We recently had the pleasure of chatting with Olivia Perez Biera, the force behind LA Healer. From bodywork to dance, writing to advocacy, the work Olivia has done for their community and beyond knows no bounds. There’s so much we could say in summarizing Olivia’s journey, but she says it best.
Business Name: L.A. Healer
Pronouns: She/Her/They
Tell us about the work you currently do.
I provide wellness and healing services one-on-one or in group settings. I offer intuitive modalities and specialize in spiritual or energy healing. Our services range from customizing the healing process for each unique individual. They include Ancestral Healing, Soul Retrieval, Cranio-Sacral bodywork, Aromatherapy, and Trauma Healing. Many folks enjoy the products I make, curated to relieve everyday anxieties and stresses, and every so often, we offer a retreat or class package.
Can you share a bit about yourself and your background before IPSB?
Through my early 20s I absorbed from many teachers, a variety of ancestral healing arts practices and modalities such as vibrational healing, and that’s when I met Gary Strauss, I was his school office manager and learned cranio-sacral unwinding from him, somatic experiencing from one of his colleagues, and went through his Master Teacher training.
How did your early life impact your understanding of what healing means? Why did this inspire you to pursue a career in bodywork?
I grew up in a loving, typical Californian Chicano family that gave me space to fail and allowed me to discover my unique gifts and talents. I was an angry rebellious child, maladjusting to a sick society. I was encouraged to channel that anger towards building bridges and effecting change through communication and the arts. I worked and trained for many years as a volunteer with the National Conference for Community and Justice. I began personal ceremony at 13 and facilitating talking circles at the age of 16. It became apparent that I had the abilities to tap into the deeply stuck energies that people carry.
Why did you choose to attend IPSB?
As the former administrator of Life Energy Institute, I came to love and deeply trust the teachers of IPSB. I had mentorships with them and found a great amount of support from the school.
In your work, you mention holding space for healing and justice. What is your philosophy around the intersection of healing and justice, and how the two work together? How does ancestral healing tie into this?
Well, as an Indigenous woman, I have always been intrinsically tuned into my environment. Growing up in different places in northern and southern california, I easily noticed a disparity among people of different class and race. As I began a career in the healing arts, it was very clear that holistic healing was left out of the conversation for people who were not privileged or educated. I grew up around the time of affirmative action so I felt the injustice of passive ignorance in many communities and the harm it caused mentally and physically. The ancestral part of it came by nature and diving deep into my own healing process. The spiritual and emotional bodies needed to be addressed and they could not without looking into the ancestral wounds and how to heal them. I realize now that justice occurs when we heal, regardless of those heavy energies and barriers of class and racial oppression, in fact despite them.
You also mention providing esoteric, spiritual, physical, emotional, and mental psychic attention. How do you create a non-judgmental and fundamentally enlightened space for your clients?
LA Healer holds important intrinsic values so that we serve the community of clients with complete confidentiality and authenticity. Honoring each person's journey, we respect a set of values that I feel are significantly important for any spiritual healer or intuitive.They are Compassion, Health, Freedom, Purpose, Highest Truth, Commitment, and Somatic Awareness. These values develop TRUST, maintaining a strong foundation for the company.
You’re also an accomplished author and dancer. Tell us more about this!
I am an Aztec Dancer and Teacher, Founder of Indigenous Wellness Collective. We call it Danza Mexica or the Mexicayotl which means we are a group of artists who incorporate traditional dance, song, crafts and more into ceremony to honor the energies that bring life to this planet. It is a very deep part of the Tolteca Lineage of philosophy. I am also an initiated Mayan Time Keeper and I help people through reading and Mayan Abdominal massage. To learn more about this I suggest folks check out our non-profit (@indigenouswellnesscollective)
On my website I offer wellness and healing services in a one-on-one or group setting. We offer intuitive modalities and specialize in Soul guided energy healing. Our services range from over 2 decades of experience in customizing the healing process for each unique individual. They include Ancestral Healing, Soul Retrieval, CranioSacral bodywork, Aromatherapy, and Trauma Healing Chakra Balancing etc. Many clients enjoy the products I make. I curated them to relieve everyday anxieties and stresses, so that includes misting sprays, sustainable herbal support, essential oils, candles and soaps. I have ongoing classes available and every so often I will offer a retreat package. You will also notice three zines I published and a book will be out this year. Subscribe to my newsletter to get up to date course announcements, healing tips and podcast releases.
What advice would you give someone pursuing bodywork or considering school at IPSB?
IPSB goes beyond the mechanics of bodywork and creates space for the potential of the holistic and intuitive practitioner. Their programs are fine tuned and emphasize the importance of clinical boundaries and awareness. Attending is not just vocational training, if the students allows for it, it can become mindful healing arts awareness.
You can learn more about Olivia and LA Healer at www.spiritualhealer.la and on Instagram at @LA_Healer