We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Angel Montague . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Angel below.
Hi Angel , so great to have you on the platform. There’s so much we want to ask you, but let’s start with the topic of self-care. Do you do anything for self-care and if so, do you think it’s had a meaningful impact on your effectiveness?
Self-care for me means honoring my needs and prioritizing my well-being. Some days it is spending time in the ocean surfing and connecting with nature. While other days it means staying in, wrapping myself up in a blanket and resting. Self-care can be time with myself or time with loved ones who nourish me. It just depends on my mood and how I am feeling, honoring my cycles, letting go of any doing and instead just being.
The impact this has had on my effectiveness is that when I am honoring my own well-being internally, it has a positive effect on my outer world. It ripples out into my environment and the people I come into contact with, as well as the services I offer. It is important and imperative given the work that I do. I help others along their healing journey. In order to be most effective and ethically I must walk through what I help others with.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Hi, my name is Angel Montague and I reside in Huntington Beach, CA. I am the co-founder of Healing Arts Retreats. Together with my husband, professional artist Taylor Montague, we create experiences to foster creativity, healing and community. We had this yearning of wanting to combine our gifts and skill sets while bringing likeminded people together. Individually we each have a lot to offer, together we have even more. Thus, Healing Arts Retreats was born in 2020. What started as an idea to combine and share our gifts to help others turned into a reality. We have held retreats in Joshua Tree, CA as well as locally in Orange County. We look forward to broadening our locations. Healing Arts retreats has expanded into a family offering with other members of our family as well as our beloved friends who are all integral parts of the whole experiences we offer. We are excited to launch our online platform soon to stay connected with our community in between our retreats!
I began my yoga journey in 2010 when a friend invited me to my first yoga class. It was a hot yoga class and I had no idea, I actually wore a long sleeve shirt. I kept exchanging glances with my friend giving her the what the heck are we doing here look. I had never sweated so much in my life! I became hooked. I came for the physical benefits and stayed for the spiritual ones. I instantly knew I wanted to help guide others through this practice which helped transform me in so many ways, yet knew I also had my young family and obligations to consider before making such a commitment. It took two years of this knowing and growing in my own practice when I took the leap into teacher training. I received a 300 hour certification through Core Power Yoga in 2013. Then furthered my education with certifications in Prenatal & Children’s Yoga through Smiling Monkeys and Yin Yoga through Ra Yoga.
Yoga has completely transformed my life. It has helped me uncover parts of myself that were buried deep within. I experienced a lot of trauma as a child in the forms of physical and emotional abuse. Yoga has helped me heal in ways that I always yearned for and ways that I didn’t even know I needed. It opened the door to other modalities of healing as well. Along the way, I became a certified Reiki Master, a Shamanic practitioner and sound healer. I also dive deep into astrology as a means to guide me through the cycles of life. I teach weekly yoga classes, hold monthly Moon circles, and offer Reiki Certification courses. I also work one on one with individuals for private customized sessions, which can include multiple healing modalities. I help others connect to their own healing. It isn’t always easy work as healing is rarely linear. I aim to empower and inspire others to connect deeply with their true selves, and to let them know they are not alone. It is the work I am most proud to do and to be of service. We are just trying our best with what we know and if I can help a fellow human navigate this space and remind them of the beauty they are, then my purpose is fulfilled.
My commitment to my own personal growth are the foundation of my healing work. I am considered to be a healer. However, I believe we each hold power and potential to heal ourselves. I work as a conduit to facilitate healing in a spiritual, mental and physical way. I meet you wherever you are in your healing journey and facilitate our sessions to your unique individual needs.
My favorite ways to spend my time are with my family and friends, especially while in nature. I love surfing, camping, traveling and creating things with my own hands.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The three qualities that have been the most impactful for my journey are courage, resiliency and the ability to find joy in each situation. At times I can get too caught up in the seriousness of things or the stress of running my own business. What keeps me grounded is remembering to have fun while courageously being my authentic self and meeting challenges with resiliency.
What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
This past year I have grown in my own self-worth and self-love. I have worked through many layers of triggers/trauma. I have found healing for my deeper core wounds around abandonment and feeling safe. I have stronger boundaries, I no longer give my power away, and I am better able to discern between my own intuition and ego. I have broken free from unhealthy patterns that have kept me stuck in a loop. I am a constant work in progress, and I am better at accepting and embracing my whole wild, beautiful self – the light and the dark.
Contact Info:
- Website: AngelMontague.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/angel_montague_healing?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/earthangel421?mibextid=LQQJ4d
Image Credits
Patrick Amestoy
