Hello and welcome
I have always been fascinated by humxn existence and the meaning of life - collectively, interpersonally and intrapersonally. Why are we here? Why do we die? What makes this life worth living? How do we heal and thrive together?
Over the last two decades, I keep returning to these questions seeking to understand the sacred and wounded complexity of being a human-animal. I have found that freedom & healing from the bondages of our interpersonal, systemic, and ancestral traumas can happen when we move through our suffering with safe support towards wholeness, authenticity & compassion. This is the heart of my work.
My Specialization
SYSTEMIC
& INSTITUTIONAL TRAUMA
Racism, ethnic-based discrimination, homophobia, transphobia, white-supremacy, gender-based violence, misogyny, patriarchy, university & educational trauma and other systemic traumas.
NON-MONOGAMOUS RELATIONSHIPS
Relationship struggles including jealousy, difficulties with compersion, attachment wounding, insecurities, triggers, communication, boundaries and systemic-based challenges including race, class and gender.
MINDFULNESS
& SELF-COMPASSION
Building awareness of the breath, body sensation and mental landscape including cultivating equanimity (balance of the mind), concentration and compassion as a loving witness towards oneself and others.
AUTHENTIC
RELATING & PLAY
Cultivating authentic, embodied & sincere relationships that resource the nervous system and encourage secure attachment and longevity. Reclaiming playfulness, curiosity and experimentation to counteract perfectionism and shame.
diaspora
& IMMIGRATION EXPERIENCES
Challenges and trauma associated with immigration, war, genocide, colonization, intergenerational disconnection, cultural and lineage separation and assimilation.
INTERIOR DECORATION & ORGANIZATION
Reclaiming home as a place of refuge by understanding that our physical space and internal space are inseparable in a bio- physiological feedback loop impacting our physical, emotional and mental health.
My Approach
The Dharma
The Dharma is a doctrine dating back 2,600+ years ago proclaimed by Siddharta Gautama, The Buddha. The Dharma originating from North India, shares principles of universal truths that inform my understanding that human suffering is rooted in ignorance which manifests as cravings, aversions, and reactivity. Family, culture, ancestral history and socialization all play a complex role in the karmic blueprint one has to reckon with. This framework also offers the wisdom and practice of self-compassion, mindfulness, equanimity and community as gems to heal & transform.
Feminist &
Queer Wisdom
Feminist and queer frameworks acknowledge the impact of larger systems of oppression on individual and interpersonal health & safety. These oppressive systems fragment and dehumanize people and negatively impact marginalized communities. Healing, through this lens occurs by first acknowledging systems of oppression and then working to dismantle them through choosing & practicing alternative ways of being.
Somatic Experiencing®
Somatic experiencing® is a body-centered trauma healing modality that focuses on the wisdom of the autonomic nervous system by inviting curiosity, attention and exploration of the body’s response to threat & danger. This approach focuses on creating safe & supportive conditions to release survival energy bound up in the body through resourcing & co-regulation (the support we receive from other beings!). It is a psycho-biological method in healing and regaining access to the present moment and our life force.
Humanistic
Humanistic psychology focuses on the inherent goodness of human beings through the persistent search for connection, belonging and meaning. These modalities invite us to look at the frailty, mortality and fleetingness of the human experience which can encourage us to live more authentically, generously and lovingly within ourselves and with each other. In this modality, we do not identify with our traumas or woundings but rather understand the wholeness of human beings by witnessing oneself as an observer.
When deemed important, I identify as a trauma survivor, the middle child of Punjabi-Sikh immigrant parents, second generation Canadian, middle-class, queer, non-monogamous, non-binary, estrogen-dominant, racialized, asian & neurodivergent. I come from a line of teachers, philosophers & farmers. Beneath all of this I practice returning again and again to the colourless, genderless, sexless and identity-less molecular matter from which we are all made.
My lineage
I am thankful to my teachers & communities that have loved me and taught me invaluable lessons. This list is by no means exhaustive and I extend my gratitude to the web of relations that continues to hold me in my healing & professional journey.
I give thanks to:
S.N. Goenka & the assistant teachers of the Vipassana Meditation Centers in Montebello, Quebec & Joshua Tree, California for their consistent, deeply enriching & foundational teachings of the Dharma over the past decade.
Nouha Ali Ahmed whose care, wisdom & expertise of somatic experiencing® have been invaluable in my journey as a trauma survivor and SEP.
Berns Galloway, Sage Hayes, & Dea Parsinishi whose teachings and consulting of Peter Levine’s somatic experiencing® supported me greatly in becoming an SEP.
Dale Robinson whose compassion & care as a mentor & supervisor helped me in my foundation as a therapist in private practice.
My Peer Supervision colleagues Melissa Cobbler, Vesna Antwan & Gabriela Gomez for their consistent and enriching support & encouragement in my professional development.
Punita Chohan, my mother, who taught me the value of self and tribe-protection, justice based peace, forgiveness, generosity, & faith which guides me in my personal & professional journey.
My Queer kin who continue to weave new ways to love, play and exist beyond oppressive systems into liminal spaces of magic, freedom & transformation.
Education & Training
Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner Training
2020 Somatic Experiencing® International
Master in Counselling Psychology
2013 McGill University
Nutrition & Lifecycles Course Physiology & Pathology Course
2021, Ecole Setsuko
Authentic Facilitation Leadership Training
2018, Authentic Revolution
Bachelor of Arts Psychology Major, Women Studies Minor
2010 University of Alberta
9x 10-Day Silent Meditation Trainings
2013–Present, Vipassana Meditation Center Dhamma.org
MEMBERSHIPS
Certified Canadian Counsellor, Canadian Counseling & Psychotherapy Association
2013–Present
Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner, SEI
2019–Present
Naturotherapist, L'Association des Naturothérapeutes du Québec
2019-Present
CURRENT ROLES
& POSITIONS
Queer Sangha: LGBTQ2S+ Meditation Facilitator
2019–Present
Authentic Relating Facilitator
2018–Present
Somatic Experiencing® Assistant
2019–Present
MTL Healing Space Facebook Resource Sharing Group: Creator & Administrator
2014–Present