Vivian Cronkhite has found her calling as a somatic healer. Her career as a massage therapist for over 17 years, a yoga instructor, and now a breathwork practitioner, has led her to help hundreds of people release pent-up trauma that has become “trapped” in their bodies.
“We have an amazing mind and body which can unlearn habitual behaviors. By adjusting the way the sensory system communicates with the motor system, we can teach the body to breathe deeply and enjoy the health benefits associated with it,” said Vivian.
Vivian’s story isn’t unique. She went through some terrible situations and rose above. Negative experiences can spur positive change, including recognition of personal strength, the exploration of new possibilities, improved relationships, a greater appreciation for life, and spiritual growth.
Vivian went through a tumultuous divorce in 2018 and discovered she had c-PTSD (complex post-traumatic stress disorder) and a dysregulated nervous system (the inability to control or regulate emotional responses to provocative stimuli). This sparked the need for talk therapy, which provided many benefits, however, she knew she needed something more.
“Through my training as a massage therapist, I learned that ‘you must feel it, in order to heal it’, and I wanted to lean into this more.”
In 2019 Vivian became a yoga instructor to cope with her divorce and discovered the healing power of sound bowl meditations. She incorporated sound bowls as part of her yoga classes to promote relaxation for her clients as she found the effects to be very pleasing. She became very passionate about this low-cost low technology intervention because she could attest that it reduced feelings of tension, anxiety, and depression, and increased spiritual well-being for her as she dealt with personal turmoil in her life.
From 2021 through 2022 she began studying the nervous system and the Polyvagal theory, which led her to learn more about breathwork, the practice of intentionally changing your breathing pattern. She also spent two months in California studying somatic therapies and became certified as a breathwork practitioner.
Her studies transform into a spiritual healing journey that would guide her to opening The Healing Studio in 2022 to help people reduce stress, learn daily self-healing techniques, unblock self-limiting beliefs, connect back to their bodies, and help regulate their nervous systems.
Vivan works one-on-one with clients using modalities such as deep tissue massage, Thai massage, yoga, qigong, sound bowl healing, and breathwork at a studio in Kalamazoo. Vivian finds mind-body-soul approaches to healing to match each of her client’s needs.
“The Healing Studio brings awareness to our stuck trauma that lays stagnant in our bodies and ways we can release it,” said Vivian. “My struggles in life led me on a journey to find healing. My healing journey will be continual, I still have a long ways to go but I felt called to share this work with others.”
In addition to her work at The Healing Studio, Vivian also does pop-up events teaching how to move emotional energy through the body and works at a juvenile center once a week sharing her teachings with children pro bono.
Her journey is proof that you can take your pain and transmute it into something beautiful. She loves sharing this with the world.
“We spend so much time on our phones, running from place to place, up in our heads, and overly busy to distract ourselves. Through my work at The Healing Studio, I get to help people reconnect back to their bodies.”
Vivan loves all things yoga, dancing, astrology, traveling, and being creative. Vivan spends her free time making art with her two boys and watching them evolve into young men. It’s the simple things in life that captivate her soul. The sunflowers on her dining room table, wrapping a soft blanket around her with a good book and seeing her sons grow every day. She has found ways to channel positivity into every crevice of her life.
If you want inspiration to change your outlook on life and turn your negative thoughts into something positive, follow The Healing Studio on Facebook or visit www.thehealingstudio.org for more information.