We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Danielle DeZao a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Danielle, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the best or worst investment you’ve made (either in terms of time or money)? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)

My best investment was in a three-month program with a holistic health coach and Reiki energy healer. I didn’t fully understand what either of those was, to be honest! But I had just left my full-time event producer job and knew I needed a reset that I couldn’t put my finger on. I came across this woman and felt an immediate connection. At the time, it was the biggest investment I had ever made in myself. It felt scary but worth it. I often refer back to the date of our first session as the day it all changed, because it was exactly then that I chose myself in a way I hadn’t before. It started the head-to-toe and inside-out transformation that comes with the difficult and brave decision to really get to know yourself.

Danielle, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m a host at heart, guided by curiosity, connection, and community. I tell reflective stories through writing and speaking, and create space for others to share theirs through certified holistic health coaching and Reiki energy healing.

The Purple Thread offers holistic services, events, and stories that light the way, making space to connect to ourselves — together. I very seriously believe it can’t all be so SERIOUS! True well-being comes from a mix of rest and play.

It all started as an on-campus club at Marist College to heal and love life again after an abusive relationship in my teens. My experience opened me up to something I never thought I’d be a statistic of. It motivated me to reduce the stigma of toxic relationships, connect with fellow trauma survivors, slow down, heal, share, and often the most difficult part: repeat. Life went on, bringing new challenges with it. I learned that only I could find my own center, and with the right support, I did. I realized that this Thread had been my insistent intuition all along, begging me to listen, trust, and follow – something we are all capable of doing once we allow ourselves.

I am most proud of weaving together my 10+ years of experience in global, highly detailed live events and projects with the healing arts in a way that is welcoming, approachable, and simply possible for anyone. Whether I’m in an auditorium empowering high school students to listen to and trust themselves, or in a small yoga studio hosting a Reiki circle, my favorite moments are witnessing the lightbulbs go off. Seeing that flicker in someone’s eye that says, “Wow, I get it. I now understand this part of me better.” There is so much magic in those moments, that all start from the willingness to show up and share – whether it’s our problems or just our presence. It all counts.

We can spend so much energy running in circles around/in avoidance of the only person who has all the answers – ourselves. We were never meant to do it alone. The right guidance is there once we’re ready, but it starts with choosing ourselves.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Unlearning! A recent favorite of mine. It’s so interesting that we grow up hyperfocused on learning, consuming, gaining, collecting, and progressing until we realize the equal importance of purging, undoing, deconditioning, and simply – releasing. Who we are in our personal and professional lives is undeniably connected. We are the constants between the two.

Reflecting on my time in event production continues to educate me. I was drawn to the energy of creating a live show, the completed work of an intensely complex puzzle of SO many different kinds of people and trades that joined together in this singular common goal – to create something bigger and memorable than its pieces. There is simply nothing like the buzz of a backstage, the rush from surprising an audience. But with that, came hypervigilance, being “on” at all times, and catching every detail. The perfectionist traits that may have made me good at my job were the same things I had to do to survive my abusive relationship. These tendencies that became my armor to make it through another day in my younger personal life, were eventually labeled as strengths in my professional one.

Eventually, it was clear. I couldn’t continue the way I was going. I didn’t want to be on all the time. I didn’t want to have to be prepared for contingency plans B-Z for when A doesn’t work out. And more than not, A does NOT work out. That’s life. Preparation and anticipation are necessary. But I was ready to stop having to plan for the worst, and so was my nervous system. Years later, I am still learning, in gratitude, for the past experiences that make up my own puzzle. As I practice unlearning perfectionism as protection, I remind myself: I’m safe to slow down. And so are you.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

In April 2022, I was reeling from the mid-flight discovery and eventual diagnosis of a blood clot in my chest. The doctors and the blood thinners did their part, getting me out of an emergency state, and leaving me safe, scared, and without a “why.” I knew I had to get moving, get my heart pumping and my blood flowing. But I felt like I had a ticking time bomb inside of me. I took myself to a yoga studio I had never been to. I softly told the instructor, “I don’t have an injury but, well, I don’t know, maybe I do. I’m working on dissolving a large blood clot and I’m just going to try to take it easy on..” as I signaled to the bright blue veins on my right side, a visible map branching from my heart and down my arm. Permanent, they say. As I gently flowed through the class, I watched my veins work overtime. I bit my lip in fear. I reminded myself to breathe. During the final resting pose, I laid my left hand over my glowing little lifelines. “I hear you. I’m here.”

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thepurplethread.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepurplethreadco/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thepurplethreadco
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielledezao/

Image Credits
Sofia Tome (For headshot photos in black shirt)