We had the good fortune of connecting with Kristin Dwan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kristin, what is the most important factor behind your success?
Being 100% myself and sharing deeply about my healing journey is what brings me success at The Healing Woods. In the 20+ years I have been working with people, I always share what I am going through in my journey, and how I am able to get myself out of my own issues with health. I have died and come back to life in a Burn Ward after suffering 3rd-degree burns over 30% of my body, I have lived through a colon resection after being misdiagnosed for 9 months of abdominal pain, I have won a battle with cancer and I have lost 135 pounds in the past year and a half using Self Hypnosis. All of these things taught me of the power and wisdom I have within me, and each battle brought me new tools to learn. Reiki and Hypnotherapy were my sword and shield through these intense battles and I wouldn’t want to know what the outcome of those battles would be without them. Today I am the strongest, healthiest and happiest I have ever been in 45 years of life, and it is my passion and soul’s purpose to help people find their own light within to help them through their own battles. I wrote my book “Baptism By Flame – 10 Steps to Ignite your Light Within” about dying and coming back to life from the fire and my spiritual journey after. It is more than just a memoir…it is a tool for the reader to use on their own journey with an online component that gives you guided meditations, writing exercises and more to inspire your own journey. https://www.thehealingwoods.com/kristin-s-book

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
The Healing Woods began over 20 years ago after my house fire. After dying and coming back to life in the Burn Ward I knew that I had a reason to be on this planet still, and that reason was to teach, inspire and spread the knowledge of Reiki and working on the subconscious level as far and wide as I could. I began working on my book and learning the different levels of Reiki from Reiki Level 1 to Reiki Master/Teacher. During this time, I had a day job in the advertising industry and shot up to the top of that industry from an assistant to a Regional Sales Manager. During my 15 years in the advertising world, I learned about marketing, branding, copywriting, pitching and speaking in front of people. I learned how to build a business, set goals, and always lead with my heart and truth, which is what set me apart in that world. People always remarked about what a “breath of fresh air” and “how different” I was from most people in that world. I never lost sight of who I was and what I wanted to do in life and learning and practicing Reiki is what kept me cool, level and positive in such a tough and demanding business where others around me were slowly losing their souls. I would do tarot readings for workmates at lunch, Reiki sessions behind closed doors for people who were freaking out because a deal was going south…I even was a birth doula for a fellow Account Executive I worked for. Through the years of building The Healing Woods and working the advertising industry…it became very apparent that I was meant to do The Healing Woods full time and not in between a stressful day job. Anyone could do what I did at that desk in the cubicle hell…but not anyone can do what I do at The Healing Woods, so I knew it was time to leave the Media world and dive full time into building The Healing Woods. That was 10 years ago, and I have since pivoted my business many times. I believe that a healing practice is very fluid and will change with you…as long as you have the foundations of the business built strongly, you can grow and change as the world changes. My most recent pivot was during COVID-19, where I took The Healing Woods online-only, and it was the best thing I’ve ever done for my business! Hypnotherapy and Reiki can be done online from a distance and I have found them to be even more effective than when people come in based on the reports I am getting from clients. They get to sink more deeply into relaxation and hypnosis knowing that they won’t have to drive home right after. They feel so safe and secure in their own beds and there is absolutely no fight or flight happening because they are in their own sanctuary. I definitely thank my boot camp in the advertising world because it helped me build my healing practice with a strong foundation and I enjoy helping other healers build their heart-based businesses as a Business Coach for Healers and Mystics on the side of helping people all over the world bring their subconscious mind in line with what they are consciously desiring in life.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I always escape people as much as possible and recharge in Nature. Where I live is at the foot of some beautiful mountains…I have many trees all around me and within walking distance to some amazing trails. An hour West I hit the Ocean…a couple hours East is the Desert. I feel very lucky to be so close to the Nature I need so badly and truly love going on adventures in Nature with my closest friends.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There have been so many in my life to thank, and I will go with the most recent…the College of Hypnotherapy that I attended: Hypnosis Motivation Institute (HMI) I began my studies with HMI right before I got my cancer diagnosis, I mean literally a couple of weeks before. They were very awesome about letting me freeze my classes if I needed to or get out of the contract completely if needed since it was only 2 weeks in. I knew that what I would learn in the full residency program would help me immensely on my cancer journey, so I opted to stay in school. I did classes online while healing from my surgery and I am so happy I decided to do that because my cancer journey was JUST how I visioned it would be, and today I am 100% cancer-free and had the exact results from my surgery that I focused on. Once I was in the clear from the cancer dragon, I had another dragon to slay…weightloss. I used all of the tools I learned at HMI and in the past 2 years, I have successfully lost (and kept off) 135 pounds. I feel free, strong, clear and unstoppable…and I use that energy to help others all over the world via Online sessions through these uncertain times under the shadow of the Global Pandemic.

Website: www.thehealingwoods.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abhayada13/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristin-dwan-2591b990/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheHealingWoods
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abhayada.aranya
Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-healing-woods-altadena-2
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Abhayada
Other: My book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Baptism-Flame-Steps-Ignite-Within/dp/0998838004

Nominate someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.