Innsbruck Austria

Upeace Campus

El Rodeo de Mora, San José, Cd Colón, Costa Rica

The next stop on my peace journey was Innsbruck University in Innsbruck Austria. I enrolled in their peace and conflict transformation program after my time at Upeace came to an end.

This peace program was immersive!

Innsbruck’s whole processes was focused on the question: how do you continually create and reestablish peace for yourself (inner peace) and other’s (outer peace) within a world of conflict?

The program had us answer this question by continually having us reinstate a peaceful mindset, even when surrounded by chaos, and situations we had no control over… even armed conflict.

For one module they had us training with the Austrian army in a conflict simulation. They had the university students acting as blue helmets, which are the United Nations troops known as peace keepers. Showing us how in trying to keep peace, we could be seen as the enemy to both sides.

Another module, we learned to Butoh dance to express emotions and perform the feed back loop of war and conflict.

My take away from both these peace programs was that peace is an action. It is not a passive energy that comes to us, it is something that needs to be built. The intention of peace, helps create it, both within and among different groups of people.

THE REAL WORLD

After graduating from both of these programs I went back into the real world, and found out quickly no body cares about peace! It is dismissed in this “how sweet” type of way… “and then we will all have rainbows and butterflies lalalala”… In reality peace is an action, or a set of continuous actions and intentions. And it can be really hard! Hello!!! If it was easy wouldn’t we have it by now?

In search for my ouw peace, and wanting to live the ideals I was taught for the following 3 years I Volunteered in Service to America (VISTA) in Alaska and Washington. AmeriCorps VISTA is a national service program focused on alleviating poverty in the United States. I served in Cordova Alaska at the Cordova Family Resource Center, Spokane Washington at Spokane Neighborhood Action Partners and fianlly in Anchorge Alaska at the University for Alaska Anchorage at the Center for Economic Development (CED). It all was an amazing experience, I ended up staying on at CED and taking on a postion in the organization to be the AmeriCorps Regional supervisor for the University and then also ran Lemonade Day. A great program that teaches kids economic literacy through running a small business for a day.

Thru all these experiences, what I found was I enjoyed supporting people…. and hated working in an office envirnment. I needed more freedom of self expression. I needed more movement throughout the day. I needed less time engaging with emails…. So when the time came, I changed my life drastically…

I moved to Seattle Washington and went to Cortiva Institute of Massage and became a massage therapist.

Why Massage, Why Healing as a Path to Peace

I love moving while I work, connecting with people and most importantly helping to take away their pain and discomfort.

I realized early on that I didn’t want to fight with people’s bodies and muscles, I wanted to support them, use a gentle touch to allow them to release, creating space not friction. So after a couple of years of practice I started studying CranioSacrel Therapy.

A light modality that listens to the body and the central nervous system to release strain, pain patterns and traumas held within.

CranioSacrel Therapy allowed for my body work practice to elevate, and that’s when I realized, I wanna bring peace to bodies!

I want people to feel relaxed and pain free. To remember the joy of movement. This is one I also got certified in manual lymph drainage (MLD), Another light technique that helps the body heal and alleviate pain.

On the following pages I go into further detail about my body work offerings, techniques and suggestions for treatments. I hope you enjoy exploring this website. May it bring you inspiration and hope for your body to live and move pain free.

Blessings for Peace

- Simone Jaggers

Education

Cortiva Institute Seattle

January 2018 – August 2018

Completion of the 750 hour COMTA accredited training program in Massage Therapy Techniques 

Intra-oral Endorsement on License Jan 2020

Innsbruck University, Austria

February 2010 - January 2013  

Master of Arts in Peace, Development, Security and International Conflict Transformation

United Nations Mandated University for Peace   

January 2009 - July 2010 Costa Rica 

Masters of Arts in Gender and Peace Building

University of Arizona                               

August 2001 - December 2005

Bachelors of Arts in Sociology

Minor in Family Studies and Human Development

Certifications

Perrin Technique Certified Practitioner- Sept 2024

Klose Manual Lymph Drainage (MLD) Certification- Trained in the Vodder Techniques to manually move and drain lymphatic fluid of the body. June 2023

Crafted Touch inc and Therapeutic Training Center of Seattle Cranosacral Certification - 3 year course of study of 240 hours, including intra oral (insdie the mouth) training, plus electives; Brain Course, Unwinding birth patterns, Myofascial release for Cranioscaral, Visceral release and listening. Nov 2019 to April 2022

NASM Certification of Personal Training- January 2021

Stott Pilates Matt Certificate- Pilates exercises to mobilize and strengthen the core and full body, May 2019

Somoassage Certificate - Full body myofascial massage from the Soma Institute using a structural integrative approach and directionality, August 2018

Access Bars Certificate - Energy process to allow for greater awareness by holding points on the skull, February 2017 

Inland Northwest Health Services - Trauma Informed Care, (12 hour continuing education), January 2014

Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Crisis Intervention Certification, October 2013