Aria Walker, L.Ac., Dipl.Ac, M.Ac.
Shamanic Healer, Teacher, Reverend, and
Licensed Acupuncturist (USA)
Touch of a Healer
Shamanic Healing, Energy Healing & Integration
Aria
BIO
Personal Biography
Education and travel have taken me many places in life including living across the lower 48 states and Alaska, and traveling within six continents. Each place has held great beauty: from lush greenery and thick scents of flowers to rocky cliffs and fragrant chaparral on the desert air to sunrises and sunsets through salty, crashing waves, to blankets of snow in quiet, curving drifts. My animal companions have traveled with me each place that I have lived. Since 1989, I have practiced a variety of martial arts including tai chi and qi gong for health and well-being. My first college degree was in Professional Photographic Illustration from Rochester Institute of Technology in New York. While still in undergraduate school in Ohio, I began to study global shamanic indigenous healing techniques, Western herbology, and sustainable agriculture. I began practicing in the healing arts in 1991 and graduated from the Boulder School of Massage Therapy in 1996.
I continued my education through numerous workshops including craniosacral therapy, visceral manipulation, lymphatic drainage, Neuro Emotional Technique (NET), and Neuro-Linguistic Programming. I began teaching massage and Reiki natural healing in 1998 and started studies in the master of science degree program at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in San Diego in 1999. While in California, I was a full-time massage instructor and clinic supervisor. After a severe car accident, I put acupuncture studies on hold to pursue other areas of interest and teaching workshops. During those years, I furthered my crisis intervention and survivor advocacy skills with hospice support training. I also reconnected with my first teachers and completed my training and ordination as a reverend with The Church of Earth Healing. In 2008, after over two years of assisting a third-generation acupuncturist from China, I restarted the structured study of East Asian medicine at the Academy for Five Element Acupuncture in Gainesville, Florida. Finishing my Five Element clinical residency in 2011, marked a professional return to a style and a philosophy of Asian medicine which had originally inspired me with Zen Shiatsu in massage school.
With my first visit to the Pacific Northwestern United States, I was immediately enchanted and thrilled with the opportunity to relocate there. My journey to Oregon began with purchasing the Acupuncture & Natural Medicine Clinic in Cannon Beach, and I was pleased to eventually offer services in Portland both in my private practice and in a group practice. In 2017, I sold my business and began a sabbatical traveling by motorcycle in Mexico, Central and South America, and by foot on the Camino de Santiago in Switzerland, France, and Spain. During this extended sabbatical, I began working for Academy for Five Element Acupuncture and with Acupuncturists Without Borders. Ultimately during my sabbatical, I was also in Cuba, Israel/Palestine, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Luxembourg, and Greece studying and engaging in volunteer work.
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I have enjoyed hiking, camping, kayaking, canoeing, surfing, paddle boarding, snorkeling, and other outdoor activities in addition to riding motorcycles. While I lived in Alaska, I explored natural beauty by learning cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and dip netting for salmon. Recently, I have tried a bit of sailing and fishing. Dancing has also been a life-long passion.
I have a deep acceptance and sense of compassion for people. I sincerely value the opportunity to share in your healing journey. I look forward to working with you! ~ Aria