Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lauren Johnson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Lauren, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
Honestly, my purpose found me as I navigated the valleys of my life. In 2009, I unexpectedly lost my mother, which completely shattered me, but it set something beautiful in motion. I didn’t know it then, but that loss was the beginning of a wild spiritual awakening. I was led to a specific Bible verse—Song of Solomon 2:1, “I am a Rose of Sharon, a Lily of the Valley.” Mom’s name is Sharon, she passed away on 2/1 (Feb. 1), and our home in the San Fernando Valley in Southern California was surrounded by roses. A year prior to my mother’s death, I read the bible front to back, Genesis to Revelation, not realizing the move would make sense over a decade later when I became a licensed minister and energetic wellness practitioner.
But first, I survived a 12-year domestic violence relationship that broke me. I lost everything—my finances, relationships, my self-worth, my health, my faith, damn near my mind. I was in an abyss of confusion, pain, paranoia, completely dissociated from everything. No one knew what I was going through since I was isolated from all my friends and family.
An opportunity to leave the relationship presented itself and I made a choice to live again and find purpose in my pain. I remember specifically praying, “God, help me find purpose in my pain.” After months of lament, I began building my life. I moved across the country to Denver and found a beautiful community of support and earned a masters degree in Theology (Master of Divinity) focusing on trauma-informed Womanist pastoral care. However, I still had to reconcile my personal faith because I experienced spiritual and ritual abuse. I knew the way I connected to God couldn’t be the same. I was seeking answers and I found them through energetic healing practices like reiki, breathwork, and other ancestral healing modalities.
I knew I’d deepen my purpose through seeking and healing myself. This led me to embrace and love ALL of who I am, especially my shadows and the parts that were broken. I realized my journey of healing wasn’t just for me but that my purpose was to walk with others through their own valleys and help them find their light again as well.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I created Valley Girl Ltd. in response to discovering my purpose (16 years in the making!). Based in Denver, Valley Girl is my wellness practice where I offer the same trauma-informed spiritual care and energetic healing modalities I continue to use for my own wellness. I use ancestral wisdom and modern healing techniques to regulate the nervous system and create balance in the entire being. My goal is to simply offer a nurturing space for melanated bodies to feel supported and loved so we can heal, explore our spiritual paths, and embody inner peace.
My current offerings are intuitive reiki (both in-person and virtual), 1:1 and group conscious breathwork sessions, and 1:1 and group sound healing sessions. I am also planning some amazing wellness retreats, and have some exciting collaborations with other Black wellness practitioners in the Denver-area.
Additionally, Valley Girl is also the avenue I avail myself as a millennial preacher. I am available for preaching and speaking engagements, prayers, blessings, weddings, and other ceremonial happenings. My roots are in the Black Baptist church, but I am far from traditional. My voice is unapologetically for the spiritually abused, marginalized, or those victimized by the institution of religion. I advocate for those who’ve been harmed by colonized, fundamentalist ideologies and pedagogies spewed from patriarchal pulpits. I teach truth in context so people of all races, genders, sexual orientations, etc. can know an unconditionally loving, supportive, accepting, understanding Divine power that can’t be deduced to just one creed. This Divine love desperately wants humanity to be well, empowered, and whole, just like the heart of Valley Girl.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I’d say the three most impactful things were 1) developing the courage to feel, 2) embracing solitude, and 3) curating a “wellness team.”
Allowing myself to truly feel all my thoughts, feelings and emotions—no matter how painful, scary, confusing—became one of the most transformative parts of my healing. Numbing and avoiding would push me deeper into dissociation and dissonance. The key was to sit with it all without judging, just observe and let whatever came up pass over me. This created SO much space to release old beliefs, thought patterns, and narratives.
If this is new to you, give yourself grace and be extremely gentle and compassionate with yourself. Remind yourself that emotions, feelings, and thoughts are fleeting and they do not always equate to truth. Learn grounding practices that help settle your mind, they can be as simple as taking a few long, deep breaths or feeling the texture of your clothing. Also, at different times throughout the day, stop and ask yourself what you’re feeling so you can practice observing your mind and body. It can be as simple as, “Ah, I feel more focused now that I ate that snack” or “Hmm, my shoulders relaxed as soon as I hung up that call.”
The second impactful thing is embracing solitude. My DV relationship was very co-dependent and I hated being alone or in silence. However, the uncomfortable moments in intentional solitude were the times that I felt and observed my thoughts and emotions. I had no choice but to listen to my own voice, become self-aware, and connect with the Divine. I eventually learned to trust myself again, be comfortable with my being, and gained clarity on my purpose. I love solitude now and realize it is a privilege and a blessing. My cup is full and everything else benefits from the overflow. Embracing solitude means setting aside time to simply be with yourself. Start with a few minutes a day, go for a walk or turn off the TV in the background. Eventually you can be more intentional by journaling, praying, and meditating. It’s a practice so consistency is key.
The last thing that helped me was curating a ‘wellness team’. I sought out a community of support consisting of therapists, mentors, energy healers, light workers, and supportive friends who’ve held space for me to process, mess up, learn, grow, etc. Each person offered something special to me. I encourage others to look for professionals, individuals, or groups that encourage you to explore different things that support the totality of who you are as a human. Had I not been open, I would have never discovered the powerful medicines of reiki, sound, or breathwork. Keep an open heart and don’t forget to embrace laughter and play!
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
Absolutely! Besides creating a more expansive clientele base, I’d love to collaborate with individuals and organizations that align with Valley Girl’s mission of supporting the healing journey of Black birthing bodies and other marginalized communities of color. I’d also love to partner with people of color who are holistic wellness practitioners, energy workers, therapists, community leaders, and organizations that focus on trauma recovery, spiritual growth, and personal development. Ideally, those who advocate for creating safe, inclusive, and empowering spaces for people of color to heal. I’m thinking events, sessions, workshops, corporate wellness spaces, retreats, referrals, offering physical spaces to host events, etc. There is major opportunity to get creative!
For those who are not people of color but want to express allyship and support, I welcome beautiful ways to collaborate like offering resources, financial support, physical spaces for hosting events, or sharing expertise and tools, etc. Allies can also partner with Valley Girl by spreading awareness, providing sponsorships, or contributing to the development of programs and retreats that support the communities Valley Girl serves.
If any of this sparks interest and feels in alignment, I can be reached through my website (www.lovevalleygirl.com/contact), via email ([email protected]) or via Instagram (@valleygirlltd). I’m excited to see what magic we can make!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lovevalleygirl.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/valleygirlltd
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lovevalleygirl
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