Conversations with the Inspiring Sydney Zwicker

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sydney Zwicker.

Sydney, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My story begins with my own healing from sexual trauma, which occurred in my late teens. As I started to unravel my trauma, I searched for any and all ways to heal. Like the P.D. Eastman book ‘Are you my mother?’ I was desperate and ambitious to find the something I couldn’t quite explain that felt missing.

This newfound desire to heal and reclaim my body fueled me to try a bit of everything. In the first few years, I discovered the healing powers of working with a good talk therapist (I had seen many not so great ones in my childhood), but still, I only felt like I could shake off the first levels of shame and guilt, the feeling of being damaged goods.

Then, I stumbled into Core Energetics, and somatic therapy. A deep shift occurred as I started to notice how disconnected I was from my body and how profound the body-mind connection can be. Four months later I packed my bags and moved from NYC to Colorado. I did not know anyone, and I had only passed through on a road trip for less than 24 hours but my whole body told me this land had something to teach me.

The nature of Colorado started to heal me deeply, and I found myself in a regular yoga and movement practice. The rest of my path enfolded slowly as yoga, led me to reiki, tarot, and astrology; 5 Rhythms led me to the feminine movement of Qoya. Each new modality seemed to open the doors to another way of being. As I started to braid each of these threads together, the same message became clear, I was healing the feminine within myself to share and give permission for other women to do the same.

Today, I teach Qoya and Yoni Crystals workshops regularly. Qoya, created by Rochelle Schieck, is a movement modality based upon the idea that through movement, we remember; we remember our essence as women as wise, wild and free. In a Qoya class, there is no way to do it wrong, you know you are doing it right when it feels good in your body. This permission to notice what happens in your body when you are allowed to feel without expectations of what it ‘should’ look/feel like is the foundation of my offerings.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I do not think any road is without struggles, but I truly believe that anything can heal. The tricky thing with healing is that as you create more space, it allows more to flow out and through the body. The healing journey never ends, it just expands.

For me, my biggest struggle was continuing to speak my truth, even when it was rejected. Many of the subjects I teach can be seen as taboo or triggering. In Colorado, many people are open-minded to sexuality healing, but there is also a stigma around the Tantra world and culture. Finding my own voice and place among the others was often difficult for me. There is a lot of ‘oh my Goddess,’ and ‘Bigger, Better, Orgasms’ in the sacred sexuality industry and though I support all the women in this work, it did not feel like me.

I found my voice when I started to bring in the elements of my own truth and story, and to share what spoke to me the most. I say at the beginning of many of my workshops, that I teach about the pelvic bowl and feminine healing from a no-bullshit New York Capricorn perspective. I am direct. I might say f***. It’s not for everyone, but I find it resonates with a lot of women who are skeptical of the ‘feminine woo-woo’. I ground my spiritual practices in the anatomy of the body. I find it bringing these two worlds together makes this work approachable for all.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into Zwicker Healing Arts story. Tell us more about the business.
My intention as a healer is to give women the tools to journey into wholeness. My work focuses on pelvic healing and centers around themes of intimacy, sensuality, and intuitive self-nourishment. I strongly believe in education as a form of empowerment and I currently teach classes and workshops around Denver.

Some of my most popular offerings include Qoya movement classes and Yoni Crystal workshops. I also work both in-person and virtually with my private ‘Femme mentorship’ program and my online ‘Intro to Yoni Crystals’ class.

Qoya is a women’s mindful movement modality that allows women to get out of their heads and into their bodies. It is based upon the idea that through movement we remember our essence as women as wise, wild and free. Throughout a Qoya class, we draw from the wisdom of yoga, the wild, expressive nature of dance, as well as the freedom of exploring sensual movement in the container of a women’s circle. Each class is centered around a theme, and we explore our relationship to that theme through movement and connection to our bodies.

My Yoni Crystal workshops and private classes serve as a container to dispel some of the fear and taboo gathered around feminine healing practices and the subject of sensuality.  I define sensuality as the understanding and expression of one’s experience through the physical senses; it is embodiment. I guide students through meditation as we discuss and explore the sacred Taoist practice of Yoni Crystals. These teachings serve as an introduction to the Yoni Crystal/Jade Egg techniques for healing. The intention for these women’s circles is to create a safe space to explore our personal relationship with intimacy and our divine feminine power. My classes are unique as they bring together education of the pelvic bowl and understanding of the female anatomy to this spiritual eastern practice.

My ‘Femme Mentorship’ is based on the idea that when two women come together to share our truths, we create sacred space. Through these sessions, I help clients meet their specific needs for growth by developing a program that integrates all the tools in my toolbox—Yoni Crystals, Reiki, Qoya, Somatic Bodywork, and more. This is not your average coaching session, but a collaborative experience. I believe the pelvic bowl is the key to empowerment and I want to support each woman in reclaiming that power.

I am very passionate to start offering Holistic Pelvic Care™ in January of 2020. Holistic Pelvic Care™ is a unique and powerfully transformative type of feminine bodywork that integrates non-sexual touch as practitioners work with the tissues of the pelvic bowl. Practitioners move as slow as your body needs, checking in throughout the whole process. This is deep work and a very unique and specific container. This myofascial and energy technique for reconnecting to one’s root tissue can lead to great physical, emotional and even spiritual release.

I teach from my personal experience and with a deep passion for this work. I believe this genuine approach makes my offerings more approachable to all who are curious to try something new or to deepen their personal understanding.

It would be great to hear about any apps, books, podcasts or other resources that you’ve used and would recommend to others.
There are so many resources and paths into the feminine. Some of the most powerful books I’ve read on my journey are–

Women Who Run with the Wolves- Clarissa Pinkola Estés
Wild Feminine- Tami Lee Kent (Anything by Tami is amazing)
Qoya: A Compass for Navigating an Embodied Life that is Wise, Wild, and Free- Rochelle Schieck
Yoni Shakti- Uma Dinsmore- Tuli
Women’s Anatomy of Arousal- Sheri Winston

For anyone who speaks french, one of the most transformative books I’ve read on the journey of womanhood was “L’Île, Les sept Nuits d’Eve à Lilith” by Luisa Myrial.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.zwickerhealingarts.com
• Phone: 703 343 0989
• Email: zwickerhealingarts@gmail.com
• Instagram: Zwickerhealingarts
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZwickerHealingArts/

Image Credit:
All Photographs by Charles Scarceriaux

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