We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Diane Bovalino a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Diane thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you share a story about the kindest thing someone has done for you and why it mattered so much or was so meaningful to you?
I was in the beginning stages of chemotherapy for breast cancer and my hair was thinning. It was falling out strand by strand, my long brown hair that I was so happy that I had finally patiently let grow out the last year and half. I had been through two sessions of chemotherapy by now and it was beginning to really fallout at a fast rate. I would drive my car to work and back. I remember being so frustrated as the chunks of hair would be falling out in my car.
My girlfriend at work Alex said to me let’s go get your head shaved and make it a memory, Diane. She said I will go with you to your hairdresser to get your head shaved and let’s bring your wig and we will make it a party. She took pictures of the entire event so I could remember it and I felt like I took control over cancer and now it was no longer controlling me. We all laughed and chatted while she took pictures for a full documentary for my scrapbook. When I put the wig on, I felt normal for a short time and during the party my girlfriend created for me, I forgot about cancer and chemotherapy. Alex gave me a feeling of love, caring, and being surrounded by a force of angels. Losing my hair from the cancer treatment was extremely difficult for me and it made me angry. I had already lost my breast’s at the age of 40 years old and now there goes my hair. She made me feel special and loved. My entire family lived out of town also, to have a friend jump in during such a difficult time filled with frustration and suggest what I could do to feel in control during cancer treatment, then she took action and made a plan to take all the burden off my already heavy shoulders was truly a gift that I will forever treasure.
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
I am a Reiki Master, Yogi, Spiritual Health Coach, and Intuitive Healer that found her way into the service of healing, teaching, coaching, and mentoring women and/or men who are ready to turn their challenges in life into confidence and clarity so they can heal and feel empowered to live the life they deserve.
The first step into the service of healing for me was finding Reiki after I finished my chemotherapy back in 2008. Once my surgery and chemotherapy was over, I was told here are your daily hormonal pills to take as they were required for 10 years due to being diagnosed at the young at of 40 years old and the type of breast cancer I had. My regimen for visiting the Oncologist would now be every three months. Now, it was time for me to live my life “As a Breast Cancer Survivor in Remission”. I worried about cancer coming back and every ache in my body, I convinced myself it must be a distant recurrence of cancer. Lucky for me, I found an Energy Healer that performed Reiki on me and the worry and fear of cancer just went away. Reiki was able to take away the fear and worry of the cancer recurrence. Talk therapy could not take this fear away. I began to see the Reiki Practitioner on a regular basis and it helped me tremendously.
I also found myself with anxiety and depression at the same time, the end of surgery and chemotherapy. This was the time I had to go back into life as a brand new person with a new body and a new lease on life. My life now was more important than before as I was blessed to be here to raise my boys still, Matt was only in 5th grade and Brendan in 1st grade. Reiki did more for my anxiety and depression than the anti-depressant pill they gave me.
I was blessed to find at Hopewell Cancer Center several healing modalities that assisted me during cancer treatment and afterwards they were Mindfulness Meditation, Yoga, and Yoga Nidra (Yogic Sleep). These, three significant healing modalities also significantly supported me with my anxiety and depression that began after the cancer treatment.
10 years after my cancer treatment, I had an opportunity to take Reiki training with a friend of mine who now is my colleague and podcast host from there my passion for healing began. I opened Lotus Soul Healing Arts in 2019, which is a wellness center that focuses on the individual and the journey they are on to heal their mind, body and soul with my intuitive healing modalities that I offer.
I continued my education to gain the additional healing modalities that advanced my healing during cancer treatment and after for the anxiety and depression I dealt with throughout the struggles of gaining my independence back to my true authentic self.
During COVID, I began to study for my 200 Hour Yoga Certification which gave me the opportunity to also gain the knowledge in meditation and Yoga Nidra (Yogic Sleep). I received my 200 Hour Yoga Certification in August 2021. One of my dreams after my breast cancer treatment was to become a Yoga Instructor, my heart center was fully expanded when I framed my certificate and hung it up in the yoga room at the wellness center.
I also continued my education and studied to expand my Reiki knowledge and I hold a
Usui/Holy Fire III Online, Karuna and Usui/Tibetan Reiki Master Certificates. I am an Affiliate Member of The International Center for Reiki Training (ICRT) and have received all upgraded attunements and ignitions to teach online and in-person for all Reiki classes. I teach Reiki 1 all the way to Reiki Master, and I teach my classes Hybrid style, allowing students to come in person to the wellness center in Ellicott City, Maryland or join us Live Online via Zoom. It is my passion to teach Reiki as the more individuals that know the healing modality Reiki, then the more Reiki love and healing will spread across the World. Let me explain more about what Reiki is, it is a Japanese energy healing modality for stress reduction, along with healing for physical, emotional and spiritual needs. Reiki is performed in person and also distantly. Distant energy healing is performed over Zoom, FaceTime, Phone, or even e-mail. Distant energy healing is as effective as in person healing session. Energy is not confined by time or space, as a Reiki practitioner can send healing Reiki energy to a client in a different location.
I have another energy healing modality that I used called Ama-Deus which is based on love. I am a certified Level 2 Ama-Deus Level Practitioner.
I found a love for crystals during my work in this field and became a Crystal Healer.
I offer many Spiritual Development Series in one-on-one and group sessions. I am a registered teacher with the Lightarian Institute for Global Human Transformation and I continuously offer, series of programs to assist individuals on advancing their spirituality while healing past traumas and releasing what no longer is serving them. I offer these classes Hybrid style also when they are offered in group sessions.
I also completed a certificate program in Reflexology from the Washington Institute of Natural Medicine. Reflexology is applying the appropriate pressure on a person’s hands and/or feet that corresponds to different body organs and systems for the person’s health. This will eliminate body toxins, reduce headaches, increase energy and metabolism, lift your mood and improve one’s overall well-being to name just a few. A client can mix this healing modality in with a Reiki session or come in for a full session of Reflexology.
The main healing service one comes to see me at Lotus Soul Healing Arts is for an Intuitive Healing Session. As the client and I work together, I will blend the above healing modalities together to weave a path to healing for them and I see the two of us on a journey together. I can be the Health Coach, a Spiritual Coach, a Reiki Master, a Yogi, or an Intuitive Healer.
The one thing that sets me apart from other Energy Healers is that I am an Intuitive Healer and I am using my skills to understand what the client requires to fulfill their needs for healing along with the fact that I have many different healing modalities that I offer for healing. The individual receives one on one service each time they come to center. They will always be working with me. They will receive a specialized plan to meet their needs. I also offer group classes and groups to allow my clients to meet other Light Workers on the same journey that they are on. Since all classes and groups are hybrid style it gives everyone a chance to meet people across the country.
It is also very important that the client acknowledges the progess they are receiving on their healing journey and they realize the benefits from the services. The reason is that the individual needs to understand their own body in the capacity of the mind, body, and soul for it to heal on the cellular level. Once they can connect through the healing modalites, I offer then they will begin to heal at all levels. The body has the capacity to heal itself, it just needs all “parts” on board to get the job done. I am here as a Light Worker, which is to assist the client back to his/her healing journey back to their authentic self.
This past summer – specifically in August 2022, I focused my special energy on two important projects that I birthed with the goal to heal more people in the World.
My colleague and I began our Podcast in August 2022 called Two Italian Women and The Stories They Tell ….With Erica Martin and Diane Bovalino. The podcast is about our stories that include struggles that we have endured in Life, Love, and Heartache. We give you the “secret sauce” to redemption. Our stories are sometimes sad while some are funny and all of them have shaped the existence of who we our as the “Two Italian Women”. We give out the “secret sauce” in weekly episodes that we drop weekly on Tuesdays. You will find The Two Italian Women sharing the “secret sauce” that includes tips, tools, and experiences that have worked for them on their journey. We also have a YouTube Channel that airs the same information as the podcast we give you a visual on the our YouTube Channel. We also have guest speakers that have been coming on our show.
Our YouTube Channel is https://www.youtube.com/
Spotify Podcast https://open.spotify.com/show/
Amazon Music Podcast https://music.amazon.com/
Google Podcast https://podcasts.google.com/
I was called by Spirit on a late Sunday evening to join forces with 19 amazing Women to become an author in a multi-author book called Entangeled No More. Entangled No More is about women who broke free from toxic relationships who built their own empires. Spirit lead me to write my story about how I suffered in a toxic work relationship that placed my health in crisis; mentally and physically. I suffer to this day from migraines that came into my life from the toxicity of the daily drain, pressure, and manipulation from this relationship.
I talk about how the healing modalities I have at Lotus Soul Healing Arts helped me during this difficult time and I know Spirit’s goal is to allow my story to help other women or men who are going through this problem today. The book was released on September 9, 2022 on Amazon via ebook and I am proud to say I am an International Best Seller thanks to Entangled No More. I had a dream to write a book after I went through Breast Cancer, I had no idea it would be with 19 other amazing women.
I will have signed copies of the paperback for sale as of November 2022 on my website.
A list of services and classes you can find at Lotus Soul Healing Arts: with Diane Bovalino
Intuitive Healing Session
Reiki Healing
Reflexology
Yoga Class
Meditation Class
Yoga Nidra
Oracle Card Reading
Path Clearing – One – on One & Group
Angel Links – One on One & Group
Purification Rings – One On One & Group
Empath Group
Reiki Classes from Reiki 1 to Master Level
Reiki Mentorship available
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I opened my business Lotus Soul Healing Arts in November 2019, and as with most businesses it takes awhile for things to pick up as you are getting your name out to the public and starting to build your reputation along with your client base. I was only offering hands-on Reiki healing at the time. At the center that I collaborated with to open my practice we had an open house in February 2020 and I started to book more appointments along with some referrals. In March 2020, COVID-19 came into our world and by the end of the month, I had to stop seeing clients. At that time, I had no idea how long I would be closed as back then we didn’t know how COVID-19 was going to impact the world. I was only performing Reiki at that time In-Person hands on healing and had no other services in my business line.
Where my resilience came in was I could of, decided to close my business during this time and see this as a sign to not move on and pay additional fees as who knew how much longer COVID-19 was going to impact our world. I had already invested money into the business, yet I could of, said cut your losses now and move on to something else after COVID-19 and the economy improves. Instead, I saw it as a sign from the Universe to spread my wings with my business into another service line of business and began Distant Reiki Energy Healing during the time I was at home. I began Distant Reiki sessions over Zoom, FaceTime, and the Phone. Now, that everyone was homebound, healing was needed even more and continues to be as we all heal from this pandemic. I also upgraded my Usui/Tibetan Reiki Master Certificate with William Lee Rand of the International Center of Reiki Training (ICRT) in May 2020, which allowed me to teach Usui/Tibetan over Zoom. Before COVID-19, Reiki was only to be taught in person. Reiki Masters who have received upgraded attunements or ignitions now can teach officially over Zoom as they hold the upgraded energy for this now.
This resilience has grown my business now to allow me to reach individuals across the globe. I can perform my intuitive healing sessions and teach over Zoom. This all allows me to spread, the Reiki love also through teaching over the internet and reach a much larger group of individuals across the World.
Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?
Other than your training and knowledge in your field the next most helpful step for succeeding in your field is networking. As you network in and out of your field you will build a strong referral base for clients and also for services that you may need for your business. I am finding the more I increase my networking and collaboration, the stronger my connections become for my business. You can also consider establishing affiliate links with a referral commission along to planning a retreat day with colleagues. As a small business owner it is nice to meet other entrepreneurs as it provides one of the most important outlets which is human connection. Human connection is extremely important, it is second in importance to food, water, and safety.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lotussoulhealingarts.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lotussoulhealingarts
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lotussoulhealingarts
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFKZUC6c30dBCWXts6IXH
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/lotus-soul-healing-arts
- Other: https://www.vagaro.com/lotussoulhealingarts
Image Credits
For the pictures-In the 2 red dresses. And the yoga tank top – brown or grey with white yoga pants. (3 photos only) put the name below In Lens Photography