Meet Christina Della Iacono | Sound Priestess & Ceremonialist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Christina Della Iacono and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Christina, Let’s talk about principles and values – what matters to you most?
Currently, adaptability. Throughout my life, I’ve noticed one constant–change. I used to dread it and this resistance led to a lot of unnecessary suffering. As I’ve grown, I’ve learned to first accept change and then to become flexible. Oftentimes, in the face of unmet expectations, I hear the same intuitive whisper arise within me: “Be like bamboo.” Flex with the wind and you shall not break. At this time in my life, I’m amidst a great transition. I’ve just moved from Eugene, OR where I spent the last ten years and I now find myself in a new relationship, community, home, culture, work environment, etc. So much is rearranging so quickly in my life, and this has created various challenges. The only way I’ve managed to stay sane is to simply adapt to the needs of the moment. Adaptability confers resilience and within that lies a certain confidence and self-reliance. It also allows you to be at peace with whatever circumstances you find yourself in, despite your dashed hopes, dreams, expectations, etc.–because you know you will adjust. You know you’ll always be okay.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m chuckling because I still don’t know how to best respond to people when they ask me what I do. Even those who have participated in my offerings say that others simply need to experience the work first-hand to understand.

Turns out, I come from a long line of medicine women, but I wasn’t aware of this for most of my life. Sure, I knew of my Peruvian ancestry, but I didn’t feel particularly intuitive or psychic as a child. In fact, I felt very “square” and just wanted to be in school. Until my early 20s, I dedicated myself to academia with dreams of becoming a research professor. In the second year of my Neuroscience Ph.D. program, I became very ill and depressed, and despite my terror at not knowing what else to do with my life, I ultimately decided to drop out with a Master’s, never intending to step foot in a lab again.

As soon as I walked away from that campus, a series of mystical experiences ushered me into my own healing journey. Strangers would come up to me and spontaneously burst into tears while I simultaneously entered a trance-like meditative state and “knew” where to touch them (ex. on the heart or tailbone); afterwards, they’d share their relief or explain how some childhood trauma felt resolved. My psychic abilities expanded as I attuned to the subtle realms, and I began regularly communing with a Master Plant Spirit dear to my lineage. I asked how to more fully align with my soul mission and heard one word: sound. This led me to apprentice with a Cherokee-Taino-Choctaw healer woman who initiated me as a carrier of various First Nations medicine songs. While praying with one such song, my voice cracked open into my true sound, completely freed from my classical training as an opera singer, and I felt as though I returned Home. As I continued to develop my gifts, I started working with people who felt drawn to me, and that’s led to where I am now.

I serve as a ceremonialist, intuitive guide, sound priestess, and voice midwife, using various modalities (sound, shamanic drum journey, guided imagery, breathwork, crystal healing, aromatherapy, etc.) to help people connect to their innate wisdom, authentic voice, and open heart. I prepare sacred spaces in which people feel safe enough to be vulnerable and then I allow Spirit to work through me by grace. Within these transformative containers, whether one-on-one or in groups, people can more easily experience the unconditional Love that they are, and this Love heals. We offer love to all aspects of Self so we may experience our innate wholeness and perfection. We pour love onto our inner children, our past wounds, our bodies, our minds, our self-image–whatever arises for witnessing. Cultivating this Self-Love initiates us into the daily experience of Universal Love and compassion for others, so peace may become our abiding state.

I call myself a “voice midwife” because I also help people birth their true voice. In “Voice Activation” sessions, we don’t attempt to sound pretty, but rather relax into the raw vibrations. Your unique voice is the key to unlocking the deepest recesses of cellular trauma stored in your body. You become your own sound healer and can rebalance your entire energy field with your freely expressed tones. I cherish guiding people into this empowering experience.

I love using sound because it’s such a powerful technology. For example, medicine songs have a way of accessing the root cause of dis-ease, bypassing the intellect or Ego structure. The vibrations effortlessly rewire one’s energy field, bringing coherence to the body-spirit-mind. And this isn’t all just woo-woo speak–I used to be a scientist, remember? There’s a lot of exciting research on the power of sound to heal. Interested folks may wish to visit the Acoustic Brain Research tab on Tom Kenyon’s website (www.tomkenyon.com) as a place to start.

My offerings are ever-evolving as am I. While I’ve focused on sound here, my workshops, circles, and private sessions may also incorporate dance and movement medicine, womb healing, and sacred sensuality/sexuality. You can learn more about me and my work through my website (www.gaia-sophia.com) which still needs to be updated since my cross-country move. 🙂

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 new to Atlanta so I’m still learning about the local gems, but a trip with a friend would certainly include a dinner at Kimball House, exploring the shops at Ponce City Market and Little Five Points, making a homecooked meal from our Sevananda market haul, and a weekend camping trip to enjoy forest therapy at Just Love forest.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
A special thank you to Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés for writing Women Who Run with the Wolves and reanimating the knowing within my bones. And thank you to my beloved mentor-friends White Wolf Woman, Laughing Helen, and Joli for your immense love, encouragement, and support throughout this journey. I love you infinitely.

Website: www.gaia-sophia.com

Image Credits
Grace Hefley