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

Marisa, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. 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.

The biggest risk I’ve taken is quitting my corporate job and starting my own business. This switch demanded that I level up, show up fully, and be committed to living in integrity. I was committed to sharing my divine gifts, owning my authentic power, and honoring my true purpose as a healer and transformation doula.

It was a hard choice, because I had the safety and security working as an Assistant Vice President at a top insurance brokerage firm, financially successful.

AND I was also constantly busy, scared to slow down, feeling depressed, not in alignment, and living with a LOT of fear.

It was incredibly exhausting and some days I don’t even know how I did it. I couldn’t ignore the signs from my body. I was bingeing and purging between client calls and meetings, My nervous system was burnt out and I was constantly anxious, I was peeing blood, my bladder was unbelievably irritated with me, my hair was falling out, my adrenals were burned out, hormones all over the place, my nails were brittle and thin, and I had relentless bloating.

After years numbing myself out and distracting myself from my body’s cues.. I had to finally listen.

I ended up taking a sabbatical from my corporate job and never returned. Once I gave myself the space to heal, the combination of intention, somatic therapies, sacred plant medicine, and expressive arts therapy helped me rebirth myself and remember who I actually was. This is is why I do the work that I do… because I know how to move from fear to love and rewire the nervous system and our unconscious responses to life.

My journey guided me to:

*Lean into discomfort
*Make space in silence and stillness.
*Come back to my creativity and fun.
*My nervous system could finally be at ease.
*The fear and resistance to life started to lift.
*Learn radical acceptance and grieve my inner child who had been through so much trauma.

I’m so grateful I took the risk to start living my life’s mission as an integrative healing arts practitioner.

Marisa, 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?

Hi, I’m Marisa Skolky, the heart behind Beyond Limits Expressive Arts Therapy LLC.

I am a healer and medicine woman, drawing from bottom up experiential therapies like somatics, parts work (IFS), sacred plant medicines, dance, psychodrama, reiki, hypnotherapy, and expressive arts, to assist you in remembering who you truly are.

I help you transform trauma into power by tuning into the intelligence of the body and your higher self, and I provide life-affirming practical tools to empower your authentic self-expression.

For 16 years, I faced the shadows of Bulimia, while working as an Assistant Vice President at a large wholesale insurance brokerage, navigating the depths of my personal underworld. On the outside, I looked happy and successful, but inside, I was burned out, living out of integrity with my values and not serving the world in the ways I knew I was meant to.

Through this soul initiation, I re-birthed myself with profound compassion, respect, and self- love, transforming chronic conditions through natural healing modalities.

I haven’t just walked this path; I’ve embraced it, danced through it, grieved through it, and blossomed within it. This sacred experience inspired me to create a nurturing program, designed to support my clients with genuine empathy and heartfelt understanding.

This journey is about recalling the disavowed parts of yourself and reclaiming who you truly are…

You are a WHOLE and embodied being with a resilient nervous system that empowers you to bounce back from life’s ups and downs with ease, grace and confidence.

Together, we acknowledge and rewire subconscious blocks and use art and movement as a conduit for alchemizing pain into wisdom so you can finally feel empowered to:

*Heal through past trauma responses and health concerns.

*Embrace your shadow and rejected parts so you can radically accept yourself without shame or judgment.

*Stop feeling stuck and start getting clear about what you really want.

*Shift from consuming media, drama, food, and other distractions to creating a life you love.

*Cultivate a greater level of self trust and intentional living grounded in love over fear.

*Reclaim an inner state of safety by being present with yourself.

*Retrieve parts of your soul that hold innate wisdom.

*Release limiting beliefs to allow for more fun and joy each day.

*Embody a new way of being through ritual, mantra, and play.

My unique method involves getting the body on board with creating neuroplasticity, tuning into the felt sense of what’s happening, and building a healthy relationship with the different parts of your psyche.

I help my clients develop unshakable confidence by fully integrating and embodying their experiences. Trust and freedom will become the lens through which you view the world.

Here are the Experiential Pillars Of My Signature Program: The Beyond Limits Heroic Transformation

• Music/Dance Therapy: Get out of the stories in your head and come back into the body through expressive movement and rhythm. Experience a release of tension and an expansion of emotional freedom.

• Reiki: Receive the flow of healing Universal life force energy to help you restore balance and feel a deep restful nervous system recalibration

• Somatic Integration: Develop and practice awareness of bodily sensations and learn how to feel safe in your body while exploring thoughts, emotions, and memories.

• Sacred Plant Medicine Integration: Alchemize pain into wisdom and access a higher level of mystical connection with sacred plant medicine support.

This powerful blend of modalities will transform your fear into love and empower you to take action from a place of trust and alignment.

In my presence, you will find a gentle soul, a compassionate guide, and a kindred spirit. I am a mirror, reflecting your innermost beauty and wisdom back to you, encouraging you to step into your authentic power and accepting the fullness of your being. Together, we will dance on the precipice of the unknown, exploring the depths of existence, and awaken to the rebirthing magic that lies within and without.

With the support of my programs, your felt sense will lead to a felt shift, as you navigate your internal world, and show up for yourself, led by compassion and grace.

This embodied transformation will rewire your stored unconscious nervous system responses to create a lasting FEELING of empowerment, resilience and inner safety.

I’m most proud of the way I customize a transformation plan for each client, making life into a sacred ceremony, where every moment is an opportunity for authentic growth and self expression.

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

If I could go back I would have majored in psychology and started working in my profession A LOT sooner. My career as a commercial property insurance broker gave me valuable skills to learn how to build a book of business, nurture relationships, handle marketing, and develop personal power and independence. I’m really grateful for what I learned. I was blessed to have an incredible boss at the insurance brokerage, who supported my unique ideas and eccentric personality. I would make insurance music videos and written poems/raps to underwriters for helping me write accounts. I was still really stressed out and it ultimately wasnt worth risking my health any longer.

I really love what I do and the unique way in which I can help my clients run back home to themselves instead of numbing out or distracting when they have uncomfortable feelings. If I could have gotten started being of service in this way sooner, I definitely would have.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

I think having a trauma informed practice is the most helpful in succeeding in my field.

QUALITIES OF TRAUMA-INFORMED PRACTITIONERS

Personal Experience — The map is not the territory, and certain wisdom is only gained with personal lived experience. We cannot hold space for someone effectively when we do not have a sense of the experiential quality.

Relational — understanding of the person in front of you well enough that you can support their unique needs. Relationship *is* an important part of the experience, not something that impedes the healing and growth process. If we rupture, we seek to repair. If we can’t be of service, we refer out.

*Make the container as clear as possible up-front with intentions for relating. If there are changes, then discuss and renegotiate what is being co-created.

*Co-Created — Choice and consent are available throughout the process, while still maintaining an environment of “safe enough” and held within one’s capabilities and skillsets (aka. scope of practice)

Committed — commitment to the process. No abandonment of people when they require us, even if this goes beyond our original planned time with them.

Presence-Centered — support person is an effective co-regulating presence with whatever arises in the experience of the journeyer. Assists the journeyer in staying with intensity while maintaining a sense of presence.

Attuned — ability to appropriately mirror, reflect, respond, or offer interventions according to the presentation of the journeyer at a given time.

Intentional and Adaptable — People over protocols. Appropriate and right sized settings for the individual and/or group. Why am I doing what I am doing? What purpose does it serve?

Paced — right timing for the situation and person at hand, both for the process and titration of methods (medicinals, modalities).

Transparent — skillfully communicate verbal and non-verbally as needed at all stages of the process. Over rather than under-communicate when in doubt. Be transparent and clear rather than ambiguous.

Relevant — maintain an updated view on various perspectives on trauma, and the cultural context in which the individual is seeking support. Thorough information and education.

Skillful — Awareness of trauma responses and ability to know what to do when things may shift from appropriate discomfort into harm.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.marisaskolky.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mskolky/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093023647736
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marisa-skolky-9a8a0622/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@marisaskolky
• Yelp: https://www.youtube.com/@marisaskolky
• Other: https://linktr.ee/marisaskolky

Image Credits

Monica Moran Photography