Inspiring Conversations with Blaize Hall of Weeping Willow Wellness

Today we’d like to introduce you to Blaize Hall

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I became a Somatic Healer as a result of my own trauma healing journey. From what I’ve seen, the majority of people drawn to the healing arts are there because at some point, they needed help themselves, and experienced the transformative power of being supported on their own healing journey.

I survived several forms of abuse and trauma, (my ACES score is up there!). As a young adult, I was grappling with co-morbid mental health diagnoses, multiple chronic health issues, auto-immune conditions, and struggling to single-parent my child in a way that felt right.

I sought out many coaches, healers, therapists, courses, books, podcasts. Anything I could get my hands on! I was on a mission to change, and from my research on neuroplasticity and trauma healing, I knew it was possible!

When I was pregnant, I had taken my yoga practice to a deeper place. I began teaching yoga early in my parenthood, and felt the change that consistently deepening my listening relationship with my body through yoga and meditation could bring. I saw the difference that consistent body-mind practice made in my client’s lives. I began to offer healing touch with my clients as I studied Reiki to bring energy work into my bodywork sessions. The longer I lived in the holistic wellness world, the more I learned.

I learned holotropic breathwork, emotional freedom tapping, various forms of plant medicine, got my Somatic Trauma Therapy certificate, studied non-violent communication, gentle parenting, Internal Family Systems, transformational language, and got my teacher training in a movement practice called Body Temple Dance. I learned therapeutic approaches from the Hakomi and Somatic Experiencing lineages. I ate it up! The more I learned, the more I wanted to learn, and the more I wanted to SHARE!

Weeping Willow Wellness started as a place to offer yoga, but I always had the intention of expanding it into a multi-faceted approach that would draw from many modalities to help people heal (that’s why I called it “Wellness” to encompass all I was building). I recognized early on that different people need different techniques to make healing as accessible, smooth and lasting as possible. My approach now is to draw from all of these different methods when working with individuals to offer the most personalized package I can when aiding their transformation.

This holistic approach is the driving factor for the launch of my 1:1 somatic healing program, The Whole Body Communicator. This 12-week program examines communication in three parts; communication with your body, communication with yourself, and communication with others. In sessions, we explore somatic, body-based practices to help rewire the physiological response to trauma that may be causing blockages at any of these three aspects of your communication.

I have seen that just about everyone has got something that they would like to change.  And talking about it isn’t enough. If we are approaching change in a purely “top-down” process, we get stuck in the story-telling, memorizing the narrative of why we are the way we are, and sometimes cementing it by re-telling it again and again. That’s where traditional forms of talk-therapy often don’t cut it. When we pair our spoken understanding of ourselves with transformational language, growth mindset, and physical practices that shift the physiological response we have to the story, we rewire our experience, creating new brain pathways and bodily experiences. That’s where we make radical, quantum leaps in our healing. That’s the power of somatics, and the power of being held in a safe, one-on-one container with a versatile, cross trained therapist.

In addition to my 12-week signature program, I also offer one-off Somatic Integration Sessions, for those looking to access some immediate support around a life transition, a heightened experience (such as a conflict, crisis, or altered state of consciousness through drug use or trauma response)  who maybe don’t have the space right now to commit to on-going support. I also continue to offer Reiki and Reiki-informed bodywork sessions, and private and group yoga classes.

I also offer workshops at events and retreats. I brought Weeping Willow Wellness to several festivals this year including Lightning In A Bottle, and Northern Nights Fest. I’m teaching a restore yoga class at Lost Lands Festival which I’m SO excited about! (a good bit of my own healing journey has taken place at music festivals especially in the electronic music world, and I also make music as @FermataBlaize, so it’s such a joy to combine so many of the things I love when I get to take my practice into the rave scene.)

I also offer clothing optional yoga classes, both one-on-one and group classes.  The healing power of communal, embodied clothing optional practices is powerful medicine.  I have seen people transform body shame into self-love, panic attacks into grounded safety within themselves, dissociation from sexual trauma into embodied connection.  This work is especially sacred to me.   I could write an entire article just on clothing optional yoga!

I’m so grateful for all I’ve learned and for the ways I get to help others. It truly gives my life meaning. Wherever you are on your journey, know that you can change, and life is beautiful.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Oh this entrepreneurial adventure has NOT been easy! There’s literally a term called “entrepreneurial depression”. It illustrates that emotional and energetic wall you can hit so many times as you try to birth your vision into existence. Stepping into the uncertainty of running a business highlights every single one of my insecurities and has forced me to do so much shadow work. It’s not just a leap of faith, but a daily walk of it, trusting the process and doing what I need to do to create enough feelings of security that I can keep going towards the unknown, making amendments to my vision, becoming more and more flexible to adapt to changing markets and ways of reaching people. I have to be great not just at the healing work, which is what I’m the most passionate about, but also in marketing, structuring my business offerings, and learning ways to update my back end processes.

I joked with a fellow entrepreneur that I’m in a “learning vortex”, and they echoed the sentiment. There is so much to soak up and so many voices to weed through to find the gold nuggets that end up making an impactful difference in my business. It’s happening, though! It’s a complex balance of keeping an open mind (and wide open eyes and ears), and also deepening my trust in myself and my discernment to know when to make a pivot, or whose advice to seek, where to invest for continued support. I know I have so much to learn, still. I think maybe that’s the fun of it, though. In choosing this path, I get to constantly learn and grow and seek out the new. I’m in love with learning, so even when it get’s overwhelming, I try to remind myself that its the school of life, and I get to just keep exploring, I get to fuck around and find out.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Weeping Willow Wellness ?
With Weeping Willow Wellness, I pull from lots of different holistic healing modalities to customize the work I do with each individual in one on one support. Because of this, we’re able to get right to the heart of what will make the most tangible, effective changes in their lives right now.

I have a healing friend who told me, “you get four words to tell someone what you do – go!” His was “Feel Better Right Now”, and he told me I couldn’t take that one haha! I have thought about it for quite some time and I think mine is
“YOU CAN CHANGE NOW”.

So many people are afraid of change. It’s in our human nature to resist change, to protect our egos from the unknown. In Internal Family Systems, our “protector parts” often rear up to balk at change, trying to keep us safe. But the reality is, sometimes change is the only thing that can get us out of an unsafe, or even less than ideal lifestyle. Change is the door to growth, healing, and living out our highest calling. It is my great privilege to create spaces and offer support so people can embrace their own journey of becoming. I believe YOU CAN CHANGE NOW because I have experienced it, over and over again for myself, and witnessed it with my clients. If you know your life could be better, YOU could be better, then you are the one who gets to dive into what is holding you back from your highest joy. That’s what I’m here to facilitate.

I want to be clear that I am not overlooking systemic issues, oppression, and the vastly different hurdles that people have to overcome. I acknowledge these forces at play. And, we can still change! No matter what you have survived, what you are currently going through, there are tools that can help you to thrive. Humans were built to survive the forces of nature, we have an innate drive to thrive. I stand by that. It’s why we see children happily playing in the aftermath of natural disasters. It’s why we see story after story of people faced with what seems like insurmountable hardship creating incredible art.

I believe anyone has the power to heal and change. The question is, when will you start?

Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
To those just starting an entrepreneurial journey, it may surprise you where your blind spots are. This journey will highlight so many ways you need to face your fears. Surround yourself with people who build you up. And learn to be selective on the advice you choose to take.

To those just starting a healing journey, you are so brave! Be gentle with yourself. Rest when you need to, doing “the work” can be exhausting. But there’s truly nothing more important. The rewards are exponential. You cannot fathom the ripple effect in your own life and out into your family and community. Trust the process. Allow yourself to see and celebrate the evidence of your healing along the way. Healing is not linear. Don’t be surprised if you have a season where the things you are working on are showing great progress, and then there is some regression in a season with more triggers. Sometimes it’s just after the toughest moments that you make a big leap in your inner work. Don’t let a rough patch discourage you too much. Life is cyclical. Nature is seasonal, and we are part of nature.  Let it flow.

Pricing:

• I have sliding scale pricing! It is so important to me that this support is accessible so I offer scholarship rates as much as I can.
• You can see my website or reach out for pricing options.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.weepingwillowwellness.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weepingwillowwellness
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blaize.emily.3
• Twitter: https://x.com/blaizehall1
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVP9WuuGgkxtaU2TGDIPezA
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/weeping-willow-wellness-san-fernando-valley

Image Credits
Miguel Perez @pcatoday, @adise.la @superbloom.collective