About Connie Quayle

My story.

One version of it.

We all live so many stories.

My Story

My story, like others, has moved through many phases.

And in how I see it, there is a before and after event that changed my life.

Before

I used to work as a teacher in alternative schools and home learning. For 20 years I focused my practice around self empowerment for children, creative expansion and connection to nature.

I raised my children and lived a good and simple life homesteading in community. I built a house and grew my food.

I practiced healing arts with certifications in herbalism, reiki and therapeutic touch. I made herbal medicines for my family and friends. I supported and attended ceremony as part of my life.

I had finally come out as a queer trans woman, was loving the freedom of being myself, and started my second masters degree... this time in Social Work...

...when my brain "broke" and my world changed.

After

The things we shrug off and try to bury don't always leave us. Healing takes more than just trying to let go and move on, it takes sitting with things to move through them. The hidden weights of my past caught up with me and knocked me flat.

I spent months at a time floating in darkness, drifting between trance and dissociation. I was closer to the spirit worlds than this one and spent more time with spirits than with other people. Diagnosed with Complex PTSD I was no longer working and no longer able to function. To find my way back to this life, to presence and embodiment, I dedicated to my healing journey in earnest and spent the next five years focussed almost only on healing. This time of my life, I now see as an initiation into shamanic healing and was foundational in learning to support the healing of others.

I'm deeply thankful to all the practitioners from so many lineages in many traditions who held and supported me to gain my balance and to find my river of medicine. I have walked those paths of darkness, of shadow and confusion, and in my return I brought back with me ways to navigate spirit worlds and heal.

A few of the practices that supported me on my healing journey have become integral to who I am.

These form the core of my practice that I share with you, as I continue to build my skills with trusted teachers.

And I live a life full of love, vibrancy and connection... healing, learning, growing... it really is possible.

I offer

Shamanic healing sessions to bring healing on spiritual levels that ripple though all levels.
Magical Herbalism through my MoonCat Magicals herbal product line.
Conscious dance facilitation and event production for Dance Temple, festivals, workshops and private bookings.
Gender Diversity and Inclusion workshops and consulting.

Credentials

Academic Degrees

MA in Conflict Analysis and Management from Royal Roads University
BEd in Outdoor and Experiential Education from Queen's University
BA in "Cosmological Perspectives on the Relations between Humanity and Nature" with majors in Native studies and biology from Trent University

Spiritual and Energy Healing

I’ve carried many of my medicine gifts since I was a child, dreaming and aware of lives before this one. My past life memories and the spirits that support me remain my primary teachers in this work. To hone my craft and deepen my knowledge I have also studied:

Spiritual Healing Practitioner lvl 1 with Julie Kramer
Curse and Thoughtform unravelling with Betsy Bergstrom
Therapeutic Touch lvls 1-3 and Practitioner certification with Linda Nelson
Reiki 1 with Carina Verhoeve and with Rebecca Hay
25+ years as a participant and helper in ceremonial spaces learning from many different teachers, medicine people and Elders in Anishnaabe, Lakota, Shipibo and holotropic lineages

Plant Magic

I grew up in the coastal forests that became my safe place, my home for most of my life and learned about the plants around me as neighbors and friends by sitting with them and listening to them. This, and a love of gardening food and medicines, blossomed into a life-long fascination with plants, fungi and their medicine gifts. Aside from vast quantities of books and articles I've also learned from:

Chartered Herbalist Certificate from Dominion Herbal College
Mentorship, Learning and Workshops with many humans including: Paul Stamets, David Arora, Cat West, Lee Saunders, Edna Manitowabi, Nicole Bell, Della Rice Sylvester, Akayah Lynn, Aditi Holden, Vasanti Daigle, Jim Patterson and more
Plant dieta with Rose, many plant medicine ceremonies over decades of practice

Dance and DJ Practice

Dance for me is embodiment, mindfulness and presence. It is a way to move healing through the body and learn what is held within. Conscious dance, in sober and safer spaces such as Dance Temple, has been foundational to my healing and how I balance my life with spirit work. Facilitating dance journeys has become a way to share my creativity and music I love in ways akin to ceremony. And I've learned through:

Running and facilitating Dance Temple Cortes and other venues around the islands and beyond for inclusive events and conscious dance class workshops
Dance Weavers DJ & Facilitation training and mentorship with Naomi Jason, Lila Spencer and Alex King-Harris
5 Rhythms workshops with Bettina Roth, Shauna Devlin, Anne Marie Hogya
Soul Skin and Portals of Transformation programs with Naomi Jason

Counselling, Teaching and Social Work

I grew from working to supporting people where they're at in their learning and development. I've been a client to many healing and support practitioners, a holder of space for many and have lived life as a queer trans woman. And...

Facilitator of gender diversity and inclusion trainings ongoing since 2019
Coursework in Psychology (TRU), Interpersonal Communication for Counselling (UVic), Anti-Racist Practice (UVic)
Family home learning support and teacher work for 20 years (Linnaea School, SelfDesign, HeartWood)