Meet Milissa
“I help people rest their hearts and minds in stillness
so that they can move into the fullness of life.”
~ Milissa Link
Today my life is rich and full. I feel happy and free, but like many wellness practitioners I got to this place by walking the path of the “wounded healer.”
From childhood through midlife I suffered from the effects of trauma. Symptoms of chronic fatigue, depression and anxiety dogged me for years. The pendulum swung, with no steady stream of energy to live life the way I wanted.
After I married my husband, Brien, I felt like I had everything I needed to be happy and healthy: a loving, secure relationship and a creative life purpose as an artist with a studio in downtown Minneapolis.
But I bottomed out…and it wasn’t the first time.
Thankfully, I found communities that pointed me in the direction of holistic healing as a way to transform my health. I worked at a farm-to-table restaurant that allowed me to learn to nourish my body and elevate my mood. I also joined a trauma survivors group that was serendipitously attended by many bodyworkers and intuitive healers. Most of our sessions resulted in group members “laying on hands” to assist others who were being flooded with traumatic memories.
The first time I entered the “still point” during a Craniosacral therapy session I felt an unprecedented feeling of peace and wholeness envelop me. As a highly sensitive trauma survivor, it was truly life-changing for me to find that place within myself. Over time, through receiving Craniosacral therapy, my nervous system rewired. I found an inner calm I’d never known was possible.
My longing to pay forward the transformation that I’d received from healing practitioners grew so strong that by my mid-30s I had become a certified yoga instructor and a meditation teacher. I continued to pursue training in yoga therapy, Craniosacral therapy and energy work. I was blessed to lead yoga and meditation retreats locally, nationally and internationally.
Tree of Life Yoga, my first wellness business, began in 1994 and continued for two decades, until Brien’s death from cancer in 2014. With such a huge rupture in my life, I doubled down on my own healing. I used everything I knew from my earlier journey to wholeness, and also added InterPlay, an embodiment practice which added a whole new level of freedom to my life.
“Let what comes come. Let what goes go. Find out what remains.”
~ Ramana Maharshi
I was inspired by the words of Indian spiritual teacher Ramana Maharshi: “Let what comes come. Let what goes go. Find out what remains.”
For several years, as I adjusted to living as a widow, I continued on with a go-with-the-flow attitude. Moving through the grief process consciously, I became stronger in my own path each day. Having accompanied Brien to the liminal place at the end of life, my capacity to be deeply present was enhanced. My clients found the Craniosacral therapy and energy work that I continue to provide to be more potent and healing than ever before.
Now I have another beloved partner and spiritual collaborator, Marc Anderson. We share a contemplative lifestyle and he helps me care for my two dogs. The four of us enjoy urban life in Minneapolis as well as nature time in Western Wisconsin. His spiritual depth and playfulness are a perfect match for mine. Marc and I offer private sessions combining Energy + Sound Healing at the South Minneapolis studio.
I’m ready to reach out to more people at this time of fruition in my life. I invite those who are ready to heal, to reimagine, to remember, to embody spacious awareness itself to come join me in rest, play and wonder.