We were lucky to catch up with Isabel Zai Styles recently and have shared our conversation below.

Isabel, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

It was 2008 and I was 33, working as a tech recruiter for a US investment bank in London. After years of living a work hard, play harder lifestyle I desperately needed a change, and to experience more of the world. Due to the financial crisis at the time, the job offer I had received from another IB in Hong Kong was retracted. Disappointed, but not giving up, I opted for my plan B; fly to Sydney and then try to find work there.

By the autumn I had arrived, and the financial crisis had reached Australia. There was no longer an option for a working visa. Returning to London would only find me in a similar position probably, jobless. The career I had spent 10 years cultivating was swept from under my feet. This was the catalyst for a major life change and a journey of deep introspection.

After a few short months I was so inspired by how good I was feeling I wanted to share this with others and decided to retrain, initially focusing on energy healing and executive stress management. That was the birth of my business and almost 4 years living out of a suitcase, between Australia and Asia. It is said when the student is ready the teacher appears, and so it was. Various teachers appeared, and I continue to be mentored.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Born in the UK and now based in Zurich, Switzerland. I’m a certified Hypnotherapist, Sophrologist, Yoga Nidra Teacher, Usui Reiki Master, and NLP Practitioner. My other training includes Meditation, Mindfulness, Tantric and Qi Gong practices. I was first introduced to Shamanic healing 23 years ago; it’s a profound, ongoing study and it forms part of my offering if a client is open to it. I work with clients in my private Zurich practice or at their home, and for those overseas typically over Zoom. We are multidimensional beings, so I offer a scientific evidence based and alternative approach.

When I started my practice in 2009 my specialism was stress management and energy healing, working with executives internationally. My client base was and continues to be approx. 80% men.

Growing up I was one of the boys, followed by several years working in male dominated corporate, tech environments. This motivated me to focus more on men’s health. In my opinion there is still a lack of men’s emotional health support, however that is improving. I continue to be an advocate in this area.

Clients are largely executives, C-suite, entrepreneurs, small business owners and professionals looking for help in mastering different aspects of their life. The mastery programme starts at 12 months and is tailored to the client’s individual needs, beliefs and circumstances. Developing intuition, building self-confidence, self-worth, and self-esteem are instrumental to the work.

Some of the key areas I support in a 12-month programme:

Relationships:
Singles looking for love, those that struggle with dating due to a history of problematic relationships and need help to navigate the early stages of forming a partnership. Sexual health topics. Entrepreneurial couples and business partners looking to improve work/life balance, relationship/stress management as well as resolve issues within their relationships.

Stress management:
Manage anxiety, optimise self-care routines and rituals, sleep issues, and strategies to avoid burnout.

Behaviour:
Mindset and performance, overcoming destructive patterns like recreational drinking and drugs, assertiveness, and boundary training. Redefining values within personal and business realms.

Spirituality:
Integrating spiritual practices into life and business, meditation and mindfulness training, and shamanic healing journeys.

I also offer 12-week programmes and individual block sessions for very specific problems and specific areas. These also provide a good foundation to experience my work before investing in the longer mastery programme.

Have you ever had to pivot?

The career pivot was banking tech recruiter to energy healer. What was very clear to me when I arrived in Sydney was the impact that my London lifestyle had had on me. From the moment I arrived I took much better care of my health. I had been introduced to energy and shamanic work in my early twenties. The power of intuition has always been a fascination and in the new situation, I was drawn to expanding my knowledge in mind-body-spirit healing.

During my time as a practitioner, the focus has been on expansion, introducing different methods, tools, and techniques to facilitate a client’s healing journey.
I believe in interventions that get results in the shortest time, whenever possible. Most recently, cognitive behavioural hypnotherapy is an excellent tool for anxiety, as well as other behavioural changes. Offering clients a holistic experience brings them closer to their alignment of wholeness.

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

Facilitating a client’s healing journey is incredibly rewarding on so many levels. I would do it all over again, only A LOT earlier.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.isabelzaistyles.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/isabel-zai-styles-68225b1/

Image Credits
content pixie and jared rice – unsplash