Today we’d like to introduce you to Dana Balicki
Hi dana, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’m originally from the Valley (Chatsworth) and have been living out in Joshua Tree for 10 years with my partner (artist Ryan Schneider) and doing my work as a transformational coach. The decade prior, I was in NYC working as a political activist and organizer until I burned out and began my spiritual journey. That work and those relationships introduced me to the foundational work that I know have the honor of teaching today. I’d lost myself in trying to hold up and fix/heal/change the world and was surrounded by so many others who’d done the same. Over time, I found that my own inner work was emerging as a support to the people I was working for. So, I went to my teacher and my teacher’s teachers and trained in the work that had changed my life. Helped me become more of who I am. My partner and I left NYC to slow down and live a simpler life outside of the grind. Of course, we discovered that there was some hustle and grind living in us, and the desert pulls no punches with such revelations. It’s truly wild to live in vortex! I’ve had my practice for 13 years now and have served thousands of amazing humans. I’m doing exactly what I’m supposed to be doing; it’s really an honor — and now, with my podcast, “Crying in my jacuzzi: the ebbs and flows of living an examined life,” I get to make art and pull all my gifts, experiences and desires together. The desert approves.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
“I embrace each challenge as an opportunity, and I do it with grace and intelligence.” That was part of the very first affirmation I ever created for myself…it deeply shifted me. I’m so glad I had a foundation of self-warmth, self-awareness, and practical tools so that I could leave my full-time organizing job because I just knew I needed to (about a year into my own spiritual work), which felt pretty crazy — and many people let me know they thought so too. A few years later, taking the leap to lean into spiritual work as a guide while being full throttle with Occupy Wall Street was a wild combo that only really made sense to me. Making the life-altering shift to only do transformational work and leave full-time organizing behind was scary (understatement). Leaving NYC for what felt (a little) like the middle of nowhere was hugely risky. Shrinking my business after years of steady growth, then COVID and feeling burnout knocking at my door again, was surely a big ol’ stretch. Being in a relationship for 18 years with my partner has regular stretches that we ride on the struggle bus. Not to mention all the internal work that comes along with all of that — the self-trust I’ve had to build, the confidence I’ve had to choose, the emotions I’ve worked hard to embrace, the intuition I’ve developed, the compassion and curiosity I have to keep tending because the world can be a real shit taco (!!). Whew, the challenges! And so many opportunities inside of it all.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a transformational coach, supporting ever-evolving souls in becoming more themselves. We break down conditioning, ancestral patterns, negative self-talk, internalization of oppressive systems, and more to build inner solidarity and, ultimately, an aligned and resonant vision for their lives. We use a curated mix of mindset mastery, energy medicine, emotional resonance, relational neuroscience, and other modalities to dive deep. I think I’m known for the depth of the work and that I bring a relational approach to the work — there’s no personal work without acknowledging the systems we live inside of. My activism lives on in my transformative work. It’s not easy to be outspoken about the violence of the status quo (when we unconsciously/consciously benefit from it), so it’s an aspect of the way I do my work that I still consistently tend to and feel honored to do so. And I’ve always considered my activism and my coaching as art forms. During the pandemic, I realized that I had a deep desire to do some creative work that I hadn’t ever done before. I wanted to make some art, and not like my partner who makes art in a studio all day for a living. I wanted to create something that pulled all my weirdo interests and desires together…thus, “crying in my jacuzzi” was born. The inner and the outer work that I uniquely weave together has a real space to play there.
What were you like growing up?
Well, I’m a Valley girl born and raised, so I’ve been part of Valley girls’ subversive cultural takeover since the beginning. What that means to me is I’ve always been a combo of irreverence and lightness (all that sun and strip malls) with an unquenchable curiosity about the world and humans humaning. I was radicalized by the maintenance staff at my high school (Calabasas) when they refused to pick up after the students who’d throw their trash all over the place. The entitlement enraged me, the resistance showed me what was possible. I was a serious competitive swimmer until I decided I’d rather get high with my friends. I was 14 and made a lot of questionable decisions, including a jailbird boyfriend. I rode that train (with a caboose full of LSD and mushrooms) to Grateful Dead concerts and festivals before there was festival culture. I made my own clothes. I raved. I gothed. I theater-ed. I did a lot of things that I won’t be sharing here…but the cruxt is that I always wanted to experience everything. Until all my friends started doing heroin and then I decided to buckle down and get out of the Valley and get to college. Which I did. Thank goodness I had (just a few) limits on my experiential desires!
Contact Info:
- Website: http://danabalicki.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/danablix
Image Credits
Chelsea Jones, Melodee Solomon, Natalee Rae Miller
