What is your name & location?
My name is Tatiana Zamir and I am based in Los Angeles.
How do you help people heal?
One of the ways I help people heal is by creating spaces where people can find freedom and joy in their bodies, whether that’s through my movement therapy workshops, weekly Afro-Hip Hop Dance classes, private programs or performance art.
What type of benefits does your method of healing provide?
My weekly community dance class is a judgment-free space where people can lose themselves through movement and music that is fun and uplifting. It’s an hour of pure joy, where folks can release stress, gain mental and physical strength to support their overall health, and walk away with a strong sense of renewal and rejuvenation to conquer their week.
My Radiant Healing Breakthrough workshops provide a safe space for women to overcome -- and even thrive from -- painful experiences by engaging in a variety of meaningful exercises that empower the healer within. Each workshop includes movement therapy techniques that help alleviate stress, heal from past traumas and embody our highest vision for ourselves and loved ones. You walk away with tangible tools that provide clarity and confidence to cultivate a life that’s filled with more peace, joy, creativity, gratitude, authenticity and love.
As far as my performance art is concerned, many people benefit from my ability to share vulnerable experiences that offer healing solutions, allowing audience members to reflect more deeply on their own personal journeys and to visualize something greater for themselves and their surrounding communities. There is one dance-theater piece I’ve shared about my relationship with my mother. She was addicted to drugs and alcohol and was emotionally abusive to me the majority of my life. She eventually had a spiritual awakening that drastically changed our dynamic. It allowed for powerful healing and greater love to flow into our hearts and lives. After a show where this piece was presented, a man I knew came up to me and shared that he had been absent in his daughter’s life and was inspired to reach out and show up for her in ways he previously hadn’t. This was so moving to me - that one night of dance and spoken word had him renewing himself and testifying next to his wife, who I know will help hold him accountable.
It’s amazing how many pathways there are for healing. There are so many ways to repair ourselves and each other; to find our deepest truths and flourish in ways that have a positive impact on our lives and communities. I’m so grateful for the privilege to create spaces like these, especially since I get the bounty of experiencing the healing benefits myself.
When did you realize that you wanted to help people heal/why did you start?
I first realized I wanted to help people heal when I was a little girl. I used to love giving my family massages way before I became a professional bodyworker as an adult. Even as a child my mother would sometimes pay me because she said I was that good. I remember taking a lot of pride in my work even then and really enjoying working on other bodies. So in addition to being a dancer and movement therapist, I’m also a massage therapist and reiki practitioner.
How does your personal healing journey reflect in how you hold space for others?
I am constantly learning, growing and engaging in progressive healing spaces. I have a deep desire to heal my heart, my body and unravel the mysteries within. And as I continue to learn what works for me, my capacity grows in how I can support others.
Why is what you do so important?
Everything I do is important because every practice, every choice and every moment is an opportunity to awaken myself. And the more I nurture this practice of awakening myself, I possess a clearer mirror with which to reflect back that true awakening in others.
This life is really hard, so it’s easy to check out and sleep on it. I get it. I’ve been there. But I don’t want to be a sleep anymore. I don’t want to be like zombies on TV shows like The Walking Dead, infecting others with this apathetic, deadly poison. I want to feel alive. I want to infect others with my hope, my joy, the evolution of my healing and whatever gifts I can offer that will inspire others to stay the course.
I know deep in my bones that we are all connected. Science is proving this fact more and more, so I’m very clear that our choices and what we do affect one another.
What is your inspiration to continue doing what you are doing? What is the fuel that keeps you going?
The first thing that inspires what I do is this deep calling to co-create all of these healing spaces. They don’t just feel like ideas. It’s as if something is propelling me inside to take action on my vision. They all feel important for different reasons and have a synergetic connection that allows them to feed off of each other.
Secondly, the communities I engage with are a huge part of what inspires me to keep going. They share such positive feedback from working with me and I try my best to remember those heartfelt reflections whenever I begin to doubt my purpose.
Thirdly, I really care about our planet and the progress of humanity. And I think that our world can feel very dark, depressing and heavy, so we need to cultivate and engage in more spaces that feel light and hopeful: spaces that remind us that beauty and joy is within and around us; that there is a miracle around the corner; that we are more powerful than we often feel we are and that every single thing we do matters; that change is not only possible, it’s inevitable and it’s happening. We need to see and experience everyday miracles because we will rarely hear about them on the news. And yet people are growing, laughing, inventing and changing our world for the better all the time! And I think it’s important that we actively find ways to feel empowered, feel hopeful and to be active agents in cultivating a new world – which is also profoundly connected to the individual work we are called to do within.
How does it make you feel when you are helping people heal?
It makes me feel hopeful, grateful and happy to be alive.
What are your visions &/or goals?
My goals are: to be authentic, to heighten my intuition and to always trust it, and to continue to cultivate my relationship with joy. I suspect that as I nurture these qualities, my capacity to heal myself and serve others will continue to expand, and that dreams I don’t even know I have will continue to actualize.
Tell us a fun fact about what it is that you do or something people may not know about you.
I actually started down this path because of bad posture. My grandmother put me in my first dance class as a toddler and encouraged me to go back as a pre-teen because she thought I was slouching too much. I later learned through my mind-body studies that caving in the chest is often a sign for protecting your heart. Which makes sense, since I was definitely struggling the most with self-esteem and feeling loved during those younger years. Dancing again allowed me to open my heart and to connect more fully to my body, which put me in touch with my purpose. Thanks, Granny!
In one sentence, what is your message to the world?
Uhmm, how long can I make this sentence, lol!
Always make time for joy because you deserve to be happy and your happiness will help heal yourself and the world.
Is there is anything else that you would like to share about yourself or what it is that you do?
I love rest just as much as I love movement! I make sure to move and exercise almost every day, but I also don’t sacrifice sleep for anyone unless I absolutely have to!
I can be very social but I also spend a lot of time alone to recharge and connect with my center.
This society constantly encourages us to run ourselves into the ground but finding balance between work, play and rest is something I’m very mindful about. Having down time to recharge for what’s next is a vital part of my self-care, which also includes lots of prayer, meditation, sleep, korean spas, and a good old-fashioned Netflix binge.
For more info you can visit Tatiana's website: www.TatianaZamir.com
IG: @TatianaZamir