Where do balance and harmony exist?

Where can one find a wealth of healing and compassion? Where are we already whole?
From the spirit within – THE SOUL

SOUL TOUCH THERAPIES offers the practices of manual therapy and yoga to reach the essence of who we really are…

…not just our bodies, not just our minds, but the pure essence of spirit. The Sanskrit greeting of 'Namaste' is translated to mean: "The Divine light (true self) in me honors the Divine light in you". Soul Touch is about connecting with and honoring the true self, that deepest, more essential, healthful and whole you. Through the practices of craniosacral therapy and yoga, you can let go of the stress and tension of the conditioned self and begin to experience your true nature which is peaceful, balanced and in harmony with life.

~Namaste

What my clients are saying:

  • The very first spark of my love of yoga started two years ago with Alden. I had been suffering from chronic back pain for close to 10 years by then. After seeing various practitioners and integrating Western and Eastern medicine with little relief, I decided to explore what yoga could offer. When I came to Alden, it was primarily to find a way to alleviate my pain and lessen the restrictions it was causing. I had no idea what I was walking into, and the powerful impact yoga... would have on my life in many areas. The benefits and shifts I noticed in my body in such a short time kept me wanting more--to the point that I now see Alden weekly, alternating yoga and craniosacral therapy, and I have no plans of stopping. 

  • ​Alden created a safe space with her sincerity and willingness to sit with, encourage, support, and guide me through a process of discovering how to listen to my body and make a new path toward living as my best self.

  • As my body continued to heal and my life of pain began dissolving into smaller and more manageable pieces, pain no longer dictated my life. I have the most healthy relationship with my body that I have ever had. I live with great appreciation of what I am able to do every day. Over many sessions I realized I was erasing my chalkboard. I began creating a practice which lead to a new way of living, thinking, and understanding my body; a new beginning.

  • At first, we began with standing yoga practice, but the deterioration of my body as I aged (I am 92 now; I was 88 when we first began practice) meant that I continued practice as massage therapy only. Alden has continued to exhibit a great deal of patience, understanding, encouragement and support.

  • The greatest gift Alden has shared with me is her reverence for the body and its wisdom. She has taught me how to listen to my body’s subtle but vital energy, to retrieve its messages and to appreciate its sustenance and protection. I have gained more inner body awareness, I have learned to trust my heart, and I have learned to basque in my being. I’m thankful for Alden’s consistent humility, nurturing touch and compassionate witness.

  • CranioSacral Therapy (CST) is a gentle, hands-on method of evaluating and enhancing the functioning of a physiological body system called the craniosacral system. Using a soft touch, restrictions are released in the craniosacral system, which has been shown to improve the functioning of the central nervous system, as well as many other systems of the body. By facilitating the body's natural and innate healing processes, CST is increasingly used as a preventive health measure for its ability to bolster resistance to disease, and is effective for helping people with a wide range of healthcare challenges associated with pain and dysfunction including:

    • Migraine Headaches

    • Chronic Neck and Back Pain

    • Central Nervous System Disorders

    • Stress and Tension-Related Problems

    • Chronic Fatigue

    • Fibromyalgia and other Connective-Tissue Disorders

    • Orthopedic Problems

    • Concussions and Traumatic Brain Injuries

    • Scoliosis

    • Emotional Difficulties

    • Temporomandibular Joint Syndrome (TMJ)

    • Neurovascular or Immune Disorders

    • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

    • Post-Surgical Dysfunction

  • Myofascial release is the application of sustained pressure and movement into the fascial system in order to eliminate restrictions. Myofascial release helps relieve cervical pain, back pain, fibromyalgia, scoliosis, neurological dysfunction, restriction of motion, chronic pain, and headaches.

  • Reiki Bodywork is a Japanese hands-on healing system that works with the human energy bio-field. Reiki is practiced through loose, comfortable clothing. It is administered with a light touch of the practitioner’s hands upon various parts of the recipient’s body, in a pattern that promotes optimum energy balancing and enhances the natural self-healing processes. Reiki accelerates healing of physical injuries, discomforts, and diseases. It often significantly lessens physical pain and emotional stress.

Manual Therapy

The Power of Touch

The practice of using touch as a healing method (manual therapy) derived from customs and techniques rooted in ancient history. Civilizations in the East and West found that different manual therapies could heal injuries, relieve pain, and prevent and alleviate illnesses. What's more, they help reduce stress and produce deep relaxation. Today, manual therapies stand as highly respected holistic healing methods which are used throughout the world.

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Yoga & Yoga Therapy

The word "yoga" comes from the Sanskrit root yuj, which means "to join" or "to yoke".

Yoga is a 5,000 year old science based on a harmonizing system of development for the body, mind, and spirit. When approached from a place of awareness, the continued practice of yoga will lead you to a sense of peace and greater well-being. The practice of yoga makes the body strong and flexible. It also improves the functioning of the immune, respiratory, circulatory, digestive, and hormonal systems of the body. Yoga brings about emotional stability and clarity of mind as well.  It is a practice of uniting and integrating body, mind, breath, & spirit.

Everyone can practice yoga. Regardless of age, experience, or level of flexibility, we can all benefit from yoga if we maintain a “mental flexibility", patience, and openness to each experience.

Yoga can be as much or as little as you want it to be. For some it is purely a physical pursuit, keeping the body toned, strong and flexible. For others, yoga becomes more of a mindset and a way of living. Soul Touch honors whatever your reason for practicing or level of experience.

  • Head To Toe Thinking

    For physical concerns, Yoga Therapists are trained to think about the whole body. In a world full of never-ending specialization, Yoga Therapists are uniquely positioned to see connections that others may miss. In practice, this often involves strengthening or stretching structures seemingly unrelated to one another. The result is a whole body approach to healing that often has amazing results.

    Time

    Yoga therapy sessions are often an hour, sometimes more. Unlike healing professions that are constrained to short sessions because of insurance and other factors, Yoga Therapists have the time needed to take in your full story. It makes us well positioned to see connections that others simply don’t have the time to make. Sometimes we not only need practices to help heal us, we also need someone to help us connect the dots in our daily life. Are we getting enough sleep? Do we need to re-think our medications? Are we unknowingly creating stressors that can be cut out? A Yoga Therapist is able to take in your entire picture and help you make beneficial shifts that others often miss.

    Education Not Dependence

    The goal of the Yoga Therapist is to educate people so that they may heal themselves. Working with a Yoga Therapist should leave a client feeling empowered to self assess as part of their healing process. Independence from the Yoga Therapist is the goal.

    Commitment To Relationship

    Yoga is relationship. Yoga Therapists understand that relationship is a key part of any healing process. This mostly applies to our relationship with ourselves, but it also applies to the therapist/client relationship. A Yoga Therapist is a friend on the path entrusted with a certain role and a good therapist is committed to a relationship that benefits all involved. When working with a Yoga Therapist, a client should always feel on equal ground within the confines of healthy boundaries.

    One Stop Shopping

    Yoga therapy is interested in all aspects of the self: the physical body, pranic [energetic] body, mental states and emotions, the unconscious workings of the mind, the heart and its connection to all. Yoga Therapists are trained in practices to facilitate healing connection and balance within all of these parts. For many, this holistic approach can alleviate suffering across the spectrum of their experience. This may eliminate or reduce the need to obtain help from different individuals which is often important since the cost in both money and time can be overwhelming, especially when working with chronic conditions. (Original article by Brandt Passalaqua)

Meet Alden.

Alden (Shambhavi) Caldwell LMT, E-RYT 500, CYT
Owner and practitioner

Alden has been a Licensed Massage Therapist since 2006 when she received her massage certification from the Holistic Massage Training Institute in Baltimore, MD. She is a member of both the American Massage Therapy Association and the International Association of Healthcare Practitioners.  Alden began her massage practice in a private office.  From 2008-2011 she was co-owner and director of evolvewell healing arts studio located in Roland Park, where she maintained a bodywork practice and taught weekly yoga classes to both adults and children.  Currently Alden offers sessions incorporating manual therapies such as craniosacral techniques and myofascial release as well as private yoga therapy at Ruscombe Community Healing Center.

  • Alden has been practicing various styles of hatha yoga since 1998. Her earliest yogic influences where from teachers in the Iyengar and Integrative Yoga Therapy styles. In 2007 Alden completed her 200-hour Integrative Yoga Therapy teacher certification at yama studio in Baltimore. She continued her training at yama and completed her 500-hour Yama Therapeutics certification in 2009. Alden is an Experienced Registered Yoga Teach at the 500 hour level with Yoga Alliance as well as a Certified Yoga Therapist with the International Association of Yoga Therapy. Alden maintains a daily practice and has completed over 2000 hours of official training in her study of yoga.

    Since 2010 Alden has traveled almost annually to the Sivananda Ashram in Rikhiapeeth, India as well as the Bihar Yoga University in Munger, India, where she studied various meditation techniques and experienced ashram living. She was inspired by the teachings of Paramahansa Satyananda Saraswati and the therapeutic approach of Satyananda Yoga® from the Bihar School of Yoga. In 2011 she was initiated as a karma sannyasin in the Saraswati lineage and given the spiritual name "Shambhavi". Alden/Shambhavi follows the teachings of her guru, Paramahansa Niranjanananda Saraswati. She has completed Yogic Studies 1-2 and Teacher Training 1 at the Yoga Academy of North America and is an Accredited Yoga Teacher through the Academy. Alden’s teachings are inspired by the tradition of Satyananda Yoga®.

    Alden loves playing with the complementary elements of manual therapy and yoga. She often incorporates many of her yogic philosophies and breath work into her manual therapy sessions and uses her knowledge of anatomy and physiology to aid with correct alignment in yoga postures. Her philosophy in her practice is to address specific problem areas while revitalizing the entire being, promoting mind-body awareness, and allowing space for for the body’s innate healing wisdom. She dedicates her work to the education and empowerment of both her clients and students to help them improve upon their own wellness.

    Outside of her practice, Alden is a “reserve mom” to three grown children and a “fur baby mom” to two dogs and two cats. Alden is a volunteer Board Member and Treasurer for the Yoga Academy of North America . She also donates time to the Salvation Army of Central Maryland. Alden can often be found hiking in nature, reading a good book in the sunshine, or enjoying her garden.

My studio.

My certifications.

Contact Alden