"When awareness and embodiment entwine, the body turns from a prison to a question – a question of spirit, of love and of meaning." Mark Walsh

Welcome, dear one! I'm so happy you're here.

I'm Lilia, and I’ll be delighted to work together on the path of bodymind (re)learning for wellbeing and ease.

If you wish to recover from chronic pain, fatigue, anxiety, depression, post-COVID syndrome, complex post-traumatic stress, eating related concerns, or other persistent symptoms for which you haven’t yet found effective treatment, you’re in the right place. I know what it’s like to struggle with symptoms and find no answers or cure in conventional medicine. And I also know that there is hope, that it’s possible to heal.

And if you’re someone working in the healing and coaching spaces in support of others’ healing journeys and seeking mentoring, you’re also in the right place.

I’m a physician, psychotherapist, educator, coach, and consultant, among other things, and also someone who has recovered from chronic pain and other nociplastic symptoms, and who continues to heal. I’m a mind-body medicine specialist, and I have trained in different health related fields to connect them as part of an integrative approach to wellbeing. You can learn a bit more about me and my training here.

I integrate different healing approaches and modalities harnessing the power of bio- and neuroplasticity, from an understanding that we are complex beings, and that every single one of our experiences in the realm of health and illness encompasses mind, body, spirit, and a relational web with other beings, human and non-human, and land. This work emphasizes the oneness and interconnectedness of our bodymind and its ability to adapt, often through intentional practices such as mindfulness, movement, or other forms of somatic awareness. It includes mindfulness and compassion based trauma sensitive care, a focus on growth and resilience, and the neuroscience of pain and wellbeing to foster healing, and is informed by somatics, a holistic methodology that understands, in the words of Staci Haines, that both the individual and the collective are a combination of biological, evolutionary, emotional, and psychological aspects, shaped by social and historical norms, and adaptive to a wide array of both resilient and oppressive forces. The word somatics comes from the Greek root soma, which means “the living organism in its wholeness”.

I love the work I do, I know myself to be deeply fortunate and privileged to do something meaningful and gratifying, something that allows me to participate in experiences of deep change, healing and growth. I am particularly skilled in offering a safe space within which to be fully present and hold your lived experience in lovingkindness and compassion. I will be delighted to embark on a collaborative journey to together explore and make sense of your experience and expand the possibilities for ease and wellbeing, with your lived experience front and center.

In 2020, I experienced the gift of recovering from a chronic back pain process that started with an injury, involved 3 surgeries and left me incapacitated several times throughout almost 10 years. Today I am pain free, and I have trained in education, assessment and treatment of neuroplastic pain and other nociplastic symptoms to help more people live pain free.

I am a member of The Better Mind Center’s Medical Advisory Board, and a teacher in the Movement + platform. I was a clinical advisor for Lin Health for two years.

My approach is collaborative, and my style is warm and gentle, though the work we’ll do together will invite you to be vulnerable and brave. The words people who work with me most often use to describe me and my approach are: warm, compassionate, caring, fierce, empathetic, generous, brave, genuine, honest, insightful, intelligent, kind, open, and passionate.

We will engage in conversations and practices for healing, centering your lived experience, your strengths, hopes, and values to grow in ease and wellbeing, and working through challenges and obstacles* that may be standing in the way of you living a full and gratifying life.

*Some of these obstacles are systemic, and I understand that change in this realm needs to be collective. I will not pathologize adaptive responses to oppressive narratives and systems, and I actively continue to do my own work to unlearn internalized oppressive narratives.

We will together make sense of your story and explore how your particular context has shaped your experience of embodiment, health, and wellbeing. We will create space for the grief that comes from the inevitability of facing illness, dis-ease and pain that living in a human bodymind involves, and from particular experiences of adversity, including systemic oppression. From my own lived experience, and that of the many people I've had the honor to help in my practice, I know that we can find radical healing and come to wholeness even in the presence of illness, and pain, and loss. I don’t know what this will look like for you, because no one else (including me) can tell you what health and wellbeing should/could/might be/look like for you. I will listen and bear witness with genuine curiosity, compassion, warmth, and a little humor.

Our work together is mindfulness and compassion based, and may include meditation and somatic practices, emotional expression, journaling, kind boundaries that honor you and your values, relational aspects, mindful movement, education, pain reprocessing skills, inquiry, and more.

I integrate an understanding of neuroscience in a bio-psycho-social-spiritual-ecological approach, as well as a feminist intersectional lens and critical theory.

I can help if…

• you are experiencing chronic pain and/or other persistent symptoms that bring dis-ease, including fatigue, fibromyalgia, and functional digestive symptoms (e.g. GERD, IBS) or post-COVID syndrome;

• you have received one of the diagnoses in this list;

• despite experiencing different persistent and troublesome symptoms and consulting with multiple healthcare professionals, you haven’t yet received a clear diagnosis, your symptoms are still a mystery, and/or the treatments you’ve been offered have only provided partial and temporary relief;

• you are considering a surgical procedure for some kind of chronic pain, e.g. spinal surgery for chronic back pain, and you’d like to explore alternatives;

• you’ve been told your symptoms may be stress related;

• you’ve been told you have multiple food allergies or sensitivities, but the treatment has either not worked or worsened your symptoms, your diet is so restrictive it impairs your life, or you have contradictory information and want to find an approach that works for you;

• you experience struggles in your relationship with food and/or body;

• you experience anxiety and/or depression;

• you are questioning what about the medical information you’ve received is relevant or true for you;

• you want to take care of you on your own terms, and want someone who will be able to support you in self care skills that actually work for you;

• you wish to cultivate and honor healthy boundaries that allow for your own self-care and replenishing empathy and compassion.

If you’re a provider in healthcare and/or coaching, and you want to deepen your understanding and expand your skills in this field, or get support with the challenges of the work you do, it will be my joy to offer you a space of (un)learning and mentoring.

Our focus together:

Bodymind (re)learning for wellbeing and ease. Positive bioplasticity / embodied neuroplasticity: Let’s try out new language!

What we focus on grows, so I’m leaning away from terms like “pain” and moving towards terms that emphasize the oneness and interconnectedness of our bodymind and its ability to adapt and heal through intentional practices including mindfulness and different forms of somatic awareness. What other terms for our work together would you like to add to the list?

Types of session:

• Neural Circuit Repatterning Therapy for healing, including Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) and Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy

• Mindfulness and Compassion Based Programs for relapse prevention in depression and other conditions

• Coaching and consulting for (re)learning wellbeing and ease, Healthy Boundaries for Kind People®, mindfulness and compassion based practices

• Education on topics related to mind-body medicine, wellness, and healing

• Mentoring and (un)learning for healthcare professionals and coaches

• Mind-body medicine and psychotherapy (for residents of Mexico)

Logistics:

If this is the first time we’ll meet, and you want to explore working together to be supported in bodymind (re)learning for wellbeing and ease, finding freedom from chronic pain and other symptoms, cultivating ease, joy and wholeness in the presence of illness, and/or healing depression and anxiety, we will begin with a full intake. This allows ample time for you to share your story with me, and also for more nuance and depth in our exploration. It offers us greater clarity on how we can work together in support of your healing, and gives me a fuller picture to answer your questions, as well as more insight about practices and tools that could best address your needs, priorities, and wishes. I’ll ask you to do an in-depth questionnaire in your own time, and then we’ll meet for two 50 min sessions, during which we will talk about your story and needs in detail, and we’ll explore whether continuing to work together is a good fit for the benefits you wish to experience. You will have access to all of my knowledge and experience, and we’ll address your questions and strategize about next steps and choices that feel pertinent, useful, and sustainable for you, including a detailed discussion and clarification of any questions you may have regarding evidence-based practice and bodymind-based knowing, how it may apply to your particular situation and context, and uses and adverse effects of different treatments and prescriptions. If appropriate and available, I may provide recommendations or referrals to other physicians and/or health professionals. I may also provide a list of curated resources relevant to the questions and concerns you bring.

In case we decide to continue working together, our following sessions will be 50 minutes long, with a weekly or bi-weekly frequency (if you’re a provider seeking mentoring, we may opt for a different frequency). After some time, we may shift to less frequent sessions. Most of the people who work with me do so for a period of six months to two years, though some choose to work with me for a shorter or longer period.

I also offer one-on consulting sessions in case you want to discuss a specific topic, and/or want support on your healing journey and would like to explore if we’re a good fit prior to committing to an in-depth intake. If you’re a provider offering services in the healing and coaching spaces, you may be interested in a mentoring session.

Location:

At this time I am only offering online sessions (through Zoom).

If you live in the London area and wish to meet in person, please use the contact form below and let me know.

Schedule:

Monday - Thursday 11 am - 1 pm and 2-6 pm GMT (London time).

I live in London, England. If you’re in the American continent, I’ll be available during your morning. If you need availability during your afternoons, I’m happy to share the contact info of one of my trusted colleagues, please contact me.

Ready to schedule? Questions?

Please use the form below to share a bit about you with me.

Provision of Medical and/or Mental Health Services

I am licensed to practice medicine and psychotherapy in Mexico. I can provide primary medical and mental health care for residents of Mexico only.

If you are not a Mexican resident, the services provided by me will be limited to the purview of education, coaching, mentoring, and/or consulting. They do not constitute medical and/or mental health diagnosis, care, advice, treatment, or prescription, nor are they meant as replacement of medical and/or mental health care, or consultation with a healthcare professional. Please refer to my Terms & Conditions.