Triathlete, fitness trainer for 50+ cancer suvivour

The "right therapist" is essential in healing and long term recovery

 . I have been in the fitness world for 50 years as a ranked triathlete,fitness coach, and seriously injured competitor. I was  lucky to be treated by  a gifted practitioner Coko  Nakashima. Her ability to get right to the damaged area with her gentle but firm touch took me out of pain and gave me confidence that recovery was possible.  I am grateful to her     Larry Krug

Type Camp Internationa.Inc

Coko Mayuko Nakashima is a true treasure. She is full of compassion, filled with empathy, and overflowing with tenderness. She is also a woman with expert x-ray vision who can navigate bones and tendons and encourage begrudging muscles to function again. Treatments from Coko have changed my life and my body celebrates the results every day.  

I want to thank you for your service, your support and your infinite talent. I reached out for help and you didn't hesitate to come forward. I will be always grateful for that. Every session with you is magical: I lay on your table and magic happens. I relax, I go in such a deep state that I feel one with my body: this is a big thing for me because I tend to be disconnected. You touch me around the neck and I feel your energy working on my pelvis, I feel old memories awakened, I feel healing happening at many levels not only the physical plane.

I feel free to surrender to your hands because I know that I will come out with so many gifts. I don't think that you can fit on a category: you are and you do so much more than a chiropractor, so much more than acupuncture. Your touch is so gentle and deep at the same time.

“”I never heard of Rolfing until the day I signed up for it. I signed up for it because of Coko, my friend, who invited me for a session.

Coko does Rolfing because she loves it. And when I stepped out of the Rolfing experience I felt aware of my whole body like I never did before...every cell of it! And when I got on my feet, I felt steady, grounded on my own two feet.

I came away with the feeling that a Rolfing session should be a starting point of any integrated medical treatment. It makes you aware of your own disconnect from your body. It builds intimacy with your being, and gives you a sense of what is not right within.””

Sujith Ravindran,

Bestselling Author

Indian Mystic

The most important thing for me is learning more about my body and where I hold the stress. It is like building a relationship with my body and learning the language from my body. That is a big thing. "

-Summer--Vancouver,BC

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Stephan Bonn

"I recommend Coko’s Rolfing treatment full heartily. Trust your intuition and sign up for a full series of 10 session. I am glad I did it! She is the most generous and focused professional in her craft.
By the eight session I already forgotten the chronic pain of my knee and my injured toe. After the tenth session my body went into a spontaneous detoxification for three weeks. Now I feel like a new born person. "

- Stevhan Bonn, Artist

Aron

The three craniosacral sessions I had with Coko were a combination of deep relaxation and highly vital and potent intervention. Coko’s presence is clear but gentle, potent but patient. Her attentive and strong presence makes itself felt in the room, as it allows for an increasing awareness of the field phenomenon, whereby it seems that we both become aware of a level that is deeper than our conscious attention, but we still have an influence on one another. This level seems to be the state that lies before deep sleep but after everyday consciousness, where cognitive patterns and recurring thoughts and emotions originate from, and to where they can return when allowed. It’s the ideal environment for deep relaxation, enlivening rejuvenation, and repatterning of thought, emotion, and movement.

Coko stood on different sides of my body lying on the table, asking me to describe how the various positions felt. That appeared to be a great way to inquire about the interpersonal dimension of my postural alignment. What feeling comes up when someone stands on my right side? What are the thoughts attached to it? Could there be a reason why one side brings more comfort than the other? A great tool for assessment of the whole body-mind system. Another area where Coko’s non-invasive but clear presence is an active but non-threatening catalyst for change and the deepening of awareness.

As she brought her hands nearer it felt like I’m approached by a channel of waves, that are on the same wavelength as my waves ( the ones that dominate the subconscious level of pre-sleep consciousness) but may be more naturally aligned, and thus therapeutic for me. The waves that go through her wash through me, deepening my level of awareness, relaxing me, and teaching me about a way of moving, thinking, and feeling that is more aligned and more relaxed than my normal state. It’s like lying one of those wireless phone chargers.

It may be paradoxical that the stronger and clearer the presence of the therapist is, the more it allows for a deeper relaxation. But Coko’s steadfast, non-invasive approach created a container that primarily allowed for relaxation, and secondarily allowed for engagement with a subtle level of communication which by its very nature is educational and therapeutic. 

“I tried Rolfing™ after my chiro recommended it. We had been working to relieve my chronic back pain and would make improvements for a while then it was back.

Rolfing™ helped the chronic pain leave for good. After suffering for years, I woke up one day and realized I didn't have lowerback pain anymore. “-Rena, Boulder ,CO

Male, 33

"Thanks Coko… I have taken advantage of the 3 sessions this month, and I have to agree that getting a massage from Coko is like taking the car for a service. She is able to relax your body and mind… Coko has a great understanding of where to release certain pain, so that your body becomes more relaxed.I have enjoyed the massages… and I will definitely have plenty more…"

Dana, Vancouver BC

"Although I didn’t realize i had a preconceived idea of what the session might involve (stretching and movement) i realized i did. When we sat down to focus on our feet i was grateful for the experience of letting go preconceptions and simply taking the time to bring attention and awareness to my toes! I would not have taken this time on my own. I appreciate to reminder to stay present and connected and for the freedom to allow whatever is there or not there to arise and then pass. My body needs to move at this time in my experience so it can be challenging not to but i see now the importance of paying attention to what can be thought of as a ‘small’ part i.e . The feet. This was a reminder that no part is small or less important. A healthy body means each part is nourished and fed with breath and attention."

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30's Female in Sydney Australia

"Coko has been my masseuse for 2 yrs and this women is the cream of the crop! When I came to her my body was extremely tight and even after 6 yrs of regular yoga I didn’t notice much improvement in my flexibility and overall well being. Almost instantly my body started to soften and I can now say after 2 yrs of regular sessions with Coco I now have a supple body. When Coco says she is a holistic therapist she is not lying. She is extremely knowledgeable, experienced, professional, passionate and dedicated to her craft. Thank you Coco for what you have taught me and done for my health. I will miss you so much now that I am abroad."

Shelley

Love to you and I'll let you know about the rolfer....

I went to my old one in North Carolina. I realised how much I didn't connect with her this time. She dominates and forces - such a different style than you! She also talked the whole time - and I realised how much I love the water or other methods you use to change the space. She approached things clinically and you approach them emotionally (?) or holistically (?). Let me just say that I'm so glad that I know you. You have changed my life! (and Lauren Hill's....)

Rolfing is very good. The treatment improves the posture and that not only for one day but also for a long time."

-Brian -Vancouver, BC

"Coko brings a thoughtful, cheerful and collaborative approach to her Rolfing practice.  I first came to see her with a painful right hip, and through her precise and sometimes painful, sometimes soothing manipulation of muscle and tissue, she was able to bring my pain level down with each subsequent session.  In addition, her Sound Therapy component adds further depth and  a unique auditory healing element to the process.  I highly recommend Coko’s practice and look forward to ongoing sessions in the future."

- Larry

30's female

"I came to Coko hoping to improve my energy and vitality as I was unable to sustain this for very long after yoga classes and miofascia massage. After doing the ten session series and three movement classes with Coko I was feeling fantastic for much longer periods and have learnt invaluable knowledge and tools for improving my energy by myself. The movement classes in particular allowed me to learn about how the body moves, correct alignment and how energy flows naturally through the body without using much effort at all. I don’t think I will be needing a massage again and I will continue with yoga fro strength and maintenance. Coko is a very experienced and great teacher."

Female 50's

"The rolfing sessions surprised me by being both holistic and focused. My feet have never had so much careful, expert attention, and I am now very aware of how my feet play such an important role in maintaining the health of every limb and organ above them! I have begun to regularly massage my feet as a way of relieving small accumulated stresses. The pain in my quads and hip continues to improve, and the pelvic roll exercise is a wonderful discovery. I can do it anytime, and it seems to be good for pain reduction, flexibility and muscle strengthening. I’m also paying much more attention to my breathing, as a way of keeping the muscles oxygenated and loose. Thanks Coco, for your practical, light and wholehearted dedication to the art of well being."

- Female 50’s

Female 60's

"I have just finished a 10 session Rolfing program with Mayuko Nakashima (Coko). I am writing this to, first of all, express my thanks to Coko for the amazing transformational work she has done with me. Her clinical skills are highly professional as is her gift for the intuitive work with my body and mind as a whole living system. Coko’s gift for kindness and attentiveness are surpassed only by her ability to teach. She has taught this 62 year old teacher of the performing arts a new and integrated awareness of how the being works most efficiently and gracefully within the paring of the soul and soft machine.
I would highly recommend that anyone seeking to grow and evolve into better health, physical awareness and flexibility choose to work with Coko as their certified Rolfing Practitioner."

- Female 60’s

Mark

"I saw Coko to help correct the cause of my Planter’s Facitus in my right foot. In each of the three of sessions, Coko was very attentive and professional. She seemed to have a true intuitive sense of what needed to be done. There was significant improvement in my foot afterwards. I highly recommend Coko for any muscular-skeletal ailments you may have!"

- Mark

"Before having a rolfing session I thought that rolfing is similar to chiropractise, but after I realized that it’s different.Coko synchronized my breathing and my natural movements using her physical movements. I felt that my mind was also synchronized with my physical movements. I think that the ideology is similar to Yoga because of breathing and meditation. It’s very interesting and very comfortable. I’ve never had this sensation before. Before the session my jaw was a little tight and had discomfort. Moreover when I woke up my neck was painful. After the session these problems were relieved. I am stressed out as well. I’m looking forward to the next session."

- KanakoVancouver BC

"It feels like forever ago that I promised you a few lines about your body balance massage. I hope you can forgive the feedback being so belated.I have really enjoyed the sessions that I have had with you. They have each managed to bring up something interesting, and I have felt more centred, relaxed and whole after them.
In my first session I was surprised by the difference the session made to my general alignment. When I went to my next yoga class I noticed that I was more even in a number of poses, as your massage worked directly on the tightness that I feel in the right side of my body (particularly my neck and hips). I could also feel my feet resting on the floor more evenly, which is something you work on in yoga; to feel it through massage was eye opening.
You take such great care to explain your approach, and it has always been clear to me that I’ve been working with someone who has a deep technical and intuitive understanding of the body and how the body reflects emotional states.
Of course, I love the sound healing (unbelievably relaxing), but there’s so much more to your work. Having a reflexology session on my third visit was a bit challenging (I have really ticklish feet), but you were very firm and I felt a lot of release. And that release is both physical and emotional: I have left feeling lighter and clearer each time.
I hope these words convey some of the marvelous and complex stuff that your body balance massages reveal. Really, they are awesome.

I’d love another session soon!"

Sarah Knoebber , Artist

"Coko has a skill moving fascia/muscle/connective tissue with ease and honesty that embodies great Heart. Her sessions are magnificent Art!"

- Sarah Knoebber, Artisit