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Vanessa VerLee is a Wellness Educator who, for the last two decades, has facilitated countless people in connecting to themselves in more peaceful, nurturing and energized ways.
Steeped in a lineage of love and devotion, from a young age Vanessa felt her purpose in life was to inspire and illuminate each person she encounters, so that they may feel the depth of their worth and width of their gifts. But, in her early twenties, when she discovered yoga, she began connecting to all the ways she learned to leave and shame her body, after early childhood illness, trauma and contorted conditioning. Quickly Vanessa realized that the body was not separate from her soul, but the very portal from which our soul speaks.
Shortly after this discovery, Vanessa began learning all she could about the wonders of the body and possibilities for healing, transcendence and growth. Since 2001, she has trained in and offered multiple healing modalities, including Gentle and Restorative Yoga, Thai Massage, Acupressure, Somato Respiratory Integration (SRI) and many other somatic (body based) techniques.
In 2015 Vanessa launched "Soul Oriented," an approach to wellness that is rooted in the knowing that we are each whole and worthy just as we are, that every single part of us and experience has a wisdom to offer our lives, and that our bodies are the portals to our deepest knowing.
Through Soul Oriented sessions, retreats, workshops and online community, Vanessa curates spaces for people to move through the contorted patterns that come from conditioning, stress and trauma, while offering real-life skills for using the body as a portal to hear our soul's messages, to feel more alive, and to more effortlessly give and receive the gifts we were uniquely created for.
Vanessa is also a writer, artist and a performing singer-songwriter. She has produced and recorded four albums and regularly organizes community music events around the San Francisco Bay Area, where she's lived since 1999, surrounded by a stunning landscape and wrapped in a magical community of friends, all of which she is infinitely grateful for.
Hand-illustrated, hand-assembled zines — each one packed with 10 simple somatic exercises, AKA "Somagic Tricks," from Vanessa's Somatic Play Book series.
$22.00 — The first in a series of four zines, containing 10 simple somatic exercises designed to help your body return to a place of ease and comfort when you find yourself feeling stressed, activated, agitated, or otherwise out-of-whack. Hand illustrated and hand assembled by a real life human!
Buy Zine Edition 1 →$22.00 — The second in the series, containing 10 simple somatic exercises designed to help your body feel and communicate emotions with more playfulness, ease and energy. Hand illustrated and hand assembled by a real life human!
Buy Zine Edition 2 →All of Vanessa's sessions and workshops are rooted in the intention of supporting wellness, rather than trying to fix, heal or change the symptom, pain or illness. Vanessa's gifts lie in creating safe spaces, individually and in group contexts, where people can connect to and be with what is — creating the congruency and resourcefulness to expand into what else might be possible. Although she has been trained in numerous modalities over two decades, much of Vanessa's current work is informed by ReOrganizational Healing, a model created by Dr. Donald Epstein that includes Somato Respiratory Integration (SRI) and other frameworks.
SOS Sessions are one-on-one embodied conversations with Vanessa, designed to help you move through life with more awareness, ease, and vitality. Blending dialogue with somatic (body-based) practices, these sessions offer tools to help you listen and respond to the subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) messages from your body, emotions, and life itself.
Rather than trying to fix or change what's arising, we practice bringing compassionate presence to whatever sensation, emotion, or pattern is showing up. The invitation is to move with all your parts — not against them — honoring the innate wisdom and energy they carry.
The "Soul" in SOS Sessions refers to the animating essence of who you are — something deeper than thoughts, personality, or circumstance. It's the force always guiding you, often through disruption, surprise, or longing. These sessions help you attune to that guidance, reconnect with your inner resources, and meet the flow of life with more trust, grace, and clarity.
What are the sessions like? They're typically done remotely, over Zoom or phone, and will meet you wherever you are at. We start with whatever's most alive for that day — emotionally, physically, relationally, or thematically. Every part of you is welcome here. There's no wrong place to start.
Alongside reflective coaching, Vanessa will guide you in tuning into your body's cues and sensations. You may be offered somatic practices during the session and simple practices to explore between sessions. Vanessa is not a licensed therapist and these sessions are not a substitute for clinical mental health care — she brings over 20 years of experience as a somatic coach and guide.
Sessions are typically 30–40 minutes, with the option for 60–70 minute sessions for more spacious exploration.
"I'm so grateful every day for the growth and insights you facilitate in my life. You always see into my soul and seem to know where the point of realization is, and that is such a gift."
— Laurie D., San Francisco, CA
What if your body was your most underused professional resource?
Vanessa VerLee brings somatic intelligence into rooms where it's rarely been invited — corporate teams, school staff, organizational groups — through what she calls Play Shops: experiential sessions that are equal parts science, skill-building, and joyful disruption of business as usual.
Drawing on the principles of nervous system regulation, entrainment, and embodied awareness, Vanessa teaches practical SoMagic Tricks — somatic techniques that calm the body, shift limiting beliefs, free stuck emotions, and restore access to energy and presence. These aren't breathing exercises bolted onto a PowerPoint. They're lived experiences that participants can use the moment they walk back into their workplace.
Her facilitation style is warm, playful, and grounded — she brings a light touch to heavy material, making neuroscience feel accessible and somatic practice feel genuinely fun. Participants leave with tools they actually remember, because they learned them through their bodies, not just their minds.
Available for: corporate and organizational trainings, school and staff development days, conference workshops, parent education nights, and community gatherings.
Vanessa comes from a long lineage of pastors, missionaries and religious teachers. She grew up watching her father, a United Methodist Minister, regularly perform weddings, funerals, baptisms, house blessings and the like, and be called on to hold space during people's most joyful and painful moments.
Vanessa stood in awe of this role and ended up coming to it organically in her own life, first through providing music for friends' and family weddings and funerals. Later, clients began asking Vanessa to conduct space clearings and house blessings in their homes or places of business. Eventually Vanessa became non-denominationally ordained, allowing her to legally officiate these ceremonies, along with the other gifts she'd been offering.
Although Vanessa no longer personally aligns with any one religious tradition, she feels closely threaded to her lineage and values, and honors the importance of holding sacred space at these pivotal moments. She sees herself as a Spiritual Midwife, guiding and supporting people with lightness, humor, depth and an unconditionally loving presence as they travel through life's most important portals.
As a seasoned performer, speaker, writer and musician, Vanessa will work with you to create a unique experience that beautifully resonates with the tone you desire. She is available to write the content of the messages, design and officiate the service, and/or provide music during the event if desired. She also offers packages that include Soul Oriented Somatic Coaching sessions before and/or after the ritual, to support a whole-body integration of this crossroads in life.
Vanessa ("Rev. Ness") is available for: Weddings · Vow Renewals · Memorial Services · Space Clearings · Home Blessings · Milestone Birthdays · and other rites of passage.
"Working with Vanessa to create the ceremony of our dreams was effortless and fun. She came to our house and we shared stories, ideas, and concerns. Every step of the way we felt held and supported. She wrote words to the guests sharing stories of our love that brought everyone to tears and laughing out loud… sometimes at the same time!"
— Shea Osuna, Redwood City, CA
"Vanessa was truly a godsend and she brought love into the room in an instant. She made everything come together that difficult day with her music. She was able to bring together a heartbroken group to a place of loving honor with her talent and beautiful spirit. Vanessa VerLee is a pure blessing."
— Melissa Brinkhoff, San Bernardino, CA
Since 2007, Vanessa and her partner Jeremy Rourke have offered a unique Soundscape Healing Yoga — a sound bath type of class at fitness centers, yoga studios, businesses, community centers, and for special events including social getaway weekends, weddings, and staff retreat days.
Throughout the class, lasting anywhere from 30 to 120 minutes, Jeremy plays a live meditative sonic landscape of singing bowls, bells, guitar and flute, while Vanessa leads participants in guided meditations and offers acupressure holds and head massage. The entire experience — done either in well-supported positions on the floor or in chairs — transports everyone in the room into the deepest relaxation and most expansive, receptive space.
To learn more about possibilities and pricing to bring Vanessa & Jeremy to your next event, contact Vanessa directly.
When Vanessa started yoga back in 2000, her entire life changed. For the first time she could remember, she felt comfortable and strong within her body, and began a journey back home to live with more embodiment and presence. Soon she became certified so that she could share this gift with others.
Trained in many modalities of Hatha Yoga, including extensive training in gentle and restorative practice, her specialty is creating safe spaces for people of all shapes and conditions to connect with the temple they move through life in, with more ease, grace and joy.
Vanessa is available for private yoga instruction, or for Soundscape Restorative Yoga sessions with Jeremy Rourke — all virtually, for now, until in-person classes are possible to do safely once again.
Vanessa serves as the resident Wellness Educator / SRI facilitator at ReOrganizational Healing Centers throughout the Bay Area. The founder of ReOrganizational Healing (ROH), Dr. Donald Epstein, created SRI along with NS (Network Spinal) — a very gentle, light-touch and profoundly effective chiropractic modality. Practice members at these centers share how much they love getting the synergistic effects of both SRI and NS when offered together.
Magnolia Wellness Center — 2134 Van Ness Ave, San Francisco, CA Founded by Dr. Stephanie Bridwell, Magnolia has been named by the Bay Area A-List as San Francisco's top chiropractic center. Vanessa started her journey with ReOrganizational Healing at Magnolia as a practice member in 2010, and has been joyfully working with Dr. Stephanie and the other practitioners there since 2012. Dr. Stephanie and Vanessa also regularly lead workshops and retreats together, both locally and internationally.
Healing Waves Wellness — 303 Potrero St, Suite 16, Santa Cruz, CA Under the care of Dr. Melanie Hernand. Vanessa sees practice members for one-on-one sessions on the third Thursday and Friday of each month, and occasionally for one-day healing retreats co-led with Dr. Mel.
Network Chiropractic Wellness Center — 1414 Soquel Ave, #102, Santa Cruz, CA Dr. Bjorn Bostrom and his staff serve practice members with an extraordinary level of precision and commitment to transformation. Vanessa sees practice members for one-on-one sessions on the third Wednesday of each month, and occasionally for healing retreats with Dr. Bjorn.
Vanessa offers various embodied practice / meditation series throughout the year, as part of the Soul Oriented Community on Patreon. You can participate either on your own (arriving in your inbox each morning) and/or with a small meditation pod over WhatsApp, where you share your experience with the group after practicing on your own.
Each series has a different focus, but all follow a similar structure: audio and written teachings from Vanessa lasting 10–20 minutes a day, including embodied exercises, guided meditation, and journal prompts.
Past & upcoming series have included "Cultivating Hope" (ten meditations over five weeks) and "21 Days of Soul Orienting Your Life." Join the Soul Oriented Community to participate in the next one.
No workshops or retreats are currently scheduled — check back soon, or contact Vanessa to be notified when the next one is announced.
"I've never been part of a group of people where everyone was in complete synergy with everyone else. Magnitudes of generational healing took place, an experience which none of us is likely to soon forget."
— Shannon Bolt, San Francisco, CA
"She has the unique ability to not only hold space for whatever you're going through, but also to guide you through practices that unlock the stuck places. She teaches that all parts of us are welcome, and that we all have the courage to meet ourselves fully, with great tenderness and appreciation."
— Jasmine Morano, San Francisco, CA
"The Soul Oriented Living Online Series was exactly what I needed! It really helped me integrate and tune into the unbound energies already available to me. I am definitely able to experience more feeling and accepting and less over thinking."
— Tom Mack, Hicksville, OH
"Through our work together, I am reminded that anything is possible, that my body and mind are capable of mystical and spontaneous healing, and that I have all the resources I need right now, to thrive."
— Mara Waldhorn, Santa Cruz, CA
"I sought her care after typical Western medicine couldn't pinpoint why my energy and mood were consistently waning. During our sessions, I felt consistently supported and guided, not judged, and like a tiny space had been created just for me."
— Jo Finetti, San Francisco, CA
"My wounding was the opening to the gifts I have been giving all along. Deciding to join the group is one of my best choices ever and has allowed me to finally have the keys to that which I have searched for all my life."
— Lisa Gonzalez, Redwood City, CA
"Vanessa lives her life with so much authenticity and love that it feels very comforting to just be in her presence. I walk away from the session feeling completely heard, understood and never judged."
— Saundra Rose Bouchantè, Daly City, CA
"SRI is an incredibly powerful tool for healing, and she wields it with intuition and insight. I always leave feeling weightless, joyful, released. She is a true healer with a beautiful heart."
— Lila Bailey, San Francisco, CA
"So thankful to have Vanessa as a skilled and savvy ally in my ongoing journey to moving, breathing and sounding my way to a more connected and powerful version of me. Thinking about visiting her? Go! Now! You deserve this depth of support!"
— Molly Kittle, San Francisco, CA
"Thanks to her, I feel like I have an unconditionally caring, supportive, wise, and creative guiding force in my life that can help me through any scale of life challenge."
— Catherine Madden, San Francisco, CA
"I worked with Vanessa a few years ago in a time of anxiety and uncertainty in my life. To this day I still employ the techniques she taught me and whenever I use them, I am in awe at how I can use my own body to heal itself."
— Christiana Moreau, Glendale, AZ
"Vanessa is a true healer. She radiates warmth, compassion and wisdom. Working with her has propelled my growth in ways I couldn't imagine."
— Ymke Dioquino, San Francisco, CA
"I'm so grateful every day for the growth and insights you facilitate in my life. You always see into my soul and seem to know where the point of realization is, and that is such a gift."
— Laurie D., San Francisco, CA
Since she started writing and performing her own songs in 1997, Vanessa has toured all around the United States, playing in over 30 states. In the Bay Area she has played many venues including Cafe Du Nord, Amnesia, The Make-Out Room, The Starry Plough, Hotel Utah, and Civic Center Plaza. These days her main creative effort funnels into the V.V. Variety Show — but you can still occasionally find her doing gigs around town, at private parties, or jamming around the fire in her backyard.
Guided Meditation by Vanessa VerLee — more guided meditations coming soon.
In 2011, after a decade and a half of performing her music, Vanessa hit a point where there was little energy left in playing her songs. She was ready to do something that scared her a little — stretch out of her comfort zone on the stage. She knew that when we step into uncharted territory, energy emerges. From here the vision for the V.V. Variety Show was born.
The V.V.V.S. is a show based on everyone offering acts that stretch their creative boundaries — singer-songwriters doing stand-up comedy, drummers playing guitar, clowns doing drama, lifelong audience members finally offering their gifts on stage. Every show is totally different, yet always seems to be magically woven together.
The Lost Church — 988 Columbus Ave, SF
Buy Your Tickets Here →Use discount code "earlybird5" until 2/22!
Note from the archive: during 2020–21, V.V. Variety Show and other musical offerings were paused for Covid-19 — worth reconfirming this note is no longer needed before publishing.
Now more than ever, community is essential for physical, emotional and spiritual health. All of you is welcome here — weekly online Soul Support Circles, quarterly meditation series with small-group support, priority registration and discounts on retreats and trainings, and a place to give and receive your unique gifts.
Join Today →Welcome to our charming downtown home rental, perfect for singles or couples looking to explore Fort Wayne or for extended stays! Enjoy easy access to local attractions and amenities, making your visit both convenient and memorable.
Steps from Conjure Coffee and surrounded by restaurants including Don Hall's Gas House, Club Soda, Hoppy Gnome, Proximo, JK O'Donnell's, and Cindy's Diner.
Walk to the Fort Wayne Museum of Art, nearby parks, Arts United, and Science Central.
Discover unique finds at local boutiques such as Creative Women of the World.
A well-appointed space with a comfortable bed, high-quality linens, and a dedicated workspace.
Close to St. Joseph, Lutheran and Parkview hospitals for traveling support staff. We welcome guests from all backgrounds and identities, fostering a welcoming atmosphere for everyone.
Lorelei and Vanessa VerLee are a mother-daughter team who have each owned their own businesses for many years. Lorelei lives in Fort Wayne and is the founder of the nonprofit Creative Women of the World, and has taught entrepreneurship and consulted in fourteen countries. Vanessa grew up in Fort Wayne, but currently lives in San Francisco, CA and is the founder of Soul Oriented Somatics.