Meet Trailblazer Elise Purcell

Today we’d like to introduce you to Elise Purcell.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Elise. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there. 
I started a fashion boutique in La Jolla called JEP when I was 26 years old. I had that store for 5 years and loved it. But 80 hour work weeks took a toll on my health, both physically and mentally. I heard about a process called the Rolf Method of Structural Integration and went through the 10 Series. I had only received one massage in my life, and so it was very different for me… but absolutely changed my life for the better. 

When I finished I said out loud, “Next lifetime I am going to come back as a Rolfer.”

A few days after that the Universe asked me, “Why wait until next life?”

I signed up for school before I had even sold my store. I also had a really bad shoulder injury that I had gotten in Ashtanga Yoga Teacher Training (that I found out later was a torn labrum and eventually had surgery). But the sale did go through and I was off to Boulder for training. I trusted that my shoulder would let me know if this whole thing was a good idea or not, but went anyway.

By the time I moved back to Encinitas, I had 10 clients already lined up for the 10 Series. I have never marketed and always had a full clientele for 12 years now. I chalk this up to it being what I was meant to do. I’m not saying I wasn’t scared to death. But this is why I’m here: to help in this way. The store always felt like an uphill battle. Although it was very successful, it was always a struggle. All the steps in the progression of my Holistic Health career have flowed because I finally started paying attention to the signs that I was being given. I’m not saying it was easy, but it was simple.

I started having some health issues and I also wanted to create some income not based solely on physical work in case I ever got injured again, so I got a Nutritional Counseling degree from IIN. This made a huge difference for both me and my clients. But eventually both seemed to need more than just the right food to heal, so I went back to school for a Functional Diagnostics certification so I could run the pathogen, hormone, gut and nutrient tests that doctors run and find out the deeper causes for declining health that I wasn’t finding through many doctor and naturopath visits. The biggest thing that ended up helping me was detoxing heavy metals and toxins, so I researched for several years and came up with my own detox protocol. That worked but then I found a superior protocol and now I facilitate that one for most of my clients. 

I got a pretty bad concussion a few years ago and the only thing that seemed to help that was Upledger Craniosacral Therapy. Somatic Emotional Release (SER) is a branch of Craniosacral that also helped me to clear some childhood trauma. I got so much out of it that I went back to school for more training and have followed that curriculum all the way and plan to take the Advanced course this August. 

Basically my story is that I needed a lot of healing. I also came to understand that true healing is looking at and addressing all different aspects of health. I found the most effective and complete methods (in my opinion) and learned them so I could share and help others heal more easily and gracefully.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you? 
I cannot say that it has been a smooth or easy road, but I can say that it has been one heck of an Adventure! And I have always loved a good adventure 🙂

My biggest piece of advice for anyone interested in going into a career in Holistic Healing is probably very different from what most people would say. I do want to make it clear that it is absolutely imperative to do your best to heal yourself first. I feel like that is a given. 

But what I think is even more important to share is that we are never done healing. If you wait to help others until you are totally “healed” you will be waiting your whole life. So many people think yoga teachers and other people in the healing industry shouldn’t cuss, drink, get mad or…be human. The truth is that most people attracted to this type of career do so because they need(ed) help the most. We care the most because we know how it feels.

So get out there and grow, heal, get as healthy as possible for you today. Then give of yourself, just as you are. You will help people. The world doesn’t need more seemingly perfect people out there. Social media alone has done enough to warp our versions of reality into a convoluted mess of illusion. Screw the filter. Just be you. 

Everyone these days seems to want to affect the masses, reach a ton of people. This is important, especially for the time that we are in. But I personally feel like what this world needs and is missing on a profound level is one-on-one connection. Any type of practitioner that has an hour that he or she can spend with just you and be there, completely present. That is an anomaly in this world. 

So I guess my best advice is to pave your own path. No matter what industry you are in, what job you have or if you are parenting, know and act like your job is important in this world because it is. Allow your greatest challenges to become your greatest strengths. Feel fear and do it anyway. Move through it. Pay attention to the signs and listen to what they are telling you, even if it’s not what you want to hear. That can lead you in the direction of your greatest growth, healing and offering to the world.

We’d love to hear more about your business. 
I am an Advanced Practitioner of the Rolf Method of Structural Integration, Functional Diagnostic and Nutrition Counselor, Upledger Craniosacral/SER Therapist, and Detox Facilitator.

I am the only person (that I know of) that blends Structural Integration with Craniosacral Therapy. While I give a very traditional 10 Series, my favorite session is a 90 minute blend of the two. 

I do not give discounts, but I do offer one donation session a week where the person gives what they can. I have offered this for the 12 years I have been doing the work.

Pricing:

• 60 minute session (Rolf Method, Craniosacral) $120
• 90 minute session (Rolf Method, Craniosacral) $180
• 90 minute session blend of both $160
• Functional Diagnostics/Nutrition $140/hr or longer term plan

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.integrationforlife.com
• Phone: 619.392.2580
• Email: elise@integrationforlife.com
• Instagram: @elisepurcell_
• Facebook: integrationforlife
• Twitter: @eliseintegrate

Image Credits:
1) me by lemon tree by Nicholas Borelli
2) on motorcycle by Joshua Williams
3) detox by Jessika Fritsch
4)Camel by Leia Marasovich
5) blue outfit by Natalya Desena
6) with dog by Aaron Bishop
7) boat by Somer Nicole
8) poncho and photo by Mar y Lana

Getting in touch: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.