I was born, raised and schooled in southern California. I left college after 3½ years because I knew I hadn’t found what I wanted to do with my life and wouldn’t find it in that setting. So in the late 60’s I worked as a waitress, a nurse’s aid, a secretary, an astrologer, and went to rock concerts on Venice Beach. I was waiting, knowing that when the right thing came along for me to do I'd know it.

In 1970 I received my first Rolfing session. I was astonished at the fundamental change in my body and psyche that resulted from 1 hour of body work. I recognized that psychological patterns that I had been working on for years couldn’t fully change as long as they were also held in my body. The recognition of the marriage of body and psyche moved me deeply, and set my feet on my life’s path.

In 1971 I moved to Boulder, Colorado and married Walter Krier. As it happened, Boulder was the new home of the Rolf Institute. We became immersed in the Rolfing community, and I began having babies. I had two Patterning sessions (then Structural Patterning) with Marya Byron and immediately fell in love with the work. At that time the sessions involved learning the precise ‘patterns,’ which were slow movements of the toes, ankles and other joints as ‘horizontal hinges,’ a breath pattern, and other movements I can’t now recall. I was enthralled by the precision, concentration, the deep sensing and meditative condition I experienced in practicing the patterns. After a year Marya asked me why I hadn’t come back for another session – didn’t I like the work? I responded that I loved the work but hadn’t yet perfected what she had already taught me. Needless to say she corrected my perspective and I began to devour the rest of the teachings. I was certain that this was the work I wanted to do.

In 1973 I met Judith and fell in love with her, her brilliance and wisdom about the truth of the body. I felt I was reconnecting with someone I'd known for lifetimes.

I began the training in 1976. I was touched by how Judith taught those early classes. Her attention to us as human beings, inviting us to look at ourselves, to learn to teach, as well as teaching us the content of the work impressed me deeply. As the work evolved into Aston-Patterning I found the shift of perspective to be a balm for my soul: rather than attempts to ‘improve’ my body (me), which always included an implicit rejection of things as they are, the work expressed an honoring of the intelligence and integrity of my body (me) as is. Within this welcoming atmosphere, I experienced various inner qualities naturally appearing as my body became more resilient, aligned, and supple. Qualities such as aliveness, oneness, strength, dignity, humility, joy, or a sense of inner support would arise as vivid, palpable presences. My gratitude for this further revelation of the body as an entrance to the soul and its qualities is immense.

In 1975 as I was preparing for my Patterning training, I connected with Hameed Ali, who writes as A.H. Almaas and is the founder of the Diamond Approach spiritual teaching, and and has been my teacher for all of these years. I found in this spiritual path, the same precise understanding of the unfoldment of the soul that Aston-Patterning offers in relation to the body. I found many of the same universal principles at the basis of both teachings. For example, honoring the uniqueness of the individual, recognizing that each body / soul unfolds in its own intelligent timing and sequence, approaching the process with acceptance, respect, curiosity and precise understanding are common to both. Both provide a gentle invitation for the soul and body to reveal their truths and treasures. For example, following the grain of the tissue is a kind of listening that allows the body to release from inside and find its own natural shape. This is the same kind of listening in the spiritual practice of being present with each experience, inquiring an open way without pressure to change, sensing into how this soul is wanting to move, what it is wanting to reveal and express.

In 1983 I completed my training as a Diamond Approach teacher. For many years I had parallel careers. I was a Patterning Teacher in pain clinics, at the Boulder School of Massage, in private practice, and on the faculty of the Aston Training Center. At the same time I taught the Diamond Approach in various venues, including private sessions and groups in the U.S. and Europe.. At some point I realized I could no longer keep these paths separate. I began to articulate what I was understanding about the oneness of body and soul, teaching classes that synthesized the profound truths that Judith had taught me about the body, and the spiritual understanding of the Diamond Approach.

This led to what is an ongoing discovery of the nature of the body as a form of spiritual presence, and a portal into the souls’ inner realms. Over the years many exciting and liberating insights and truths have been revealed along with more and more interesting questions. The simple question ‘what is a body?’ returns often to guide my inquiry into this ever fascinating and absolutely mysterious phenomenon. It is an honor and wonder to witness a client’s discovery of their inner terrain, including the twists, clefts, and dark beast-filled caverns as well as the clear, spacious, vistas, streams of pure clarity and bliss. Perceiving how all this lives and is expressed in the landscape of their body is most fascinating, fulfilling, and a great pleasure for me. I am blessed to witness life unfolding its mysteries through human beings and their bodies, before my eyes and under my hands. Body work and spiritual work are one and the same at this point. I sense that we as human beings are still evolving, and have only begun to touch the possibilities of what embodied life can be.

These days I am contemplating how to best pass on this ‘body of knowledge.’ Will it be a book? a blog? a series of videos? a website? This is a mystery yet to be revealed.

How to contact me? lhkrier@aol.com