within my Art, renovate a home, all while living with my partner in my childhood home, but I did it. The easiest thing to drop off my list? Self-care. My work-out, my yoga, my meditation, my own massage.

How can we balance how we nurture our bodies and minds? How do we attend to our feelings? All the while walking forward on our distracting paths ahead?

New Studio (SE PDX) Open House

Since the beginning of the year, I set the intention to find my own studio for massage. It has been delightful meeting new therapists and sharing space with some great bodyworkers, however I was called to create my own space for my clients and my work.

I am happy to announce that I will be moving into a gorgeous studio in Karuna Contemplative Living, in great company of Anandi Gefroh, the proprietress of this meditation supply store, and another licensed massage therapist, Wes Burden, specializing in Somatics and sound therapy.

Find us at:
1725 SE Hawthorne Blvd.
Portland, OR 97214

Come say hello at our Open House: Thursday, June 11th 6:30-8:30pm.

deep ground massage + bodywork

A return home, a return to my roots, has proven just as difficult as the Uprooting to the east. In our transient states, we find an ease in the temporary. We outstretch our hands to hold another, but know that our time is fleeting. We cherish those moments, believing that we may never have them again. But the radical act of setting down roots, a conscious attending to Connection, to Longevity, is careful work. We set our feet in the ground, and stand still, letting our words and emotions go to work. As we unearth new friends, colleagues, and acquaintances, we discover the communities that thrive in the places we come to know.

The deep ground I find here --my birthplace, my Home-- is overwhelmingly familiar. It is strange to surround yourself in a foreign place, and then return to the familiar. Time passes, and things change, but your just can't separate out the Herstory from the Present. I just had coffee with a friend who is Home after teaching English in Japan for five years. The re-introduction to everything you know isn't, as we'd assume, easy. We grow accustomed to adaptation, the clever workings to adjust to a new environment in a moment, learning new ways of doing things, even challenging what we believe.

As I recall the wonderful things of the PNW, and especially Portland (as she grows, and boasts a bustle of artists and young people) I am pleased to offer my massage work.

Here, in the NW, massage is about creating moments for yourself. Massage provides the time to rest, to collect and reintroduce the parts of yourself that slip away throughout the days, weeks, and months of living that happen between the times we take care of ourselves. This is a call, to care for yourself, yet another radical act in our busy, busy world.

a license!

mail-call!

I've been a licensed massage practitioner (LMP) in Washington State since 2010. I had a great practice on Capitol Hill where I served fellow artists, and creative beings, with affordable pricing. I moved away from Seattle, my home for nearly 8 years, to pursue graduate studies on the east coast. Returning to Portland in August, I spent an entire month preparing for the Oregon Board of Massage Practical Exam. If you know a licensed massage therapist (LMT) working in the state of Oregon, give them a hug! That was a serious test of skill, knowledge, and confidence in my massage work. And I passed, with a 93%. Whew!