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Meet Trailblazer Katya Lovejoy

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Katya Lovejoy.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Katya. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My personal healing journey is what led me to the work I feel so grateful to do today. From an early age I was interested in exploring both scientific and spiritual modalities of healing in order to access a greater sense of freedom and power. This journey of exploration has led me to my deep passion for supporting others in transforming their own lives by releasing the past and claiming the confidence to live life fully expressed.

I know what it’s like to feel like you’re on a never-ending journey of healing because you aren’t on the most effective path for transformation. I spent ten years in traditional talk therapy trying to resolve my chronic depression, anxiety, and a general malaise about life. Because I was so high functioning (I always got good grades, then a job, always supported myself), no one seemed to notice (including me) that I had developmental trauma, and that the maladaptive childhood programming I received was creating havoc on my nervous system and a general state of being.

It wasn’t until I discovered trauma hypnotherapy and shamanic healing practices that I experienced a real and sustainable shift in my life. I was finally able to understand the roots of my pain and my self-sabotage, understand and re-write the faulty childhood and cultural programming I’d received, rebalance my nervous system, and discover my own power and potential in a real, visceral way. Not only did my mental and physical health improve, but my spiritual connection deepened and even my bank account benefited because I was more confident and more aligned with my true purpose.

Having experienced such profound healing myself, I became devoted to sharing this with as many people as I can.

Before becoming an Advanced Clinical Hypnotherapist, I completed degrees in neuroscience and psychotherapy. I also trained as a yoga and meditation teacher, which ultimately led me to hypnotherapy after falling in love with the practice of Yoga Nidra. The power of combining this background with the trauma-focused hypnotherapy I’ve learned, plus my deepening journey on the shamanic path, has been truly immeasurable. It’s my absolute passion to share all of these tools and techniques with others so they don’t have to waste decades in old-school therapy with limited success, and can instead start living with more personal freedom and power right now in the present moment.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I don’t think any healing or business journey is a smooth road! At least, not one worth taking.

Sixteen years ago, when I started my studies, I could have never imagined where I’d be today. I was studying neuroscience and had the plan to get a Ph.D. I soon realized I didn’t like research as much as I liked connecting with individuals and helping them in real time, so I decided to get my masters in social work. Yet when I started that, it also didn’t feel quite right. I had already had a glimpse into more esoteric healing modalities through my international travel, and holistic healing excited me more.

I ended up quitting my graduate program to become a yoga teacher, and I had to waitress for 3 years to support myself during this time. My ego took a real hit. I felt like I was destined for something with more of an impact but I really had no idea at the time what it was. In retrospect, I think I had glimpses of the teacher and healer I wanted to become (and who I am today), but I didn’t understand how to get there. All I could do was keep taking the next right step that felt exciting and inspiring. I eventually went back and finished my master’s degree, but the inspiration left again as soon as I started working in the social work field, which really wasn’t the right fit for me. In my personal life, I was being drawn to more spiritual modalities of healing. I longed for something that really combined science and spirit, that felt holistic, and that actually worked, because I still felt pretty stuck in a lot of areas of my life.

During all of this, I had moved to San Diego and started teaching Yoga Nidra, a guided hypnotic meditation technique I had been trained in and which felt deeply healing and inspiring to me. At the time, no one else was teaching Yoga Nidra in San Diego, and soon my classes started filling up. My students asked me to create a Yoga Nidra training, and three years later, I am now the top Yoga Nidra Trainer in Southern California. Yoga Nidra also led me to explore more modalities for subconscious and energy healing, which is what ultimately brought me to The Wellness Institute, where I have been continuing my training in advanced hypnotherapy for the last four years. The hypnotherapy practices I’ve learned are the deepest and most profound healing I’ve experienced, and I feel blessed every day to be able to be a steward of this work.

My advice to those starting a similar journey is to let go of the details. There’s no way you can know what you are going to evolve into. I would never have guessed ten years ago what my work would look like today. The only thing you need to focus on in this journey is your willingness and what excites you. Stop doing things because of obligation or someone else’s rules, and start making choices based on your own intuition and highest excitement. The Universe sends us breadcrumbs that lead us to the natural unfolding our fullest expression. All we have to do is notice them and follow them, even if we can’t see the full path just yet.

We’d love to hear more about Higher Self Hypnotherapy.
I support sensitive people in transforming their trauma into freedom and power. I approach this work through modalities that access multiple levels of consciousness and energy. The main techniques I use are hypnotherapy, yoga nidra, psychotherapeutic insight techniques, breath work, and sacred ceremony.

Unlike traditional therapy, in this work, we don’t stay in the conscious mind (which is only 10% of our experience; 90% is in the subconscious and unconscious). By expanding our awareness and consciousness, we can access and release the root cause of what is creating stress in your present-day experience. We process and release the stuck emotions in order to free up the energy to create more of what we want, rather than continue living life on auto-pilot.

The benefits of this work are: clarity, confidence, the release of self-sabotage, embodied self-love, personal freedom, self-trust, boundaries, personal empowerment, spiritual connection, stress relief, letting go, insights, understanding, healthier relationships, alignment with passion and purpose, authentic joy.

Many of my clients have already done traditional healing modalities and haven’t gotten the results they are looking for. There’s a study that showed that 600 sessions of psychoanalysis yielded positive results in 38% of subjects, whereas only 6 sessions of hypnotherapy resulted in improvement for 93% of people (Source: Barrios, Alfred A. “Hypnotherapy: A Reappraisal,” Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, and Practice (1970)).

The work I offer is the most powerful healing work I’ve found in 16 years of searching. It creates shifts on mind, body, and soul levels. It requires a deep willingness and commitment, and those who are devoted to themselves and this journey experience unlimited growth potential from this work.

So much of the media coverage is focused on the challenges facing women today, but what about the opportunities? Do you feel there are any opportunities that women are particularly well positioned for?
I think a lot of our cultural suffering comes from the programming we have received around our emotions and our sensitivities. Most of my clients identify as highly sensitive, and this often feels like a curse to them. It feels this way because we live in a society that has taught us to bury our emotions, that there is something wrong with us for feeling sensitive, and that to be accepted we have to “keep it together.” Not all cultures are like this; in fact, in many indigenous cultures, people with high sensitivity are taught how to harness this gift for good. Sensitivity and emotions are powerful. Emotions are energy in motion; when we repress them (as happens in trauma or through the cultural programming of the patriarchy), we don’t have full access to our energy to create. Part of the oppression of humanity has to do with the collective oppression of emotions. If people had permission and access to their rage (in healthy and productive, rather than destructive, ways), for instance, things would probably be changing a lot faster than they are. I think women, in particular, have the potential to harness their sensitive and emotional energy to create real positive change in this world.

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Image Credit:
Alison Love

Getting in touch: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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