"There is more wisdom in your body, than in your deepest philosophy."

› Nietsche

My Practice

Mary Petschen is a Certified Rubenfeld Synergist who bases her practice on the foundation that each individual is a dynamic integration of body, mind, emotion and spirit.

Memories are not only stored in the brain but in a psychosomatic network throughout the body. The body is the unconscious mind; in its structure, the body retains the story of each person’s life – our memories, our emotions, our traumas. Our sensations are the voices of our past, present and future. These sensations also serve as insistent reminders of hidden, habitual patterns and beliefs, which can in turn impair our ability to move comfortably within our own bodies.

Using the Rubenfeld Synergy Method, Mary gently guides you through this process of self-awareness, allowing unconscious information to come forward to inform your awareness and integrate with compassion. By combining talk with gentle touch, movement, and curiosity, this method allows new ways of listening and moving into ourselves - deepening awareness. RSM can help clients resolve long-standing issues, release anxiety, stress, tension, and find peace & balance with options. 

All of us are here to be valued, heard and acknowledged. Together, we will bring voice and awareness to the parts of the self that seek to be heard - to help you know your truth and transform your life.

Featured Podcasts

Luminate Speakeasy: You’ve Got Options with Mary Petschen
Luminate Speakeasy: Everyday Awakening with Mary Petschen

About RSM 

The Rubenfeld Synergy Method (or RSM) is a modality that works with the dynamic interrelation of the body, mind, emotions, and spirit. It was developed in New York City forty years ago by Ilana Rubenfeld, a musician seeking her own balance and healing. Ilana became aware that when she went for her Alexander Technique sessions, many emotions and memories rose to her awareness.  When she verbalized these emotions, her bodyworker was unable to provide support or clarity, as she was not a therapist. She tried going directly afterward to her psychotherapist, but when she arrived she could no longer recall the emotions and memories or how they were connected. She decided to pursue the connection herself.

Ilana studied Gestalt therapy with Fritz and Laura Perls, which incorporates the whole and the parts of a person. She focused on the body’s movements and limitations through Feldenkrais and the Alexander Technique. Ilana began to notice the synergy between movement and emotions, and as she listened to her clients’ words, she used her hands to listen to their bodies. Ilana’s first book is aptly titled The Listening Hand. Today the Rubenfeld Synergy Method is practiced throughout the U.S., uniting talk with compassion and safety through touch and listening.

About Mary Petschen

For over a decade Mary has guided countless individuals. Her unique approach to body-mind therapy masterfully blends connection, compassion, curiosity, and exploration to bring about self-reconnection where clients can tap into the infinite potential within and heal from long-standing trauma and issues like depression, anxiety, chronic pain, stress, and disconnection. In her group classes, Mary teaches people her “secret recipe” for reconnecting with the Self and guides powerful, yet surprisingly simple, practices to support the return to wholeness.