About ME
Hi, I'm Cicily Thomas - a Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner, Transforming Touch®, Taiji Quan & Qigong Master, and holistic healing therapist. For over two and a half decades, I've been guiding individuals on their journey to wellness through an integration of ancient wisdom and modern healing approaches.
My Journey
My spiritual journey began more than 25 years ago through self-inquiry and a deep search for purpose and meaning. I explored and practiced various techniques including vipassana, zen, yoga, tai chi chuan, qigong, counselling, NLP, Gestalt Therapy, cranio-sacral Therapy, and both traditional Chinese and ayurvedic acupressure. Through these experiences, I've drawn in the essence of ancient wisdom and blended it with modern-day holistic healing approaches.
My spiritual journey began more than 25 years ago through self-inquiry and a deep search for purpose and meaning. I explored and practiced various techniques including vipassana, zen, yoga, tai chi chuan, qigong, counselling, NLP, Gestalt Therapy, cranio-sacral Therapy, and both traditional Chinese and ayurvedic acupressure. Through these experiences, I've drawn in the essence of ancient wisdom and blended it with modern-day holistic healing approaches.
Taichi and Qigong Expertise
I trained in China with Grand Master Fu Sheng Yuan and Master Fu Qing Quan, representing the fifth and sixth generations of the Yang family. I further honed my Qigong skills with several teachers, including the renowned Dr. Yang Jwing Ming in California. In 1998, I founded the Vital Force Tai Chi Academy in Bangalore, where I conduct classes that make transformational changes in people's lives and lifestyles.
I trained in China with Grand Master Fu Sheng Yuan and Master Fu Qing Quan, representing the fifth and sixth generations of the Yang family. I further honed my Qigong skills with several teachers, including the renowned Dr. Yang Jwing Ming in California. In 1998, I founded the Vital Force Tai Chi Academy in Bangalore, where I conduct classes that make transformational changes in people's lives and lifestyles.
Somatic Experiencing® & Transforming Touch®
‘Trauma does not have to be a life-sentence’- Peter Levine
Trauma isn't just an event from the past. For people who experience trauma, it continues as a repeated, unpleasant experience in the present. They can feel it as pain, tightness, breathlessness or discomfort in the body and sometimes as bad memories or nightmares. Trauma prevents one from thinking clearly, focusing or making decisions. They feel anxious, scattered, afraid, and are unable to calm themselves or soothe their emotions. They even have difficulty in asking for help from others.
Trauma makes one feel separated or broken into several pieces. Sometimes, they may find themselves constantly getting into dangerous situations and taking risks with their lives. At times, getting into dangerous situations is a way of numbing the pain or fear that they experience. At other times, they alternate between getting ready to run fast and save their lives and feeling like they are stuck and have no energy to even move.
Introducing Transforming Touch®: A Healing Approach
Developed by Dr. Stephen J. Terrell, a pioneer in Developmental Psychology, Transforming Touch® offers a groundbreaking somatic approach to healing trauma. This regulation-focused modality recognizes that our body (soma) holds memories that our cognitive brain might suppress or forget.
The Transforming Touch® training will soon be offered, in person, by Dr. Stephen J. Terrell, in Bangalore, India and is open to all those who support healing in others, those who work in a therapeutic or educational setting, including and not limited to:
• Psychiatrists
• Psychotherapists
• Counsellors
• Social Workers
• Art or Music Therapists
• Medical Doctors
• Nurses
• Chiropractors
• Body Workers
• Acupuncturists
• Massage Therapists
• Bodyworkers
• Coaches
• Somatic Experiencing Practitioners
• Anyone interested in including Somatic Touch into their practice
As a Somatic Experiencing therapist trained in Transforming Touch®, I bring in presence and attunement in an environment of safety, comfort and trust. I enable clients to slow down so their body does not feel like it is constantly running away from danger. I offer them a space for healing to take place, slowly and surely, by way of curiosity, joy and openness.
The unique aspects of Transforming Touch® include:
• Gentle, permission-based touch
• Focus on nervous system regulation
• Working directly with somatic memory
• Supporting the body's innate healing capacity
The goal is to help clients be more with their sensations and feelings in the present moment, deal with stressful or traumatic events from the past so that they move with hope and confidence in the now and in the future.
Healing Opportunity:
Dr. Stephen J. Terrell will be conducting a Transforming Touch® Practitioner Training in Bangalore, India (June 2025). This intimate program is limited to 24 participants, offering a deeply personalized learning experience.
Everyone can benefit from this approach, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, or race.
Your trauma is not your definition. Your healing journey is.
‘Trauma does not have to be a life-sentence’- Peter Levine
Trauma isn't just an event from the past. For people who experience trauma, it continues as a repeated, unpleasant experience in the present. They can feel it as pain, tightness, breathlessness or discomfort in the body and sometimes as bad memories or nightmares. Trauma prevents one from thinking clearly, focusing or making decisions. They feel anxious, scattered, afraid, and are unable to calm themselves or soothe their emotions. They even have difficulty in asking for help from others.
Trauma makes one feel separated or broken into several pieces. Sometimes, they may find themselves constantly getting into dangerous situations and taking risks with their lives. At times, getting into dangerous situations is a way of numbing the pain or fear that they experience. At other times, they alternate between getting ready to run fast and save their lives and feeling like they are stuck and have no energy to even move.
Introducing Transforming Touch®: A Healing Approach
Developed by Dr. Stephen J. Terrell, a pioneer in Developmental Psychology, Transforming Touch® offers a groundbreaking somatic approach to healing trauma. This regulation-focused modality recognizes that our body (soma) holds memories that our cognitive brain might suppress or forget.
The Transforming Touch® training will soon be offered, in person, by Dr. Stephen J. Terrell, in Bangalore, India and is open to all those who support healing in others, those who work in a therapeutic or educational setting, including and not limited to:
• Psychiatrists
• Psychotherapists
• Counsellors
• Social Workers
• Art or Music Therapists
• Medical Doctors
• Nurses
• Chiropractors
• Body Workers
• Acupuncturists
• Massage Therapists
• Bodyworkers
• Coaches
• Somatic Experiencing Practitioners
• Anyone interested in including Somatic Touch into their practice
As a Somatic Experiencing therapist trained in Transforming Touch®, I bring in presence and attunement in an environment of safety, comfort and trust. I enable clients to slow down so their body does not feel like it is constantly running away from danger. I offer them a space for healing to take place, slowly and surely, by way of curiosity, joy and openness.
The unique aspects of Transforming Touch® include:
• Gentle, permission-based touch
• Focus on nervous system regulation
• Working directly with somatic memory
• Supporting the body's innate healing capacity
The goal is to help clients be more with their sensations and feelings in the present moment, deal with stressful or traumatic events from the past so that they move with hope and confidence in the now and in the future.
Healing Opportunity:
Dr. Stephen J. Terrell will be conducting a Transforming Touch® Practitioner Training in Bangalore, India (June 2025). This intimate program is limited to 24 participants, offering a deeply personalized learning experience.
Everyone can benefit from this approach, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, or race.
Your trauma is not your definition. Your healing journey is.
My Approach
In my sessions, I look to support the autonomy of each client, enabling wellness and health in a relationship based on safety, trust, respect, curiosity, openness, kindness, compassion, and acceptance. I integrate Somatic Experiencing with Tai Chi and Qigong expertise, using slow, gentle, and fluid movements to liberate trapped energy and enable the free flow of Qi.
In my sessions, I look to support the autonomy of each client, enabling wellness and health in a relationship based on safety, trust, respect, curiosity, openness, kindness, compassion, and acceptance. I integrate Somatic Experiencing with Tai Chi and Qigong expertise, using slow, gentle, and fluid movements to liberate trapped energy and enable the free flow of Qi.
Education and Credentials
- Graduate in Fine Arts from Stella Maris College, Chennai
- P.G. Diploma in Counselling from The United Theological College
- NLP Master Practitioner
- Gestalt Therapy training with Dr. Richard P. McHugh
- Postgraduate program in 'Mothers, Babies and Children' with Body Intelligence
- Postgraduate course in Craniosacral Biodynamics
- Teacher's Training Course in Hatha Yoga
- Certificate in Acupressure Healing Science
Beyond Practice
When I'm not working, you'll find me hiking with my dog, mountaineering, swimming, playing tennis, singing, reading, or engaging in sustainable tourism initiatives with a French association. I've also worked as a Commercial Attaché at the Indo-French Chamber of Commerce and taught French for over 15 years at The Alliance Française de Bangalore.
Corporate Experience
I've conducted wellness sessions at various corporate organizations, including:
I've conducted wellness sessions at various corporate organizations, including:
- Infosys
- Dell (4 campuses)
- MediaTek
- Wipro
- Fuller Life