A healing haven

07/08/2025

Meet my new office mate. This happy little Cheshire Cat will be hanging out with me at A healing haven from now on.

His mission is to bring a dash of unexpected delight to the office. His arms, legs and tail all move.

I have been adding fidgets and little sensory experiences to the office to bring some added comfort to my neurotypical clients.

This little guy also offers somatic experiencing and trauma clients something to react to. I imagine that some will love to see him, while others might find him a little unnerving. Either way, he is something in my space that they can interact with other than me that they can control and play with as part of their healing process.

If you see him there feel free to pick him up and move him around in the studio. He can be an encouraging smile or you can turn him away from you if you want. He can sit and stand.

Stay tuned for other friends in the space. I am hoping to get a weighted huggable Cheshire friend for those that need a little extra grounding and want something other than my rocks to hold.

05/17/2025

I’m participating in Art-A-Whirl in NE Minneapolis this weekend.

I am offering chair massage and selling my herbal first aid salves. I made a fresh batch of burn salve in anticipation of this summer’s sun burns. It works great! Takes the pain away, heals the burn and isn’t sticky like aloe.

Come on over for a visit if you’re in the area. I’m located at 1119 5th St. NE.

Cheers!

Joy

05/01/2025

Happy Spring!

Have you started your spring gardening project? Are you taking advantage of the warmer weather to get out on your bike or start running again? Did you do your yearly spring cleaning?

With spring comes more activity and an increase in tired, sore muscles. To aid you in your self-care endeavors, I am offering

$ 10.00 off all 1-hour-long services for the month of May.

Office Hours have also been updated for the season, they are below.

Monday: 10:00 am - 3:00 pm and 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Tuesday: 10:00 am - 3:00 pm

Wednesday: 10:00 am - 3:00 pm and 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

Thursday: 10:00 am - 1:30 pm

Friday: 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

If you book your service online, just select pay at time of service. I will give you the discount when you come in.

Remember, you can buy as many of each 1-hour-long service as you want at the discounted price as long as you pay for them during May.

Also, keep in mind that the $10.00 off a 1-hour treatment is available all the time on most services if you do a monthly membership. Just check out my website for details and shoot me an email or text if you have any questions.

I look forward to seeing you soon!
Joy Goray

ahealinghaven.com

612-747-9794

05/01/2025

Being out in nature is one of the best things for our physical and mental health. I have been trying to get out in nature a few times a week. There are many great places in the Minneapolis area.

Today I went to Westwood Hills Nature Center in St. Louis Park. This place doesn’t allow dogs, however there were tons of different birds to see and hear and I got up close to a couple deer and turkey showing his feathers

01/15/2025

I'm taking a moment to appreciate Sheleana Aiyana's work. I found her book Becoming the One helpful, and I am currently taking her online course, Freedom From Relationship Anxiety.

If you're someone who struggles with anxiety, has an anxious or avoidant attachment style, or is in a relationship with someone who has an anxious or avoidant attachment style I strongly recommend checking out her work.

Send a message to learn more

08/07/2024

I finally got around to sewing the second sock. It's about 1/2 inch shorter than the other one I made. This is what happens when you don’t make them at the same time or have them together. Now I am trying to decide if I fix it or if I leave it.

04/22/2024

Thought for today.

“Feelings aren't facts, opinions aren't either. They simply reflect how an individual sees a particular issue. I don't have to decide if another's angle of vision is right or wrong. I can just listen with detachment and accept the persons right to have an opinion”

- Hope for Today Al-Anon Family Groups

04/02/2024

Did you know A healing haven offers Somatic Experiencing?

Somatic Experiencing (SE) is defined by founder Peter Levine as “a body-focused therapy used for treating people suffering from PTSD that integrates body awareness into the psychotherapeutic process, taking a unique approach not used by other PTSD treatment methods. The focus of the therapy is on creating awareness of inner physical sensations, which are the carriers of traumatic memory.”

SE works by having an individual slowly and incrementally go back and forth between the physical sensations experienced in a traumatic memory, a positive memory, and the present. This gradual back and forth helps remind the nervous system of how to go from the fight/flight/freeze aspects of the sympathetic nervous system down to the rest, digest, and healing of the parasympathetic nervous system. This method is helpful for people who have been diagnosed with PTSD, CPTSD, General Anxiety Disorder, Depression and Dissociation.

This process is a patient approach, which allows clients to gradually retrain their nervous systems so that they can live the kind of life they want to live. It can be done in person or online over a video call.

03/16/2024

Adventures in traveling…

The trip so far has been a comedy of errors.

The train broke on the way to the airport and we had to switch.

The airplane had a generator break so we sat on the runway until it was okay to fly and then that took so long it to get approved that they had to refuel the plane.

Once I got on the ground the shuttle from the hotel 1 mile away took an hour to pick me up.

Once I got in the hotel the first room they gave me had water pouring from the ceiling into the bath tub. I am now in my new room. It has a squeak coming from somewhere that sounds like an old ceiling fan.

The seminar is going well. I am enjoying reconnecting with my Somatic Experiencing friends. I am working towards connecting with my fellow coaches to learn how they are marketing their practices.

I have been challenged to think about why I am doing graduate school for counseling instead of just focusing on growing my coaching practice. Especially since I already have a private practice. Those answers come down to being able to take insurance and feeling like I didn’t miss any of the fundamentals a masters in counseling would give me. There is also some gatekeeping that happens with what modalities I can learn without a license.

This is a good reminder though to make sure I am not loosing focus on the running a business part of my practice.

03/07/2024

So, over the last few weeks I have been preparing a new massage studio to for my second location for my business. These are the initial photos. This location has fewer stairs and much less outside noise.

A healing haven North will be open by appointment only from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Fridays.

1608 Lyn Park Ave N
Minneapolis Minnesota
55411

Book appointments at: ahealinghaven.net

11/14/2023

For about a month now I’ve been thinking about creating a self care planner.

I wear a lot of hats, massage therapist, herbalist, doula, trauma coach, mother, spouse, home owner, business owner, student, friend, family member….

I have a lot of to dos, goals, and dreams.

I need reminders for self care.

My planner needs to do a lot of heavy lifting. I’m thinking about developing a planner that ties together all the things I need to keep me on track as well as tying in all I have learned about health and wellness.

I’m in the research phase. Is this something you would like to see out there?

I’m curious if you have a planner you love? I also want to know what you find helpful in a planner, size, layout, what would you want to see in it?

I’m thinking paper to start. Then a digital version maybe.

Thoughts???

09/26/2023

Healthy Eating for Autumn

As the weather cools down I have noticed that folks, myself included, are starting to reach for higher calorie comfort foods. What we eat impacts not only our waste line but our mental health as well. To that end I thought it would be good for me, and maybe all of you to remember my healthy winter eating habits.

Let’s start with seed granola depicted below.

This is a very modular recipe, pretty much anything can be switched out, increased or decreased in quantity. So you can target it for the foods that you want to get more of in your diet.

Garam Masala Seed Granola
10-12 cups seeds and/or nuts (this time, I used 5c raw unsalted sunflower seeds, 3c raw unsalted pepitas, 3c shredded unsweetened coconut, and 1.5c chia seeds)
1/2 c honey
1/4 c cocoa powder
1/4 c sugar replacement (I used a Monksfruit/stevia mix)
1/4 c cinnamon, or to taste
3 T Penzey's Garam Masala (works best; other brands taste/smell different)
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt (if using any salted seeds, reduce to 1/2 tsp)

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix all dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Drizzle honey and vanilla into the dry ingredients, and mix with your hands, rubbing together to mix everything thoroughly. Turn out onto bar pans/cookie sheets and spread evenly; works best if the mixture is not spread too thickly (1/2 inch is great) so you get a nice toasting of all the nuts.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until you smell the seeds & spices browning; stir and bake for another 10-20 minutes until seeds are crisp, fragrant and golden brown. Allow to cool completely and then store in a sealed container.

Makes ~12-14 cups; depending on ingredients, a 1/2 c serving size has 323 calories, 10.5 g protein, 7.8 g fiber, and a lot of vitamins and minerals. I like to serve with some fruit (raisins are good, or berries) and some yogurt.

I keep a container of this at work and in the car for a quick high energy pick me up. It hits both the sweet and filling categories that many deserts have but is much healthier.

Thank you Jody Tracy for sharing this recipe with me.