Meet Lisa Davila | Qi Gong Instructor, Reiki Practitioner and Celebrant

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

Hi Lisa, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
Throughout my years working in healthcare, I have to admit, my work always came first. I completely immersed myself in my role as a nurse, a nurse manager and educator, and various administrative positions in patient experience for multiple healthcare systems.  . I wanted to improve care for patients and enhance the environment for staff. However,    after 18 years in nursing, I found myself burned out and with a diagnosis of breast cancer. The profession remained the same (if not worse) as when I was a new graduate nurse. I spent so many years fighting for change and it was exhausting. When COVID arrived in 2020 and the world shutdown, I decided to do the same. My cancer was caught early so I was one of the lucky ones. I realized my work/life balance was non-existent. So, I walked away from my corporate nursing job and decided to take some time to figure out what I really wanted to do. And the first step was taking care of myself and spending time with my family. In creating my balance of work and life, I realized that I needed to make my own schedule and work with people who were receptive to what I had to offer. This was so important in preserving my energy and allowing me to use my natural gifts. The work/life balance naturally occurs when you are creating work that you enjoy and the people who also enjoy what you have to offer are your clients.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I graduated from nursing school at Regis University in 2002. As a med/surg nurse at the VA I was very aware of people’s energy fields. I started to notice that patients with the same surgeries or procedures also had a certain demeanor. For example, my patients that were recovering from heart surgery were often impatient. My patients with cirrhosis of the liver were quick to anger. Now these are, of course, generalities, but as time went on, I noticed that I was structuring my care based on diagnosis and surgery (unless there was a more urgent need at the time). If I had 5 patients, I would visit my heart patients first as an example of how I structured my care. And my liver patients, I would give them choices throughout their day to allow them to keep a little more control which decreased their anger. When I became certified in Qi Gong and studied 5 element energies, my mind was blown. In 5 element theory, when a certain element is out of balance, specific emotions emerge. Each element also corelates to an organ in the body. For example, fire element energy is related to the heart and when this energy is out of balance (which can cause physical disease over time) it can cause impatience. The liver is ruled by wood element energy and when out of balance can cause anger and stress. In working in hospitals and clinics in Colorado, I never found an environment where a patient would want to hear from their nurse about their energy imbalance when they simply needed their pain and nausea controlled after surgery. But in teaching Qi Gong, I am able to target emotional pain through energy work in a way that not only feels natural, but it is also preventative which is the area of medicine I have always wanted to be a part of. I love teaching Qi Gong because everyone can benefit from allowing their energy to flow and remove stagnation which can lead to disease and illness in the physical body. I learned a lot about the environment in which I wanted to practice and that made all the difference in my career. By combining my 20 years of experience as an RN with energy medicine in the form of QI Gong and Reiki, I feel I bring a unique merging of eastern and western medicine to my clients.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

Colorado is such a great place to visit, and I love showing people around. I live in Lafayette and the mountain views here are amazing. I love taking anyone who has never been to Red Rocks there for a show. It is a magical place to hear live music and take in the views. I am also a big fan of breweries and food. Teocalli, William-Oliver’s Public House, Liquid Mechanics, Odd 13, Ghost Box Pizza, Viet Kitchen to name a few. For coffee and just hanging out, East Simpson Coffee House is the spot. And right down the street is HiFi Jones. a really cool art studio with a free 80s arcade. Waneka Lake is a great place to set up a hammock and chill. Louisville also has some great spots to eat and drink such as Waterloo and Empire. Colorado people are friendly and always willing to chat so you can find interesting folks anywhere. And if we felt the need for a road trip, I like to take people to Glenwood Springs and Maroon Bells in Aspen.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

My biggest shoutout goes to my husband Jaime who through all my ups and downs has always supported my ideas. He encouraged me to leave my job and venture out in creation. He saw my energy dim over the years and encouraged me to take a risk. His quiet confidence and positivity steered me in the direction of being able to come back to who I truly am as a person.

And if I were to recommend one book that puts it all into perspective is The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer. This book showed me how my own thoughts and emotions can create my reality. I learned to pay attention to my limiting self-talk and consciously work towards reversing the frequency of my energy to the positive. It also showed me that it my responsibility to protect my energy from people and situations that lower my frequency and drain my energy.

Website: www.celebrantlisa.com