We recently connected with Susan Fernandez and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Susan, thanks for joining us today. We’re complete cheeseballs and so we love asking folks to share the most heartwarming moment from their career – do you have a touching moment you can share with us?

It was Saturday evening about 9pm on July 17, 2021. The patio light was on as I walked into to the unlit dining room turning my head toward the open window. Then, stopping frozen in my tracks, I see a hummingbird with it’s little round belly pressing into the window screen, hanging on with it’s tiny feet. I assumed it was dying; either sick, wounded, or a 7 year old since they generally have a life span of 7 years. Moving slowly and quietly as not to startle him, opening the door, I stepped onto the patio. He got startled anyway and fell into my running shoe sitting there on a chair beneath him.

I don’t remember at what point I started talking to him hoping to soothe this wondrous creature we all love. I’m referring to him as a male because of the bright neon red spot on it’s throat. At ‘the’ moment I thought, ooh it would be bad if it flew into my house, it did. It wasn’t the normal energetic flight of a buzzing hummingbird. No, it was a slow circle round the living room as I called out, better come back out here. And he did. From there a couple attempts until he perched himself on a low soft branch. He looked gray, the gray of the dying.

Pulling up a chair to stand atop so I could take down a feeder to see if he would eat, I slowly got myself down onto the concrete floor close to him. Talking softly, I held the food to him. His little head literally fell down to the feeding hole and rested there. He’s exhausted. It was sad for me to watch him as I continued sending him love and healing energy and asking for help as I always do. We sat there together, me holding the feeder up to him from time to time, for maybe 45 minutes, his eyes never closing. He couldn’t really relax so I moved away, slowly standing up. I cringed at the thought of leaving him there alone, what do I do? I put a box down with the feeder on top but it wasn’t high enough. I got my dictionary and covered it with a paper towel, ignoring the thought that said, put it in a plastic bag. At least it was thick enough so the feeder hole lined up to this darlings long beak. I went inside.

It’s 10:15pm and there was no way I could go to bed without doing a formal distant healing session. Preparing myself, I lit the candles, called in helpers and sat there in my living room for an hour healing this baby jewel. Here was my intention, to restore and renew it’s life. There are no guarantees since life is an experiment , so I hoped for the best since hope is the initiator of all life. It’s 11:25pm. I’m watching him from the window. He’s fluttering around a little and taking a drink here and there. I’m going to bed. Five hours later about 5am I suddenly woke flying up into the air, at least it felt like that cause thunder and lightening has come into my bedroom, well, very close. Now, I love storms and this is the first ‘proper’ storm I’m experiencing since moving here 5 years ago, but, holy crap! Jumping out of bed after several more claps of shaking thunder and lightening streaming through the window, My Hummingbird! There he was on it’s perch underneath large plumeria leaves protecting it from the rain, well, partially. Tears are forming as I’m looking at how drenched he is. The storm raged on til I don’t know, 6am or 6:30am. He made it through the night! I fell back to sleep by 7am getting 3 more hours of rest. I was feeling pensive when trust was what I was needing. Did he die or did he fly away? Trepidation. I went outside and didn’t see him. Looking around all the leaves and rose bushes, the jungle I call a garden, even looking inside the shoe I placed under him in case he fell he’d be caught. No. Nothing. He flew away! Thank You!

The feeder I placed before him had sunk and emptied into my dictionary now pinkish red with the dented box sopped with rain. So that’s why my intuition said put a plastic bag around your dictionary. Today I see a red-throated hummingbird coming to feed from the 2 feeders hanging there. I’m wondering if it’s the same one. I’m choosing to believe it is.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

1. How did I get into the business of holistic healing?

Midway in my last year before receiving a BA in Psychology, a couple people I knew told me about a course in Shiatsu and Swedish Massage being held in a nearby town. They said, “we think you’d be good at it.” Now privately I had a dream of being a holistic health practitioner, but they didn’t know that. Ends up I took the course and really enjoyed it. After completing my BA, I was hired by a Physical Therapist to assist him. I loved it. This is when I discovered I intuitively knew where people were holding their pain, where there was something off that needed to regain it’s health. This began a very long journey to today where I do Distant Healing, helping others renew their wellness.

2. What are the services I offer?

My practice has evolved such that I do all my work distantly. This is a real advantage in the times of covid as I know people who continued working in-person and did contract the virus. I actually found that I can ‘see’ and ‘sense’ more from afar. I attribute this to a couple things: I’m not concerned with the safety of my physical body moving around a massage table. Since I don’t have to move around a table my concentration, my focus, is more intense and continuous cause I have no interruptions. And then there’s the mysterious component that I find best to let be and not try to figure it out since part of the beauty of mystery is it’s power. I let mystery be mysterious. I also teach meditation and facilitate metaphysical experiences.

3. What do clients come to you for?

Here is a list of recent issues clients have asked assistance with: Bulging discs, severe back pain, tinnitus, severe chest pain, vertigo, hip pain, deviated septum, polyps in the nose, sleep apnea, anxiety, vestibular disorder, PTSR, stomach issues undefined, low spirited, sciatica, low back pain, bronchitis. Until 10 years ago I mainly concentrated on muscles, fascia, bones, trauma, lymphatics, pain anywhere and most importantly giving loving and healing energy, as everything is energy and energy is everything. I later expanded my areas of work as it keeps evolving in this joyous process helping others.

4. What sets me apart from others?

I don’t know what to say about others so I’ll tell you things I think attribute to my success: being intuitive, clairsentient, a conduit for healing energy, having done education in multiple areas, thorough personal growth work, having a spiritual practice, very good at asking questions, I keep learning and growing alive, and, I keep things light.

5. What are you most proud of?

The trust people have in me.

6. What are the main things I want new clients to know?

1. Distant Healing works. Now everyone knows there are no guarantees in life so I’m not able to give any, but, my work shows results people are happy with because of their improved health and wellness. You might want to take a look at my website and read testimonials, thehealingexpansion.com.

2. Having a Distant Healing Session is ultra convenient because there is no travel involved, and, you don’t have to get off the massage table and drive home perhaps groggy, you can linger. It’s also completely safe without a worry of a painful experience from in-person treatments. Distant healing is pain free. Plus it really can be a pleasurable experience.

3. Know that it doesn’t matter how long you’ve had an issue. In fact, a lot of people come to me with very old health concerns, it’s so common.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

If your goal is to be a Holistic Health Practitioner it’s most important to take care of yourself on all 4 levels, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Our personal health matters first and foremost. However each person decides to go about fulfilling their goal, Personal Growth work and Meditation are 2 essential jewels to take time to do and cultivate.

Here are many things I learned from my massage practice that led me to distantly healing others may find helpful:

* I suggest working for yourself.
* Rent your own office space. Share it with another to lower the cost if need be.
* Find a busy office that attracts lots of people.
* If at all possible don’t work for someone or some company who wants you to work back to back 50” sessions, called a fifty minute hour, which means you don’t get breaks. Taking breaks is Rule #1. Working without taking breaks can lead to a very short career, maybe 3 years. No proper breaks is a sure way to injury and to overwork your joints. I did 90 minute massages and took 30 minute breaks in between.
* When chiropractors got the ok to practice legally they would hire a massage therapist, give her a room and pay 80% of what was charged for the massage. Today, maybe you’ll get 20%. My opinion is that that treatment of a massage therapist is disrespectful, greedy and shows the Chiro thinks what they do is more important than what the massage person does. That is not true. Muscles pull bones out of alignment. One class I took, twice, was called Chiropractic Massage to prepare the client to be adjusted so it’s easier on their system and holds it longer. A massage can also be done post alignment. Please don’t let anyone take advantage of you for their benefit.
* If you are a female you may want to consider working only on women. If you choose to work on men make sure you take care of yourself. How? Schedule men only when there are other people in the office that will still be there when your session is over. Pay attention to your feelings. If you sense there is something amiss and a person is there for inappropriate reasons, show them the door. Take care of yourself, you are important.
* Time off. I took 2 days off in a row to give my hands and body a rest.
* I suggest working 1 weekend day for those people who work M-F. Then add 1 or 2 evenings to your schedule if that suits you. Mix it up so you can offer different days and times. Find what works.
* Have a cancellation policy of 24 or 48 hours for when people need to change their appointment. Decide what you want to charge and charge it. I would ask for 48 hours to give me time to fill the slot but enforced a full 24 hours prior, not just the night before. Unless it’s an emergency, people need to respect your time as you respect it.
* The energy you bring to the massage room is key. Use your discretion in how much you talk. Each person is unique on the table. If they don’t start talking then let there be stillness in the room. You can ask your questions prior to putting your hands on them. It depends on what you’re doing of course. If you’re doing laugh therapy you will be talking but mostly laughing. Then there are those that really ‘need’ to talk; so you listen. I learned that it shows respect to the client when we refrain from talking about ourselves so we can fully be there for them. Just be mindful it’s their time to relax.
* A good way to find your niche is to take a lot of different courses. You may choose to concentrate on a specialty or two, getting really really good at whatever it is. The more you enjoy it the better since your happiness and joy will set a beautiful tone.
* Massages by rote are mechanical. I know that’s obvious; do this, then that, go here, then there and so on. In the very beginning it starts like that cause you’re learning. But as you progress, let go of the steps. Add something of yourself to the mix to make it your own. Being open to what you are feeling is everything. Let your hands discover. This way you may develop an art form. Someone once told me that it is not the technique, it’s the person who’s administering the technique.
* Your confidence comes through your hands. People can feel it. As you go along build trust in yourself. Get into a flow and your energy will heighten.
* Helping the client to relax will make or break the success of the session. Notice when you feel them tense; they may be nervous or stressed out and even there for stress reduction. The more a person can relax, allow and receive, feeling good about being on your table and the end result they want, is so so important. I would do nurturing slow soothing strokes while feeling my own gentleness coming through me to them. You could tell them to slow their breathing and say Ahhh on the out breath. Playing soothing music is good too. Take the time to help them get to a letting go and releasing space, and they will be happier because of it.
* From the start of my career I focused my energy. This led me to hold my hands on a position and send energy. That worked. Then it was holding my hands above a part of the body to illicit change. That worked. Or I would just use one finger on a spot, that worked. Then that led me to attempt to move energy. And it worked! Now I did take an enormous amount of courses and work shops. But there came a time when I wanted to do more than I was. It took quite a change in my confidence level to get to where I am today. I only do Distant Healing. I discovered I could do more from afar. Not only but including muscles, bones, lymph, pain etc that are all important, but also an endless list of other issues.

As I grew spiritually, my intuition, my imagination, my clairsentience did too. I combined things I learned with other ways I came up with. I am still expanding how I work. Only you can know if this is something you want to do too. I cannot stress how much confidence matters, that and a loving open heart. The path you take to get where you’re going is yours alone to discover.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

* Consistency. Each session is unique and needs the best you can give.

* Results. Some positive change needs to take place so the person feels better, every time.

* I listen to what clients say they want and keep it a priority as I work so they feel heard and get I’m attentive to them.

* Being sensitive, intuitive, caring, having a well rounded education, and a sense of humor.

* I’m thorough. I take the whole body, the whole person into account. Even though I focus on issues the client asks for, I include the whole body. It’s all connected.

* Being conscious of my energy. I need to be feeling good to work. To be in joy brings excellent results.

Contact Info:

• Website: thehealingexpansion.com
• Other: Email me: thehealingexpansion@gmail.com Society for Orthobionomy Associates Listing

Image Credits

Valerie Smith Wallace: Picture of me in front of a waterfall mural Lori McIntosh: Egyptian Arabian Horse so relaxed after a healing his tongue is hanging out Audrey Cayetano: Susan with Joyce on table laughing, Side view of Susan in chair sending energy, Susan sitting on the lawn with blue hand.