I am fascinated by the deeply intuitive, guiding nature of the human body. It will show us the way, if only we can learn to listen.
Hello, I’m Dr. Erica Brook!
A Licensed Physical Therapist and Embodiment Coach.
I am a passionate movement and embodiment expert with a gift for listening to the unspoken and nurturing an enduring, comforting space for you to grow and thrive.
My mission is to teach you how to attain and sustain vibrant physical health and to meet life with empowerment and full presence.
Do you desire to return to your body to connect with its wisdom, to fully live in your body, and to embrace your life without inhibitions?
Then you are in the right place!
Life is no easy journey and we are complex beings. So whether we realize it or not, how we handle stress day to day plays an important role in how vibrantly we live our lives.
Because trauma is stored in the body, mental, emotional, physical, and energetic — no exceptions. This is because we truly are energetic beings and energy can not be created nor destroyed. It must be processed, integrated, or transmuted in order to be released.
So if you tend to live in your head or cut off from your emotions, in any way, that unprocessed energy stays stored. And your body’s response to that added mass is clenching, throbbing, building inflammation, adjusting hormonal systems — it’s all connected.
So if your body is out of function, it can most definitely be related back to unintegrated aspects of your body mind.
I have seen innumerable patients for physical traumas as a doctor of physical therapy. And I can tell you one thing for sure: pain and movement dysfunction is hardly, if ever, only physical. And this explains why physical therapy results can be mixed.
Here are some signs of unintegrated trauma:
Feeling trapped in stress states of fight, flight, freeze or fawn:
- irritable for no apparent reason
- distracting yourself to your detriment with work
- numbing out on the sofa every night
- ignoring your needs for the sake of giving to others
Feeling dissociated from your body or excessively living from your head space.
Dreading or procrastinating on moving towards your goals and desires
Experiencing a deep sense of powerlessness and overwhelm
Stuck in the past memories and flashbacks of the traumatic event(s)
Unable to tap into the magic that rests deep inside you
Terrified of your sexuality, unable to enjoy your body with ease and safety
Suppressing your emotions, because they are way too intense to feel
Feeling disconnected from your aliveness and vitality – in and out of the bedroom.
Feeling stuck, defeated, unable to live, love, and show up in your relationships in the way your soul truly desires.
Once you understand this concept and that it can be healed with an inside-out approach, you can feel hope and excitement again.
We experience life through our bodies and senses, and if we want to feel more integrated and healed, the body needs to be intentionally engaged in the process.
This can be so much to grasp and process, so be kind to yourself and know that you are in the right place, with someone who has been through it and seen it play through in so many bodies.
I can tell you this: complete healing is possible with the right approach.
More on My Story
Early in my life, I would have said that I had no challenges and life was relatively easy. But truthfully, I was absent inside. I did not know myself; I had no favorite anything; I was surviving, grinding, doing what needed to be done for the sake of doing what we all are told is right. I went to college and graduated as a Doctor of Physical Therapy from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA in 2011. I started working in a family owned clinic back in my hometown, then moved to the Bay Area and began my start in home health. And here is where it all changed for me. No more was I distracted with the noise of a busy clinic, but I was faced with reality: my patients were in more acute situations with less than favorable living situations and I saw it all, from the millionaires in the hills to the homeless in government housing. And that’s when the anxiety started. I began to see where I stood in the mix of all of these different situations and realized my life was not what I thought it was. It was hard to sit with myself alone in the car — the build up of all of the unintegrated trauma of my short life was starting to bubble out.
I moved up to the Seattle, WA area in 2015 and continued my home health journey, further putting the pieces together. I was primarily serving the geriatric population, which as you can imagine has lived longer and experienced more trauma than any of us. So I started researching ways outside of my standard practice of care to help them. And it worked! As soon as I started to treat them as a whole person, listening to their emotions, addressing their mental concerns, holding space and allowing them to work through whatever was limiting them, they would get better.
And then, I had my first flashback of sexual abuse and my world spiraled out of control. I lost everything and went on a healing journey to recover. New memories and symptoms were coming out of nowhere, because I was finally safe — and listening. I uncovered resources of all kinds and I did all I could to make the puzzle fit.
Eventually, I sought to incorporate this more into my work. I extended my physical therapy studies to include pelvic rehabilitation through the Herman and Wallace Pelvic Rehabilitation Institute. And sought further education about embodiment and energetic healing through Layla Martin’s VITA Coaching Program (Vital and Integrated Tantric Approach). This is how Embody Physio was born.
The healing process is ongoing, but I am now in a loving place of peace and gratitude for all life has to offer. I am living a more joyful and intentional life. I can finally take a bath without feeling guilty. My favorite color at the moment is beige (go figure). And I love spending as much time as I can out in nature with the flowers and trees, feeling the rain and wind, and simply thriving in this wonderful body I’ve been gifted.
I can help because I understand. I have been there.
I am able to approach physical pain, tension, and movement dysfunction from a science-backed mindset, ensuring every physical aspect is addressed, while combining this with my unique understanding of mental, emotional, and energetic philosophies.
