About Laura: 
Laura Valenti started dancing with Susannah and Ya’Acov Darling Khan - the creators of School of Movement Medicine - in 2009. As soon as she found this form of mindfulness in motion, she fell in love with it and she continued to dance as much as she could even when she had cancer.
She is a qualified teacher and facilitator and completed 2 Advanced trainings of the SoMM: 1: Working With The Heart and SEER (Systemic Essential Energy Retrieval), 2: Ritual & Ceremony.  Additionally she is a facilitator for the Pachamama Alliance, in support of the culture and wisdom of the people of the Ecuadorian Amazon Forest.
Her work is informed by her training in sound and voice therapy, clowning, physical theatre, other healing modalities and her background in law, sociology of migration and human rights. She has lived, traveled and worked in UK, California, Peru, Ecuador, Guatemala and Italy. Working both with groups and on one to one basis she shared Movement Medicine with indigenous communities, people in drug and alcohol rehabilitation, refugees and vulnerable adults.
A multi-passionate person, her passions are nature, community, healthy living, co-creation, drumming and eco-psychology. She is currently training also as a coach and offers a 1:1 mentorship program to supporting people in their journey into wholeness, creativity and self love.
Laura was born in Italy, where she learnt about good food and hospitality, colourful swearing and native ancient forms of ecstatic dance. Recently she moved to Spain with her partner. Her dream is to find a land to steward and restore, to create her garden and invite people to dance and reconnect to the Elements inside and around them.
“Laura in her leading role has a very wide range of gifts which are all sourced by her loving and strong heart. The gifts of clarity, strength, spontaneity, exquisite humour are combined with her gentle and beautiful wild femininity and are rooted in her experience of transforming pain into wisdom”. (Katerina Stejskalova, homeopath and Journey practitioner).
Website: https://www.elementalsoulmedicine.com
FB page: https://www.facebook.com/Elementalsoulmedicine/
The website of the Movement Medicine Association http://www.movementmedicineassociation.org
 
SHOW NOTES:
00:08 - What the Embrace Your Destiny podcast is all about
00:37 - Introduction to Laura Valenti
02:32 - Laura shares her journey
03:40 - Family struggles with grief after the death of Laura's mother
05:27 - Laura realizes she was using dance as therapy as a child
07:09 - Low self-esteem and self-confidence lead Laura to drugs and alcohol
10:11 - Drug use amplified feelings of discomfort in Laura's body so she turns to yoga and dance
12:29 - Laura decides to study physical theatre
14:40 - Laura receives a cancer diagnosis at age 33
16:02 - Laura sees diagnosis as an opportunity to make choices and have a chance to do more
19:25 - Laura get's the all clear after chemotherapy and gets serious about dance
23:05 - Laura shares her biggest lesson
30:27 - Laura offers advice to anyone going through something similar in their own lives
 
About your host:
Sandra Dawes is a recovering control freak and excuse maker who works with clients struggling with similar issues. She holds an Honors BA, an MBA and a certificate in Dispute Resolution. After the passing of her father and circumstances that followed, she suffered from bouts of depression and sought the help of psychotherapists. Unwilling to seek pharmaceutical assistance to deal with her chronic unhappiness, she was lead on a journey of self-awareness and forgiveness that changed her life in deep and meaningful ways.
Sandra enjoys spending time with friends and family and her partner Satnam. She published her first book Embrace Your Destiny: 12 Steps to Living the Life You Deserve in 2013.
Sandra was added to the Wall of Role Models by the Diversity Advancement Network in July 2016.
You can find more articles and learn more about Sandra and the programs and products she offers at www.embraceyourdestiny.ca.
You can also find Sandra in the following places:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EmbraceYourDestiny
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/embraceurdestiny
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/mbraceurdestiny