Alyssa Cohen, Healer

Be realistic about your own capacity to give. Generosity is a wonderful trait. Giving does genuinely feed the giver and the receiver up until a point. That’s the caveat that I’d like to bring to light. It seems that our values about what we want to give aren’t always aligned with our true capacity. If you give ten units of energy, be it in gifts or community service, and you only have five units within you to give, how do you cover the five-unit deficit? Some people would arg...ue that by giving to people who are needy, energy flows back to the giver. I agree with hesitation and that’s where we get into the fine print. We can ride the wave of goodness that comes from service and gratitude to extend our capacity. If we give beyond our extended capacity, we get taxed. Our nervous system and adrenal system get burdened and our health can suffer. The degree of health impact depends on the vitality of the giver. A healthy person in his/her twenties can give quite a lot beyond his/her evident capacity and likely bounce back without too much issue. If you are already dealing with any type of long-term health challenge (my list is broad in this department, e.g., depression, anxiety, digestive issues, migraines, skin conditions, musculoskeletal issues, allergies), then think twice about overextending yourself. There’s a great gift in honesty. I really want to be with you. I’d love to be able to help you make that dinner and the reality is that I’m so exhausted I have to rest". When we show up in our truth, it invites others to do the same. There is definitely a way to connect, to be generous and to respect the limits of our body-mind. Happy holidays. #slowdown #unplug #worklifebalance #boundaries #selfcare #selfrespect #embodiedliving #embodiedhealing #personaldevelopment #healingjourney #healyourself #mindbodyspirit #mindsetmatters #mindfulnesspractice #mindfulness #gowithin #trainyourbrain #spiritualawakening #innerwork #innerhealing #innerchild #innerchildhealing #innerchildwork #traumahealing #emotionalwellness

The holiday season is all about giving but do you ever stop to consider your true capacity before choosing how much to give? The theory goes that giving helps the giver and the receiver. The more we give, the more the flow comes back around to us. In some cases, that’s true. It can be genuinely nourishing to give to the less privileged. Being of service is good for us and for the people we are serving. However, I see a rather significant caveat. It doesn’t serve us to give fr...om an empty cup. If we are giving beyond our capacity, either financially or emotionally, it will deplete us rather than fill us. At this time of year, there are so many additional social and financial demands many of which cause extreme stress. It doesn’t seem socially acceptable to decline based on our true capacity. Instead, everyone is expected to stretch him/herself, often to a breaking point. Then we are left to clean up the mess that was created in the name of generosity and celebration. So I ask you to take an honest look at what you have to give. How much can you connect and stay balanced within yourself? How much can you give without causing yourself undue financial stress? Create the boundaries that serve you. Some people in your life will react unfavourably. Honest self-care is sadly still outside the mainstream social paradigm. Be brave. Affirm that you really want to give and connect. Any choice to do otherwise is not personal to anyone else. Tell people you are learning to respect your own limits. Anyone who takes that personally has some growth of his/her own to do. And most of all enjoy the connecting and giving that’s right for you. #slowdown #unplug #worklifebalance #boundaries #selfcare #selfrespect #embodiedliving #embodiedhealing #personaldevelopment #healingjourney #healyourself #mindbodyspirit #mindsetmatters #mindfulnesspractice #mindfulness #gowithin #trainyourbrain #spiritualawakening #innerwork #innerhealing #innerchild #innerchildhealing #innerchildwork #traumahealing #emotionalwellness

I’d like to draw a distinction between meditating and inner listening. Most meditation practises aim to still the mind. There are countless techniques to help bring us into presence with our breath and with our true inner nature. Once we have been meditating regularly and know how to move into a stiller place, we can explore inner listening. As I conceive of it, inner listening is an inquiry into our lives through the body. Start by paying attention to any tension or persiste...nt body aches in your body. Make time to sense what those pains have to say. Is there anything in your life that is out of balance that may be affecting that aching part? Does that part need anything to heal that you aren’t giving it? In addition to listening to specific body-talk, it’s useful to tune in about more general life questions. We can analyze life choices in endless loops and still not be sure what we should do. Instead, get still and feel what direction is best. We all have an inner voice that can guide us if we practice getting still and listening to it. The more we make time to still the mind and then listen within, the more we come in contact with ourselves. I see ‘falling out of contact with self’ as a significant contributing factor to many chronic diseases. When we are listening and feeling into ourselves we are more likely to make decisions that support our well-being. When we believe that we don’t have time, effectively we are choosing to be somewhat disconnected. We can’t disconnect from our bodies and our inner world and then be surprised and complain when we don’t feel well and our lives don’t flourish. Make time for you. It’s excellent medicine. #healingjourney #healyourself #mindbodyspirit #mindsetmatters #mindfulnesspractice #mindfulness #gowithin #trainyourbrain #spiritualawakening #innerwork #innerhealing #innerchild #innerchildhealing #innerchildwork #traumahealing #emotionalwellness #breastcancersurvivor #chronicillnesswarrior #chronicpainwarrior #chronicallyill #anxietywarrior #anxietysupport #illness #painmanagment #itsokaynottobeokay #invisibledisease #chronicillnessawareness #alyssacohenhealer #presenceheals

The idea of transformation can be so intimidating because we don't know where it will take us. Finding a new way of being, challenging the status quo, being willing to look within at things that may have never been questioned can be so scary. Transformation asks us to surrender into a greater presence, and that feels so unknown. So how can we engage in this process and feel safe? What is the guiding principle that holds us along the way? Some people visualize a thread. It's t...he thread that will take you through the corridors of the dark passages when you don't yet see the light. That thread is fed by your inner wisdom, by your intuition. Sometimes you can feel it in your guts, in your solar plexus. Who am I? Is this true? When we make time to really be still and listen to that voice, we can connect with a very rich source of wisdom that will guide us to the next step. If you can begin to trust that the next step will always be shown, then it doesn't matter if you can't see the final destination, you can see that you're guided at every step of the way and that invites more surrender. The more you surrender, the more you're living from your heart and less from your head. How do these ideas feel to you? What stands in your way from trusting yourself to enter the unknown of your healing process? What kind of support do you need to allow more surrender? I know it’s not easy to do! Let’s talk about it. #healingjourney #healyourself #mindbodyspirit #mindsetmatters #mindfulnesspractice #mindfulness #gowithin #trainyourbrain #spiritualawakening #innerwork #innerhealing #innerchild #innerchildhealing #innerchildwork #traumahealing #emotionalwellness #breastcancersurvivor #chronicillnesswarrior #chronicpainwarrior #chronicallyill #anxietywarrior #anxietysupport #illness #painmanagment #itsokaynottobeokay #invisibledisease #chronicillnessawareness #alyssacohenhealer #presenceheals

The power of somatic or body-based practices, like meditation and inner listening, is that they transfer knowledge from your mind into real experiences in your body. You may know that the mind and body are connected but applying that knowledge in the specific circumstance when you need it is often easier said than done. People spend a lot of time thinking about what's going on and analyzing their situations instead of dropping into the body and sensing what is really happen...ing underneath. There could be circumstances that are external but affecting your life or symptoms that are present in your body that you are dealing with. So much of my work is focused on teaching people how to make the shift from thinking to sensing, because it’s that shift that empowers us to heal in all kinds of ways. When we live from the heart, and when the intellect is in service of the heart rather than driving the show, life moves much smoother. Imagine that your brain and its thinking capacity is a tool you can employ when you're fully oriented towards living in your heart. When you can sense what's needed, you can gather knowledge from your mind and then feel what is best for you to do. In every circumstance, the body knows what is going to serve you and what may constrict or hurt you. The question becomes: How well do you know how to trust what's happening in your body? How well do you listen? See more

Cheryl has been seeking freedom from early childhood trauma her whole life. She's been in therapy for 50 years, including primal therapy, psychoanalysis, and gestalt therapy, yet she still felt stuck. She was looking outside herself for relief, trying to save people, and trying to do everything to avoid the pain that was inside her. Her life has been chaotic - three marriages and 19 moves - all hoping the next place or situation would be easier. LTI enabled Cherly to come in ...contact with herself (through her healthy adult self) and learn that she’s the only one who can take care of herself in the way she wasn’t taken care of as a child. Her whole orientation towards caring for herself has changed and she is no longer afraid. She has found compassion for herself and has rested deeply within, in a way that she’s been trying to do her whole life, but couldn't quite access. As she heals herself, she is releasing the need to help everyone around her and is able to trust that they can help themselves when they’re ready.

A lot of what I write about embodied healing may be overwhelming if you are struggling to manage daily life. Just the thought of ‘uncovering the inner matrix that your dis-ease is resting on’ might dissuade you from starting. So, let’s break it down to some simple things that are well within your reach. Choose one commitment to your self-care that you can put into place for the next 21 days. Small steps can be powerful. 1.Give yourself a healthy bedtime and commit to unwindin...g and then going to sleep at that time every night. 2.Make one fresh meal a day with wholesome ingredients and enough leftovers for tomorrow. 3.Question your thoughts and emotions. When you feel any negative emotion or thought, stop and consider that you may be reacting in a habitual way, the only way your body-mind knows. 4.Take a 15-minute power rest in the afternoon or after you get home from work. Lie on your back, put pillows under your knees, cover your eyes, and give yourself time for a deep rest, ideally not a sleep. 5.Meditate for 5-7 minutes before bed or when you wake up. Use a guided meditation or simply breathe, relax, and give yourself those minutes to be present. 6. Do something creative every day, even if it’s only for 10-15 minutes. Journal, draw, paint, play music, whatever moves you. Many people have asked me how these things will make a difference. People want big solutions to their problems. None of these commitments are big solutions but each of them contributes to balancing your body/mind. A vast degree of illness is caused by stress overload to the point that the body-mind breaks down. There are many ways of repairing an overloaded system. One essential way is learning to care for ourselves and nurture ourselves back to wholeness. Here is my best resource Meditation for Grounding and Acceptance: https://www.alyssacohen.ca/meditation-sign-up What will you choose from this list? How do you plan on committing to your self-care? #healingjourney #healyourself #mindbodyspirit #mindsetmatters #mindfulnesspractice #mindfulness #gowtihin #trainyourbrain #spiritualawakening #innerwork #innerhealing #innerchild #innerchildhealing #innerchildwork #traumahealing #emotionalwelness #breastcancersurvivor #chronicillnesswarrior #chronicpainwarrior #chronicallyill #anxietywarrior #anxietysupport #illness #painmanagment #itsokaynottobeokay #invisibledisease #chronicillnessawareness #alyssacohenhealer #presenceheals

People who suffer with pain or dis-ease often feel like their body or mind has betrayed them. "Nothing works, nothing helps, my body just won't stop hurting!" "It doesn't matter what I eat, everything upsets my stomach, I can't take it." "Why shouldn't I drink, I have a headache whether I do or I don't." When an imbalance persists for a long time, it accumulates many nuanced layers which are hard to unwind. For someone with chronic gut inflammation, cutting out gluten, dairy ...and sugar for a few weeks is likely not going to be enough to solve the whole problem. We’re complex beings and we need to care for ourselves on a physical, emotional and spiritual level. Each need weaves into the next. It’s impossible to draw a line and say, This is a physical problem. There’s no line in our body that separates mind from body. Every thought and feeling affects a physical weakness. Every physical pain can affect our emotions and our thoughts. Even if you can’t yet see how to navigate out of your current maze of dis-ease, please trust that your body is doing the best it can given the past and current load it is carrying. When the right treatments are mixed with self-compassion, presence and faith in your wholeness, a path of healing will emerge. Learn a somatic approach to access profound healing and emotional freedom : https://event.webinarjam.com/register/4/pll1xa3

Many people seek complementary health professionals because they want a more natural, less toxic alternative to pharmaceuticals. But, wanting a more natural option doesn’t necessarily equate with being interested or willing to face what’s actually causing the symptoms. Every holistic practitioner advertises ‘treating the root cause of disease’ but what does that mean? The answer depends on the training and personal bias of the practitioner. To some NDs, every disease relates ...to gut health and needs to be treated using supplements and elimination diets. Others focus on detoxing heavy metals, toxins, and environmental pollutants. TCM practitioners focus on areas that are too damp or too hot and stimulate better balance. Each approach has its merits. My focus is on helping people see how their suppressed emotional material inhibits healing and perpetuates dis-ease. I believe that our way of being, in our inner world and close relationships, has a huge bearing on our health. I see our inner work as the process of coming into contact with the pain we’re holding, through the body. We all have layers of unconscious holding in our bodies. When we expand our awareness and learn to meet our pain and dis-ease with presence, we can unravel the adaptations that are contributing to our symptoms. Healing is a multifaceted process. See your body-worker, take your probiotics, get your blood tests and the medical care your need - AND - make time to learn to be PRESENT. You may be amazed by what you uncover. Drop a if you agree! Let me know your thoughts, I would love to get to know you through the comments below. #healingjourney #healyourself #mindbodyspirit #mindsetmatters #mindfulnesspractice #mindfulness #gowtihin #trainyourbrain #spiritualawakening #innerwork #innerhealing #innerchild #innerchildhealing #innerchildwork #traumahealing #emotionalwelness #breastcancersurvivor #chronicillnesswarrior #chronicpainwarrior #chronicallyill #anxietywarrior #anxietysupport #illness #painmanagment #itsokaynottobeokay #invisibledisease #chronicillnessawareness #alyssacohenhealer #presenceheals