About Miriam
Massage Therapist, Yoga/Movement Teacher, Retreat Leader
* Only Available in Chelsea
(Busiess Co-owner)
My name is Miriam Joy Dowd-Eller,
and I believe we’re meant to heal in relationship
My journey began as a teen, when my mom—then a massage therapist, later a music therapist—brought me to my first yoga class. Since then, I’ve grown a practice and career devoted to helping women, mothers, and girls live in harmony with their bodies through timeless forms of healing: touch, movement, song, and community. (Thanks, Mom!)
​
I’m a licensed massage therapist, yoga teacher, retreat facilitator, song leader, and proud mom of one hilarious kiddo. Over the years, I’ve spent countless hours exploring the healing arts and building nurturing communities. (I also run an outdoor play coop for kids locally, but that's another story...)
What kind of Massage do I offer?
As a dedicated athlete growing up (but also a sensitive person), I integrate a precise technical knowledge of the body with a whole-hearted approach to hands-on therapy. I offer an blend of:
-
Prenatal Massage and specialty training in Postpartum Ayurvedic massage.
-
Myomassology: (or integrative massage) a natural outgrowth of Swedish relaxation massage that incorporates techniques such as trigger point therapy, energy work, reflexology, and neuromuscular reeducation.
​
I completed school at Irene’s Myomassology Institute in Southfield, MI and received my license in 2015.
MICHIGAN MASSAGE LICENSE I.D. # 7501008666
What kind of Movement do I teach?
I draw from a variety of practices to meet you where you are:
​
-
Hatha & Restorative Yoga – grounding and accessible.
-
Yoga Nidra – deep relaxation and restoration.
-
Ayurvedic & Women’s Health Yoga – supporting hormonal balance, menstruation, fertility, pregnancy, and postpartum.
-
Somatic & Creative Movement – including Mind-Body Centering, Authentic Movement, Contact Improv, and ecstatic dance (Dancing Freedom 200 hr training).
-
Song & Meditation – simple, joyful practices woven into many classes and retreats.
​
I’ve studied with international women’s yoga therapist Uma Dinsmore-Tuli of the Yoga Nidra Network, trained as an Ayurvedic postpartum doula, and teach Yoga Anatomy for our 200-hour teacher training program. While I’m not a fully certified Yoga Therapist like my husband, Trevor, I offer private yoga coaching focused on women’s health.
What kind of retreats do I offer?
Seasonal day-long retreats for mamas (ReVillaging for Modern Mothers) at EarthWell Retreat Center, only 25 minutes from Ann Arbor, near the towns of Chelsea, Grasslake, and Manchester.
These retreats explore some of the qualities, mindsets, and tools mamas can use in their journey of embracing motherhood as a welcome rite of passage towards “ReVillaging” (finding or building the support, community, friendships, and connections we dream of).
We nourish our souls and build heart-felt community through song, gentle yoga, relaxation and meditation practices, nature-connection, partner exercises, journal-prompts, sharing circles, and a whole lotta laughter.
I tend to believe that: ​
-
Touch, movement, song, story, and stillness are powerful and universal ways of healing
-
Changing the world starts with our relationship to ourselves first.
-
What happens in the mind, is mirrored in the body. And vice versa
-
The body is always letting us know what it needs, sometimes in the form of pain or dysfunction
-
A “no-pain-no-gain” approach often means our body will just be rebelling later on.
-
We must model thriving in order for our children to thrive
-
Embodied presence can help our nervous system attune to healing.
-
A non-judgmental ear (or circle) to bear witness to our grief and joys is a human right
​
​
​
...Nourished women, nourish the village
Random facts about me and my life:
-
I’m a mama of one amazing little girl born in 2020 and have been with my yoga-philosophy nerd husband, Trevor, since 2013.
-
I played a year of college basketball at a small hippie school, only to leave the team to join the Environmental Club.
-
I was "unschooled" during the next 3 of my college-age years, and interned, apprenticed, and volunteered at over 12 non-profit organizations, intentional communities, and businesses in over 5 states and two countries. (In the realms of community building, social entrepreneurship, and movement therapy).
-
I’m a heartfelt yet reluctant song leader, only because I have a hard time remembering the words to songs. ( ;
-
I’m a highly sensitive person (HSP), but don’t feel blindsided by that like I once used to. (and have found some pretty good professional avenues to utilize sensitivity as a superpower!)
-
I’ve finally settled on being an Extroverted HSP: “Let’s all hang out together, but like…can we all be quiet…outside…while meditating?
-
I’m a Chai-aholic (Indian spiced tea), and have a weak spot for a good gluten-free cookie