Today we’d like to introduce you to Marie-Elizabeth Mali.
Hi Marie-Elizabeth, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Ever since I made a boy cry when I performed at a summer theater camp at 17, I’ve known that my purpose was to take people out of their regular, daily experience to feel something profound and access a more true version of themselves, so they could take what they learned back into their life and change it for the better.
I’ve done some version of this ever since, as a massage therapist to celebrities and world-class athletes, a licensed practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine, a poet and writer, and, for the past 7 years, as a Relationship Transformation Expert coaching people on how to create the relationships they’ve always dreamed of.
This latest shift in my work was catalyzed by my divorce in 2012. Because as clear as I’ve been ever since I was 17 about how I’m meant to serve others, my intimate relationships were always more challenging and confusing to me.
After my divorce, I HAD to figure out why my relationships didn’t work out and what I had to do to become able to have a relationship that feels as rewarding and fulfilling as my work does.
So in 2014, I dove into a two-year study of relationships and sexuality through a relationship coaching program. I wanted to understand what makes me tick in a relationship and how to communicate my deepest desires in a way that — rather than chasing a partner away — draws him closer and deepens our intimacy (and yes our chemistry, too) in the process.
My Relationship Alchemy™ system was born out of that deep personal work, which also allowed me to find the love of my life in 2015.
Since then, we’ve been co-creating a new kind of relationship designed to hold all of us — our depth, our genius, our sexiness, our playfulness, and all of our messiness and we’re engaged to be married in 2023.
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?
An easy path… what’s that? LOL!
I had to end “the perfect relationship” before I could learn how to create a successful and fulfilling relationship that’s right for me.
I was married to “The Perfect Guy”: handsome, rich, creative, fun, reliable… but I was dying inside.
It wasn’t his fault — the truth was that I didn’t know how to invite him to meet me at the depth I needed. He couldn’t win, no matter how hard he tried.
My health got worse. I could barely get out of bed each day. I wanted so badly to stay married, but I was beyond unhappy and finally had to listen to my body that was trying so hard to get my attention.
After my divorce, I went on my own Eat, Pray, Love journey to Indonesia to scuba dive and grow my underwater photography skills — and that’s when vitality surged back into my being.
Leaving my marriage was my escape path to freedom, not from my former husband, but from a self-identity that never fit.
I had been playing a role in my life and in my marriage that could never lead me to true fulfillment.
I had to learn how to create a relationship that was true to ME instead of what I was taught to want and who I was taught to be by my family and culture.
Once I did that deep work, which I still do to this day, I was able to create true fulfillment in love.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m on a mission to serve growth-oriented women in having more love and pleasure in their lives, so they can feel fully loved and supported in becoming both successful in the world AND fulfilled in love.
To understand my work, it helps to understand the difference between Western Medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine. Western Medicine focuses mostly on treating symptoms, whereas Traditional Chinese Medicine focuses on treating the underlying terrain of the body in which the symptoms are arising, on top of directly treating symptoms.
When a body is given what it needs, like food, water, movement, and rest, it can resolve symptoms on its own unless they’re extreme, like broken bones or a life-threatening condition.
Likewise, when you start making choices that nourish the terrain of your relationship, many painful symptoms, like chronic frustrations and fights, will resolve on their own unless they’re extreme and require more direct attention.
Choices like:
• Communicating your wants, needs, and boundaries with ease and kindness.
• Stabilizing nervous system reactivity and clearing resentment.
• Addressing childhood wounding and limiting beliefs.
• Cultivating appreciation and making time to connect beyond logistics.
My method integrates the 5 Elements of Relationship Alchemy, which, when brought into harmony with one another, create a thriving relationship and life.
I’ve been working with clients around improving their health for over 20 years, the past seven years of which has been as a Relationship Transformation Expert, because I’ve seen how essential loving relationships are to our long-term health and vitality.
In addition to speaking widely about communication, personal growth, and relationships — including delivering two TEDx talks (so far) and hosting the Relationship Alchemy podcast — I serve my clients in these ways:
• One-on-one Relationship Breakthrough Intensive (over Zoom), for those who want to discover and break through the #1 pattern keeping them from getting what they want in their relationships
• One-on-one customized coaching packages (over Zoom) for longer-term support and accountability in transforming how they show up in relationships and life
• The Alchemy Experience — a 4-day experiential retreat held at our villa in Mexico for those who have already done a Relationship Breakthrough Intensive and want to be pampered, guided, and immersed in a small community of like-minded women as they create their Love and Life Vision and embody the powerful version of themselves who can have it.
What matters most to you? Why?
It’s my mission to support people in living with integrity and compassion as they play full out in their relationship and life — prioritizing their growth and pleasure — so we can create a world in which connection isn’t sacrificed in the name of success and we create equity and opportunity for all.
It matters to me that we learn how to love better and take care of one another.
That we learn how to take responsibility for our reactivity and befriend our nervous systems.
That we stop hurting one another because we haven’t dealt with our own trauma.
For our species (and all the species we impact) to survive and our planet to recover from the unconscious ways we over-consume natural resources and pollute our environment, it’s crucial for us to learn how to prioritize connection and care as much as we prioritize being productive and getting ahead in life.
At this point, doing so is literally a question of survival.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://relationshipalchemy.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/relationshipalchemymem
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/relationshipalchemymem
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/memali108
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/user/MarieElizabethMali
Image Credits
In Her Image Photography, Gerardo Sandoval, Janet Barnett
