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Why Grief Hurts More When We Try Not to Feel It
Grief moves through the body as well as the mind, and trying not to feel it often makes the ache linger. Victoria Duarte, somatic and mindfulness coach at Healing Arts Center in Virginia Beach, explains why letting grief move helps life return. The post closes with a gentle reflection for noticing what grief feels like in your own body.
Alt Text: Why Grief Hurts More When We Try Not to Feel It, a blog post on grief in the body by Victoria Duarte at Healing Arts Center in Virginia Beach
Inner Child Hypnotherapy in Virginia Beach: Meeting the Rules You Made as a Child
As children, we made rules about how to stay safe and loved, and many of us still live by them today. Learn how inner child coaching and hypnotherapy at Healing Arts Center in Virginia Beach can help you meet those rules with kindness.
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Woman sitting on the carpet with her arms wrapped around a smiling young girl in her lap, representing inner child coaching and hypnotherapy at Healing Arts Center in Virginia Beach
Why You Cannot Think Your Way Into Self-Worth (and What Works Instead)
Self-worth is a feeling before it is a belief. Here is why “just love yourself” fails so many people, why the inner critic resists self-compassion, and the body-based practice our practitioners teach instead.
Alt Text: Healing Arts Center graphic reading “Self-worth is a feeling before it is a belief” over a warm abstract painting, with the website healingartsvb.com.
How to Release Stress From Your Body: 5 Somatic Practices That Help
Your body can stay on high alert long after a stressful day ends. Victoria Duarte shares how somatic work helped her finally let go, plus five simple practices to help your nervous system return to rest.
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Woman lying on her back on a yoga mat with her eyes closed and arms relaxed at her sides, resting after releasing stress from her body, from Healing Arts Center in Virginia Beach
After You Speak Sharply: How to Repair With Them and With Yourself
Snapping at someone you love is often a sign you are giving more than you have. Learn how to repair with them and with yourself.
Alt Text: Two people holding hands in front of a tree, for a post on repairing a relationship after speaking sharply, from Healing Arts Center in Virginia Beach
Client Reviews of Healing Arts Center in Virginia Beach
Clients share, in their own words, what it is like to work with the practitioners at Healing Arts Center in Virginia Beach.
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Wall mural reading "What's the best that could happen?" in white letters, used for client reviews of Healing Arts Center in Virginia Beach
How to Be With Your Body: A Six-Step Somatic Practice
Victoria Duarte shares a six-step somatic practice that begins with safety and moves in small doses, for anyone learning to be with a feeling in the body.
Alt Text: Woman with curly hair and closed eyes standing by the water, turning her attention inward during a somatic practice
Feeling Stuck in Life? The Peacekeeper in You May Be Angry
Feeling stuck may be anger that the peacekeeper in us never let out. These five self-reflection questions about anger, hurt, peace, and freedom offer a place to begin.
Alt Text: A small child in a hat stands at the bottom of a wide stone staircase and looks down at the first step, representing feeling stuck in life.
Energy Body Breathwork and Somatic Release in Virginia Beach
Victoria Duarte explains what the energy body, breathwork, and somatic release mean, and shares one short practice to try before her October 28 class in Virginia Beach.
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Woman with dark hair and closed eyes, one hand resting at her collarbone, illustrating energy body breathwork and somatic release
Support Between Sessions: Why My Clients Can Call When It Matters Most
My clients can reach me between sessions at no cost, and in all the time I have offered it, no one has ever overused it. Here is why I do it, especially for Gold Star children and the adult children of military families, and what happens when people feel heard.
Alt Text: A small ceramic cup with a hand-drawn beach umbrella and lounge chair sits on a wooden table, an image of slowing down, from Healing Arts Center's post on between-session support in Virginia Beach.
What Somatic Coaching with Victoria Can Help With: 10 Reasons People Book
Most of what we call stress, stuckness, or overwhelm begins in the nervous system, and that is where lasting change begins too. Ten reasons people book a session with Victoria Duarte at Healing Arts Center, each linked to a deeper read.
What Inner Child Work Actually Is (and Why We Pair It With Breathwork)
A child learns from her caregivers whether her feelings are safe to show, and that lesson stays in the nervous system long after childhood ends. Here is what inner child work actually is, why insight alone rarely changes a bodily reaction, and why we begin every session with somatic breathwork.
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Mother and young daughter lying upside down on a couch, laughing and looking at each other, illustrating playfulness and inner child connection in a blog post from Healing Arts Center in Virginia Beach
When the Breath Is the Hard Part In Meditation
Almost every meditation class starts with the breath. For some people that instruction is a wall, and their reaction is a protective response rather than a failure. Here is why the breath can feel unsafe and three ways to begin instead.
Alt TextL A person in a peach shirt and black leggings sits cross-legged on a purple yoga mat in a sunlit living room, hands resting on their knees.
A Boundary Begins in the Body
A boundary is a body event before it is a sentence. Learn how interoception and stress signals set your limits, what overriding them costs, and a practice to begin.
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Close-up of a sunflower seen through a circular lens against a black background, illustrating how attention narrows or widens what we notice in the body.
Client Story: Brian's Journey With Reiki, Breathwork, and Mindfulness
Brian, a member of the NSW community, shares how Reiki, breathwork, and mindfulness helped him reconnect with his body and mind as he approaches retirement.
Alt Text: American flag standing in a grassy field at sunset, representing military service and honor
New Beginnings Aren't Always Exciting
New beginnings don't always feel exciting. Sometimes they bring more fear than hope. Here's why that happens, and how somatic tools can help you move through change with more steadiness.
Alt text: Person standing at the edge of scattered autumn leaves, symbolizing the uncertainty of a new beginning"
Why We Partnered with People of Virginia Beach
This week, Healing Arts Center partnered with local storytelling project People of Virginia Beach. Here's why creativity, community, and healing go hand in hand for us, and why we're proud to support Suzi's work.
Alt Text: Featured graphic for Suzi, founder of People of Virginia Beach, in collaboration with Healing Arts Center, with a camera lens graphic and healingartsvb.com branding
8 Cognitive Distortions (and 6 Ways to Retrain Your Brain)
We all have thought patterns that quietly shape how we see ourselves, often without us even noticing. In this post, I break down 8 common cognitive distortions and share 6 practical, body-based ways to interrupt them, from mindful awareness to a technique as simple as humming.
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Translucent human head sculpture with glowing orange circuit-like patterns visible inside, symbolizing the brain and neural pathways.
Unlocking Calm: Eye Movement Strategies from a Neurosomatic Coach
Few people realize how much shifting your gaze can calm the nervous system. Neurosomatic coach Victoria shares 4 simple eye movement techniques you can use anywhere.
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Close-up of a person's eye with green-blue iris, illustrating eye movement techniques for calming the nervous system
Introduction to Somatic Breathwork and Inner Child Connection
Feeling disconnected or seeking more balance? Join Victoria for a guided introduction to somatic breathwork and inner child work, a one-hour class in Virginia Beach designed to help you reconnect with yourself.
Alt Text: Woman seated cross-legged on a yoga mat, hands clasped near her chest in a mindful breathing pose