Taking Healing to New Perspectives (Q and A)
An Interview with Bija Bennett with the International Spa Association
Dancer turned yoga healer turned wellness advocate and thought-leader, Bija Bennett sees her life’s work as linking ancient healing models with modern lifestyle choices.
Q: What made you go from performer to healer to wellness advocate and thought-leader?
Performing is a reciprocal event — what is outside of you comes in, and what is inside of you comes out. So dance allowed me to tap into something sacred inside myself. This is yoga. It’s the practice of linking to what is both inside and outside. I learned to use yoga in my own life and how to make it accessible to others. This kind of healing can be translated into business — especially the wellness business — by making it practical and available to all kinds of people’s lives.
Q: How do you see that business heals others?
I’ve come to see that business is a tool to build a network of deep and powerful relationships. When you passionately work with others to create programs that bring peace, stability, and happiness to others — it helps those in need, and this serves the greater community of mankind.
Q: Where do you get your ideas for your wellness programs?
I’ve received surprising insights from my explorations into consciousness — through meditation and yoga. My books, programs, videos and tools are rooted in ancient healing cultures. Every program invites people to explore themselves in creative ways, and this often leads to self-transformation. Dialogue with your own self brings a kind of enlightenment — insights you may have forgotten, and now remember.
Q: What’s next?
I’m bringing authentic healing practices into spas, which I believe, are the new churches or temples where people can go to get a real “internal” experience — away from the barrage of external stimuli constantly bombarding us. We are enhancing the therapeutic and sensory power of treatments by merging an ancient healing model with modern lifestyle choices and experiences. This bridges cultures by acknowledging that consciousness is timeless and knows no boundaries.
Q: What does spirituality mean to you?
My yoga teacher taught me to control my breath, focus the mind, and direct it into the heart. In yoga, you learn to remove the obstacles preventing you from growing by mastering your attention. It takes patience to become good at it, but when you practice it, it’s enduring. When you live it, it’s miraculous. Then you come alive and begin to live spirituality with your whole being.