We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Leonis (Aisha) Arias a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Leonis (Aisha), thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?

It happened one day I was in my room feeling so isolated and heartbroken by a guy I was dating at the time. I couldn’t bear the deep sadness and pain in my heart. The little girl inside of me felt lonely again as she had felt when she was in her early years.

I felt confused because this guy had slept in my bed and I was feeling uncomfortable when he wanted to touch me down there. I actually felt scared and disgusted with the idea that he was going to touch me. I felt dirty. And after this day, he ghosted me for days and I didn’t receive an explanation as to why. In my mind, I thought the relationship was moving forward, but that moment of me feeling ashamed when I was in bed with him, set up another level of vulnerability that he wasn’t able to meet with me. Reflecting back, I also wasn’t ready to meet that level of vulnerability either especially after having gone through domestic violence.

That little girl inside of me took this relationship situation as If I did something wrong, and I felt unlovable and soon got into a depressive state. How did I get out of that state?

Movement!
Movement saved my life.

And I started to lean into movement because I would feel a deep release naturally. If I ever felt stuck, I would put on one of my favorite songs and I would let my body move. As I integrated other holistic tools such as visualization, akashic records and meditation, soon I was discovering my own holistic movement framework.

And this is how Womb Dance Alchemy was born!
A transformational body-based pathway designed to move from unworthiness/shame into self-trust and confidence through embodiment movement & intuitive subconscious reprogramming healing

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 started my holistic journey when my mom was diagnosed with cancer. It was back in late December of 2016, and I remember sitting next to my mom after church’s service when the secret of her health came to light out of her mouth.

“I have something important to tell you.. she paused…I was diagnosed with cancer”

I was in shock and then in denial after receiving my mom’s health news.

Already I had confronted the death of my grandmother who passed away because of pancreatic cancer back in 2013.

And this time it hit me harder to hear about my mom’s cancer diagnosis in her breasts.

I remember shutting myself in a room for two days like a hermit trying to find answers as I surfed the web. I would only see the sunlight to go get food.

Essential oils. Nutrition. Lifestyle choices what did I find?
Harmful ingredients in processed food, in lotion creams that are some of the factors causing cancer.

I was carrying a guilt for so long for seeing my mother go through this while I was living in NY away from her. That was my first moment that I felt completely lost and confused. Little did I know that this was my initiation to my self-discovery and new career path.

Back then I was living in NY, working as a sales associate for a clothing store and going to fashion school at Fashion Institute of Technology.

My life back then if I could describe it in a few words would be -Running the hamster wheel.
I felt overwhelmed often with work and school demands. Very little, I was able to take moments to truly pause and enjoy life.

I remember that I was working on my final project to graduate from fashion school where my source of inspiration was my mom. I designed a clothing archetype infused with essential oils, this would have been a prototype that would help people dealing with cancer, at least that was the intention behind that final project. I didn’t continue further developing this prototype after I graduated from fashion school, and so I went on another direction.

Slowly, on my quest to finding a “cure to Cancer,” I found myself involved in the holistic world. I started changing my lifestyle choices, eating mainly a plant-based diet, and using products with no “cancer causing ingredients.”

Then I stumbled upon Kundalini Yoga, energy healing, ancestral healing and a virtual spiritual community that supported my emotional and mental health throughout this period of my life. I learned how to tap into deeper states of awareness, develop my intuition, and learn more about my own ancestry and subconscious healing.

I became fascinated by Subconscious rewiring studies and practices, and I even found myself learning how to access the Akashic Records which is now part of the methodology I use with clients.

While experimenting with different holistic practices in my own healing journey, I discovered
A new way to process, and transmute repressed emotions and energy in my body through movement.

It happened one day I was in my room feeling so isolated and heartbroken by a guy I was dating at the time. I couldn’t bear the deep sadness and pain in my heart. The little girl inside of me felt lonely again as she had felt when she was in her early years.

I felt confused because this guy had slept in my bed and I was feeling uncomfortable when he wanted to touch me down there. I actually felt scared and disgusted with the idea that he was going to touch me. I felt dirty. And after this day, he ghosted me for days and I didn’t receive an explanation as to why. In my mind, I thought the relationship was moving forward, but that moment of me feeling ashamed when I was in bed with him, set up another level of vulnerability that he wasn’t able to meet with me. Reflecting back, I also wasn’t ready to meet that level of vulnerability either especially after having gone through domestic violence.

That little girl inside of me took this relationship situation as If I did something wrong, and I felt unlovable and soon got into a depressive state. How did I get out of that state?

Movement!
Movement saved my life.

And I started to lean into movement because I would feel a deep release naturally. If I ever felt stuck, I would put on one of my favorite songs and I would let my body move. As I integrated other holistic tools such as visualization, akashic records and meditation, soon I was discovering my own holistic movement framework.

And this is how Womb Dance Alchemy was born!
A transformational body-based pathway designed to move from unworthiness/shame into self-trust and confidence through embodiment movement & intuitive subconscious reprogramming healing

My services are especially geared towards women who have gone through sexual/emotional abuse, domestic violence and that are stepping into her own personal power as a creative leader entrepreneur. My mission is to empower women to trust their intuitive guidance and reconnect to their self-confidence and soul’s purpose so that they can live a vibrant and uplifting lifestyle.

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

Have you heard the phrase, “looking for love in the wrong places” ?

So this is what started my journey to building resilience.

It was a kind of a rainy day in New York during autumn season, when I took the bus that would take me back home from when I was studying Fashion. Little did I know that on that bus, I would meet the man who would change the trajectory of my life from that moment forward.

The bus was really packed and I was standing and holding tight from the bus metal rods. In a moment, I bumped into a guy who had green eyes, and a blond straight ponytail and was sitting in one of the seats. Soon we made eye-contact and we stroke a conversation that led us quickly into wanting to learn more from each other.

I had just moved into the area from Dominican Republic (my country of origin), so I was so new to the culture and people here.

We continued meeting and we soon realized we were so into each other that we started dating.

One month into this relationship and I was floating in “love”. You could say I fell in love so hard and quick as well.

Within two months, we decided to move in together and soon I started to see the real person I fell in love with. There were some red flags that I had ignored such as being stalked and followed by him. Back then, I thought it was the sweetest gesture since he would come with details and gifts.

But what one day seemed to be my charming Prince soon I saw before my eyes how I was co-living with a monster. Carlos had jealousy and anger issues that I hadn’t seen before.

Even If I was on my phone, Carlos wanted to know who I was speaking with. He even had an App on his phone that would track my calls, messages so that he would know who I had been spending time with (This I discovered way later in the relationship).

Things got worse between us with several episodes of violence, I witnessed from him. If he was angry or if I didn’t satisfy him sexually soon he would throw dishes, and other stuff around the house. At one point he pushed me off the bed.
In fact, he would punish me if he wouldn’t receive his daily erotic pleasure dose from me.
I was disgusted! I didn’t even want him to touch me anymore.

I grew so scared of this person. And I soon didn’t know who I was.
I felt lost and confused about myself and love.

Many times I would get home, and I would get home to a horror movie experience. My anxiety peaked to the highest. I started having episodes of stomach issues and my health and body were keeping the score of all the fears and repressed emotions I was feeling back then.

And a part of me needed to leave this house, and run away from this reality. Facing domestic violence made me feel many times as a victim, and I felt like I had no many choices left if I didn’t escape that house. Outside of the house I would keep myself busy with work and trying to “pretend all is well” with friends and colleagues.

The main reason why I didn’t decide to go away right away from that house was because during that time I was still dealing with some immigration papers that I was helping an ex partner I was married to before Carlos. And Carlos would threaten me to deport me by telling the US Embassy about what he considered was an “arranged business marriage.” His manipulation tactics worked. And this was in a way, a big reason why Carlos felt he needed to track me and make sure I wouldn’t return to the arms of my ex again.

But while all this was happening, I also got diagnosed with various STDs: Chlamydia and HPV. Soon, I needed to find strength and boldness to shift out of this reality because it was going too far for me.

Desperately, I would search for places to move out on my own. One thing is sure is that it didn’t feel easy. All along I had a crippling idea that “I couldn’t be able to afford to live by myself.” And so all the choices I would find felt out of reach.

Until one day, I found myself so tired of this and made a phone call to my dad while I was in school asking him if he knew anyone in NY that was renting an affordable room or place. The reality is that my dad and I had a very challenging relationship, and to ask him for support felt so intimidating and dreading. So I would always use that resource as the last one. But because my home environment situation with this man, and my own sanity was already in play, I dropped my own armors of vulnerability and asked for help.

He, soon connected me with a friend he knew who was renting a room. I was so grateful to have been able to ask for a help in a very delicate moment. And while this domestic violence experience would have brought me to a sad and dark place. The reality is that it gave me the strength to get out of a very dangerous situation with bravery and determination.

And soon I started to live with a lovely roommate who was an old lady. I felt safe there. I started finding my own sense of safety and to recreate my own sense of self.

It’s amazing how the very thing that was one of my biggest struggle and painful moments, It transformed into my soul’s calling to serve others in their journey to recovering from domestic violence.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I was sitting in my basement room in NY staring at a board where I drew my ancestral tree, It was part of my ancestor’s healing assignment. It was late winter when I was feeling a deep calling to quit my good pay corporate job.

I was in the Fashion Industry at the time, working for a big fashion corporate firm. I remember my daily grind of waking up early around 6:30 am and rush to prepare to get on buses and metro to get to 34TH St (one of the busiest streets of NYC). I arrive to the office, look at my phone to see if this time I didn’t arrive as late. I sit on my desk, and soon I ask my supervisor the agenda for the day.

Most of the day, I’m mostly sitting in front of a computer, and organizing fitting notes from models that would come to try on the fashion samples before it goes into production. At one point, I start to question if I went to fashion school just to spend over 8 hours of my day to just sit in front of a computer and do the same thing over and over again.

Honestly, during this time I was navigating a deep personal self-discovery process. Understanding so much better my true passions, values, and interests, I was sure that I loved fashion, but I disgusted the fashion industry system. It only focused on profit and to meet goals many times in ways that didn’t feel very ethical aligned to my ideals.

At the time, one of my passion projects I was working on was selling essential oils. I became an Essential Oil Advocate and this was the entry door to the holistic world, where I found my deepest passion and calling.

I remember that after my fashion job, some days I would host essential oil classes online or in person. I found that I had diverse talents I was developing and finding about myself such as loving creating essential oil consults to guide clients into better lifestyle choices.

And the more, I would do this along with my other passions with dance and holistic movement, the more I started to feel that I wasn’t feeling as passionate about the fashion job I was doing at the time.

Mostly it was the feelings of depression and anxiety, that led me to realize something was off with me. That my true passions were ready to evolve and manifest on a different career direction.

And one day, this deep voice inside of me, whispered “Quit this fashion job.” It came so subtly and calmly that it felt good and exciting. But then I started to think what would happen if I actually quit and fears and doubts filled my mind with worries that paralyzed me from making this happen.

So for over 8 months, I reframed this “quitting idea” with “I’ll create my own entrepreneur empire building my own holistic business.” During the time, my intuition felt so activated. I felt so guided, even though I would still feel filled with doubts about my own entrepreneurial path, a fire was igniting me within to lean into it. And my plan was to continue my fashion job, until my own business was thriving by itself. The reality is that I kept my promise, but my holistic business didn’t really take off around the desired timeframe.

Yet, I was growing so distant and disgusted from the fashion job that I felt I was selling my soul to the devil, if I stayed longer there.

And so one morning before Thanksgiving week, I approached my supervisor to tell him the news. I was super nervous. While I was sitting across my supervisor in a quiet room. I said the words, “I’m so grateful of my experience here but I no longer can stay here.. I then tripped over my own words… and my supervisor helped me to take the other words out of my mouth as he was affirming “So you’re leaving the company?…”

That was one of my scariest and bold moments of my life. To realign to what I truly desire and to communicate this.

And ever since then I haven’t looked back. Being able to wake up doing what I love, it has been my deepest gift and devotion. And even though, it may feel uncertain and unclear the path forward, it has been by taking small aligned actions, that I have been able to grow as a person and on my own entrepreneurial business.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://soulignaction-e9x9h2.mailerpage.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soulign_action/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leonis.arias/
• Other: https://linktr.ee/Soulignaction?fbclid=IwAR3_LpYKKbXAhY5t_74nPtjcAF0jtTY_YpKE6YUzHDzY6Oxs20pWtPqKbiY

Image Credits
Sonia Rene