I was born in Seoul, South Korea and my family and I immigrated to the U.S. when I was 3 years old. I witnessed my parents struggle to adapt to life in the U.S. while retaining their connection to Korean culture. I saw the impact of leaving one’s country of origin, the land, and felt that confusion and divide within myself as well.

I am grateful to have grown up participating in Korean ancestor reverence practices - such as tending an altar and making food offerings to my grandparents during holidays significant in Korean culture. While these rituals were meaningful to me, and a source of comfort, I also sensed that there was unwell energies affecting me and my family. I didn’t have the language for this as a young child but I realized later on the impact of intergenerational trauma and how that played a large part in what compelled me to seek out healing for both myself and my family.

Over the years I have explored diverse paths, from living in a Spiritist mediumship center in Brazil, to studying with a teacher from Mexico City in the Toltec tradition of Nahualism, to completing a practicum in integral psychotherapy. In 2011, I attended a community grief ritual with Sobonfu Somé of the Dagara people in Burkina Faso, West Africa. During this ritual I had a powerful experience of my own ancestors, and also experienced the potency of grieving together in community. As modern culture does not support being with grief in healthy ways, I was inspired to support people to be well resourced and not feel isolated or stigmatized in their grief. I’ve supported individuals and groups at a bereavement services organization to embrace the transformative potency of loss toward a more authentic and wholehearted life.

I also realized that it was important to engage the wisdom and traditions of my ancestry in a deeper way. This led me to my own healing journey, which has supported me to connect with the blessings of my ancestral elders, to feel a greater sense of belonging and to be in more rightful connection with the living Earth and other-than-human kin. My connection is an ongoing and deepening relationship for which I am profoundly grateful.

It would be an honor to support you to trust your own Heart and knowing, and come to know the gifts and beauty of your ancestors.

To find out more about my offerings, feel warmly welcome to email me at: chiyoungkim9@gmail.com with any questions. I’m happy to be in touch.