We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sheila Zayas. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sheila below.

Sheila, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about how you went about setting up your own practice and if you have any advice for professionals who might be considering starting their own?

My business came about as a result of my own healing journey. Before, mornings felt like a bag of bricks lay on my body and tired eyes. Worry and sadness had kept me awake all night and getting out of bed was full of effort. My anxiety that was so intense that my whole stomach vibrated.

Cries from my soul became louder and louder with allergies, muscle tensions, and anger. It was time to finally face myself and my pain. So, I began to experiment with meditation, conscious connected breathing, sound healing, and crystals.

The journey to discover myself was subtle, but one day I realized – I finally feel peaceful and happy. Helping people tap into their inner guide to achieve harmony and balance in their lives is now my mission in life.

Once I made the decision, I began to study and obtain certifications in Reiki, Crystal Healing, and Breathwork. Then, I worked on my value proposition, website, and brand. The next step, searching for office space, was the hardest. What if it doesn’t work out? What if no one comes? But after looking at different options, I settled on a space. Despite the fear, I signed a one-year lease in a beautiful location.

My first year went wonderfully, but unfortunately the office was too loud for my peaceful and quiet services. And when it came time to sign a lease at a different place, the initial fear was long gone. I had pushed through it and landed unscathed on the other side.

Looking back, I should have been more clear with myself about my business needs and asked more questions to the office manager from the first place.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My company, The Sanctuary For Mind, Body & Spirit, a holistic wellness practice that helps people relax their body and mind, and raise their vibrations. When our body and mind are relaxed, and our energy field balanced, we’re in a state to invite in our intentions – whether that be solutions to challenges, physical recovery, spiritual growth, or emotional relief.

I offer Reiki, a Japanese relaxation technique that is soothing and calming. It involves light touch or hovering the hands to direct universal life force onto the person. Afterward, many people claim to feel lighter and more at peace.
I also offer Crystal healing, which is an ancient method of using stones on and around the body to increase one’s vibration. In m own life, I’ve successfully used crystals to help me sleep better, have clearer communication in difficult conversations, and bring in abundance.

My third service is Breathwork, the modality that has been the biggest catalyst for the transformation of my personal mental and emotional health. My life has exploded in beautiful and magical ways since I started connecting with my breath in a conscious way.

Services can be enjoyed via video conference as distance healing is just as effective remotely or in-person. I also offer group sessions such as staff retreats and girls’ night in full moon rituals.

One of the things that sets me apart from the other talented vibrational healers is the semi-healing / semi-coaching approach to my sessions. My clients receive feedback on their healing session as well as hand-written, practical energetic rituals they can do at home to help them navigate their transformation journey and awaken their own inner healer.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

In 2007, I started a professional organizing company while freelancing in graphic design. The recession of 2008 was no friend of my young business. I tried hard to hold onto my company until I finally had enough in 2010 and I re-entered the workforce. But this time, in debt, with a bruised ego and depressed. By then no one was hiring designers, so I desperately accepted a $10/hour clerical job.

Looking back, I’m so proud of myself for pushing the ceiling on what I thought was possible for a girl from Ponce, Puerto Rico. Growing up, I watched both my parents work hard to make sure my two siblings and I always had food on the table and all our needs met. But business or net worth were not a conversation at the dinner table. I am the first person in my family to even think about starting a business, let alone do it.

My parents raised no fool and taught me to dust myself off and go at it again. So, last year I started my new company – The Sanctuary.

One of the lessons I learned from my first stint in business is to focus on a few projects at a time and set healthy boundaries. Otherwise, I extend myself too thin. I also learned that self-worthiness and love are correlated to a free-flowing business and more satisfaction in life.

My family couldn’t be prouder and more supporting. Feeling inspired, my brother Omar Zayas also started his own company, a home remodeling business that is thriving and has a 2-month wait time.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Ever since I was a child, I always wanted to be an actress. I exercised my dream by becoming involved in my local community theatre scene and taking acting classes. A dream of mine was to improve enough to audition for national roles.

At the same time, I was avidly engaging in vibrational practices such as meditation and breathwork as a means to soothe the overpowering grief and dissatisfaction I felt in life. The more I healed within myself, the more my priorities began to shift.

As much as I loved acting and deeply desired to pursue it, I knew that what I’d learned about inviting peace into my life, connecting with myself and my spiritual gifts were of important service to humanity. Therefore, I chose to pivot dreams and walk down a different road that I didn’t even know was mine five years ago.

This new path of helping people discover and balance themselves is such a satisfying purpose that I take seriously, yet I have so much fun doing it. I get giddy when my clients report improvements in their lives, and I can see the changes in their countenance. That just means their inner Light is emerging, and the world could use more lit-up people!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mbssanctuary.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/mbssanctuary
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/mbssanctuary

Image Credits
David Muir