A new wellness studio is set to open in Britannia Village this May, and its founder has big hopes for what it can mean for the Sea to Sky community.
Nina Fields who runs The Heartful Healer, is a registered therapeutic counsellor, intuitive healer, mindfulness guide, parent consultant and pilates teacher. She now is launching ‘The Healing Space’ in the revamped village square, steps from the General Store. The space will offer individual counselling, pilates and guided meditation by donation. Fields has plans to bring in other practitioners like osteopaths, sound healers, and breathwork facilitators as the space grows.
“It’s a one-stop shop,” Fields said. “The healing space can be the one-stop shop for all the things, that mind, body, and spirit connection.”
Fields has lived in Britannia for six and a half years, drawn to the area by the ocean and the sense of openness the village offers, she has lived across the Lower Mainland, Squamish, and the Okanagan before settling here.
She spent her career working with people in a range of settings, including with troubled teens in an alternative school, at the Paradise Valley Healing Centre and in private practice. Her specialty is working with trauma and anxiety, relationships and couples, as well as somatic therapy, a trauma-informed approach that centres the body in the healing process.
“Our bodies hold stories,” Fields said. “In somatic therapy, we use the body as a barometer for healing. We tune into what you’re noticing right now, and if we can find ease in the body first, then we can start to go to work.”
One of the ideas Fields feels most strongly about is what she calls the muster point. Drawing on the emergency term for a gathering spot, she wants The Healing Space to serve the same function for people’s inner lives.
“When we live in a village, we really need a village of attachment around us,” Fields said. “I want to create a village safe space where we can go and be held and seen and valued for who we are.”
Accessibility is a priority. Fields said she will offer a sliding scale for counselling and run meditation sessions by donation. She also plans to offer the space pro bono one day a month for community use.
“I want people to know that even if they can’t afford counselling or pilates, there is still a space they can go to get high quality support,” Fields said.
Fields hopes to be open for group classes the week of May 10th. In time for the larger Britannia Village Day planned for May 17, and marks the 100th anniversary of the Copper Queen mine.
Fields is excited to open the space and add to the budding community of the village. community.
“The space is about how do we help people who are suffering in the mind body and spirit,” Fields said.
