Aleksandra Staneva, PhD – Internal Family Systems & Jung
psychotherapist
To my kin with tired bones. Women who have carried too much for too long, listen. There are seasons when the she-wolf is hunted, exhausted, bones showing through her fur. She runs for years, giving milk when she has none, hunting with empty belly, guarding pups in a storm. Many women live decades like this.… Continue reading To the bone-thin kin of starved women inside us 🐺
From the beginning, before the baby years, before school runs and teenage sleep-ins, there was coffee. Not just caffeine, but a slow, sacred act we carved out in the soft light of morning. Our ritual began when we were still just two souls finding home in each other. We’d sit, hands wrapped around warm cups,… Continue reading On sacred presence: coffee
I’ve lived with migraines most of my life. Sometimes they’ve crept in like a fog, other times they’ve struck like lightning, sudden, punishing, and unrelenting. For the past three days, I’ve been moving through yet another one. The world narrows. Light hurts. Sound feels like shards. My body curls inward, asking for darkness and silence.… Continue reading When Migraines speak
There’s a paradox in the helping professions, we hold space for others while sometimes bypassing our own exhaustion. We teach nervous system regulation while running on fumes, listen to suffering while dismissing our own fatigue. At some point, the fire that fuels us begins to consume us 🔥 Burnout isn’t just about doing too much,… Continue reading Healer, hold yourSelf
Lately, I’ve been feeling the weight of it all, the anxiety, the anger, the grief as the world is grappling with this political crisis. It moves through my body like a storm, sometimes sudden and sharp, other times a slow, aching heaviness that is informing my choices automatically. The world feels like it’s unraveling, and… Continue reading Holding steady in a world on Fire
Daily Limpias - or why it’s critical for any healthcare practitioner to take care of themselves.A friend recently commented she could never imagine doing the work I do. “Being with all this pain, trauma, suffering all day, every day?!” She exclaimed. “Never!” It is not untrue that the nature of my work is indeed to… Continue reading Therapist, know thyself (and take care of yourself)
“Dance the pain away” was a message I received from my grandmother during my latest trance experience under the guidance of my teacher Dr Clarissa Pinkola Estès Reyes. I won’t share the details of that as they are not only sacred… but impossible to put into words (let alone via the limiting modality of social… Continue reading Dance the pain away!
Oh… Poetic medicine… The act of writing poetry can be a profound and transformative journey towards healing and self-discovery. With each carefully crafted line, we can uncover the hidden depths of our psyche and bring to light the unspoken truths that lie within us. Through the process of poetic expression, we can bear witness to… Continue reading On poetic medicine
Here’s the thing about expectations…I look like I am about to make a really meaningful post about life and parenting and finding the silver lining in shitty situations BUT …. (With the risk of sounding really ozzie) yeah nah! I planned ‘the perfect day’ for our little family of 3, which lately feels like a… Continue reading The “perfect family day”
A poem for you. Yes, you! Happy International Women’s Day!
Aleksandra Staneva, PhD - Internal Family Systems & Jung 