Welcome to Sunflower Integrative Wellness!

My name is Elise Frost and I am the founder and licensed massage therapist at Sunflower Integrative Wellness. My bodywork and movement practice is a dynamic and mindfully curated private studio just beside my home in the beautiful woods of Ellettsville, Indiana. You’ll find a relaxing and healing environment at Sunflower Integrative Wellness as well as a growing organic regenerative farm nestled on 2 acres of the property called Birdie & the Bees Farm.

I began my training with the body at a young age as a movement improviser and dance artist. At 16, I joined a professional dance company lead by two multifaceted movement artists - one of which was a massage therapist. These early trainings in the body, expression, and function of touch and movement shaped my career as a dancer and my inevitable entrance into the field of massage therapy. I continued to study movement, earning a BFA in Dance and Performance from the University of Florida and subsequently an MFA in Dance Performance, Theory, and Choreography from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Throughout this time, I was privileged to study with many individuals specializing in the somatics and bodywork practices of Alexander Technique, Feldenkrais, Laban/Bartenieff, Body-Mind Centering, Contact Improvisation, T’ai Chi, Qi Gong, and beyond. As a long-time athlete I also encountered the difficulties of reoccurring injuries and the wear and tear that intensive dance training took on my body. As I embarked on teaching dance practices, I encountered a diverse student body of beginning to advanced movers; all struggling with the complexities of their own human experiences and seeking advice and feedback about their physical difficulties, aches, and movement patterns. These interactions urged me forward in creating a bridge between my studies of dance and the body using a more informed and holistic approach not overshadowed by Western dance practices and aesthetics.

In 2019, I traveled to Longmont, Colorado to train at the Berkana Institute of Massage Therapy where I earned my CMT. I went on to continue teaching at the Berkana Institute and was offered a unique opportunity to continue my training in Ashiatsu, therapeutic massage, and fascial techniques under the mentorship of Chārutā Ahmauia, founder of Self-Transformations Conscious Massage & Wellness in Longmont, Colorado. Since beginning my career as a massage therapist, I have worked with numerous clients in the chiropractic, spa, therapeutic, and private settings in four different states.

I founded my first private practice in 2020 after relocating to the Midwest and gradually expanded my practice beyond therapeutic tissue manipulation to assist individuals suffering from chronic pain and recovery from traumatic stress and illness. Additionally, continuing to teach movement practices both with the public and in my private practice. During this time, I was awarded a full scholarship to study Interdisciplinary Movement and Somatics through Somakinese - which I continue to study. While practicing in Iowa, I encountered many cancer survivors who were often unable to find qualified massage therapists to treat them. In an effort to help these individuals, I began to build a foundation in oncology massage by completing my training in Manual Lymphatic Drainage. With my training in the Vodder Technique under the tutelage of Nicola McGill via the Klose Training Institute, I am able to assist clients in the management of lymphedema, edema, lipedema, post-surgical edema, and much more.

In 2022, I moved to the Bloomington area to be closer to family and establish deeper roots in the land of the Midwest. In 2023, I was one of the first massage therapists in the nation to be awarded a scholarship to study Oncology & Hospital Based Massage at Beaumont Hospital in Michigan through The Little Red Door Cancer Agency located in downtown Indianapolis. I divide my time between my private practice and local oncology support organizations. I braid my diverse movement experience with the ever-evolving field of massage therapy to provide wholehearted holistic complementary healthcare experiences for people in all seasons of life.