Making a Living in the World and Loving it

In my junior year of high school I had a summer job working for the brokerage firm that my mother worked for. She was thrilled because she was concerned that my love for theater and dance would keep me poor all my life. I needed something to fall back on, some real profession that had a future in it. Not only was that the most depressing summer of my life, but I suffered tonsillitis and reverted back to the speechless child I was when I stuttered so badly that I could hardly say a word. I decided then that I had to find another way. I had no way of knowing how hypnotherapy, Nia, Feldenkrais, theater, and becoming an exercise specialist would come together to create my life's work. Back then, I didn’t even know then what most of them were. I did know, however, that I was not cut out for the “clean and neat” 9-5 job. There had to be a way to make a living in this world and love it.

Some years later, I stumbled upon the Hypnotherapy Academy of America and attended one of the free intro classes. I was hooked. I enrolled and became a certified clinical hypnotherapist. Hypnotherapy gave me the ability to recognize and reverse unhealthy thoughts along with the power to change them in myself and assist others in doing the same for themselves. My mind and intellect were stimulated in ways I could not have expected. It was at this time that I discovered that I needed a disciplined practice for my body as well. Because of course, I am a whole being.
Then came Nia, and at the urging of some girlfriends I attended m
y first Nia class. At the time I thought that Yoga or Tai Chi would be my choice for a physical practice. It had to be something that I could continue growing with as an instructor. This was important as my plan was to increase my marketability with professions that I loved and would want to do the rest of my life. They had to also be a benefit to my own health and well being. My first Nia experience was with Holly Curtis at the Chavez Center. I arrived ready for the unusual movement experience I was promised by the girlfriend who brought me. The music was dynamic, the students were happy and free, and by the end of the hour not only was I drenched in sweat but I was also in tears.

“What the heck just happened to me!” I exclaimed.
What happened was that I got it: the essence of Nia. Not only was my body moved by the music, my imagination was engaged. Nia was expressive, aerobic, and I wanted to do it the rest of my life. This was it. I have since become a licensed instructor of the Nia Technique®.
After practicing hypnotherapy and teaching NIa for some years now, I have developed the desire to be able to offer my clients and students more. I wanted a stronger knowledge base so that I could be better informed as a Nia instructor and as a clinical hypnotherapist. Since I had been teaching Nia in the aerobics room at a local gym I began to branch out into using the weights and machines. I had discovered for myself the benefits of strength training and conditioning in a way that I had previously been adverse to. This change of mind was yet another surprise benefit of my practice with hypnosis: opening my mind to new possibilities. I discovered a bridge between the two modalities. Bingo, this was the next piece. I had to learn Kinesiology: the study of human movement. So, currently I am in the process of completing my degree in exercise science. This will be the first big step towards becoming an exercise specialist. Soon, I will be able to offer even more of what I love.

Since my first play in fourth grade, only one year of my life has not gone by where I have not performed in a stage production. This is will continue to be true as I branch out into also writing for stage and screen. I see that this as another way that I give what I love to my greater community. I have taught theater to grade school students in many different formats throughout my career. The movement of emotion and expression is also part of Nia and hypnotherapy.

To give what I love, there’s one more modality: Feldenkrais. The Feldenkrais Method® is a revolutionary approach for improving both physical and mental functioning through the exploration of body movement patterns and the use of attention. Over recent years, each time I have received a session in Feldenkrais I have been distracted with the vision of myself as practitioner. Seeing myself already there, delivering hypnosis and Feldenkrais in tailor made sessions for clients. It was what I wanted to have happen as hands gently manipulated my alignment, and it felt like a perfect match. Feldenkrais can be delivered in two modalities Awareness Through Movement® and Functional Integration®. So needless to say, I begin the Feldenkrais training in 2008.

It has taken me most of my adult life to explore and dabble into what interests me. Now I can bring together all of these talents that compliment each-other: giving me the opportunity to create a life’s work that is meaningful to me by benefiting my own health and well being as well as that of my clients and students. This allows me to offer a practice that is honest, and holistic. I am proud to have come to a line of work that I enjoy and want to do the rest of my life. My task now is to just fill in the pieces: creating an integrated holistic practice. I call this integration SomaHypnosis, my developing technique in the exploration in the body’s mind. My website is RedQuyn.com, check it out and stay tuned.