Elizabeth Lakin, CCHH, CCSP, NST
I'm Elizabeth Lakin—Certified Classical Homeopath (CCHH), Craniosacral Practitioner (CCSP), and lifelong student of natural healing. And like many of you, I’ve asked myself more than once: Why is my back so stiff? Why can’t I heal, despite everything I’ve tried?
My journey into healing didn’t start with a textbook—it started with pain. As a child, I was accident-prone and wild. I took a hard head injury at age three that was never properly addressed. I had two older brothers who showed their love by practicing wrestling moves on me. By the time I was a young adult, I’d logged years of intense physical activity—competitive cheerleading, long-distance running, snowboarding, solo botanical expeditions into remote wilderness, and seasons of back-breaking organic farm work. Despite all this, I was strong and mostly pain-free... until I wasn’t. At age 22, my father died of cancer. Watching him suffer—overmedicated, over-radiated, and carved up by a brutal system—was a trauma that cracked something open in me. It was like all my old injuries woke up at once. I went from being vibrant and active to dealing with persistent chronic pain, a locked-up spine, and what felt like chronic tailbone pain that refused to go away. That trauma—and my own body's unraveling—sent me searching for something beyond what conventional medicine could offer. I needed natural treatment for chronic pain, not another diagnosis or prescription. I wanted to know: •Can chronic pain go away? •Is life worth living with chronic pain? •What are the new treatments for chronic pain that actually work? Over the last 30 years, I’ve chased these answers with fierce devotion.
Classical Homeopathy, Manual Therapy, and the Mystery of Chronic Pain
When I say I’ve studied everything, I mean it. I earned my B.S. in Botany from Eastern Illinois University and trained at the New Mexico School of Natural Therapeutics (1998). I graduated from a four-year program in Classical Homeopathy in 2007, and I’ve been traveling to Belgium twice a year since 2009 to study advanced miasmatic homeopathy with one of the best in the world. I’m also a certified Core Synchronism and craniosacral practitioner.
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​I grew up in Illinois, the heart of the Midwest. My first botany professor told me to go back to art because women didn’t belong in science. I aced the program—but only because I poured ridiculous hours into the lab, sometimes working till 2 AM. At my core, I’m a scientist. That’s not a job title; it’s how I see the world. I question authority. I ask uncomfortable questions. I don’t take anything at face value. I am not a passive woman. That fire—that relentless curiosity—is one of the deepest forces driving my work in the healing arts.
But my deepest education came from my own body. I became obsessed with the relationship between stress and chronic pain, the fascia system, and the invisible currents that shape our physical and emotional health. I learned how trauma—especially early or unprocessed trauma—can calcify in our tissues. I explored how intuitive bodywork, especially myofascial unwinding, can unlock profound emotional and physical release. This gentle, hands-on work helps regulate a dysregulated nervous system and bring the body out of chronic fight-or-flight. From 1998 to 2018, I dove deep into the world of structural healing—studying dozens of bodywork modalities in search of what really works for pain, trauma, and nervous system dysregulation. In 2018, I began studying with Dr. Curtis Turchin—a pioneer in fascia-based, non-force chiropractic—and his approach radically changed my practice. I integrated his Gentle Mobilization techniques, along with joint stretching, mobilization, and fascia release rooted in osteopathic principles. No cracking—just deep, nervous-system-friendly soft tissue work. More recently, I’ve been influenced by the Human Garage model of myofascial unwinding, movement re-patterning, and emotional release, which mirrors much of what I had intuitively been doing for years. What I know about trauma isn’t just academic. I survived multiple concussions, head injuries, and early-life physical trauma that left deep imprints in my fascia and nervous system. My body has been my greatest teacher, and I continue to unravel old scar tissue—both physical and emotional—as part of my own healing path. That lived experience is what allows me to work with complex chronic pain and deeply held trauma—not just as a practitioner, but as someone who’s been in the trenches and clawed her way out. I discovered that healing isn’t just about structure—it’s about energy, embodied awareness, and radical self-compassion. Through it all, I found real chronic pain self-care. I fell in love with practices like meditation and chronic pain recovery (especially Yoga Nidra, which I now teach), and I now integrate everything from kinesiotaping and infrared LED light and red light therapy to visceral manipulation and craniosacral work.
"The sessions I have had with Elizabeth were amazing! She moved my rib, which was completely pull out, back into place in one session and opened and aligned my extremely tight and misaligned jaw in another session. I hadn't felt that much freedom in my jaw since I was a kid and the popping I had experienced when opening my mouth
went away completely. She also did some very helpful realigning of my energetic body as well. I would highly recommend her to anyone who is feeling physical or energetic misalignment in their body and looking to return to wellness." M.J. Sebastopol, CA
Healing with Fierceness, Gentleness, and Precision
Today, I specialize in working with people who are in pain—but not just any pain. The kind of pain that wears you down, keeps you up at night, and makes you question your sanity. I’m talking about the kind that whispers: Does chronic pain go away? When chronic pain becomes too much... what then?
I don’t offer Band-Aids. I don’t chase symptoms. And I don’t sugar-coat the process. What I offer is a deeply customized, trauma-informed approach that blends the best of natural medicine with hands-on skill, fierce intuition, and 30 years of personal experience healing my own body. I’m not a cookie-cutter chronic pain specialist—I’m someone who knows what it’s like to be on the other side of the table. Whether it’s massage therapy for chronic pain, natural cures for chronic pain, or peeling back the layers of chronic pain and trauma, my work is about getting to the root. It’s about listening to the body. It’s about developing coping skills for chronic pain that don’t require numbing out or giving up.
Is Life Worth Living With Chronic Pain?
Yes. But only when you have support, tools, and someone who can see the truth beneath your symptoms.
I’ve been there. I still walk the path of healing every day. But now, I get to walk it alongside others—offering what I’ve lived, learned, and earned the hard way.
Let’s make space for your body to unwind. Let’s find out what your fascia is holding. Let’s explore the link between trauma and chronic pain, and how your nervous system might finally find relief. If you're seeking a practitioner who can meet you in your truth —raw, real, and full of potential—I’d be honored to support you.
My office is wheelchair accessible and my treatment table is electric — I’m happy to accommodate different mobility needs. If you have specific accessibility concerns, just reach out. I’m here to support you however I can.
“I have a 30-degree curvature in my spine due to scoliosis. Elizabeth has helped me to have significantly less pain, less often, while helping me to stay flexible, upright, and able to do all the things that I love. She effectively helps me to get out of pain at those times that I do have spasms or flare-ups. I recommend her highly.”
D.S. Sebastopol, CA
"Elizabeth has on multiple occasion helped me with injuries such as a frozen shoulder, supportive rapid healing after a broken foot and lower back injuries. She has supported me to remain active and healthy. Her acumen of knowledge of how the body holistically functions along with the tools she always sends me home with have been an invaluable part of my recovery. She is warm, informative and healing. I recommend her highly."
E.F. Sebastopol, CA