We recently connected with Ania Chee and have shared our conversation below.

Ania, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with inspirations and heroes. Are there any historical figures you look up to?

Ram Dass is someone who has been extremely influential in not only my own life but in the lives of many other spiritual practitioners as well. I was first introduced to his teachings years ago by a close friend, we were deep in discussion about how much judgement and ego there seems to be in spiritual community sometimes and he brought up a Ram Dass talk about nonjudgement. On my drive home I ended up turning on this talk and was immediately drawn in by the words and energy of Baba Ram Dass, and I’ve continued to read and listen to his work ever since. In this specific piece, he spoke about how judgement and ego often cloud our ability to love others unconditionally. What I continuously enjoy about Ram Dass’ teachings is how grounded they are in humility and imperfection, and creating space for our authentic experience and expression, which is something I feel is often lacking in the spiritual space as people try to achieve a certain way of showing up and being. He says that a spiritual practice isn’t about achieving perfection or reaching any certain state of “enlightenment”, but rather that the spiritual journey is an opportunity to recognize our inherent interconnectedess, be present with ourselves and eachother, and show up in a compassionate and open way. These are values that have guided my own spiritual journey and work within the space.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My journey with spirituality began when I was pretty young as I was raised by a mother who would experience past life regressions, read tarot cards, and has a certain connection with the universe that I can’t really explain. Although these were things that were spoken about openly in my house, the conversations were few and far between. I struggled deeply with disordered eating, substance and alcohol abuse, toxic relationships, and panic attacks throughout college and this is what led me to the beginning of my first spiritual awakening in 2017. At the beginning of that year I experienced the worst panic attack I ever had and ended up in the emergency room (for the second time). A few months later I graduated college and had lingering effects from my panic attack that left me feeling lost, confused, depressed and uneasy every hour of every day. On a complete whim, with very little understanding and an immeasurable amount of audacity, I booked a flight to India and joined a 200 hour yoga teacher training. This is the trip that changed my life and started me on the path to where I am now. If I sat here and wrote the story of the doors that have opened for me since that trip in 2017, I would probably have an entire book. So i’ll save that for another time. For now, the short version. I have traveled all over the world studying various modalities, cultures, and ways of living. I have read hundreds of books and taken trainings and certifications in anything I found interest in. I have laughed, cried, and stumbled my way through my own spiritual journey and healed all the things I struggled with in college to the point where I read journal entries from back then and don’t recognize that person anymore. I will always be a student, but at some point I decided I also wanted to be of service to others by teaching. My business is rooted in community, self awareness, emotional healing, and spiritual connection. I use bits and pieces of various modalities i’ve learned throughout the years to guide my clients through transformative experiences that liberate them from the heaviness of trauma, battles with mental health, and spiritual disconnection. I don’t believe there is a one-size-fits-all method to healing. I believe we need different things at different times and that there is so much discernment required on this path. Some of my offerings include yoga and meditation guidance, plant medicine ceremonies, energy and body work, and conscious coaching. I also started offering various trainings for facilitators last year and my highest value within this space is honoring the traditions of the modalities I use and bringing reverence and respect into the practice, because so much of the current healing space is filled with appropriation and harm. The most important thing to know about me as a facilitator is that I will not sugar coat things and my healing sessions are not generalized. I tailor each session to each individual, and honesty, integrity, and authenticity are things I welcome into the space both from myself and my client. This is not a place of judgement or criticism, it is a space where all of you- your joy, grief, judgement, anger, light, and dark- are welcome.

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

I think a better question would be where have I not pivoted? As someone who loves to learn and study, I’ve been continuously met with new knowledge, inspiration, teachings, teachers, and guides, all of which have not constantly aligned with eachother or what I had previously learned. I believe in evolution, both as an individual and also in my business. This has meant pivoting my own spiritual beliefs and practices to keep them in line with my ever-growing values and beliefs, and also pivoting my business when things weren’t working for whatever reason. I am immersed in both new age spirituality and also a lot of indigenous and ancient teachings, and if you start to do any research on these two subjects, you learn a lot about appropriation and colonization. Most of new age spirituality is stolen and watered down indigenous teachings, and there is so much harm being done within the healing space. So I’d say my biggest pivot was when I learned about this, and dove deep into understanding the impact of how bringing various modalities like yoga and plant medicine work into the States has severely harmed the original carriers of these practices. I basically shut down my business for months, had a lot of mental breakdowns, and finally decided that the only way I would be doing this work is if I carried integrity, understanding, and reverence into it and decolonized my practices as much as I can. I’m proud to say I’m in a place where I am offering my sessions again, and I have a deep understanding of the responsibility I have as a facilitator in the healing space and am continuously holding myself accountable to carrying tradition forward.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

I’m a huge book girl, and at any point in my life where I felt confused in business there are a few books I have returned to time and time again that have taught me not only about business but about the spiritual and energetic side as well. The Seven Spiritual Laws of Sucess by Deepak Chopra, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma, The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://awakenwithania.com
• Instagram: @awakenwithania

Image Credits

Miranda Kate Photography