Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Emily Blanche. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Emily , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We love heartwarming stories – do you have a heartwarming story from your career to share?

Back in 2014 I was volunteering for the largest emergency shelter in Phoenix, AZ. I was leading gentle yoga classes, meditation and sound healing. One day I arrived and began to walk through the yard to set up inside and noticed a woman who was very upset. She was yelling and not lucid. She followed me into the yoga room and as I began class she was in the corner punching the bolsters and swinging them around like bats. It was a busy day at the shelter and there were no employees around to help so I skipped past the yoga portion began chanting and playing the gong. This woman who had felt unreachable dropped to ground sat peacefully and completely changed composition. Her face relaxed, her energy calm she sat still until the end. It was an incredible transformation. After I finished and was packing up she calmly came up to me smiling with tears in her eyes and thanked me. I had already been playing for a few years and had received and witnessed amazing feedback but that experience inspired so much passion in me proving the remarkable benefits of the healing frequencies of intentional sound therapy.

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

Energy work has been a part of my life since I was a teenager. I began seeing a healer when I was 16 just a year after beginning to practice Kundalini Yoga. I felt very drawn to the practice of using intuition and technique to help people feel better. This set me on a journey to learn all I could to help people of all ages and abilities who are hurting to gain clarity and feel relief from emotional and physical pain. In 2004 I received my first of three Yoga Teacher certifications and began leading yoga classes in San Francisco and Phoenix. I trained in vibrational massage and received my first reiki attunement while living in SF, helping people release blockages in their body and regain a sense of balance encouraging the body’s own healing intelligence.

Shortly after I moved back to Phoenix I opened a few vintage & handmade clothing boutiques and began managing Yoga Phoenix, assisting in yoga teacher trainings. I continued learning and over the years I added sound healing, reiki, herbalism, kids yoga, restorative and yin yoga to my list of offerings. In 2019 I began a Doctorate program for Traditional Chinese Medicine and have one year of internship and study remaining. Currently, I offer personalized treatments that include a variety of sound healing, reiki, auricular ear seeds, cupping, facial cupping, gua sha plus tuning forks on meridians and acupressure points helping to boost qi and blood flow, releasing blocked energy and opening channels for healing. Twice monthly I offer new and full moon public sound healing events at a variety of yoga studios around the valley. I’m also available for private sound baths with experience in leading end of life ceremonies, baby blessings, retreats, women’s circles, wedding parties, and couples bonding treatments. For fun I work with the cycles of the moon creating flower & herbal infused body oils, bath soaks, candles, salve and sustainable cleansing smoke blends. Appointments, pay what you can recorded yoga flows & meditations and ritual gifts can all be found on my website.

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

Energy work including facilitating yoga and sound events is not a 9-5 job. It is different because a lot of the work is happening before and after the “work”. Part of this includes maintaining my own personal daily practice to cleansing and clearing my field post class. My personal practice varies over time but generally includes daily meditation, salt baths, smoke cleansing, therapy, receiving acupuncture, body and energy work, prayer and movement. When these forms are lacking I do not feel my work is as effective. Sound healing instruments are amplifiers. The practitioner’s emotional, mental and spiritual state effect the experience profoundly. The better we take care of ourselves the better we can influence others.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

In March 2020 when yoga studios closed and large events were not possible I transitioned my work online. It was a tricky learning curve trying to get the sound instruments to carry well through zoom. It took trouble shooting with different microphones and settings and still is somewhat in process. After two decades of teaching in person this pivot was a big change but also offered sweet opportunities. I was able to collaborate with my friend Ann Seletos from Sundown Tarot in Los Angeles offering monthly themed yoga flows using the tarot card representing the full moon each month plus a meditation and tarot reading. It has been a fun adventure and opportunity for growth and bonding in many ways.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://goldlionhealingarts.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goldlionaz/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emily.blanche.5/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-blanche-82094355/
• Other: Pay what you can weekly meditations plus new and full moon yoga flows. https://www.patreon.com/goldlionhealingarts

Image Credits
Photos in black dress: Tara Logsdon: deserteyeland Studio photos: Ashley Zettler: Sweatshop Central Photo in orange dress: Phoenix Art Museum, Airi Katsuta Outside cactus photo: Jackie Marlow