Catherine Elizabeth Ryen

I grew up in the small town of Oradell, New Jersey, just outside Manhattan. After attending Vanderbilt University, where I studied Communications and Psychology, I set off on a traditional career path in Washington,DC in the fields of political consulting, advertising, and graphic design account management.

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What I found with each of my clients was that they all just wanted to be heard. They all had a story to tell, and I was an excellent listener. After moving to San Francisco in 1995, I continued consulting in these fields while starting a family with my husband in the early 2000s.  While I enjoyed the work and family life, I had a desire to do something more and serve others, I just didn’t know how yet.

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After my brother passed away in 2007 of cancer at the age of 45, the profound experience of being with him as he left this earth not only sent me into a state of grief; it also ripped off the bandages of neatly covered old wounds. I knew what I had tried in the past had not helped me cope with the loss of my mother in 1993 at a young age or the tragic murder of my uncle and his family in 1983 at an even younger age.

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I began soul searching for different ways to cope with my grief, and heal my wounds, as well as alleviate the stresses of everyday life.

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​I took a deep dive into the world of energy healing and meditation. I was profoundly moved by a meditation practice called iRest yoga nidra, a guided meditation practice that elicits an integrative relationship between mind, body and soul and restores a sense of peace. I spent two years training and becoming certified in iRest yoga nidra.

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After completing my certifications, I began teaching, primarily at Solstice Spa in Sausalito. My practice was just beginning to grow when life threw two new challenges my way, the outbreak of covid, which shut the world down, and a health scare, that zapped my energy.

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Over the next three years I followed my doctors’ orders, managing medicine and symptoms and side effects, but feeling like I’d healed one area, only to find another screaming for attention.  My body was at war with itself. I had to listen and try something new.

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What helped the most during this dark time was my meditation practice and the energy healing modalities that I learned. Together with a team of allopathic and naturopathic doctors, I reached a balance, ease, and vitality that I hadn’t experienced for a long time.

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I know my experience, training, wisdom, intuition, and compassion will help support you.