Bio

Hello, I'm Sulafa. I'm 28 years old, born in the Andes of Ecuador, and raised partly there and in Canada. I have had the privilege of calling New York "home" ever since it became so in my late teens, after a long immigration journey through uprooting, immigration, and deportation. 

 

Since I got to the United States about 10 years ago, I haven't stopped working hard. Paving my way through the culture and the economy has not been easy. While I've achieved much that I am proud of after many a childhood setback, I've realized that my approach to success and stability has not been the most sustainable all the time. And that the only glimmers of light along the way came about due to my lucky grip on health, faith, and a support system; so I am deeply passionate about growth at the intersection of same and becoming a support system for others.

 

The road to becoming an attorney has led me to burnout. Without a doubt, it put me in a masculine/yang/solar state of overwork and overdrive, at times making me feel disconnected from my faith, my values, and my needs. In turn, I compromised my health and relationships, and my self-esteem crumbled, leading to the worst-case scenario in the legal profession - failing the bar exam. At a personal level, I was overcome with the inability to work through conflict in relationships, the inability to rest, the inability to connect with others healthily (hint: co-dependency), and states of low energy, depression, hopelessness, and frustration. Being in constant "survival mode" will do all this to you. I know because I lived it. 

 

After a search to restore my mind, body, and soul, I've turned that around and I aim to share it with anyone who relates to this experience and is seeking to either dodge burnout or recover from it. I'm a big believer that when we cultivate harmony (i.e., stop going against the current), change is possible within and outside. Today, I feel the most grounded I have felt in a long time. I feel authentic and whole. I feel tender and strong. I feel successful and calm about potential failure. I feel free from the grip that fearing failure and fearing success had on me for most of my life. As I begin my profession as a lawyer, I want to ensure I do not gatekeep the skills that have helped me to feel at ease even in the most stressful moments. I share in the hope it reaches others who relate to this experience, want a change, and desire an authentic and fulfilled life. If you are interested in including my support in your wellness journey toward, I'll ensure you reach your goals and dreams in the most sustainable way for you - because we are all different and unique.

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Indeed, there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to wellness! It's possible I won't be a match for everyone, so below is additional information to illuminate what guides me and my work in this world.

 

 

 

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Guiding Values

My top values are health and authenticity; relationships and community; love and harmony; devotion, faith, and discipline. When I live according to these, I experience a state of alignment and this is when magic happens in my life. Magic to me feels like being content, productive, and resilient, and feeling radiant and, while not always happy, at least calm and accepting. Straying from these values takes me out of alignment, which at its worst indicates I'm on my way to hitting rock bottom!  

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Life Philosophy

In short, I believe that God is Love, and its opposite is fear. Along with that, I hold deep reverence for Mother Nature. Though I grew up Catholic, it wasn't until I converted to Christianity as a young 12-year-old that I began to experience a relationship with God. My relationship with nature has predated this, however. Being raised in one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, I was taught from an early age the importance and fragility of Pachamama (the Kichwa word for Mother Nature). While I am currently unassociated the Christian church, my divine relationships to Father Sky and Mother Earth have continued to be nourished. My devotion takes the form of prayer, contemplation, offerings, and service in a way that surpasses any religious segregation.  My faith is an integral part of my identity and my work. 

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Furthermore, as a descendant of Kichwa people, I look up to my ancestors' stewardship. I hold the indigenous cosmovision that sees nature as alive and humans as part of an interdependent community. I stand for the indigenous principle of sumak kawsay, which translates to "life in harmony" in the Kichwa language and which emphasizes respect and care for nature, seeing the human relationship with it as the basis of a good life.   

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Thus, a state of wellness to me represents a state of love and harmony with the Source of love, as well as a gateway to experiencing connection to the beyond. As Rumi says, "[b]e certain that in the religion of Love there are no believers and unbelievers. LOVE embraces all." 

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Mission and Vision

I'm on a mission to advocate for soul, soil, and social justice by facilitating inner exploration and healing. I believe that a strong connection to ourselves and to Love enables us to improve our relationship with others and our ways of relating to the planet, thereby healing the collective and the Earth. Although societally, there's much to feel powerless about -between genocide and resource extraction- I believe that if the world is a reflection of our minds, then there is much change that is possible when we wrap in, look inside ourselves, and begin to change from the inside out.

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As a young advocate and political science undergrad, I was passionate about a revolution on the streets. I still am. However, I'm now much more invested in the injustices that lie underneath the surface: those wounds inside that cause our souls to feel dim, lost, disempowered, or hopeless. 

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I see our way out of the capital-centric matrix that is destroying indigeneity, massacring new generations of youth, and vanishing our beautiful natural resources by bringing love where there is fear and hope where there is despair. Capitalism thrives on our disempowerment. Thus, I'm interested in helping people I love to generate health so our communities grow healthy and strong. In a world full of greed, despair, and injustice, I'm committed to empowering myself and others with deep love and acceptance, so that we may regain the energy needed to advocate for justice, change, and liberation for all and so that we may reconnect with nature and restore our planet. 

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If who I am aligns with you and your wellness objectives or social projects, let's connect! 

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