Our Story....
Hi, I'm Charlotte, founder and one of the Licensed Massage Therapists at Wild Poppy Healing Arts
We opened Wild Poppy Healing Arts in 2022 to provide holistic wellness to the Harrisonburg & Rockingham Community.
I grew up in the rural midwest, deeply connected to the natural world and concerned about the well-being of others... human and more-than-human! Thinking I might become an art therapist, I studied psychology and fine art. Since getting these degrees, I've explored ways of using the arts as healing process, working in the peace-building/trama-healing field in Colombia and Nepal, among other things.
Since moving to the Shenandoah Valley I've enjoyed exploring the natural beauty of the area, caring for my family, painting and tending the land we live on.
Many threads wove together guiding me to practice Stone Medicine, including my passions for healing trauma through physical practicies (known as somatic healing), for indigenous wisdom/traditional healing methods around the world, and for reconnecting with the wider natural world we've become saparated from.
All these things prepared me to say "YES!" when a number of people encouraged me separately to study Stone Medicine at Cedar Stone School of Massage. Only later did I recall sacks of cherished stones, squirreled away since childhood; and how I had lovingly arranged and tended those stones. Were they in truth tending me, through difficult experiences? I already knew the medicine of the stones deep in my bones!
I completed a 15-month in-depth training program to become a certified Stone Medicine practitioner in 2019, and have taken additional Continuing Education courses since, including with elder and teacher, Jenny Ray, who was trained in her family's lineage by her father and other Indigenous elders. (more info on this lineage in the "About" section).
In 2026 I became a Certified Licenced Massage Therapist, after graduating with 757 credit hours from the Certificate Program of Massage Therapy, Cedar Stone School of Massage.
I provide trauma-informed treatment, having taken Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience at Eastern Mennonite University's Center for Justice and Peacebuilding in 2008 and working in the peace-building/trauma-healing field for a number of years.
I offer safe space and am an ally.
I look forward to working with you on your wellness journey!
- Charlotte Shristi LMT