We recently connected with Melissa McLaughlin and have shared our conversation below.
Melissa, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
My resilience has been apart of me, as far back as I can remember. There was always a deep rooted feeling in my heart that there was more to life than what meets the eye. As a child who grew up witnessing domestic violence, often not having meals, and having the experience of homelessness, you had to be resilient. It was essential to push through the obstacles in order to move forward. Although my home environment was chaotic as a child, deep down I always felt fortunate and would pray for those who had absolutely nothing. My heart, naturally, felt that I needed to do something. The natural drive to help others, was my fuel. The fuel I needed to think beyond all the difficult circumstances that had been placed in my path. To look beyond those situations and consider the bigger picture, that there is worse. There will always be worse. Regardless of how exhausted, hungry, afraid and alone I might have felt, I knew it could be worse. I knew that I was more blessed than at least more than one individual in the world. I looked to God, I looked to Angels. I found inspiration through various individuals who had been placed in my life at different times, at the right time. I failed in plenty of moments to the point where I felt worthless. I felt I was of no value to this world. At times I allowed my childhood circumstances to dictate who I would evolve into. However, that burning feeling deep down rose to the surface to push me forward, and ultimately drove me to defeat the odds. I proved to myself and others that I, indeed was smart enough and deserve to live a fulfilling life.
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?
I am a huge nature and animal lover. As a kid, I was always drawn to the outdoors. Rain, sun or snow, I was outside. It was the place for me to let go, be wild, explore. A place where I could feel at peace. For a moment in my life, I had forgotten that part about me because I was so focused on what I needed to do to make other’s happy. In the past three years I have stepped outside more often and began a profound healing journey which led me to where I am today. For the past 10 years I have been practicing as a Physical Therapist, however, during my healing journey, I became a certified yoga instructor and a Reiki Master/Teacher. Becoming a Reiki Master/Teacher, has led me to a fulfilling life in all aspects. Reiki is all encompassing. I found my purpose through Reiki, as it has allowed me to open my heart to accept both the beauty and challenges in life as a guidance towards my life’s purpose. It grounds me, as I move along my journey to turn my long term vision into something tangible. I recently started PRYMA Healing as a step towards my long term vision of obtaining multiple properties around this country and others (one property at a time); in order to provide sanctuary to animals and humans who need it most.
Currently I am on track of earning an Animal Assisted Therapy Interventions certification to implement animals into all modalities I have studied, as well as to set up programs to assist both animals and humans in their healing. This world needs programs to assist individuals in finding their purpose (s) while providing a safe place to visit, live and/or work.
As of right now, PRYMA Healing is a PLLC that offers primarily Reiki, yoga, meditation and breath work. It actually is an acronym for Physical therapy, Reiki, Yoga, Meditation and Animal Assisted Therapy Interventions. I am looking forward to implementing the animals into PRYMA Healing as soon as I have all my resources lined up and ready to go.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
1. Self-love: This is key. Only for the past three years, have I began to truly appreciate myself enough to provide self-love. I used to believe that self-love was a selfish act, when in fact it is the most self-less thing you can do for this world. When you spend time on providing yourself with what you need, your inner light is able to shine through and in turn you become more mindful and present to those around you. When you give yourself what you need, like rest, exercise, mental health services, fresh air, time to develop your talents/hobbies you discover how wonderful you are. You also learn to respect yourself. Respecting oneself sets an example for others to reciprocate that respect. Provide all elements of yourself with self-love and see how quickly your life turns around, for the better. It takes work, but is worth every bit.
2. Embrace Adventure: Let life unfold and accept the twists and turns. Take a trip or two to let go of your ordinary routine and see how you feel/act. Pay attention to yourself during these adventurous moments and embrace it. Find a way to implement adventure into your daily life to allow yourself to let go and unwind old thought patterns that have in the past dragged you down. We all have a different idea/definition of adventure. So find what that means for you and make it happen. If I hadn’t adventured into taking a goat yoga class, I would have forgotten my dream of becoming a yoga instructor. If I hadn’t gone for my yoga instructor certification, then I wouldn’t have taken my first Reiki certification course and wouldn’t have dived as deep into my healing journey. Ultimately, I would not be starting PRYMA Healing and may have forgotten about my long term dream of having a sanctuary for animals and humans.
3. Spend time to reflect: Take time to reflect in stillness. This is an important time that will allow your ideas to surface. Rid yourself from distractions, to find that you are full of wonderful, creative ideas. Write these ideas down and embrace them. No idea is worthless. Be proud of yourself for generating that idea. Also, make sure you reflect on what truly makes you happy. Perhaps there was something you used to do that brought you joy. Write it down and come up with a plan to bring that back into your life. Reflect on what you have always wanted. How can you make that happen? Even if it takes a year or 5 years, start planning now and take those small steps to obtaining it. What can you do now as your first step? Take that first step. Chances are that step will lead you further than you thought unimaginable.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
Absolutely. I am looking for individuals who live their lives for a greater purpose and mission. This mission is heart led, backed by mind and spirit. I cannot make this long term vision of mine into something tangible, on my own. As PRYMA Healing grows, I will need individuals who have experience with caring for animals (all types), training animals, maintaining properties, gardening (vegetables, fruits, herbs, perennials, etc), health care professionals/healers/veterinarians who are open to Eastern and Western modalities, counselors, yoga instructors, Reiki practitioners, musicians, artists, accountants, financial advisors, builders, the list goes on. Anyone who has a heart and/or experience to help the homeless of all ages, children (from all backgrounds/circumstances), and animals. This list is not all inclusive of what is needed. If individuals are interested in collaborating with the efforts of PRYMA Healing, please reach out to me via e-mail: melissa103@prymahealing.com
Contact Info:
- Website: https://prymahealing.com
- Other: melissa103@prymahealing.com
Image Credits
Fox Photos Credit: Jennifer Ielen Photography
Studio Photos Credit: JLBoone Photography
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