“The mind divides the world into a million pieces. The heart makes it whole.”
-Stephen Levine
Elissa Solari
(Pronounced El-ees-ah OR you can just call me Lisa.)
My goal is to be a catalyst of change in the health of my clients by advocating and supporting each client as they deepen their relationship with their higher self.
I have spent the last 15 years exploring ways to heal and transform the consciousness we experience within the body. I have found healing to be a unique journey, that requires customized approaches for each individual. My desire to facilitate healing at the deepest level possible has led me to learn, cultivate and continue to explore different medicine systems, modalities, and tools.
The systems that form the foundation of my work are Chinese Medicine and Somatic Therapy.
The foundational system I use during my sessions is Chinese Medicine which includes acupuncture, food medicine and herbal formulas. Chinese Medicine also has a very sensitive diagnostic system that includes pulse and tongue diagnosis.
Somatic Therapy explores embodiment, educating clients about their nervous system and how the body stores trauma. Somatic work often helps individuals move out of survivorship nervous system states such as freeze, flight or flight. Somatic Therapy includes the use of guided meditations, authentic movement, yoga science, and art therapy.
I work with a wide range of health conditions, including chronic and recurrent pain, infertility, menopause, stress-related issues, autoimmune and degenerative disorders. Much of my work focuses on helping individuals with trauma, emotional and mental health challenges heal towards empowerment, resiliency and meaning making.
My approach is creative, exploratory and spirit infused. I believe healing happens through relationship; therefore, the therapeutic container of the patient/practitioner relationship is of great importance to me. Through inviting openness and deeply listening, I customize treatment approaches that address the physical symptoms and core constitutional imbalances while focusing always on the spirit of each person. I enjoy creating partnerships with my patients working together towards balance and greater vitality through movement, art, coaching, nutritional therapy, herbs, cupping, gua sha, physical exercises, creative visualizations, meaning making with myth and somatic therapies.
I am an avid student of Chinese medical theory, psychology, somatics, trauma studies, yoga, meditation, anthropology, myth, religions and cycles of time. My understanding of these fields have been influenced by Lonny Jarrett, Thea Elijah, Alexander Love, Brandt Stickley, Elisabeth Rochat de la Valee, Marlow Brooks, Will Morris, Shilo Hargrave, Liz Greene, Adam Elenbaas, Austin Coppock, Stephen Levine, Ariel Giarretto, Jane Clapp, Peter Levine, Josh Schrei, Barbara Karlsen, Alkistis Dimech. Thessa Sophia and Fleur Innana. I am grateful to all of my teachers, including my clients, whom continuously show me the way.
“To be embodied is to have awareness at the deepest layers of our being, as it emerges anew in each moment. In health, we are able to respond and move with fluctuations. To be alive, is to touch into the Spirit within the body and to allow it to move forward in pure authenticity.”
— Elissa Solari
I provide this list of licenses, certifications, education and relevant course work to show my ongoing commitment to self-work and growth that enhances and informs my healing art. I also undergo my own regular acupuncture and somatic therapy sessions, along with dual guided meditations.
Licenses and Certifications
Alaska Medical Board Licensed Acupuncturist (L.Ac)
Certified Diplomate of Acupuncture by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM)
Jungian Somatics Certification with Jane Clapp, Toronto, Canada
Somatic Experiencing® Intermediate Level in Training (ongoing)
Guided Drawing Certificate with The Institute for Sensorimotor Art Therapy
Education
Master of Acupuncture (M.Ac.), Academy for Five Element Acupuncture, Gainesville, Florida
Bachelor of Arts in Health Sciences, Academy for Five Element Acupuncture, Gainesville, Florida
Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Management, Warner University, Lake Wales, Florida
Associates of Arts in Legal Research, Daytona State College, Daytona Beach, Florida
Creative Writing Courses, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana
Law Courses, Florida Coastal School of Law, Jacksonville, Florida
Trainings and Workshops
Chinese Medicine
Yao Shan Herbal Program with Evan Rabinowitz at the Yao Shan Center for Chinese Medicine, Washington D.C., 2022
Shadow Resolution in Chinese Medicine with Lonny Jarrett, 2023
Microneedling for Acupuncturists with Josh Nerenberg and AcuMicro, 2022
Mircroneedliing for Acupuncturists with Michelle Gellis, 2020
Sound Healing for Healers with Will Morrris at the Kootenay Sound Healing Centre, 2021
Whole Heart Connection with Thea Elijah, Gainesville, FL, 2016
Spirit of the Points Courses with Thea Elijah, Perennial Medicine, 2020
Five Element Explorations with Alexander Love and EOS Learning Collective, 2021
Psychosomatic / Consciousness Studies
Somatic Experiencing® Trauma Training, Intermediate Level, Somatic Experiencing International, Boulder Colorado ( ongoing)
Beginning I & 2 - with Glendie Nickerson, 2018, 2019
Beginning III - with Ariel Giaretto, 2021
Intermediate I - Ariel Giaretto, 2023
Intermediate II- Francine Kelley, 2025
Neurodiversity and Trauma with the TraumaGeek, Janae Elisabeth (Currently Taking)
Tantra Soma Courses with Thessa Sophia and Fleur Innana
Heart Becoming, Weaving Being, 2025 (currently taking)
The Intimacy of Silence, 2024
Expanding Love: Via an alchemical exploration of our relationship with violence, 2024
Womb Work and the Mysterious Pass, 2024
The Mythic Body Year Long Course with Joshua Schrei of the Emerald Podcast, 2023-2024
Andean Foundation Training Series with Christina Allen at the Austin Shamanic Center, 2023
Healing Trauma with Guided Drawing at the Institute for Sensorimotor Art Therapy, 2022
Advanced Strategies for Working with Sexual Trauma and Sexuality with Ariel Giaretto, 2021
Somatic Courses with Jane Clapp
Jungian Somatics Certification Course, 2023
Breath and Symbolism, 2022
Hand Symbolism, 2022
Neurology and Embodied Spirituality, 2022
Archetypal Somatic Practice, 2022
Social Media and the Psyche, 2021
Somatics of Dreams, 2021
Foundations of the Nervous System Support, 2021
Food and the Unconscious, 2021
Adverse Childhood Experiences Facilitator Training with the Mat-Su Health Foundation, 2019
Foundation of Ritual with Daniel Foor, Ancestral Medicine, 2021
Animist Psychology with Daniel Foor, Ancestral Medicine, 2021
The Conscious Living Program with the Centre for Applied Jungian Studies, 2021
Relative Employment History
Owner, Acupuncturist and Somatic Therapist at Vessel Healing Arts, Palmer, Alaska
Victim Advocate for Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, DoD Family Advocacy Program
Legal Researcher/Paralegal, Sex Crimes and Post Conviction Capital Cases, State Attorney’s Office, Daytona Beach
Staff Teacher, The Missoula Writing Collaborative
“The only way that the Heart can apply itself is through its constant burning into emptiness.”
— Brandt Stickley