– María Cristina Jiménez Bio:

I was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. My sensorial memories involve the sight of the blue-green ocean, the cacophony of the coquís at night, the smell of onion sauteed in butter, the taste of mom’s cheese rice with red beans, and the feel of my grandmother rocking me on her lap.

I was taught yoga, meditation and pranayama by my maternal grandmother as a child. She would also read and act out poetry to me, beginning a life-long affair with theatre, literature and poetry. I was a voracious reader as a child and very athletic, even becoming the best long-distance runner in my High School. An irrevocable shift in my timeline occurred when I suffered a horrific motor vehicle accident which changed my life at 15. I continued to live life as a future actress but slowly and inevitably I realized I needed to spend the rest of my life studying the body, healing my body, and helping heal other’s bodies.

I hold a BA and MFA degrees in Theatre with a Minor in Women’s Studies, from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA and from The New School in New York City, respectively. I am a Fulbright Scholar who researched femicide, the murder of women by men motivated by sexism in Costa Rica. I fell in love with yoga and had a long and fruitful career of teaching yoga, restorative yoga and meditation since 2001. I taught in New York, Los Angeles, and nationally through a myriad of anatomy workshops and teacher trainings.

My understanding of the body and our innate healing capacity has been enriched by my studies with Dr. Gil Hedley, Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, and Dr. Friz Smith. For years I studied CranioSacral Therapy, BodyMind Centering, Zero Balancing, Visceral Manipulation, and other modalities including partaking in numerous hands-on dissections with Dr. Gil Hedley.

I became a Certified Rolfer in 2012 and a Certified Advanced Rolfer in 2016. I’ve mentored with incredible practitioners, some trained by Dr. Rolf herself, including Jan Sultan, Mary Bond and Harvey Ruderian, as well as Dr. Benjamin Shields and Bruce Schonefeld.

I went back to school and graduated in 2020 with a Masters in occupational therapy from the University of Southern California, the number one program in the nation. I have a full-time practice of Rolfing Structural Integration at my home office in Los Angeles, CA and will be soon practicing part-time as an occupational therapist specializing in hand therapy.

My life has been dedicated to pursuing knowledge about the body so I can help heal myself and educate others. In short, I am a life-long student of the body whose passion lies in helping people embody themselves more fully. Originally from Puerto Rico, I am now based in Los Angeles.

My mission is to create a safe space for us to work together. When I work with someone I give them my undivided attention, attuning to where they are and where they want to go. At the end of each session my hope is you feel simultaneously lighter and grounded, spacious and curious about their inner environment, as well as how you relate to others.