Screaming Octopus

Cupping, also known as negative pressure therapy, has been one of my favorite bodywork techniques for over 25 years, long before Michael Phelps made those famous circle marks an Olympic fashion statement.

Unlike massage, which uses compression, cupping gently lifts the tissues. This can improve local circulation, ease muscle tension, help reduce pain, and support the movement of oxygen and nutrients into the tissues while encouraging the body's natural healing processes.

When combined with Gua Sha, it can help release areas of restriction, reduce pressure on surrounding nerves, and improve the way tissues glide and move. Many people leave feeling lighter, looser, more mobile, and deeply relaxed.

And those famous marks? They are not bruises from injury. They are temporary discoloration that can occur as blood and fluid move through the treated tissues. The color and intensity vary from person to person and often reflect how much stagnation and congestion was present in the area. They typically fade within a few days to about two weeks.

So if you walk out looking like you've been hugged by an octopus, just know your body is doing exactly what it was designed to do. Healing never goes out of style.

✨ Stay tuned, beautiful souls... Lion's Gate is calling.

A powerful portal is opening—a time to release what no longer serves you, reconnect with your deepest truth, and step boldly into what's waiting for you. This gathering is being created with intention, healing, sound, and a little bit of magic.

The invitation is almost ready. Until then... keep your heart open and your intuition listening. More details coming soon.

Stay tuned.....

Reiki education

Ready to go a little deeper down the rabbit hole?

Reiki I & II kicks off this October, followed by Advanced Reiki Master Training in November.

I'm always tinkering with my classes because I refuse to teach Reiki like it's a script you memorize. Energy doesn't work that way. Neither do people.

Yes, I teach the Holy Fire® system, but I also teach from nearly 30 years of massage therapy, coaching, somatics, sound, intuition, and thousands of client sessions. Around here, Reiki isn't about waving your hands around and hoping for the best. It's about learning to listen, trust what you feel, and actually know what to do with the information you're receiving.

These classes are hands-on. You'll practice. You'll receive. You'll get stuck. You'll have breakthroughs. You'll heal while you're learning, because if you've never walked through it yourself, how can you confidently guide someone else?

I only take my Reiki I & II students into Advanced Master Training. That isn't about exclusivity. It's about building a community that speaks the same energetic language so we can spend our time expanding instead of repeating the basics.

And... something new is brewing. 🖤

This fall I'm opening my very first Karuna Reiki® with a emphasis on Sound Training. Karuna is where things get deliciously practical. You'll learn ways to weave sound, toning, chanting, 8 new symbols, coaching, and deeper energetic techniques directly into your sessions. Tools you can actually use the next day.

Because it's my first Karuna class, I'm offering an introductory discount.

I keep my circles intentionally small. Less lecture. More practice. More questions. More "holy s**t, did that just happen?" moments.

If you've been waiting for a sign...

This is probably it.

Screaming Octopus website link in bio. Click Groups and follow me Down the Rabbit Hole.

Come explore. Bring your curiosity. Leave your expectations at the door.

Hope to see you this Fall.

Revisiting sacred journeys through hypnotherapy with one of my favorite mentors, because apparently my soul decided we weren’t done peeling back the layers yet. 🔥✨

Healing is an ever evolving spiral. We return to the places that call us, not because we are have a lack of knowledge, but because there is always more wisdom, more awareness, and more magic waiting to emerge.

This next evolution of Screaming Octopus is weaving together everything I love: sound medicine, full moon gatherings, one on one transformation work, and psychedelic coaching. A place where ancient wisdom meets intentional growth, where we explore the mind, body, and spirit without losing the grounded human experience.

I’m not interested in creating another clinical box for healing. I’m here to create sacred spaces for transformation. Spaces where we can question old stories, release the armor, reconnect with our intuition, and remember who we came here to be.

More depth. More magic. More ways to come home to yourself.

I'm already dreaming about fall... 🍂🌕🐙

The first adventures have officially landed in The Rabbit Hole, and I couldn't be more excited.

If you've been to one of my gatherings, you know the sound is never just the sound. Each meditation is woven into the theme of the month, creating an experience that's meant to be felt, explored, and lived.

Here's what's waiting so far...

🌿 September 19 – Reiki-Infused Sound Meditation (and it's Screaming Octopus' birthday!) Think tribal rhythms, shamanic vibes, and a journey inward.

🌕 September 24 – Harvest Moon: The Soul's Golden Harvest. Full Moon friends... it's time to prepare for Soul Retrieval.

✨ September 30 – Soul Soak: Ethereal. A softer, more spacious sound journey featuring some new instruments I'm absolutely in love with.

⚡ October 7 – Sound Meditation. We'll start with a little guidance... and then let the heavy metal vibrations lovingly dismantle what's no longer serving you before putting you back together again.

💜 October 9–11 – Reiki I & II. Come heal through education, curiosity, and hands-on experience.

👻 October 22 – Hunter Moon: Paranormal Investigation. Because... would you expect anything less from Screaming Octopus?

🔥 November 6 – Advanced Reiki Master Training.

And this is just the beginning...

If it scares you a little... you're probably facing the right direction.

See you this fall... if you're curious enough to follow the rabbit.

Stay weird,
Cherise
🌀🫧🌀

The Art

One of my favorite pieces by my daughter. Every attachment, every scar, every story... somehow held together in perfect imperfection.

Art by Arpeggio Romiti. 🖤

Whew... these last couple of weeks have been ALL the feels.

For over a decade I've been building, expanding, creating, mentoring therapists, and following the little breadcrumbs that kept leading me deeper into my purpose. Then, over the last few years... life said, "Cute. Now let's see what happens when we strip it all back."

Last week the studio officially became an empty nest. I walked in this morning and it was so quiet. For a minute, the silence felt uncomfortable.

Then I remembered... I'm a Manifestor.

Learning my Human Design didn't change me it explained me. I'm not wired to babysit the things I've already built. I'm wired to create them. To spark the idea. To start the movement. And once it's humming along? This Leo starts eyeing the next adventure. I need to constantly expand and contract.

Turns out I don't get bored with life... I get bored when I'm not creating.

I've always been able to feel the shift before everyone else notices the wind has changed. Call it intuition. Call it entrepreneurship. Call it my slightly feral nervous system. Whatever it is... I've learned to trust it.

So yes... the walls at Screaming Octopus are coming down. Not because something is falling apart. Because something bigger is asking to be built.

Let's be honest... I've never been very good at playing it safe or standing still. If there's a chance to evolve, I'm probably fidgeting and already holding a sledgehammer.

My groups are coming back. The vision is expanding. The energy is shifting. And there are some things brewing that I can't wait to share.

One thing I can promise...

This is NOT the boring era of Screaming Octopus.

This is the glow-up.

Stay tuned. We're just getting started.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some walls to tear down, some magic to make, and a whole new chapter to build. Evolution always looks a little messy before it looks magnificent, and I've never been afraid of a little beautiful chaos. Same Screaming Octopus just a bold new chapter.

See you on the other side of madness,

Cherise

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BRONSON!! 🥳🎂

Hope your day is full of epic adventures, questionable decisions (the fun kind 😉), belly laughs, and enough cake to make a panda jealous.

🐼 May you eat, nap, celebrate, and live your best life today.... and get to the gym !💜

Bronson Holland

Nothing makes me happier than watching my students spread their wings and do their thing out in the wild!

So proud of her and all she's creating. Go give her a follow and cheer her on as she continues her journey! 💛🔥

There is something about the drum that feels different.

In sound meditation, I love the vibration of heavy metal. I love how its frequencies move through the body in waves. But when I place my hands on a drum... something ancient awakens. Something sacred. Something almost tribal. It becomes a conversation without words.

I think about the people who came before us, who used drums and rattles to tell stories, gather community, celebrate, grieve, pray, and prepare for war. Rhythm has always been a language.

Today I made my first drum.

I arrived with the intention of connection, community, and communication. What I found instead was silence.

For a moment, I wasn't the facilitator, the teacher, or the guide. I was simply a student—learning not only an incredible craft, but something deeper about myself.

Inside my drum I created Neurographic Art. As I traced each line, I disappeared into meditation. Time dissolved.

We soaked the hide in the creek, punched each hole with a whispers of intention, and slowly laced the drum together. Then came the final lesson: retrace the strings, creating tension where tension is needed—but never so much that, as the hide dries, it breaks the rim.

There were symbolism woven through the entire day—in the making of the drum, in the creek, in the conversations, in the laughter, in the silence, and in the natural world surrounding us. It felt as though everything was teaching. Every step mirrored something deeper within me.

I'm still sitting with those lessons. But one continues to echo...

Life asks us to retrace our path, to create enough tension to grow, but not so much that we lose ourselves.

For now, I'll simply keep listening... to the drum, to the silence, and to what they're both asking me to become.

Very gratefull to our guides and their wisdom, kindness and patience. Allowing us to process through the process of drum making.

Thank you Todd and Harmony

⚪️ 🌀🪘🪇🎶🎶