About Us

Heart Tree is a base for thriving people. We envision people making a habit of feeling good. To that end we offer a variety of activities to support that vision to become a reality.

I’m Theresa Fluty. My partner, Brian Ford, and I own and operate Heart Tree Studios. I first saw Aikido when I was 29 years old. Although I didn’t realize it, in that moment I had just experienced my life’s calling. After seeing an Aikido demonstration I joined the next beginning class and from there I kept going. I moved through student training and completed a teacher apprenticeship program with John Smartt, founder of New School Aikido in Stockton, CA. I then spent the next fifteen years as co-leader of Aikido Center in Sacramento, CA. Through it all Aikido sang to my heart, taught my mind and focused my purpose.  Heart Tree is my evolution of Aikido.

Brian is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and the creator of Auto Process Therapy. Brian has been a student of Buddhism, Aikido, yoga, and comparative religions for over two decades. He works with children and families in a variety of clinical settings and is trained in the Triple P (Positive Parenting Program) approach to childrearing.   He has a background in substance abuse counseling and he leads APT groups with Native American men in a recovery setting in Manteca, CA.   His psychotherapy book, Auto Process Therapy: A Therapeutic Application of Buddhist Psychology is currently in development.