About Annik

Annik Moyal-Waldman, M.Ed., Hons. B.A Psychology/Philosophy

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Areas of Specialization:

▪ Catalyzing Women's Empowerment & Cultural Awakening

▪ Healing of Co-dependency, Grief & Loss

▪ Self-Love, Self-Care, Self-Worth via the Expressive Arts & Holistic Medicine
 

 

Life Mission: To use the healing and expressive arts in service to empowering women to drop their self-abandonment story, claim their fullest joy, freedom and power ~ while rising as a force for good in the world.

 

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Destiny: As a creative disruptor, progressive activist and cultural co-creative, I catalyze awakening and conscious evolution by rattling complacency, thus helping to create a more joyful, loving, peaceful, compassionate and sustainable world.

Cause: Through creativity, connection, collaboration, conscious leadership and cultural transformation, I catalyze women's empowerment and awaken cultural evolution. I inspire women all around the globe to honour the sacredness in themselves, supporting them in the process of reclaiming their fiery aliveness and the centre for personal power that is their natural birthright. 

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I often ask myself the question: What makes Annik ‘unique’?

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Would it be my calling as a holistic/expressive therapist, creative agent of transformation and inspired facilitator? Might the answer lie in my dedication to women’s wellness and empowerment? My tireless progressive activism and drive to make the world a better place? Could it be the deep-seated passion I harbour for speaking, writing, and communications? Or again, the fluid artistic ways in which I weave the expressive arts into my life’s mission?

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Even though I neither appear outwardly as a ‘visible minority’, nor speak with any trace of a foreign accent, my mother tongue is French and I am conversant in Spanish. The eldest of three, I am a Torontonian woman, born to North African parents of Jewish extraction. My great-grandfather was a very prominent spiritual leader and physicist in Morocco. By all family accounts, people travelled far and wide to consult with him. My grandfather, on the same paternal lineage of my family heritage, was also a spiritual leader and teacher, though far less prominent than my great-grandfather.

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All of this to say that spirituality, healing, writing and teaching course deeply through my veins.

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In 1983, I completed my Honours B.A. in Psychology & Philosophy from York University, ON. With 12+ years of professional experience practising humanistic and transpersonal psychology, I’ve been honoured to walk alongside the journey of a diverse range of people, including: (i) job seekers and career changers intent on designing a life with meaning and purpose; (ii) women who have been aware of the need for greater self-care, boundary-setting and balance in their lives; (iii) women who wish to discover their life’s purpose, reclaim their gifts and passions, while seeking renewal, rejuvenation and re-invention; (iv) women needing assistance in re-gaining their health, vitality and life balance; (v) those dealing with anxiety and depression; (vi) those dealing with ancestral trauma (i.e., co-dependency, abuse, substance abuse); (vii) those dealing with grief and loss, including clients who sustained traumatic brain injury and soft tissue injuries; (viii) children, parents and their families who were seeking new ways to alleviate and proactively manage family stress, and create more joyful, peaceful and harmonious ways of living together in family life; (ix) organizations interested in retaining me for the facilitation of leadership, change management workshops or related content; and (x) community development organizations interested in retaining me for motivational speaking/keynote addresses.

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I am repeatedly told that I am an engaging, dynamic and inspiring holistic/expressive psychotherapist, professional facilitator, life coach and change agent. The environments in which I have served have been equally diverse, including home, school, community and organizations (in private, public and non-profit sectors, and on a one-on-one, group and organizational basis). I have prided myself in working collaboratively with various partners, including matters relating to health, leadership, school board administration, teaching, creativity, and a host of diverse artistic, cultural and business groups.

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My work celebrates a passion for catalyzing leadership in the areas of health & wellness, women’s empowerment, change management, mindfulness, and writing & communications. My success in working with clients is attributable to my: (i) passion for helping them heal their ancestral wounds; (ii) gift for encouraging, empowering, inspiring and cheering them on; (iii) ability to forge strong working relationships with clients, and (iv) knack for holding them in a place of accountability in all quadrants of the Medicine Wheel.

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In May 2008, after being initiated with Women In Power in Washougal, WA, I received the name Wild for Life Dancing Butterfly in one of my meditations. In Shamanic circles and energy medicine, Butterfly symbolizes rebirth, personal growth, metamorphosis, and transformation. As the butterfly progresses through different stages, it emerges out into the world better, stronger, and even more beautiful!

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Following this initiation, I felt called to deepen my learning through involvement with several organizations, including: Women on the Edge of Evolution, Evolving Wisdom, The Shift Network, Woman of Worth and Marianne Williamson. I have also pursued rich personal and professional development through my affiliation with Woman Within and Inner Yaga.

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Over the years, I’ve offered writing and communications services to reams of clients re: curriculum design, website content, marketing materials, proposal writing and grant writing. Without exception, all clients attest to my 'expressive talents, and powerful, evocative writing style'. Three of my clients were awarded a total of approximately $250K for three grant writing projects I delivered. Of these, all three proposals were successfully approved. My most notable community project was the creation, marketing and delivery of a successful alternative educational program called Partners in Learning for the Cowichan School District. Under my leadership, this program left discouraged and disgruntled students in grades K-5 and their families expressing 'high degrees of satisfaction, flexibility and greater joy in education’.

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I’ve additionally designed, developed and delivered a broad range of curriculum to both public and professional audiences. The aim of this programming was to inspire and educate people in conscious leadership, women’s empowerment, self-care, self-worth, wellness, mindfulness meditation and intuitive dance. This content also spans soft skills-based training (i.e., life skills, assertiveness, compassionate communication, inclusive leadership, team building, goal planning, emotional intelligence and conflict resolution).

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Having served as an inspirational keynote speaker, I’ve delivered various public speaking engagements, formally and informally, for both public and professional audiences. The community and educational events in which I’ve participated, increased the visibility of non-profit and community-based organizations with whom I have been privileged to serve.

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As women, we understand relationship, connection, creativity, process, birthing, nurturing and re-invention. Our unique talents and energies as wise, powerful and intuitive beacons are being summoned at this time in our world's history. We, as women, are uniquely poised to birth and deliver a new cultural transformation. The need has never been more urgent for our Sacred Feminine gifts to be utilized in service to the healing and restoration of our world.

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My long-standing passion for the performing and expressive arts has been a huge source of inspiration for me and forms an integral part of the tapestry of my work. As a holistic/expressive arts therapist, I bring in whatever artistic experience I am guided to bring, in service to healing. In the past few years, in true multi-potentialite spirit, I have become more emboldened in the weaving of wellness, women’s empowerment, creativity and spirituality into the fabric of my work. The beauty of intuitive dance or other body-centred work I offer, is that we don’t need to be conscious of what it is that is being released through our healing arts practice. Yet, the effects of joy, inner peace and bliss are palpable! My clients report feeling ‘grateful for the joy, well-being, freedom and power’ they feel, as I guide them into reclaiming their voice and connection with Self. 

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The unifying quality and essence of what I do is always this: It’s to empower, inspire, encourage and elevate. I use intuitive, finely honed active listening, focusing questions, creative visualization skills and a myriad of other Eastern & Western techniques to draw out a client’s inner wisdom. I work from a deeply respectful, compassionate and collaborative place, offering counselling and coaching that focuses on a strength-based, resiliency-building approach to healing. In the process, I leave clients ‘energized and infused with clarity and insights.’

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Work aside, the cornerstone of my life is, without a doubt, my beloved family and friends. I have been married to the love of my life, best friend and co-creative partner in crime, Grant Waldman, for over 30 years. One week before  birthing our beautiful son, Nathaniel, I delivered my Oral Defense for my thesis from our home office, then, in Indianapolis, IN. I was successfully awarded my Masters of Education (M.Ed.) in Adult Education & Foundations of Learning from Brock University in St. Catharines, ON, in 1997.

 

In 2003, inspired by the beauty of the mountains & Western Canadian lifestyle, and intent on attracting the very best Waldorf Schools for our son, my family and I moved out west. We feel deeply blessed to have raised Nathaniel, now 25 years of age, in the majesty of nature on the Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island, BC. A graduate of The University of Victoria, Nathaniel works full-time in technology and communications field, while pursuing advanced studies.

 

As a serious foodie and health foods aficionado, I possess over 20 years of experience as a vegan, vegetarian, carnivore and flexitarian. In 2005, I began experiencing food sensitivities and digestive issues. Over the course of 15 years, while grappling with how to resolve these issues, I gained a wealth of knowledge and personal experience relating to the mind/body connection. Intent on re-setting my digestive system, healing my own ancestral trauma and deepening my knowledge of holistic medicine and wellness ~ I embarked upon a five-month long adventure that I now fondly refer to as my ‘spiritual sabbatical’.

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Following the sale of our beautiful family home on Vancouver Island in 2015, right in the thick of our empty-nesting journey, I felt called to study with a teacher I’d been following for numerous years. I completed an intensive program on the benefits of a live, raw, veganic, low-glycemic diet, under the tutelage of internationally-acclaimed medical director, psychiatrist, holistic practitioner, rabbi, shaman and best-selling author, Dr. Gabriel Cousens, and other teachers at The Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Patagonia, AZ. I also relished in the opportunity to learn culinary arts from a talented Parisian Chef, Didier Cuzange.

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Following this one-month training and immersion experience, I had several mystical experiences which would profoundly transform my life and confirm my life’s path as a helping professional, healer and writer. I inherently knew that I was gifted with this experience so that I could share my journey with you.  

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At the end of 2016, Grant & I moved to the Okanagan where Grant initiated his tenure at Round Lake Treatment Centre. Following our acclimatization to our new home and community, I began visioning news ways to re-invent and re-birth myself and my practice. Inasmuch as it was excruciatingly difficult for us, and me, in particular, to live far away from our son, our circumstances gifted our son with an individuation opportunity and afforded me the opportunity to focus on my own personal and professional development. Under these unique conditions, Grant & I were poised to launch the birth of our Healing Works Counselling!

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In our N. American culture, as you may know, we are rarely encouraged to FEEL our feelings. Trauma-informed work and psychological research, however, have substantiated that, we cannot heal that which we do not acknowledge. Neither can we live our best lives unless we are willing to feel our emotions so that we may deal with them and ultimately, heal them. My passion for health and wellness, as well as creativity and spirituality, helps you connect with the underlying emotions that are sabotaging your well-being. I have repeatedly seen that once we address the emotional component underlying your presenting issue(s), the physical manifestations of dis-ease and symptoms no longer need to express themselves. As I help you achieve optimal health and vitality through assessment of diet and lifestyle, and we collaborate together on the creation of an individualized wellness program, your sense of harmony and balance is reclaimed.

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Through explorations of the mind-body connection, I will assist you in clearing through old wounds and pain. Together, we will work on healing trauma (i.e., abuse, addiction, loss, grief and shame) so that your strengthened, more resilient Self may emerge. The mind/body model I use in my therapeutic work with you helps you understand how the interrelationship between mind & body has created your behavioral adaptations. As you deepen your understanding of this connection, you get to decide whether these adaptations are serving you in your current circumstances, or whether you would best be served by surrendering any faulty belief systems that may be weighing you down. As we work with the mechanisms of mind, body, emotions and spirituality, you gain access to a wide number of tools that you can use in service to your healing journey.

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The most profound, transformative healing takes place within the safety of a supportive client-helping professional relationship. The net result of our therapeutic work together will be increased self-insight and self-understanding. Where there have been feelings of helplessness, bondage and enslavement, there will be clarity, a sense of calm, inner peace and emotional freedom. You will feel more empowered and confident to experiment with the myriad of tools with which you will now have access. In this empowered and elevated state, all things are possible. You will come home to yourself in ways that will fill your heart with pride. 

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If you are ready to be inspired, elevated and empowered in your self-care, self-love and self worth… If you feel stoked about being nurtured and nourished into claiming the fullest expression of your joy, freedom and power, let’s co-create a transformational journey together towards your optimal well-being.

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I am most grateful to my very dear family, friends, teachers, mentors and coaches for assisting me in birthing this exciting new chapter of my life’s journey. I look forward to hearing from you and thank you wholeheartedly for the privilege of serving you!

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