We had the good fortune of connecting with Seya Speake Pine and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Seya, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
When I started out as an Entrepreneur of Somatic Work at 25, I had no idea what laid ahead. I had recently graduated with a Creative Writing Degree with a concentration in Poetry and Philosophy, moving from the Midwest to California in high pursuit of becoming a Poetry Professor and getting in with Disney. When we landed in San Diego, I quickly began diving into the study of Yoga: initially for the purpose of learning to catch my breath. For years I had suffered from allergies and asthma to the extent of using steriods, emergency inhalers, breathing machines, allergy shots- all to still wind up with constant constriction in my throat and a contracted diaphragm. It was 2016 when a dear friend invited me to join her for a Breathwork workshop. One that would ultimately change the trajectory of my career, opening up a doorway into Somatics. In that single first session, I experienced an opening in my diaphragm and sensation in my physical body that had never been accessed before. I saw it as a gift- an unexpected one- an invitation to do something no one in my immediate lineage had ever done. Stowed aside my drive to become a Writer and started studying Breath and Somatic Therapy to quickly learn how much Breathwork impacted myself, my community, and my clients. I saw the way it could quickly and effectively release repressed emotion and blockages in the nervous system, opening up the body to unearth wisdom long forgotten. Like hours of therapy in a matter of moments. My own mother nervously asked me: “How are you possibly going to Breathe people for a living?” Seven years later, I am doing exactly that.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I see so many aspiring Breathwork Facilitators and Energy Medicine Practitioners here in San Diego. It is an honor to be a part of the community, and also has been humbling and a constant learning process to step into such a role. To facilitate Somatic Work like Breath, or Kundalini, means honoring each individual as their own world, their own being, as well as looking at the community we are all a part of and seeing how we each are able to serve it, and be held as a part of it. The work I do in this world is Somatic, meaning I care deeply to know the layers of the individuals I work directly with- especially in such a vulnerable and intimate way. What I am most proud of is my commitment to my own relationship and connection to these practices. I am interested and invested in being a forever student, and constantly holding myself accountable in learning what I can, and offering space for integration in all that comes before I share it with my students. My commitment to my own practices is at the root of everything I offer, teach, and hold. This alone allows for me to change and shift, to die and be reborn, time and time again, on a regular basis. My business as Sey Speakes, as a Somatic Practitioner, intersects directly with my passions, my purpose, my own lifestyle. Everything I teach and facilitate comes from that place. I encourage all that learn from me, invest in my teachings and programs, my trainings and cohorts, to also prioritize the way that they build relationship to these practices as well.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Balboa Park never fails. My favorite events are those that gather community for Play and for Enjoyment. Time outside by the Trees for Health Garden. Sunsets at Santa Cruz Beach in Ocean Beach by the Sunset Cliffs. I love Open Mic Poetry Nights! Any queer event that involves dancing, listening to music, or being able to connect. Modrn Medicine is my Favorite Coffee Shop. And Recess: Adults at Play is my favorite local event for connecting with my community.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I so love this question! In the past ten years of focusing my own studies, personal practices, and educating through a decolonial lens, I love to offer credit to where it is due- to my teachers and mentors. I am privileged to call myself a student and mentee of the Transformational Breath Foundation founded by Judith Kravitz, as well as her son Abe Taliferrio here in San Diego. I have studied Kundalini Yoga in depth and mentored for my beloved teachers Meherbani Kaur Khalsa & Guru Mantra Singh Khalsa of Cosmic Flow Kundalini Yoga, who have been teaching and practicing Kundalini for nearly 50 years. I have studied Yin, Vinyasa & Hatha Yoga up to Educator Levels. I received my Reiki Mastership from Corinn LeMar back in 2016, and mentored with June Love of Transcending Love here in San Diego. Most recently, I have studied Trauma Informed Somatic Therapy and Parts Work in Depth through the Embody Lab with Specialists in the Field like Dr. Arielle Schwartz, Nkem Ndefo, and Dr. Scott Lyons. I have studied Quantum Healing Hypnosis Technique: the Dolores Cannon Method from herself and her daughter, Julia Cannon. I work with a Somatic Dream Therapist, Rachel Couch, as a mentor who inspires, educates, and holds me accountable. I admire the medicine work that I offer, and even moreso, those who have taken the time, care, compassion and space to pass on these sacred lineages to me.

Website: www.chelcypine.com

Instagram: @serpentofseya

Youtube: @SeySpeakes

Other: TikTok: SeySpeakes

Image Credits
Olivia Radkowski

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