It could be both. Before I get into the similarities and the differences between periods of depression and spiritual awakening, I want to remind you how serious periods of immense pain can be. Whether you are a practitioner who is supporting clients who may be experiencing depression/having an awakening or if this is something you are experiencing yourself, please know when to seek additional support. It’s always wise to determine who your personal and professional supports will be before you...

It's time to expand our concept of holding space to deeply consider not just our client or loved one's unique relationship with emotional pain and their nervous system capacity for it, but also our own. People are complex and individual and this includes how we experience suffering, our feelings about emotional pain, how our nervous system responds to it and what we do to regulate if we become dysregulated. How we hold space for others can cause harm to ourselves or to the other person if we...

Whether we are doing yoga, receiving reflexology or Reiki, it is normal for emotions to arise. A huge part of our role as doulas is also emotional support. Energy from past experiences can be stored in the body, sometimes for years. Whether it is grief, anger, sadness, despair, fear, shame, resentment or any other emotion, it can come to the surface during a session or clients may book their session because of traumas or pain that they are processing. Knowing how to hold space for our clients...