CEREMONIALIST CHRISTINA MICHELE RIOS
Christina
Michele Rios
Rooted in ancient indigenous rituals and the science behind why they work. Ceremonies for individuals and groups, in person and online, attuned to the cycles of the moon.
One of my closest friends. We connect deeply on how we see and experience the world, from wellness to the creative. Christina is someone who truly lives what she teaches.
In a world where women are raised to put everything and everyone before themselves, she finds it increasingly important to rewire our consciousness to fill our own cups first.
Christina Michele Rios is an Intuitive Ceremonialist certified in Sound Meditation, Breathwork, Yoga Nidra, Theta Healing, Intuitive Healing, Australian Bush Flower Essences and Reiki. Her philosophy is rooted in ancient indigenous rituals and the proven science behind how and why they work. She facilitates Ceremonies, an ode to her Latin and Native American roots, creating safe space for compassionate introspection, cultivation of the intuition and transformation of the relationship with self. She aspires to empower individuals to be their own healer, remembering the innate ability that lives inside us all.
Beyond her ceremony practice, Christina is the founder and creative director of the aisthetes, a brand architecture and creative strategy studio shaping premium wellness, hospitality, culinary and lifestyle brands. With eighteen years in creative direction, editorial, advertising and content strategy across Europe, Asia and the US, she works at the intersection of beauty, meaning and the science of wellbeing.
What does wellbeing mean to you?
Wellbeing to me means being at peace with ourselves and the world around us. In a state of acceptance. This does not mean that we are necessarily happy with what is happening around us, but that we accept the current state. Dancing with the present state or season of life, even during challenging or testing times. Wellbeing is not a linear journey, it is cyclical or spiral. We too endure our own internal seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn. To know at the deepest core of our being that all is well and that everything is temporary. This comes with balancing our holistic layers of being: mind, body and spirit. Knowing that everything is a lesson and everyone is a teacher.
"My entire life is a practice of embodied wellbeing. My life is a wellbeing Ceremony."
Christina Michele Rios
How do you practice wellbeing?
My entire life is a practice of embodied wellbeing. How this looks changes on a day-to-day basis as I too evolve and change daily. I intuitively tap into what my mind, body or spirit need on that specific day and then apply the corresponding tools or practices. I follow what my heart and soul are drawn to or wherever I feel there is an imbalance. I believe wellbeing is a journey. There is no one size fits all. Be open. Use your intuition: it is your inner compass and will never lead you astray.
Put away your phone. Take off your socks and shoes. Sit cross-legged on the ground. Draw the shoulders back ever so slightly and allow them to fall away from the ears. Allow your palms to lie gently atop each knee, facing up towards the sky. Flutter your eyelids closed. Feel the root of your spine connect with the earth beneath you. Scan from your head to your toes, observing any tension present in the body. Be a neutral observer without labels or judgement. Envision roots extending from the soles of your feet into the Earth. Feel the Earth holding you, supporting you. Inhale this grounded energy through the soles of the feet into the body, all the way up to the crown. Tune into the sounds of nature around you. Observe how they impact your inner state. Being in nature, tuning into the sounds, connecting with the earth realigns us and creates equilibrium in seconds.
On the eve of the Full Moon, make a list of all that you would like to release. Use pen and paper. Write in an active and present voice: "Tonight I release..." and allow whatever feels heavy to spill out onto the paper. Sign your name and date it. In a fireproof container, burn it under the light of the Full Moon, envisioning all you are releasing truly being let go. Afterwards, shower, energetically cleansing yourself. Once the ashes are completely cooled, return them to the Earth, to the soil.
We have been a part of this change, using social media to expose the works of some of the most inspiring artists in the world and putting you, the reader, in touch with them directly. There is no need for only a few people in a flawed system to dictate what artists can and cannot be exposed to. Today it is more important than ever to preserve the artist's perspective. Because artists are. ✦
Stay curious,
Leila Antakly
