About Joy, Medicine, Beauty, Magic founder Ixchel Tonātzin Xōchitlzihuatl MFA Columbia, EdM Harvard, ABS:
I am a somatic practitioner, board-certified sexologist, spiritual counselor, and cultural strategist with over 15 years of experience supporting individuals and communities through transformation, healing, and relational growth.
My work draws from Hakomi, Somatica Institute®, mindfulness practice, Indigenous psychology, trauma-informed care, Buddhist philosophy, ritual practice, narrative strategy, and embodied communication frameworks.
For the last 7 years I have worked closely with tribes in the upper Ecuadorian Amazon building culturally sensitive peace strategies. I am an accomplished and award winning writer and visual artist, the founder of Xi’im Ek Balam, an Indigenous-centered cultural strategy and educational organization exploring consciousness, systems change, ancestral knowledge, and relational intelligence and the spiritual director of the indigenous church. I also study Anahuac and highland Maya timekeeping practices through a DIY doctoral program at the School of the Ecocene.
Read my full bio here.
Why I do this work.
Members of the Waorani, Kichwa and Shuar tribes sign an intertribal peace agreement with Ixchel as part of her peacemaking work with Ya’ax ix’im Ek Balam.
8 years ago I was living the life I thought was my dream: I was the director of an NGO that served the community, co-founder of an art collective receiving national recognition and newly married. Yet I felt unhealthy, unhappy and my relationships lacked the emotional depth my heart longed for. I realized that I had a lot more to learn about how to live a good life that I never while attending Harvard.
Despite my accomplishments I lacked the ability to make meaning of my life. I didn’t know how to cultivate happiness in times of challenge, I felt disconnected from my ancestors, community and the earth and I didn’t know how to build meaningful, authentic relationships. I was in a personal time of eco-relational crisis.
In the years that followed I committed myself to the earth, spiritual practice and work as a peace builder. I re-connecting to my indigenous roots, learning about aboriginal life-ways in Mexico and the Amazon and collaborating with these communities as part of a mutually supportive knowledge exchange, studied Tibetan Buddhism in Nepal and India, deepened my practice as a visual artist, re-invented my writing practice, trained in trauma-informed somatics and became a Board Certified Sexologist.
Now I weave these teachings to be the guide that I wish I had. I braid together teachings from around the world and across disciplines to meet clients across cultural traditions in a practical and grounded way.
Life can feel challenging but I have learned it doesn’t have to be full of suffering. It would be my honor to support you in building a path towards happiness and liberation for you and your communities.
Change your mind, change your dreams, change your story, change your life.
One of Ram Dass’ most popular books is entitled “Be Here Now”. Right now you can one small step, out of curiosity or excitement. Let’s connect now and make some magic together.
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MFA Columbia University with emphasis in trauma, community and collective transformation
EdM Harvard University with emphasis in movement culture strategy and informal pedagogy
5+ years of somatic training (Somatica Institute®, Hakomi Somatic Practice and Polyvagal Theory)
trained in Tibetan Buddhist Philosophy (Kopan Monastery)
acomplished arts-based and community action researcher (3rd Action Space and Center for Urban Pedagogy)
award winning visual artist (Soros Land, Memory and Art Fellowship)
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People come to me during periods of rupture, transition, longing, grief, or uncertainty. Rather than treating these moments as failures, I see them as opportunities for deeper awareness, embodiment, honesty, and transformation. Together we work to identify patterns, regulate the nervous system, strengthen communication, cultivate self-awareness, and build more aligned relationships with self, others, and community.
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Most clients see changes within the first three months of work together, with long term pattern adjustment happening between 6-12 months. All clients who complete the 6 month or more processes see improvements on their goals and target areas of focus.
We use qualitative metrics to track your progress and adjust the methodology to your needs, goals and unique learning style.
The whole process is designed to understand both who you are as an empowered being, and who you are as a learner so that you can take these tools out of sessions and into your life.
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Sessions are conversational, experiential, and collaborative. Depending on a client’s needs, our work may include somatic awareness practices, mindfulness, communication exercises, guided reflection, nervous system regulation tools, and relational inquiry.
Clients Include:
Staff at
Google
Open AI
University of California School System
Private Practice Psychologists and Psychotherapists
Social Workers and Social Service Providers
Executive Directors at Nonprofits
