Welcome!
The first question I will likely ask you is, "What feels important for you to tell me about yourself?" So here we are, with the question aimed at me!
Well, on a professional front, I am a Social Worker with tons of education and training under my belt. Although I've gained cognitive knowledge through studying, I feel the real wisdom has come through my continuous journey of looking within myself and tending to all the beliefs, emotions, and memories that block my life force energy from flowing.
I feel confident that emotional and mental healing is possible given we receive adequate nurturing, similar to how a physical wound naturally heals when we tend to it with care.
My Story
I was born in Calgary, AB as a first generation Canadian baby to parents who immigrated from Tanzania as adults. I see now the hard work and resilience it took for my parents to raise my sister and I the best they could while operating from under a mountain of inter-generational trauma and unhelpful conditioning their bodies and minds were carrying. As is natural, my body and mind received the trickle down of the pain they carried, as well as the hidden strength to face and transform it. I have been touched by death and deep grief through the loss of my maternal grandmother and father within the last 5 years. My mother continues to be an embodiment of fierce courage and my greatest inspiration to keep going on in life as an empowered woman. I live with my feline companion, Leela, who teaches me that it's okay to unapologetically say no to anything that doesn't feel right and also that it's possible to find contentedness in just being.
I never fully realized it but I had pushed away my culture and racial identity in an effort to fit in to the dominant culture and not be looked down upon. My ancestors hail from India and Pakistan and it took me a while to embrace the precious gifts these cultures have to offer - their vibrancy, relationality, as well as the beauty and wisdom of both Hindu and Muslim traditions. Of course, there are many burdens that are passed down from my people as well, such as the impacts of colonialism, patriarchy, poverty, repressed sexuality, and domestic violence, to name a few. As I have been working through these burdens, I find myself embodying more and more the gifts of my ancestors, and learning to integrate them with the gifts I've received from Canadian culture in a way that feels authentic to me.
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These days, I feel more present and supported in my body as I allow it to dance, sing, play, laugh, scream, and cry as an expression of being alive on this Earth!
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I was first introduced to therapy as "assisted self-study," and I much prefer looking at it this way as opposed to the conventional, "something is wrong with me and I need your help in fixing it." I am honoured to walk alongside and guide you as needed in your endeavour to get to know yourself better. Nothing is more precious to me than people opening up to greater depths of compassion, expression, and power inside of themselves. Yes, we may need to walk through pain and fear to get there; but if we walk together and feel the support of all the powers in the world that are backing us, it can be a sweet and exciting journey.
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I am grateful to ALL of my therapists, teachers, and friends (of which there are many!) for walking with me through many diverse internal terrains and helping me continue to find my way. Helpers that come in all forms including: humans, animals, plants, elements, and non-physical energies. I hope to be one such helper for you :)
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