Our Practitioners
Zach Sobel, LMT, CPT, E-RYT 500
Zach Sobel is a licensed massage therapist, certified personal trainer, and 500+ hour registered yoga teacher whose work bridges strength, nervous system healing, and embodied awareness. His path into the healing arts began after ACL surgery in 2015, when yoga became both rehabilitation and revelation — teaching him firsthand how intelligent movement and breath can rebuild a body from the inside out.
With over a decade of experience in movement practices including power vinyasa, restorative yoga, weight training, martial arts, and mobility work, Zach blends structural knowledge with somatic sensitivity. His sessions integrate therapeutic massage, corrective exercise principles, breathwork, and nervous system regulation to support recovery, resilience, and long-term strength.
After transitioning from an 8-year career in corporate leadership and sales, Zach committed fully to hands-on healing and holistic performance. His approach is grounded yet intuitive — equally comfortable working with athletes, desk-bound professionals, creatives, and those navigating stress, injury, or burnout.
At Lucent Healing, Zach offers deeply personalized sessions designed to restore mobility, regulate the nervous system, and reconnect clients to their bodies with intelligence and care.
Outside the treatment room, you’ll find him lifting weights, training Jiu Jitsu, riding his scooter through Brooklyn, or immersed in live music — always exploring the intersection of strength, rhythm, and recovery.
Kat Harrop, LMT
Kat has been a Licensed Massage Therapist since 2017, graduating from the Ithaca Finger Lakes School of Massage. Her work is rooted in compassion and a deep awareness of the emotional body, thoughtfully bringing these elements into each session. She approaches massage as both a therapeutic and intuitive practice, supporting clients in reconnecting with balance and inner ease.
A lifelong student of the healing arts, Kat has expanded her holistic foundation through the study of Reiki, Craniosacral Biodynamics, and Meridian Yoga. She brings a trauma-sensitive, communicative presence to her work, prioritizing safety and trust while holding sacred space for deep emotional unwinding and activation of the parasympathetic nervous system.
An artist and musician at heart, Kat draws ongoing inspiration from the natural energies of the Finger Lakes, where she grew up. Her connection to nature continues to inform her grounded, attuned approach to healing.
Jordan Springer
Jordan Springer is a dedicated massage therapist who believes that healing begins with feeling safe, supported, and truly heard. He creates a calm, welcoming environment where every client feels respected and cared for, taking the time to listen and tailor each session to their individual needs and goals. Through thoughtful, therapeutic techniques, Jordan helps relieve tension, improve mobility, and promote deep relaxation, leaving clients feeling more balanced, restored, and connected to their bodies.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, Jordan began his journey into massage therapy during the pandemic, inspired by a desire to help others feel their best. After completing his education, he has continued to build a practice centered on compassion, presence, and personalized care.
Outside the treatment room, Jordan enjoys cooking, baking, staying active in the gym, and connecting with people. Known for his warm, approachable personality, he strives to make every client feel comfortable, cared for, and just a little brighter than when they arrived.
Glo Liu
Glo is a Thai bodywork practitioner and yoga teacher who has always been drawn to movement, whether through yoga, rollerblading, or dancing to live music. She is deeply inspired by the sense of flow, presence, and expression that movement can bring.
When she first experienced Thai bodywork, something lit up. It felt like a dance between practitioner and client, while also offering a profound opportunity to give, support, and facilitate healing. The experience resonated deeply with her own healing journey and soon became a calling.
Glo went on to pursue extensive training in Thai bodywork and other floor-based modalities, earning certifications from renowned practitioners including Sarah Seely of Thai Brooklyn and teachers at the Sunshine School in Chiang Mai, Thailand. She has also received specialized training in Wùo Taï, a branch of osteopathy developed by Roland Combes that uses fluid, wave-like spirals to help release tension held in the fascia and body.
At the heart of Glo’s practice is deep listening. She creates a nurturing space where clients feel truly supported, held, and free to reconnect with their bodies through compassionate, intuitive touch.
Gerson Alcantara, LAc, MSOM, DACM
Gerson is a New York State-licensed acupuncturist and certified herbalist who earned his degrees from the New York College of Health Professions and Pacific College of Health and Science. His passion for holistic healing began in childhood after his grandmother used natural medicine to help manage his asthma, inspiring a lifelong appreciation for the body’s innate ability to heal.
After discovering acupuncture through his visits to New York City’s Chinatown and studying its close connection to Chinese martial arts, Gerson felt called to pursue a career in traditional East Asian medicine. He has trained in Japanese, Korean, and Chinese acupuncture styles and has spent years caring for patients at Bellevue Hospital, rehabilitation clinics throughout Brooklyn and Queens, and in private practice, helping people from all walks of life find relief and restore balance.
In addition to acupuncture, Gerson offers herbal medicine, cupping, gua sha, moxibustion, Tui Na massage, facial rejuvenation acupuncture, and auricular therapy. He is also trained in Qi Gong, Tai Chi, and Wu Shu, bringing a well-rounded, time-honored approach to healing that supports both physical and emotional well-being. A lifelong New Yorker, Gerson enjoys reading, traveling, bicycling, exploring local music venues, and spending time with family and friends.
Heather Darling-Cortes, LAc, DiplAc
Heather is a licensed acupuncturist in New York and Vermont and an NCCAOM Diplomate of Acupuncture. She provides compassionate, individualized care for patients seeking relief from a wide range of concerns, including stress, chronic pain, fertility challenges, Bell’s palsy, TMJ dysfunction, arthritis, depression, and paresthesia.
She has advanced training in facial acupuncture, blending the principles of traditional East Asian medicine with modern aesthetic techniques to promote natural rejuvenation while supporting overall health and well-being.
Heather’s holistic approach is further enriched by her background as a 500-hour Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT-500) with a specialization in Yin Yoga, as well as a 200-hour Qi Gong instructor. These practices deepen her understanding of the connection between movement, breath, energy, and the body’s innate capacity to heal.
Before becoming an acupuncturist, Heather spent 30 years as a Biology teacher with the New York City Department of Education. Her lifelong passion for science, combined with a deep appreciation for traditional Chinese medicine, allows her to thoughtfully integrate evidence-informed care with time-honored healing practices, supporting each patient on their path toward greater balance and vitality.
Felipa Sajulga
Felipa brings a warm, heart-centered presence to her work, empowering her clients to release limiting patterns, reconnect with their inner truth, and step into their highest potential. Her approach goes beyond healing alone. It is about awakening the confidence, clarity, and self-love that already exist within each person. Through her sessions, she encourages clients to trust their own inner wisdom and cultivate a deeper sense of personal empowerment.
A certified Reiki Master who completed a 200-hour training program, Felipa integrates Reiki with chakra balancing, sound healing, mindfulness practices, intuitive guidance, and her own energy healing modalities to create deeply personalized sessions. Her work supports clients in gently releasing emotional burdens, restoring energetic balance, and reconnecting with their authentic essence. An important element of her practice also includes helping clients re-pattern thought patterns toward more supportive, empowering ways of relating to themselves and their lives.
Through both individual healing sessions and mentorship, Felipa supports clients as they deepen their healing journey, integrate new perspectives, and continue evolving beyond the session space. Her approach blends compassion with grounded guidance, creating a nurturing environment where meaningful transformation can unfold. Felipa’s work is not simply about relaxation. It is about helping clients step fully into their personal power and live with greater alignment.
Victoria Deterding
Victoria began her Reiki journey while teaching abroad in France, and has been hooked ever since! She later completed a 200-hour Reiki Master training with Jean Bromage of Reiki Essence Healing and has been practicing as a Reiki Master for over a decade.
In addition to Reiki, Victoria has trained in mindfulness and mediumship, and brings a naturally intuitive, lifelong connection to the spiritual realm into her work. Her approach blends the energetic with the practical, supporting clients in cultivating balance, clarity, and a deeper sense of self-empowerment.
Deeply curious and ever-evolving, Victoria is passionate about exploring consciousness, spirituality, and personal growth. She holds a special love for Francophone cultures and cuisine, and finds joy in yoga, the creative writing process, and meaningful conversations around literature, cinema, and global perspectives.
Victoria believes in living a soul-filled life and is committed to helping others on their paths to wholeness and alignment.
Steph Thompson
Steph Thompson is a certified Mindfulness Trainer and graduate of the Open Center’s Integrative Sound & Music Institute Certificate Program. A lifelong advocate for the transformative power of the arts, she previously founded the arts education nonprofit InspireCorps, where she discovered how percussion could foster connection, cooperation, and a sense of shared harmony. Inspired by these experiences, she began facilitating Get in Tune healing drum circles in 2017 for school children and adults living in temporary housing, creating supportive spaces for expression, resilience, and community.
In 2022, Steph founded Sacred Bloom, a sound healing practice centered on what she calls “healing harmonies for the soul.” Using a thoughtfully curated blend of singing bowls, bells, ritual drums, shakers, chimes, flute, and vocals, she creates immersive sound journeys that invite deep relaxation, support nervous system restoration, and encourage clients to listen more closely to the wisdom of their minds and bodies.
Steph has facilitated sound baths for individuals, wellness communities, and corporate clients including Polaroid, Hinge, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Emirates Airlines. Her work has been featured throughout New York City and Upstate New York in yoga studios, retreat centers, senior centers, and private settings, where she offers restorative experiences that nurture presence, reflection, and inner well-being.
Lucy Bermudez
Lucy Bermudez is a certified peer specialist in training who brings a compassionate, creative, and heart-centered approach to supporting others through her own lived experience with mental health recovery. Her path into the healing arts began with her first experience in art therapy, where she discovered creativity as a safe and nurturing space to gently release stored tension and reconnect with the present moment.
Through her own mental health recovery journey, Lucy came to understand art as a powerful tool for grounding, self-expression, and emotional integration. She now curates painting picnics in local parks and intimate sip-and-paint gatherings, creating inclusive spaces where participants are invited to slow down, soften, and be fully themselves.
Lucy finds deep fulfillment in witnessing others enter their creative flow, honoring each person’s unique expression while fostering connection, safety, and gentle healing through art.
Joanna DeGroot Nichols, Founder
Joanna’s path blends together a unique blend of psychology, music, graphic design, marketing, technology, and the healing arts. Guided by a lifelong fascination with how frequency, energy, and the mind shape our well-being, she followed her calling into holistic practice, becoming a certified sound healer, Reiki practitioner, and hypnotherapist certified by Paul McKenna.
Over the years, she witnessed the growing toll of burnout and chronic stress, both in her own life and in the lives of those around her, which ignited a deep desire to create a space where people could truly rest and realign. In 2025, she brought that vision to life with the founding of Lucent Healing, a sanctuary designed to help individuals slow down, reconnect with themselves, and feel fully supported on their wellness journeys. Joanna continues to expand her expertise, focusing on the transformative power of frequency and intention to foster profound restoration and inner balance.
