Heartful Conversations Coeur²

11/08/2024

Don't let the Winter Blues keep you from enjoying your life six months of the year 💙
Learn how to lean into this season with an open heart and ready to listen to your body, mind and spirit.

I am grateful for the opportunity of offering insight and guidance to the community on November 26th!

RSVP at the gym at your next training sesh.

See you there ⛄⛷️❄️

10/10/2024

World Mental Health Day.
Mental Health services are expensive to access or have a really long wait list.
So here is a little tool that I encourage you to make for yourself for your HARD days ❤️‍🩹

Of course, if you're in a crisis, please reach out to a crisis line (9-8-8 in Canada) or your emergency department. (911)

Stay safe xo

#613

09/30/2024

Indigenous Ways of Knowing in Healing.
Indigenous Ways of Knowing in Relations
Indigenous Ways of Knowing in care for Our Mother
Indigenous Ways of Knowing in care for Our Children
Indigenous Ways of Knowing in care for each other
Indigenous Ways of Knowing

It was savagely taken away.
It was said to be illegal
Rip out clothes
Cut the hair
Physical violence to erase language
Sexual violence to shame, belittle and erase
Emotional, psychological violence to kill the Indian

September comes and parents cry
September comes and children die
September comes

Intergenerational trauma is lived every single moment of everyday.
Choose kindness
Choose to acknowledge
Choose truth over comfort and privilege
Choose to advocate and create change
This World needs you.

Indigenous Peoples are still here 🧡
Indigenous cultures are still here 🧡
Indigenous languages are still here 🧡
Indigenous communities are still here 🧡
Indigenous Ways of Knowing are still here 🧡

09/12/2024

08/29/2024

Today my daughter is starting kindergarten. She is so excited, full of joy, and ready to meet her new friends 🌻I know she will shine bright ✨

I, on the other hand, am really in my feelings and my body. I am delighted for her and terrified at the same time. Elementary school was not a safe space for me growing up. I experienced discrimination, abuse and neglect from teachers. It left scars that are still healing today. I've spent the most part of my career working in the school system that left me broken as a child because I believe in change.

I believe people and systems can evolve, learn from mistakes and become better. I've witnessed it become better. I've witnessed care, kindness, openness and love from teachers and principals that truly helped me heal my inner child while accompanying children and teenagers navigate their own pain in that same system. I admire teachers and principals because their work is absolutely necessary and HARD.

As you can see, multiple truths can exist. 🙏 I allow all of these truths living inside me to exist, inform me but not control me. That is why I say, I am in my feelings and my body. The body keeps the score, truly.

I have faith that my daughter will experience joy, friendship, growth and success in school. She is a bright star with such kindness in her heart. 🥺 Every day, she teaches me to be patient, understanding, kind and brave.

I will accompany her at school this morning with nothing but love and excitement for her....and maybe tears 😭 who am I kidding?

Love 💕

07/25/2024

It's a rainy day here and my mind goes to thinking about how isolating, confusing and heartbreaking it can feel to be mistreated in relationships that are supposed to feel safe.

Sibling violence is never ok in any way, shape or form. If you're a parent, please look out for it. It's brutal to acknowledge and sometimes we want to turn a blind eye to it because it feels easier. Don't. Your children's safety is your responsibility. Within your home as well.

If you're someone recovering from sibling abuse, I'm here. Reach out. Don't stay alone with this. ❤️‍🩹

05/22/2024

This has been a learning process for me. I struggled with self-compassion for a very long time. Especially compassion and kindness towards my body. I often felt like my body failed me in various situations. So I would be very harsh towards it. That led to physical pain as I would push myself to do more and more all the time. Exercising too much, working multiple jobs, not sleeping well, constantly critisizing what I ate, etc.

A crash was incoming. Obviously. Our bodies are very good at telling us when they've had ENOUGH.

My relationship with my body changed when I changed my relationship with myself. With my mind. With my heart. With my Spirit.

Once I started going within to heal the atrocities my body, mind and spirit has gone through. When I chose that I deserved to heal. It's a work in progress. Healing is a conscious choice. Every day.

Recently, my body has been telling me to SLOW DOWN. So I'm refocusing my attention to a mindful morning routine, food that makes me feel happy and strong, increased water intake and breath work throughout my day.

Has your relationship with yourself changed over the years? How do you show up for yourself? Let's help each other out in the comments 🩷

#613

05/17/2024

I never thought about the process that goes into creating a logo and brand before it was time to do it for myself. Never thought about the very detailed process that goes into it. Woah! My creative brain was so excited! Never imagined I would have so many opinions 😂

made this creative process effortless, thoughtful and caring. She asked me questions that I honestly did not understand why the answers mattered and then she DELIVERED! It's like she was literally in my mind, body and spirit and just new how to visually represent everything I embody in my personal life and my work in holistic mental health.

Ana, it was an honor to work with you. Thank you for your immense talent, dedication and passion. 💐

Question for you friends: what do you see/feel when you look at Heartful Conversations Coeur² logo?

Happy long weekend ✌️

#613

05/05/2024

The end of an era 🥲

This little centretown office was our first home. This space has witnessed joy, sadness, anger, frustration, grief, pain, heartful conversations, change, growth, clarity, boundary setting, trauma integration, emotional regulation, behavior change, love, care, safety and abundance of laughter.

As I was finishing up my last session with a beautiful human, we stopped at the door, shed a tear together and acknowledged everything this place gave us.

I have the immense privilege of holding space for incredible humans. I never take that for granted. So to the people I walk with, thank you 🫶 I am grateful for you.

A new space awaits at .mh.collective Inquire for more info if you feel called to do so 🖤

03/19/2024

World Social Work Day 💜

World Social Work Day's theme is ‘Buen Vivir: Shared Future for Transformative Change’, which emphasizes the need for social workers to adopt innovative, community-led approaches that are grounded in Indigenous wisdom and harmonious coexistence with nature. 

Today, on let's recognize the power of Indigenous wisdom and the critical need for practices to be rooted in that wisdom.

An outstanding resource to decolonize your mind and social work practice is the book Decolonizing Therapy by Dr. Jennifer Mullen. Dr. Mullen's book will definitely challenge your way of doing social work and therapy. As she best says: "The personal is political, the political is personal." Access to healthcare is political and that highly incorporates access to mental health. 

Wellness needs to be rooted in community. Indigenous Peoples have been saying and proving this since times immemorial. 

Like this tiny and fragile hand, treat every person you encounter in your practice with gentleness, kindness, respect and honor as they deserve nothing less yet even more. 🫶

Let's take care of each other ✨