Welcome to today Mystic Mag‘s interview with a specialist in stress reduction and relaxation. In a world where we are constantly bombarded by a never-ending stream of demands and distractions, finding ways to manage stress and achieve a sense of inner calm has become more important than ever. Our guest today is an expert in holistic health, with a deep understanding of the mind-body connection and a wealth of experience in helping people reduce stress and find balance in their lives. From mindfulness practices to gentle movement and breathing techniques, we’ll be exploring a range of effective strategies for achieving greater relaxation and well-being. So sit back, take a deep breath, and join us for an enlightening conversation with Cia A Robles.
When did you discover holistic health and that you wanted to help people with it?
I am the eldest girl child of four children in my family of origin. I was raised Catholic and I am Hispanic; sometimes I’d open a talk with 1,2,3 strikes, I’m out !
My father held deep wounds from his early childhood; energetically and unconsciously, I felt a psychic responsibility to heal him. You might say I was groomed to be a healer but this can be a huge burden, especially for a child. This took a long time for me to make sense of and to discern between healthy caregiving versus compulsive caregiving and overcare, as HeartMath terms it.
As a young child, I found great comfort in nature; I’d spend time fascinated by a type of tiny butterfly that found its way into our yard and I delighted in the narcissus and other flowers that bloomed each spring. There was a gray feral cat that befriended me through our porch screen door, he would bring me grasshoppers as a gift. My mother named him Tom, because she said he was a tomcat; he quickly became my best friend. I adore cats to this day and currently have two female cats, Honey, an orange and white tabby and Shrimp, a longhaired tortoise.
Our family vacations were often taken at the seashore, the long stretches of beach were peaceful and nourishing for me. I fell in love with the ocean and I am still happiest when near any body of water.
My mother cooked our meals from scratch, so I learned to enjoy home cooked meals; I believe it is important to know how to feed ourselves well. But the bigger conscious awareness choice occurred in my early 20ies when I came across the Holistic Health Handbook. I learned about whole foods and became a strict vegetarian for some years. I had fun learning how to make my own soaps, shampoos and more. This exploration opened me up to a more natural way of living. Since I had given up on God long ago, I now had a new sense of meaning; this is how I connected to spirituality, my own inner life.
I believe that therapy saved my life. I know the value of feeling seen and heard, of feeling a connection and support. I believe a sense of validation is critical inorder to heal ourselves, both from others and ultimately from our own inner being. I sought my own personal therapy for many years and still check from time to time.
It is an honor and my joy to assist people in their growth, expansion and healing. I have developed skill and expertise through my many personal life traumas and crises. I have strong intuition, the ability to be 100 % present and the art of a broader perspective.
What issues and conditions do people bring to you these days? Is it more mental health or also physical?
The majority of the clients I see are experiencing symptoms of anxiety due to unhappiness in their relationships. Whether it is an intimate partner, parents, children or even in the workplace or community, they often feel frustration with the behavior of the other. They feel a lack of love and acceptance and a lack of value and connection. Physical symptoms often accompany this unhappiness with migraines, insomnia, gut issues, back pain, exhaustion and hypertension to name a few.
They are often stuck in their thoughts and feelings, guilty over the past and trying to predict the future. They may be preoccupied with their career, racism, homelessness, climate change, etc, which is understandable; however, some kind of relationship disharmony will be the underlying issue. They have not learned to love and honor themselves yet.
Insomnia, anxiety, anger, hypertension… Is it possible to avoid those issues in a frantic and competitive world?
It is now known that a large percentage of emotional and physical ills are the result of our mental and emotional distress. This means how we perceive our world, and this perception comes from what we learned in early childhood. Our bodies are always reacting to life, so it is not that we can avoid our reactions, but it is more in how we perceive our capacity to respond. It is vital that we understand the essential shift of turning inward, where our power lies. It is entirely possible to recondition our bodies and minds to develop resilience. We can learn how to calm and comfort ourselves so that we can establish a new, strong and solid foundation. With inner stability, we can experience more health and happiness..
Can you explain to us your idea of heart coherence? How do you integrate HeartMath to that?
I have taught the practice of inviting the mind to rest in the heart space for a long time. This brings our attention into our bodies and allows our energy to flow throughout easily. Heart coherence is an even heart rhythm that allows the whole self to calm and relax, a vital process for physiological restoration. I was overjoyed when I discovered the HeartMath Institute, and their over 30 years of research on heart- brain coherence. I have two certifications which include HeartMath technology, a type of biofeedback which has proven extremely helpful, especially for those clients who hold greater degrees of resistance to getting quiet and still.
You also offer a wide array of services. Can you present them to us?
I offer Integrated Somatic Trauma Healing therapy which simply means I teach clients how to become aware of their own body’s reactivity. This is achieved by paying attention to their breathing, to slow it down, deepen the breath and allow the body to relax. Next, we focus on an uplifting experience, raising the emotional state: this helps build a reservoir of trust and safety for exploration to begin. Whatever the trauma may be, I help them bring it to the present moment where they can begin to establish safety and learn to take charge of their choices.
Hypnosis is another method to relax the body and mind, to become more conscious of our thoughts in order to retrain our thinking pattern. Many clients find great relief here, feeling better right away, like a mini vacation. Here we can introduce new habits and positive speech.
Touch therapy is both self touch and therapist touch, (never sexual). Here we are attuning to the body’s energy system; finding where energy gets stuck and getting to know the body’s intuitive wisdom. Clients can experience a sense of connection, support and groundedness.
I also assist specifically in bringing awareness to the constant distractions that are at play and learning to understand themselves deeply. This can open a new path to unravel this conditioning and recondition the self to new healthy patterns.
Do you have a special message to our audience in these challenging times?
There is a solution available even at those times when it may not seem possible. Slow down, pause and stop. Give yourself permission to explore, allow yourself to expand and create, this is your true nature. Open to self awareness instead of self criticism: practice Love and Acceptance of yourself in this moment consistently. You deserve to be happy, you deserve to feel good now.
