We’re so excited to introduce Taliesin Laub, a massage therapist, IPSB student, and versatile artist with a unique way of fusing bodywork with artistic expression. Taliesin shares insights into their profound connection to healing touch, shaped by childhood memories and a diverse range of life experiences. Discover how his empathetic approach to bodywork intertwines seamlessly with the meditative exploration of what it means to live in one’s own body.
Business Name (if applicable): Laub
Pronouns: He/Him they/them
Tell us about the work you currently do:
Hello, my name is Taliesin Laub and I am a massage therapist. I’ve been studying and practicing massage at IPSB- School of Integrative Psycho-Structural Bodywork in Santa Monica since the summer of 2021 and have had the privilege of learning from many skilled massage therapists and bodyworkers. I am part of the LGBTQIA2S community, and value creating a comfortable and safe environment for folks who can sometimes feel hesitant about receiving a massage.
I [also] teach ceramics at UCLA, I am a working artist in glass blowing, ceramics and textiles.
I enjoy working with artists who often spend long hours doing repetitive motions, which can create stiffness and tension in the body. I also work with elders who may need help generating circulation and warmth. I value communication and understanding while working together with clients on listening to the body. I can assist in stretching different muscles of the body through sports massage and myofascial massage techniques.
I also work with deep tissue massage to help relax and unwind the body. Deep tissue massage refers to an act of deep listening into the body through technical and precise touch. This means that this type of work can often come with touch as light as the weight of an acorn resting on your palm.
If you are interested in working with me, please text me at 562-583-5773 or you can email me at laubka@gmail.com.
Describe your journey to becoming a bodyworker. When did it begin, and why did you choose bodywork?
I formally started my journey of becoming a bodyworker in the spring of 2021 when I started going to IPSB. But, if I reflect across my life, I can find key points throughout that are influential to the foundation of my work now.
As a child, I remember my mother working as an Occupational Therapist. I think about the movement therapy that she did with children who have developmental disabilities which helped them learn fine motor skills. Going to school at IPSB has brought a lot of these memories to the surface, and I see it as a connection to generational knowledge that I share with my mother around healing touch.
Another key point I remember from my childhood is my own time spent in physical therapy after getting hit by a car. I remember things like the posters of all the muscles on the wall of the office and the touch of the therapist as she spent time with my Psoas muscle. The last memory from my childhood that has become a part of this narrative is again of my mom. She would often practice cranial holds on my sister and I and other family members, something she had learned as a therapist. I remember the movements that would occur within our bodies as she supported our heads, and she would always tell us that she wasn’t doing anything, simply holding space for our bodies to unwind in response to her touch.
As a young adult I went to art school where I started a creative and skill-based relationship with glass and ceramics. I became obsessed with the practice of both materials, something that continues to this day. I see this work entwined with my work as a bodyworker, because I have spent so much time equipping my hands with a knowledgeable sensitivity to materiality through touch. I value the work I do with my hands; it is a relational, collaborative practice, and bodywork is an extension of this.
When I moved to Los Angeles, I had many jobs working for other artists, while also trying to continue my own work as an artist. After many years, I realized this was not a sustainable path for me, and I began researching ideas for alternative ways of supporting myself. I became interested in death doula work and went to several trainings and even volunteered for a while, in hopes that I could figure out how to make this into a career. Although this is not something that I practice regularly, it did broaden my horizons into careers invested in caregiving and brought me one step closer to pursuing bodywork.
My journey into bodywork is also greatly influenced by my journey as a trans person. Being trans, I have experienced emotional, mental, spiritual, and physical transformations within and without my own body. I believe this has made me more empathetically present with what it means to live in a body and thus work with others who also live in a body.
Joining a boxing gym was a pivotal moment for me in the direction of bodywork because it has helped me listen in and understand my own muscles and anatomy and my capacity for movement and strength.
And, in the years leading up to my decision to go to IPSB, I had the pleasure of crossing paths with two artists who are also bodyworkers. I received bodywork from both and the work they did changed my life. I had such a strong response to their touch and those experiences have stayed with me over years. One of them gifted me the book Chi Self-Massage: The Taoist Way of Rejuvenation by Mantak Chia, which became the first of many in my library dedicated to the research of healing touch.
I am now one class away from being certified as a massage therapist through IPSB, a propelling force for me and my journey as a bodyworker. I feel blessed to be doing this work, and each time I give a massage I am filled with love and aspiration, which tells me I am doing the work that I am supposed to be doing.
You’re an incredibly talented artist. Tell us more about this!
As an artist I primarily work with blown and hot sculpted glass, ceramics, both wheel throwing and hand-building, and textiles. I make vessels, quilts, sculptures, and cups.
Sometimes I make videos and images, and I write my own music.
My work is a meditation on what it means to live in a body. I am currently thinking about how to ‘dissect’ a body by making my own components of the body out of different materials.
Please refer to the links below for further information about specific bodies of work.
How does a career in bodywork allow you to pursue your art?
What I learn and experience in bodywork has become an inspirational source of content for me as an artist. The goal is that I will eventually be able to fully sustain myself as an independent bodyworker, which will open more time and space, mentally, physically, and spiritually for my creative endeavors.
What advice would you give someone pursuing bodywork or considering school at IPSB?
We live in a precarious, anxious, and existential world. I think bodywork is a form of peaceful activism that is a way to calm the nervous system of both you and others. The collective needs care and I think if you are on this path, you are changing the world and there is no better time than now.
If I’m speaking directly to artists, I don’t think I have any specific advice, but I do have feelings that I can share, that might resonate. As an artist I am often caught in a comparative loop that can leave me feeling insecure and that my work isn’t valid. It takes a lot of independent internal strength to continue to create, especially within a social media driven market. I have found bodywork to be truly nourishing for my soul. It is intentional, real time spent with other people who are grateful for the work I do. When I am giving a massage, all my focus is on the person who is receiving; how their body is responding to my touch, and how and what I am palpating through their skin. It is a way to extend outward, and to not be trapped in my own thoughts. It is a reminder for me of the power of human connection and is a source of calming strength that is generative and rejuvenating for my work as an artist.
Learn more about Taliesin and their work:
Below are links to some of the past shows I’ve had in Los Angeles.
I prefer being contacted through email: laubka@gmail.com or texting: 562-583-5773 if anyone is interested in inquiring further.
Let Me Touch You March-April 2023:
The Act of Growing Up: Emanations of a Soul Nerve September- October 2018
Oh Be Gentle July-August 2015
This is a link to a quilting project that I collaborate on with my friend Rachel Silver:
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