Full Range Studio
A center for body alignment & movement education
"Kurt Baker is one of, if not THE, best practitioners on the north coast."
-Dr. Richard Miller, Wilbur Hot Springs
The Studio
I offer focused, in-depth work and am currently accepting a limited number of new clients to see in my private studio space. My practice is designed for those who are self-motivated, open-minded, and committed to self study—individuals ready to explore new approaches to improve their physical experience and overall state of being.The methods I use are time-tested and grounded in years of training with some of the most respected teachers in the field. I've had a private practice for eight years on the Mendocino Coast. I bring both experience and dedication to each client relationship.I use a unique, multi-path approach that integrates the best of structural and functional work, movement education, East Asian health systems, and internal martial arts. Sessions include a combination of physical, verbal, and movement-based guidance to support deep awareness, structural realignment, and enhanced mobility.My focus is helping you create new pathways of sensory-motor awareness, allowing you to:- Relieve stress and release chronic pain- Break free from habitual patterns of muscular tension- Improve posture, balance, and overall presenceContact me to learn more and to apply for Bodytherapy and movement education sessions.Kurt Baker
(707) 489-6892
[email protected]
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"Kurt Baker was the only practitioner I found who was able to provide relief from my pain."
S.F., Albion, CA"After several months of constant left shoulder and neck pain, I heard about Kurt through a friend and decided to schedule a session. The work was intense but after 3 visits, I am almost back to normal. Kurt is very knowledgeable and provides great info on how to continue therapy at home. I’m going to schedule a monthly visit to keep my body in check, I can’t recommend him enough!"
- K. K., Mendocino, CA
Biography, training & Experience
It all started at age 14 when I attended my first Tai Chi class. The class was mostly middle age and elderly students. I was definably the youngest one there by far, yet as soon as I arrived, I knew I was in the right place. Unlike a typical studio space, we met outdoors in the redwoods. The teacher, Sam, pointed out that practicing outdoors amongst the trees is ten times better than practicing indoors, because the “qi” was richer. I quickly noticed these older folks weren’t your typical seniors. Demonstrating extreme strength and tenaciousness, during the push hands (a form of grappling) portion of the class; yet at the same time these folks strove for sensitivity and a soft, light-handed touch. I later learned this was because they were applying the ancient Daoist philosophy as presented by Lao Zi in the book the “Daode Jing”, showing there was great power and endurance in softness when the body structure is well coordinated.
I was sold and deeply in love. My martial arts studies, which took me to Taiwan at age 16, continues to this day and has led me to peruse other Asian health arts such as qi gong and Chinese yoga.At age 21 I was attending college in Prescott, Arizona. After a couple years of dabbling in various studies I found that I couldn’t find what I was looking for in conventional schooling at that point in my life. After some thought I decided to move back to California to enroll for a traditional apprentice in Chinese medicine at the Center for Traditional Health Arts, in Petaluma, CA. I had met the instructor Sean Fannin and his father Bill, once years before after learning about them from my high school math and science teacher who had begun the same apprentice I was pursuing. At the time it was a father and son duo. His father Bill Fannin had been a lawyer and had a way of talking with people. His demeanor was very welcoming and pleasant. He asked me basic questions about my health interwoven with small talk about the weather and my interests. Once he finished, he left the room, and his son Sean came in to check my pulses and look at my tongue. At the time he was still learning under his father. A few days later I received my Chinese herbs in the mail with a nice letter describing my situation from the perspective of Chinese medicine, and the formula they chose for me. This left a great impression on me. After giving University a fair try I decided to take the road less traveled and learn Chinese medicine the traditional way—one on one.During this six-year apprenticeship I learned the intricacies of Chinese medical theory and philosophy, pulse and tongue reading and assessment, the actions of Chinese herbals and how to combine them into custom formulas for clients, medical qi gong and how to understand and translate the classical Chinese into English.In addition to my Chinese medicine studies, became certified in the 10 sessions of Bodytherapy through the Zen Therapy Institute in 2003. During which time I was taught the 10 series of Ida Rolf. This learning continues in the form of private lessons with my bodywork and martial arts teacher Bernard Langan in Oakland, CA, and is a primary modality of bodywork I offer in my practice, today.In 2007 I found myself on a plane to study Tui Na (Chinese medical massage). It was a program I learned about from my Chinee medicine teacher. With the help of my parents, I was able to afford the tuition of $2000 which included the plane ticket, room and a few banquets. It was a great deal! There I studied at a university hospital observing Chinese orthopedic doctors massaging their patients in the mornings, and in the afternoons attended lecture and practice. It was a 10-day intensive. The teachers and doctors were a bit distant but at the same time willing to teach and answer my questions when I had them. I learned 10 basic technique which I use every day in my practice. After studying all day we would visit the local massage parlor for a $12 90 min massage, and I even got a suite tailored for $75. During the weekend we visited sites like the silk factory and an open market where I bought two high quality pearl necklaces for under $100, which I gave to my parents as a thank you gift for helping me go on the trip.From my late 20’s and through my 30’s I was plagued with low back pain due to what seemed a minor snowboarding injury. This problem became exceedingly worse as time when on. I couldn’t practice bodywork, which I was doing in clinics and spas, which meant I had to get low paying job a health food/pharmacy. With these wages I couldn’t afford bodywork, so my back got progressively worse, until I couldn’t work at all.
With no ability to work because I could hardly walk most of the time, I had to leave my apartment in the East Bay Area and move in with my parents in Mendocino—not what I had in mind for my mid-life plan! I went through weeks of very little sleep and extreme pain until I finally came around and was able to get a job and make a little money again. Though not 100%, my back was well enough that I could continue working as an inn keeper in Mendocino, and was able to afford a little bodywork.It wasn’t until I found a bodyworker Rich Reese, where I was living on the Mendocino Coast, that I began to see huge improvements in my back. Between his work and working with my teacher in Oakland, my back has come around almost fully, with only the occasional episode.
I started a private bodywork practice on the Mendocino Coast in 2017, which survived the pandemic and is now (2025) thriving. I work out of my house in Caspar, CA, as a full time career.Having come out the other side of the darkest time of my life I feel that I not only have the knowledge needed to help others but the wisdom and empathy of having gone through body pain myself, something that one can only get firsthand.“It is his own hurt that gives the measure of his power to heal. This, and nothing else, is the meaning of the Greek myth of the wounded healer.”
— Carl Jung
Contact & Apply for bodytherapy
My work is highly specialized and not suited for everyone. I'm only accepting a select number qualified clients to work with at this time.
To learn more and apply for one on one session work contact me to set up a discovery call to see if we're a good fit.