Today we’d like to introduce you to Tonya Parker.
Hi Tonya, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I have had such a meandering career journey! When I graduated from The College of William and Mary with a BA in Sociology, I stayed for grad school, attaining an MEd and then an EdS in Counseling. I imagined I would become a therapist and retire from that field. However, my years working as a Licensed Professional Counselor was a launching pad. It was paid training and development to help me hone in on my true calling.
It was when I was a therapist that I started a lifetime of teaching, serving as a Counseling Professor at Hampton University. I left that role to return to being a student—in massage school. I had fallen in love with massage when I received one for my 30th birthday. The more I went, the more I saw the disparities in how I, as a client, experienced massage and how my clients perceived counseling. At that time, I had some self-referred clients, but the majority were sent by an outside force—the courts, Juvenile Justice, Social Services, schools, or parents wanting me to “fix” their child. There was a LOT of resistance I, as a therapist, had to navigate through. But as a massage client, my only resistance was the tension in my muscles that was easily broken down by the skilled therapist. After several months of receiving massage, I became clear I desired to be offering massage. I wanted to serve clients like me, who joyfully anticipated the session, smiled and received pleasure during the session, and had a tangible breakthrough as they floated out of the session.
It was during massage school that I chose to exit the Mental Health division of behavioral health and enter the Prevention division, providing community programming by running an after-school and summer program for children. I also provided speaking engagements in schools and community organizations. My thought was to intervene earlier, engaging the families and schools to prevent some of the behavioral issues I had once treated. Along with my private practice as a massage therapist, this position allowed me to more fully address individuals and systems in a holistic manner.
I eventually left behavioral health all together and took a position as a Corporate Tainer in a larger health system. Ironically, working in an allopathic medical system only fueled my interest in learning more holistic pathways to healing. While working there I began exploring modalities. I became certified in Medicinal Aromatherapy, Reiki Levels I-III, and Metaphysics. I deepened my yoga practice and tried out acupuncture. I became Professor Parker again and taught in a Massage Therapy program, deepening my skills as I taught a new generation of massage therapists.
By this time I had purchased a home in MD and needed to end my commute back down to VA to the hospital and eventually the massage school. I left my cushy corporate job with the intention of obtaining another in that field while still building my business. That new career position never happened. It felt like every door closed and was forcing me to rely on my business. So I took the path of least resistance and expanded my practice. I accepted more clients, traveled around the DMV to massage at corporate sites, and developed holistic workshops and events. I also parlayed my love of cooking into conscious cooking and catering, taking on individual clients and following my housemate’s urging to cater meals one weekend a month for Iyanla Vanzant and her coaching faculty at Inner Visions Institute for Spiritual Development. Later that year, one of the faculty asked if I could teach Public Speaking at the University where she was program chair in Communications. Between my training in communication as a counselor, serving in the Speaker’s Bureau as a Prevention Specialist, and teaching Effective Communication Skills at the hospital, I was a yes! Professor Parker was back, sharing space with Healer Tonya.
Something about teaching sparks learning for me, and I enrolled in a distance learning program to become a Naturopath. Although I did not complete that doctoral level program, I went far enough to receive a certificate in Natural Wellness. The experience helped broaden my understanding of the mind, body, spirit connection and informs my work today.
Today my practice has evolved. After shamanic training, ordination as a minister, and certification to teach Meditation, I am called to offer Reiki, Retreats, Restoration/Relaxation, and ‘Riting. I have authored several books with holistic themes, recorded a meditation CD, and founded a community called W.I.T.C.H. I have curated two anthologies: W.I.T.C.H. Voices: Women In Tune with Conscious Healing Remember their Truth & Reclaim their Power, Volumes I and II. Through this process, I have coached 55 women through sharing their healing journeys and provided platforms for them to speak, write, and serve more fully in their gifts.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Oh no! It has not been a smooth road at all! I have encountered a number of bumps along the way. Working as an entrepreneur in this DMV area has its own set of challenges. First of all, the cost of living is expensive. And whenever the government shuts down, everyone is looking to cut their expenses, and holistic services often are among the first to go.
Additionally, there is no paid time off or family medical leave as a solopreneur. When my mother was in 16 months of home hospice for colon cancer, I missed a lot of work to travel back to VA to see her, provide some reprieve for my sister, and eventually gather my mom’s wishes so we could plan her services.
Right after my mom transitioned in February 2020, the pandemic shutdown hit. Consequently my collaborative partners and I canceled a major retreat, monthly wellness days, and massage therapists were no longer allowed to practice. My bread and butter had been the work I did with corporations in the DMV, massaging employees. I had to perform a major pivot and develop more online restoration and relaxation services, all while deep in a heightened grieving process due to my mom, her remaining brother passing exactly 3 months after her, and a world turned upside down. That time was also financially devastating, and was the beginning of the end of my offering massage; by the time we were able to massage again with the number of regulations, decades of wear and tear on my body began to catch up. My massage practice became another casualty of the times.
Another hurdle: having been really good at massage! It has been challenging for some clients to see me leave the profession and express my gifts in other ways. So I am always looking to expand my networks.
As you know, we’re big fans of Mind Body & Soul Food. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
The mission of Mind Body & Soul Food is to guide women in nourishing their authentic selves and flourishing individually and collectively, empowering them to heal, transform, and thrive. We do this through Mind, Body, Soul, and Food.
My team and I facilitate:
* Reiki Energy Healing, Coaching, Training, and Community Shares
* Transformational Retreat Facilitation, Sourcing, Cheffing, and Support for Other Leaders. We are known for eight years of Sacred Sojourns to Sedona, AZ and recently started offering a 3-level certification program to train others to become sacred space holders of retreats.
* Spiritual Coaching & Mentorship for Women Healers
* Restoration Practices like meditation, breathwork, mindfulness, and self-massage for individuals, community groups, and corporations. OK
* Community Circles that center women’s empowerment and expression
I am also the curator/Author/editor of W.I.T.C.H. Voices: Women in Tune with Conscious Healing Remember Their Truth & Reclaim Their Power, an Amazon #1 bestselling anthology that amplifies the wisdom of 33 women. My follow-up book, Volume II, highlighted another 22 women, and debuted as a #1 New Release in New Age Mental & Spiritual Healing. My leadership of these projects has been a 3+ year initiative, including publishing team coordination, weekly writing circles, and annual virtual retreats to highlight the authors. It has sparked book signings that have turned into healing events, women’s circles, and an amazing community of healers that I source for my retreats and events, and refer to others.
Several of these women also are taking part in a new initiative my partners, Rev. Anim Bey and Empress Lolita Thomas, and I are launching this spring—U Source Academy. USA is a sacred portal for elevation—of self, community, and consciousness. Our vision is to ignite the Source within each initiate: that unique, sacred essence connecting every individual to infinite power, purpose, and potential. Through education rooted in metaphysical science, creative exploration, and ecological integration, the Academy empowers individuals to awaken as So(u)rcerers—beings who consciously create reality from alignment, clarity, and service.
How do you define success?
Over the years, I have come to define success as sovereignty—the ability to live from my own inner authority rather than external expectations. It’s being in right relationship with myself: choosing in alignment, honoring my truth, and allowing my life to reflect who I actually am, not who I was conditioned to be. From that grounded place, self-actualization feels less like striving and more like remembering, and authenticity becomes easeful rather than performative. When I’m sovereign, serving my spiritual calling isn’t about sacrifice or saving anyone—it’s a natural extension of who I am and how I’m here to love, lead, and light the way.
Pricing:
- Breaking through Barriers to Blossom your Book Retreat, Northern Neck VA: $3,000 3/28-4/4/2026
- Reiki Level I Training: $250
- Reiki Level II Training: $400
- Reiki Level III Training & Coaching: $600
- Raising Kundalini Experiential Plant Medicine Retreat, Tulum, Mexico 8/16-8/22/2026 $3,500
Contact Info:
- Website: http://tonya41.wixsite.com/mindbodyandsoulfood
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/throat_chakra_shaman
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThroatChakraShaman
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonya-parker-tcs
