Meet Asha Edouard | Spiritual Social Worker, Doula, Womb Healer, Reiki Master

We had the good fortune of connecting with Asha Edouard and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Asha, what is the most important factor behind your success?
The most important factor around the success of In Grace Yoga Therapy is COMMUNITY. From our first day offering services to clients, we have been focused on cultivating relationships with our clients that go beyond the standard practitioner – client relationship. We view clients as an extension of a soul tribe and family. In efforts to cultivate community both online and offline, In Grace Yoga Therapy has created spiritual retreats, digital offerings, private group chats for discussion and sisterhood, and social events for WOC.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
It is important to know that my Haitian culture impacts every single business decision in In Grace Yoga Therapy. Growing up, I saw the value of community, sisterhood and self-healing. I would see my mother use herbal allies to heal people and family members of body aches, pains and physical discomfort. I believe I stand as a doula, social worker, and womb healer because of the women that have come before me.

Seeing healers in my family, like traditional herbalist, I became passionate and dedicated to blend my therapeutic experience as a former therapist and now, Spiritual Social Worker with alternative therapies from eastern, African and indigenous cultures. I’ve found that healing is not a one sized fits all prescription. Healing, in my opinion, requires a full body approach and a deep loving care of people.

My greatest obstacle in beginning this work was overcoming the doubt and fear with merging my clinical training with eastern and spiritual concepts. When I first decided that I would leave my therapist job and open up a trauma-informed restorative health private practice for WOC, I was met with so much internal resistance and shame. In my training of being a therapist, there was not an emphasis on spiritual care or even a discussion regarding spirituality in the therapy room. This was my greatest hurdle. After overcoming that, I realized that my community was in need of ethical practitioners who could speak both the therapy language and the energetic/spiritual language. Following this, my other challenge was finances. I recall spending my entire savings to establish a business, rent office space, invest in coaching and training and booking and admin systems for my business. Banks were unable to offer me loans due to my short time in business so I relied on friends, family and my community for financial support in my business.

Since then, I have gone on to open a Womb Spa which specializes in women health, reproductive health and alternative therapies for trauma relief and uterine balancing which include Reiki therapies, sound healing, yoga, meditation, doula consultations and vaginal steams. I have also served over 800 women of color.

The greatest lesson that I have learned is to always be teachable and to never give up on my ideas.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I am a would traveler, therefore, if I had to take my best friend somewhere I would absolutely take her to my favorite place in the world, which is Puerto Rico. This is a place that I frequent when I need a moment to calm down, reset my mind and energy and unplug from the world. I would take her to traditional restaurants in Pinones and have the best fried snapper (fish) with a Pina colada. Then I would take her downtown Luquillo to grab some pinchos which are Chicken Kabobs. Then, we would visit the beautiful blue beaches of Manati, in Puerto Rico, followed by visiting El Yunque rainforest. We would take a traditional Bomba dance class in Luquillo and maybe visit the forts in Old San Juan.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My wonderful teacher and friend, Tameeka Ford has been such a great and amazing support for currently, and during the time where I was learning my professional voice as a conduit of change, medicine woman and healer. She provided loving care, a framework on how to do this work ethically, and being a Social Worker herself, she modeled what client relationships can look like when held in love. I consider Tameeka to be a wonderful woman, dynamic healer and an example of what true service to your calling looks like in real time.

Website: ingraceyogatherapy.com

Instagram: InGraceYoga

Twitter: ashaedouard

Youtube: ingraceyogatherapy