Inspiring Conversations with Olive Panes-Gindelberger of Solimar Wellbeing

Today we’d like to introduce you to Olive Panes-Gindelberger.

Hi Olive, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My name is Olive (she/her), founder of Solimar Wellbeing. I was born in the Philippines and immigrated to San Diego, CA (Kumeyaay Territory) at the age of ten. Growing up, I’ve always known I wanted to help others which led me to pursue nursing right after high school, but only to find out it wasn’t my calling.

Thereafter, I found my place in the local activism community and in the corporate world of insurance which I worked for 11.5 years. In this industry, I moved up the corporate ladder but have always yearned to find my true passion and drive. My experience in this work was fulfilling in the sense that I met wonderful people, but it was a stressful job. This led me to know firsthand how our health can take a toll from stress, being stagnant by not taking breaks, repetitive movements, or simply not taking care of our bodies.

A few years after getting married, I thought of giving nursing a try again, but sadly still didn’t find joy in this pursuit. Finding my path to become a massage therapist/bodyworker was definitely a quest. It wasn’t until I started my deep spiritual journey and personal healing that I was affirmed of my own gift of “hilot”. In my motherland, hilot is an ancient form of healing and means healing touch/massage used by shamans/healers or elders who helped people with ailments. Growing up, my dad would always hilot my immediate family and I’ve always felt I had this gift too.

In my pursuit to find my true passion, I decided to enroll in a ten days Vipassana meditation course I was introduced to by my brother. Although this was a very challenging but rewarding journey, I found confirmation that massage therapy is what I’m meant to do. That this will be beyond me and the lives I’ll be encountering. To be the vessel for others by holding sacred space and uplifting them up in being a facilitator of healing in their own journey. I believe that our body knows how to heal itself, but sometimes, we just need that extra help in the process. I’m thankful to have a very supportive family and be surrounded by the community I’ve built throughout the years. It truly does take courage to dream, but it takes passion for following your destiny to see how it unfolds.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road to get here may sound short in narration, but the journey has not been easy. When I was deeply involved in activism, I was so hungry and eager for the work in making a difference that I didn’t realize how deeply depleted I was in mind, body and spirit. When I made the very hard decision to step back, it was a necessary move to help cultivate a healthier mental state. Around this time, I was recently engaged, which led me to look internally, for once in my life, and ask myself what I truly wanted or needed. I honestly didn’t know how to answer this foreign question and I may not have known it then, but this was the start of my self-realization and nurturing of the self from within.

Down the road, I also found myself exploring what spirituality truly meant to me. Growing up in the Philippines, having spiritual gifts was common in culture, but I wasn’t guided in what it meant to have them. When I set afoot in foreign soil as a young immigrant, I learned quickly to turn my gifts off to assimilate to my new home. I am thankful for the folks I met in the activist community who taught me to become a better advocate for myself and others. I’m also grateful for those I’ve crossed paths with during my spiritual journey as they’ve helped support, hold me accountable and witness me in my growth. I am a lifelong student of life. Although life will not always be easy, I know there will be lessons to learn and grow from if only we are open to receiving them. I’m happy to now be in a place where dimming my light is no longer an option and sharing my gift of hilot and spirituality can intertwine with my knowledge of the body to make my foundational work in massage that much more effective and supportive.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Solimar Wellbeing?
Solimar Wellbeing is a mobile massage practice in San Diego, CA. Founder Olive focuses on womxn’s wellness and specializes in calming the mind and relaxing the body through a Wholistic and intuitive approach. She offers sacred space for you to come as you are to relax, align and balance in the comfort of your home. Each treatment is offered to meet the body’s individualized needs for better function as well as connection with the mind, body and spirit.

This includes an intuitive blend of Acupressure, Tui Na, Craniosacral therapy, Circulatory Massage, Manual Lymphatic Drainage, and Fascial Release techniques. Olive also offers a sound bath/guided meditation to complement your massage and encourage deeper relaxation and a restorative state.

We know the many benefits of massage, from lowering stress, increasing immune function to boosting mental health and wellness. What would your life look like with less stress, more movement, ease and deeper connection to your whole body? Can you imagine being limitless in what you can do by encouraging stillness in life? If you’re a busy, stressed-out, hard-working professional in need of rejuvenation and relaxation who loves specialized massages, you’re a good fit for Solimar Wellbeing.

In summary, Solimar Wellbeing is spiritually guiding and supporting womxn through bodywork. Bringing function and connection to the self in mind, body and spirit with an intuitive blend of various massage modalities & Wholistic practices.

Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Find your community in different aspects of your life. Those that will support you in your ideas, thoughts, fears, your ups and downs, but will encourage you as well as guide you in your path. In essence, I’m still learning so much at this place in time. But what I would share with others is to just trust the process, never stop learning and always trust your intuition. It will be hard and most times challenging, but if you have determination and courage, this will take you a long way in your passion and finding the joy in it. Remember to lean into yourself and to those that love and support you unconditionally.

Pricing:

• 75 minutes $200
• 90 minutes $250

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: Solimarwellbeing.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/solimar_wellbeing
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SolimarWellbeing
• Other: https://g.page/Solimar-Wellbeing?share

Image Credits:
Studio Luniste (Photos in black top)
Celestial Godddess Photography