Meet Tim

A health and wellness professional with over 25 years of experience, Tim helps people live their happiest lives by working with them to be their healthiest. Tim brings his unique sensitivity and energetic balance to the Embodied Masculine community, with experience across a wide range of men’s work modalities – including group facilitation, 1-on-1 coaching, breathwork, embodiment, asana, visualization, and healing touch. Tim is an alumni of the MI-IR program and a Certified Embodied Masculine Facilitator (C.EMF) after completing Amir’s first Facilitator Training Program. Initially he trained as a professional dancer and had a successful career on Broadway, concert dance, film, and tv. Tim later went on to train as an Advanced Certified Jivamukti Yoga teacher, a licensed acupuncturist, a personal trainer, and a certified Men’s Wisdom Work coach. Tim now leads weekly men’s circles in Provincetown, assists and apprentices with Amir Khalighi, and works privately with clients all over the world. Originally from Pittsburgh and having spent 25 years in New York City, Tim now lives in Provincetown, MA with his husband and cherished dog, RuBea (Ruby).

Q&A

Where are you from, and where are you based now?

Pittsburgh is my hometown and is near and dear to my heart. From Pittsburgh I moved to and lived in New York City for 25 years. After New York City I moved to Provincetown, Massachusetts at the very tip of Cape Cod. I started in a medium sized city with a lot of character and personality, moved to the big city for the love of art and performance, and now live in a small fishing village that is also home to an eclectic mix of artists and community members.

What brought you to men’s work?

My journey to men’s work started as I decided to deepen my understanding and practice of coaching. When the pandemic hit in 2020 I was suddenly separated from my work as an acupuncturist, a fitness coach, and a yoga teacher, all of which I was doing face to face with patients and clients. I began searching for a way to continue my passion for wellness in this new reality and I was drawn to coaching because I realized that there are elements of coaching in the work I was already doing.

As I looked for programs to train me more deeply in coaching, a ‘men’s work’ program came to my attention. Because I have often felt uncomfortable around men, specifically heterosexual men, I started to wonder if there was something to be gained in this largely foreign landscape for me. In my initial interview with the program facilitator I felt nervousness and trepidation, so it was clear to me that I had to step into this fire.

I quickly realized that I had chosen wisely both because I had much to gain personally from the work and because I realized I had much to offer to others. My experience as a man and of being a man could help others step into their fullness just as others were doing for me.

As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, how does this inform your men’s work?

Identifying as a queer person and a gay man is an intimate part of my coaching and my approach to facilitation and healing work. This is largely because one aim of men’s work is to help men express and present as fully and authentically as possible. So, one of the best ways for me to lead with integrity is to do it by expressing myself authentically and that is the expression of a queer person.

Masculine/Feminine polarity is an often discussed topic in men’s work that can provide a helpful framework to understand and navigate relationships. It is typically discussed from a cis-gendered, heteronormative perspective. This topic and understanding are powerful tools that have helped me immensely and can be beneficial to most. And, I believe the queer experience has areas of nuance that beg for exploration – that is my goal.

It is my mission to deepen my understanding of my own queer community and to offer this work in a manner that accepts and respects the unique perspective of all of our queer brothers. I believe that through this work other queer men can find the support and healing needed so that they too can pour their much needed medicine for this world.

What motivates you?

The most exhilarating moments of my life have been when I have been able to do something that I love with all my heart and have that action add value to the world. I have had that experience as an acupuncturist working with patients, as a yoga teacher working with students, as a facilitator working with groups, as a fitness coach working with participants, and as a coach working with clients. The knowledge that my offering served another is the greatest feeling I have known.

Those moments have been numerous enough in my life to consider myself extremely fortunate and rare enough to create a driven hunger to continue my pursuit. Every spiritual practice, workshop, class, or book I read is done with the intention of creating a deeper, fuller, more empathic approach to my work so others might benefit in whichever way they need.

What do you think about the connection between men’s work and your other efforts – acupuncture, yoga, personal training, and group fitness?

All of these things are intimately connected because each is aiming at wholeness from its own point of view. Each of these systems looks at a person as a whole, complete being that will learn, expand, and heal as a whole rather than a collection of parts. The physical body demonstrates clearly how interconnected we are and can be used to help us change our health and our lives.

When a man comes to men’s work looking to live more fully and love more boldly, they come with whichever frameworks they currently know and use. Therefore, the more frameworks I know, the greater likelihood that I can create common understandings and vocabulary that can serve this person I finding that which they seek.

Personally, I have brought all of my previous knowledge to my men’s work because it is adjunctive and it is the authentic evolution of my particular medicine. Applying the practices and techniques that have healed me is the truest form of service I can imagine. From this I hope to lead and guide from honestly earned, personal experience and attract the clients that can benefit most from that particular style.

How has your background in dance informed your men’s work?

Dance was my first teacher, my first guru outside of my parents, and my first experience of true purpose. It created a drive and passion that taught me quickly the meaning of discipline and sacrifice. It was like a turbulent lover with high highs and low lows which taught me how to practice steadiness and equanimity. And, it made crystal clear to every cell in my body that there is more to this human experience than flesh and bone, we are energetic, spiritual beings capable of dynamic connection.

Additionally, dance gave me a master class in embodying both the masculine and the feminine and the ability to vacillate between them with ease. This skill is immensely valuable in men’s work because much of the work is aimed at undoing the suppression and hesitance for men to connect to and express their own feminine. As a man with enormous practice, I believe I can guide others towards their own experience.

How did yoga come into your life?

I started practicing yoga asana (the physical postures) while I was dancing professionally as a way of staying strong and limber. I remember describing the feeling I had after a practice as feeling like I was a jungle cat because I felt strong, long, poised, and focused. That feeling, along with how well it complimented my dancing, was enough to keep me coming back to class and to deepen my practice.

During these classes the teachers would discuss topics related to the yogic philosophy and they resonated. Ideas like oneness, interconnectedness, non-harming, truthfulness, compassion, and empathy all felt good. The discovery that there exists a practice that emphasized unity over division and that welcomed me as a valued member allowed me to feel like I had found a home.

How did acupuncture come into your life?

I first tried acupuncture while I was working on Broadway. I had booked a national television commercial campaign, a highly sought after job that pays well, and I had a shoulder injury that was potentially going to disqualify me. On the recommendation of a friend, I went to an acupuncturist and the results were nothing short of miraculous. In one treatment I went from not being able to lift my arm to shoulder height to lifting it along side of my ear. I allowed me to do the job.

From that moment on I knew that acupuncture was going to be a part of my self care regimen. I started seeing my acupuncturist weekly to keep me moving well and performing at a high level.

I sustained an injury during a show while lifting a dancer over head that required me to have a shoulder surgery. My physical therapists worked closely with my acupuncturist to speed my recovery and ease my pain and it did exactly that. I was convinced from personal experience of the power and impact this medicine could have.

As I looked at my career transition I knew I wanted to help people, use what I had learned in my dance career, and take my love of the body into my next step. Acupuncture was the obvious answer. I found the mixture of physical and subtle body anatomy highly congruent with that of yoga. I was deepening my understanding of the highly interconnected nature of the human body and the universe in which it exists.

I have since spent years treating all manner of patients. I have seen people reduce their pain, increase their sleep, and manage stress with little to no side effects. The best part is that it acknowledges the innate wisdom of the body and aims mainly at bringing a person back to balance, a state from which they are most able to heal themselves.