Today we’d like to introduce you to Heather Emmons.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My story started in Bay City, MI.
As a child, I was placed into the gifted & talented program in my elementary school. Even amongst my peers, I experienced a tremendous amount of bullying that went on for years. There was always something just a little bit different about me that was hard to put a finger on.
My home life was incredibly dysfunctional and challenging as well, and most all of the adults in my life had mental health and substance abuse issues.
As I grew up, I became increasingly inspired to help others. At first, I did this behind the chair in a variety of beauty salons and spas from Bay City, MI to San Diego, CA and back again.
In that time, it became clear to me that I had a gift for hands on healing and I pursued furthering my career into the healing arts of massage therapy, yoga, meditation, and energetic & spiritual body work.
Those interests coincided with my own journey of healing. The more I learned about and helped myself, the more I discovered that I could also be a guiding light & support for other trauma survivors.
I formed my business, Sunflower Healing Studios, LLC in the winter of 2019. Of course, the Spring of 2020 had other plans for me and the rest of the world.
Once things began to open up again, I began offering donation based yoga classes on the beach at Bay City State Park, and volunteering my time teaching yoga to young girls in after school programs. I also began reaching out to local businesses to network with them, using their spaces in their off hours as containers for my class offerings. It was a really beautiful time of networking and camaraderie in downtown Bay City and I am forever grateful to all of my friends, students and colleagues during that time.
Eventually, I was able to open a small studio of my own in the Battery Park Commerce Building on Center Ave, across from the Alice & Jack Wirt Library. I joined the Bay City Area Chamber of Commerce and we did a ribbon cutting, and for a short time the business was a success. We hosted a variety of events, classes, and workshops to bolster the community including everything from sound healing to AA meetings. It was one of the proudest and most beautiful times of my life.
At the same time, I was attending Delta College as a full time student in their business & entrepreneurial program. On the Dean’s List, maintaining a 4.0 GPA. I was also spending a lot of time involved in charity work and speaking engagements.
Things seemed great on the outside. On the inside, I was struggling greatly.
I had dropped out of school to concentrate on the business, and in the Summer months when the business began to struggle, I took on two extra jobs and a roommate in order to stay afloat. Sometimes paying my employees out of my own pocket.
That Fall, I made the heartbreaking decision to close the doors of my lovely little studio that had meant so much to me, and the community being built around it. I was heartbroken. I internalized these feelings of failure, and withdrew into a depression the likes of which I had never experienced before.
At one point near Christmas, my roommate came home to discover me sobbing into the open freezer door. It was then, with his kindness and encouragement, that I decided to get help. Which was much easier said than done, especially given the holiday season. All of the beds in the local mental health inpatient clinic were full.
My primary care doctor was able to order a prescription for me that while in the long run wasn’t the right fit for me, 100,000% saved my life. It gave me the energy to continue to function, but there was something wrong that I couldn’t put my finger on. It did not feel like a typical depression. I was overwhelmed by everything. Lights were too bright, I was extremely sensitive to sounds, textures. I was prone to emotional outbursts. I couldn’t be around crowds, drive at night, concentrate to read or watch any new tv shows. I was keeping to myself and falling out of touch with friends because I didn’t want to worry them. Everything was exhausting. I stopped walking my dog. I had a hard time showering, mixing up products or the order they should be used. Washing my face with hair conditioner, brushing my teeth with cortisone cream. Eating was difficult, sometimes dinner was a box of crackers and some candy.
In the months that followed, I discovered that I am autistic. I was also diagnosed with ADHD and CPTSD. I was going through something called neurodivergent burnout. I had been pushing myself beyond capacity for so long that my brain was literally injured, and I needed to change the entire structure of my life in order to recover.
I went online and learned a lot from other people going through the same thing. Mostly other women around perimenopausal age that had somehow lost the ability to cope with the demands of everyday life.
It has been quite the long road to recovery. It has been quite a few years since I closed the studio doors. They say it can take up to 5 years to recover from neurodivergent burnout, and that a lot of people never regain their old capacity. I am around year 4 of my recovery, and I am only just now starting to feel anything like my old self again, and I know I will never be the same.
In spite of it all, or perhaps because of this, my purpose remains the same. To help others who have suffered, or who are currently suffering.
Sunflower Healing Studios, LLC is still alive and well, and the business has transformed alongside of me. I’m now working one on one with private clients, either virtually or in their homes to provide programs with services specially tailored to their needs. I have worked with cancer patients, organ transplant recipients, stroke survivors, and other immunocompromised individuals. I specialize in trauma informed nervous system rehabilitation. I love my work, and I love helping others. I’m excited to see where life takes me next!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road of my personal life and the road of my professional life are forever intertwined.
It has not been a smooth road.
I have gone through many cycles of rebirth in my four decades walking this earth.
I have lost many dear loved ones in my life- to death, distance, and misunderstandings.
I’ve experienced poverty, addiction, CSA, abuse, neglect, and
I am survivor of complex/compounded trauma.
I am currently writing a book
about my life.
“Although life is full of suffering, it is also full of overcoming it.”
-Helen Keller
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a Neurodivergent & Trauma Informed Spiritual Wellness Practitioner holding certifications as a Licensed Massage Therapist, Shamanic Craniosacral Therapist, Reiki Master, & Registered Yoga Teacher.
I have over a decade of experience in the field of healing arts; leading countless healing circles, retreats, meditations and ceremonies.
I have travelled extensively and worked with indigenous elders to bring healing to all who seek it.
I act as a guide, a bridge, a lighthouse; the healing comes from within oneself.
I specialize in nervous system rehabilitation, bringing the body out of the panic response and into a state of safety, alignment & coherence between the physical, mental, and spiritual systems.
I’m known for my gentle, meditative unique yoga style, cacao ceremonies & sound journeys.
I am most proud of my work when I am able to inspire and uplift others in order to bring the collective consciousness into the coherence of love & unity.
What does success mean to you?
A believe that a person is successful when they are able to consistently be kind to others and themselves.
Pricing:
- • $100/hr.
- *package rates available
- *group rates available
- *includes gratuities
- *hourly rate applied to travel as well as services
Contact Info:
- Website: HEmmonsRYT@gmail.com
