We recently connected with Natasha Zajac and have shared our conversation below.

Natasha , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

Both of my parents have always encouraged me to be curious about what makes me light up. They supported me in all ways as I tried out many things in life and were my biggest cheerleaders. From the womb, my dad, being musical himself, would have me listen to all types of music at different times. He did everything he could to send me to a private conservatory style music school and made sure I wouldn’t have to foot the bill at the end. He said that he never had the chance to hone in on his passions and wanted to give me the chance to really embrace the experience fully and not worry about finances. My mom may not have been musical, but she was my personal taxi driver to and from all of my hundreds of events, got up early each day to show love for me in many ways, and always give me words of encouragement throughout the journey. She found me voice teachers, goaded me to stay in dance and not give up, and she was my first massage therapist to boot! After every physical trial, her strong hands were there to soothe and rub my sore muscles and revive my spirit.
Most of all, they were loving to me and all of my passions, ups and downs, and never strayed from the path of unconditional love. What a blessing to have that as my foundation.

Natasha , 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?

Of course, it is par for the course in this life that we arrive to where we are because of a manage of soul callings, gifts, inspirations from others, and previous steps. Now, in midlife, I turn my head back for a moment in order to gather for you a simple account of how I reached this place in my journey and I have a toothy smile as I type this. I am a singer and a massage therapist who, for over twenty years has allowed for the healing power of vibration to inform my healing work and for the healing work to provide a voice for the music. The table work I do draws from Ancient Mayan traditions and shamanic medicine as well as the legacy of Dr John Upledger, in that, Cranial Sacral Therapy weaves in an out of the work that I intend to do. There are times that the clients non-verbal being calls for vibrational tone, so that also makes an appearance in our sacred time we share. Every session is unique because every moment carries its own resonance and requirement for deep listening. This is my practice- deep listening and sharing from the heart space. Off the table, I provide one-on-one personal retreats for women that offer space for working deeper with the medicine of listening, presence, bodywork, imagination, movement, toning, and rest. I have an incredible retreat space/recording and arts studio that I am blessed to use for these experiences called ArtFarm ( artfarmrecording.com) in Accord, NY. The 19 acres at the foot of the Catskill Mountains makes for an idyllic landscape to be in stillness surrounded by nature and just BE. Mayan spiritual bathing ceremonies in the wood fired sauna, embodied vocal toning to release old holdings and trauma in a soundproof open studio, trails to walk and experience forest bathing, and private space for body treatments that center around womb wellness, grounded spirituality, diaphragmatic breath work and cranial sacral system balancing. Regular timed private sessions are always available in my cozy home studio in Southern Ulster County and create the bulk of my schedule. Perhaps the mention of my singing life seems apart from the thread here, but it would make zero sense to me to leave that out. From as young as I can remember, I sang through life and felt it sing me. I went to study classical singing in a conservatory like school of music with an extraordinary master teacher (Carol McAmis of Ithaca College) then created a chance for myself to add to my wide interest in cross genres by following a deep soul calling to go to India alone for months to study music and well, let’s face it, myself even more. A decade of early motherhood after all of this tuned my heart strings even more and my songs changed and my relationship to music shifted as life danced on. I’ve started performances with ceremony followed by original music as well as songs gathered from around the globe. I’ve done improvisational toning work on those who were leaving the earth while blessing them with essential oils, compassionate touch, and prayer. Toning into the bones of sick residents of nursing facilities, as well as singing for film scores in order to create a soundscape for the visual arts. Producing events that bring voices and different sounds together in alternative spaces like Widow Jane Mine in Rosendale as well as being lucky enough to utilize my gifts for fundraising events such as the “Water is Life” festival in Deluth, Minnesota with the special Keith Secola Band lights my inner fire. It is in the presence, once again, and the deep listening that unifies these two passions of mine. The commencement of any session, performance, workshop, etc is an opportunity for me to ground, listen; and Eckhart Tolle said it best when he described connection with others this way- “my formlessness melds with their formlessness.”

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

I believe, a sound spiritual life is key to succeeding in my field. It is when I am spiritually healthy and connected to the richness of own divinity, that I am able to listen to, feel and connect with the core of the other(s). For that, I am truly grateful every day for this life and how I get to share it with others.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

This might be controversial, but I would say that my childhood conditioning set the stage for me to believe that the more I give of myself for others, the better I am as a girl/woman/person. My mind wanders to the story of the “Giving Tree” or Mother Theresa. Both examples speak of the importance of service to others and that in these cases it is regarded as noble, helpful and even spiritual. Being engaged in a life of service, I do not disagree. But what I had to realize is that if continually giving of my myself was the goal, how could that possibly have longevity? What I recognized as the years went on is that I was becoming like the tree. I was allowing myself to be cut down over and over for the sake of giving and if I gave time to fill my own well, I actually would feel shame. This became and still is an important lesson I came upon that I had to learn. Balance of giving to others and giving to myself. Nourishing my resources enough, so that I can show up as fully and healthy as I possibly can both for them AND for me.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.twoheartedsoul.com and natasha-music.com
• Instagram: twoheartedsoulwork and musicbynatasha
• Facebook: Prashanti Therapeutic Massage Studio-Two Hearted Soul Healing Arts

Image Credits
Photographs by Natasha Zajac