Meet Dionisia Hatzis

We recently connected with Dionisia Hatzis and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Dionisia, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

My father was diagnosed with late stage lung cancer when he was 63 and journeyed through chemo and radiation for 2 years. I was beside him for most of this time and was, fortunately, right beside him as he passed away. He had been in the hospital for a week and we knew the end was near. My mother, sister and I held him, talked to him, and sang to him as his body started to shut down. And in that very moment, as we death doula’d him through his last breath, my spiritual rebirth occurred. I witnessed him no longer in his body, and I knew that his spirit, his soul, had moved into the ethers all around me. And, in witnessing this, my own inner transformation took place.

It was in that moment that I started to question what the point of it all was. What was the point of life if all we do is work in jobs we dislike and pray our lives away for the weekend to arrive. Prior to his passing, I did not have an iota of a religious or spiritual life. I was living in NYC, I worked at Google, had a beautiful boyfriend and a great apartment in Chelsea with a closet full of designer clothes. I spent the majority of my days in the office, and evenings and weekends, I’d hop from shops to restaurants to bars to clubs to make up for lost time of sitting in a fluorescent-lit cubicle. (Though Google did and does have incredible offices and a great work culture, I still felt like I was wasting my life away from 9-6 and often, much later than that).

Although at the time it felt like my life was fun and vibrant, I knew deep in my core that it was empty and devoid of any real meaning. So I like to say that my father, with whom I had (and still have) a beautiful relationship, gave me the seed of life as well as the seed of rebirth. In that moment of him transitioning, he planted the seed for me to seek out the purpose of life – and to take all the steps to follow my dreams. In the end, what would be the point if all I did was spend the majority of my waking hours unhappy and unfulfilled?

After he passed, my yoga practice shifted from ‘a workout at the gym’ to a deep inquiry about life, death and everything in between. In 2007, I experienced my first rebirth – one of many to come. In my desire to get to the core of my being, I quit my job, ended my relationship, shaved my head and traveled through India and Southeast Asia for about 3 years, spending time in sacred spaces, temples and ashrams. I devoted my life to experiences that would help me connect with my spirit, my capacity to love deeply, to ‘live in the question mark’, and to travel all the paths that my heart-soul had been begging me to traverse.

Now, 15 years later, I am finally feeling the culmination of my life’s work – living a life devoted to service, community-building and the Divine Feminine.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I am so lit up about mind/body somatic work. I birthed SOMA Writing about 10 years ago, which fuses movement and dance, somatic practices, breath work, guided visualization and creative expression through the written word. I like to say that I danced and wrote my way out of the womb! I trained as a somatic coach through The Embody Lab and I *unofficially* trained as a dancer on dance floors in New York City and London. (I was a bonafide club kid). I have always been the first to get on the dance floor and the last to leave!

Writing and dancing has literally kept me alive. They’ve provided me with a platform for my creative expression. I’ve utilized both practices to process all the ups and downs, the trials and tribulations of life. They’ve also provided me with the confidence to BE in my own skin and to express myself. So it was natural that I’d blend the two to help myself and others break free of the constrictions of the mind and move our expression through our bodies. This is how I birthed my offering, SOMA Writing.

I have led SOMA Writing (in various forms, iterations and under a few different names), in my travels throughout the world, in New York, in New Mexico and now in Colorado. It is such a joy to see people feel connected and attuned with their bodies, especially in a society that has programmed so many of us to disconnect from ourselves, our bodies, our feelings, our somas. Here in Colorado, I host across the metro area at spaces like Archipelago in Denver, Una Vida Niwot, Welcome Goddess in Golden and Yellow Barn Farm in Longmont. I’m always looking to expand my offerings, so if anyone has a space in which they’d like to offer this somatic writing and movement practice, please reach out!

I’m of Greek descent, so I’ve loved this word for a long time. ‘Soma’. We don’t have an exact word in the English language that translates. But it’s essentially “the body living in its wholeness.” I love that. Isn’t that beautiful? All parts of ourselves, including the seen and the unseen. It is so important for us to be in resonance with our inner and outer landscape, inner and outer ecology, as we move through the world – the inside meeting the outside, our emotions, our feelings, our sensations — as we relate with others. I am also extremely excited about expanding into both individual and group somatic coaching at the end of the year. For anyone interested in learning more about this work, they can sign up to be on the waitlist at www.dionisiahatzis.com.

I am deeply passionate about the priestess path, which I have been on for ~15 years and have more recently devoted myself as an initiate in a living Mystery School. Over the past three years, I’ve been steeped in studies of the Way, guided by Mary Magdalene – as a Myrraphore, or holy anointing Scent Priestess. I’ve been working with energy medicine as a Reiki Master and have an avid herbalism practice, so I’ve been finding many congruencies between all the work that I’ve been doing and how I can be of service to the larger community – as a beacon of Love.

I am very excited about bringing this wisdom to women as we reconnect with the hidden aspect of the ‘left hand’ gnostic path of Christianity, which to me, feels like a blend of paganism, divine feminine goddess worship and Christ consciousness. It’s not at all the Christianity that I was was raised with. In fact, it predates the Church and the current manifestation of Christianity. It feels like coming home.

We are living in a time in which the Divine Feminine is rising, and will continue to rise. I am very impassioned and emboldened by this movement, so we can bring harmony between the masculine and the feminine. The only way that we can heal ourselves, heal one another and heal the planet is by reuniting and harmonizing the masculine and the feminine. One cannot exist without the other and it must begin with ourselves. The beautiful thing is, this work is for EVERYONE, regardless of how one identifies. We all have the feminine and masculine energies within us, so I’m excited to bring this work to all genders. Feel free to reach out if you’re curious about my offerings, in both individual and group settings.

You can learn more here:
IG: @journeysofrebirth
FB: https://www.facebook.com/journeysofrebirth
Website: dionisiahatzis.com

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Confidence, a sense of adventure and a deep curiosity to dive into the unknown.

I have been extremely outgoing and extroverted since I was a wee one. My mother loves to tell the story of how when I was four years old, I’d walk up to other children at the park, introduce myself and ask them if they wanted to play. I chuckle when I share this, because, honestly, I haven’t changed one bit. I love meeting and getting to know new humans. People are just fascinating! I often like to go to events where I know no one, because that means there’s so much potential to meet amazing new folks. So by having that outgoing, confident, extroverted nature, I have carved a life that has allowed me to have many beautiful experiences of connection, experiencing other cultures in a deeply profound and life-changing way.

I also have a knack for bringing people together. I love creating community and sharing space that is deeply meaningful and connective, and I think a lot of that has to do with my outgoing nature. And though not everyone is naturally extroverted, I do believe we can all strengthen the muscle of connecting and relating. And that involves being curious. My first recommendation would be to enroll in a course on Authentic Relating through ART International. It’s a beautiful, natural way of learning how to communicate and connect. I love how it’s not a formulaic methodology. It doesn’t sound robotic or forced like some of the other communication methodologies out there.

Also, my innate sense of adventure and curiosity has brought me to places and provided me with experiences that I would have not had otherwise. There’s one story that I love telling about my travels through India. I play the drum, and have always been deeply drawn to percussion. Well, one night, I was at my inn in India – in an extraordinarily beautiful temple town called Pushkar. It was dark, it was getting late and I was alone. I had been hearing the sound of drums in the distance for hours. I felt such a deep tug in my heart, in my bones, to follow the beat, but I didn’t want to venture out alone. There was a tiny seedling of fear that kept pushing my curiosity down. Even still, I simply could not ignore that magnetic desire to join the drumbeat. I sat on the porch and continued to listen from afar, until, finally, I just couldn’t take it anymore. I built up the courage to leave the comfort of my home and followed the beat through the narrow maze of streets. I kept walking, using the sound of the drums as my compass. It resonated louder and louder in my ears, until finally I could feel it in my chest. Soon enough, I found myself in the entranceway of a private residence, a pile of shoes stacked up right outside. I stopped at the wide-open doorway and peeked in. Inside, at least 50 ecstatic humans rapturously listening and chanting with the drum. A handful looked up at me, their eyes shining with joy and warmth. One of the men beckoned me inside with a wave of his hand and offered me chai. A woman pointed me to a cushion on the floor. They called me in, and I felt so warmly welcomed. Their curiosity about me met mine about them, and very quickly I just dissolved into the group as I immersed in the sound, surrounded by beautiful, open hearted people. This was just one of those peak life moments where had I not followed my sense of adventure and my curiosity – if I had allowed my fear to take over, I would not have had this incredibly authentic, local experience.

I’ve had many, many experiences and stories like this, in which I followed the curiosity in my heart that has opened so many doors – the most joyful moments that I will forever cherish and will most certainly remember in my final moments. So, in terms of advice — I would say that if you feel that there is a seed of adventure, a seed of connection, a seed of curiosity hidden within you, to begin to view your life as a journey that has been designed for you to live to its fullest. To follow the drumbeat of your own heart, even if no one else will join alongside you. Water that seed. Nourish that seed. Feed that seed.

Life is meant to be experienced. Life is meant to be lived. Allow life to move through you. Sure, it may be scary at times. There may be moments of doubt or feeling stuck in indecision. Moments of “I want to do this, but I don’t want to do it alone.” Remember: We are born alone and we die alone. Though we come from our mother’s womb, and we may die surrounded by loved ones, the experience of our lives is solely ours. If we are born alone and we die alone, shouldn’t we EMBODY these lives? Live a life that makes our hearts sing and our souls soar?

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

I LOVE this question! YES! Collaboration is such an important part of my life. It’s one of the things I miss most about living in NY. I had a rich community life – various networks from my ecstatic dance community, musicians, tech folks, entrepreneurs, women’s circles. And since I’ve moved out to the Southwest in 2020, I’ve been building my community out here, which takes time, and it’s happening!

I’d love to collaborate with individuals and companies who organize health, wellness and spiritual gatherings – for both the ‘spiritually-minded’ and those who are spirit-curious. I have a dream of offering many of my services to the corporate world, because, honestly, people in the traditional workforce need this type of work so much. Embodiment, connection to the land and source, connection to themselves and to one another. I’d love to connect with people who host retreats and summits, as well as Human Resources and Corporate benefits personel,

Also, I’m really eager to collaborate with men who host men’s circles and men’s groups. I envision being the yin to their yang. It’s time for women’s work and men’s work to come together now – because only then, will this work have the impact it’s meant to have – which is to create harmony and balance.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.dionisiahatzis.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/journeysofrebirth/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/journeysofrebirth/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dionisiahatzis/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@journeysofrebirth

Image Credits

Lucie Bulois
Alex Medvick
Matthew Brodt
Lachlan Phillips
Jill Goldman