Ottawa – Amber Joy Young – Offering Care and Support

Solstice Blessings

20th June 2025Amber_Young

Thank you for being here with me. I’m so grateful for your continued commitment to your own self care.

As we anchor in to the longest day of light in the solar calendar, we have the opportunity to reflect on all the places we sense into light within and around us. Maybe taking some time over the next few days to breathe this in.

When we travel through the thresholds of summer and winter solstice, I personally turn to these expanding times of light and darkness as an opportunity to pause and consider how these threads weave their way through my own life. This is a potent time to remember how we travel through life in cycles and how every year we circle back to these points of reflection – changed in the way we arrive.

In the circle of time, the Summer Solstice brings us to the moment when light reaches its peak. I encourage you to drink this in, wherever you find yourself in your life in this moment, drink in this moment of expansion and light.

The summer solstice holds a time of remembrance of the potential for renewal as we drop into the spaciousness of summer rhythms, and bathe in the suns luminous rays.

The moments and days around the Solstice are a also potent time time to reflect on where you are in this moment in your life, perhaps at a crossroad. We are being called to step deeper into the ways we can live more authentically, unafraid of our own voice, urged to make choices that best support ourselves to thrive and in turn, it is my hopes, we will start to live more in alignment with how we can help to undo harm around us. The peak of the light honours where you are now, and gives you an invitation to dream in what’s next.

I want to offer you some reflections to journal around, or to simply think about:

What patterns continue to emerge in your life? What relationships, habits, or experiences have brought you joy or growth – OR – struggle and conflict? What could you offer to the fire to alchemize? What does your heart want to dream into being?

In entering the space of expanded light — through the breath, invite space into your body – what does this feel like? Or contemplate the turning of the Earth, our great mother, what does this bring up? We might also remember that we always have the potential to return to center – spiraling back in, this is where movement flows from.

How can you offer your hands and heart in meaningful ways for the times we’re living in?

Sending you lots of love for the days ahead,

Amber

bee sipping nectar on flower during daytime

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The Importance of Breast Massage

6th June 202510th June 2025Amber_Young

Things have been full the last while as I’ve been focusing on my families needs, interwoven with hands on care and sound healing. This has been deeply meaningful, however it hasn’t given me a lot of time to connect with you through my writing.

Honouring the ebb and the flow

I wanted to share a piece I wrote, which was posted on the blog for The Centre for Health Innovation, where I practice massage therapy on Mondays.

This was an important offering to write, and feels necessary to share widespread, this is support for you.

My intention in writing this piece was to share some insight and reflection on the consideration of a part of our bodies that is often neglected in our care, our breast health

Your whole self is important to consider in your care, every part of you contributes to the experience of feeling your wholeness.

The parts we walk around with and a deep honouring for the parts of us that have changed or that we have lost over the years. I am learning this more and more as time passes.

Statistics show that many people experience breast discomfort at some point in their lifetimes, and that the number that will report this pain to their primary care giver, or to anyone, is quite low. Perhaps because breasts don’t often receive healthy attention or the level of importance in a person’s overall care that they deserve. Breasts are sometimes seen as a “taboo” topic, often sexualized rather than respected, which may contribute to a decreased sense of confidence in voicing any concerns a person may have about their breasts.

Independent of gender, breast tissue is a part of all bodies, completely unique to each of us depending on the anatomical body we were born into, the impact of potential concerns and pathologies we experience, surgical removal, as well as the many transformations we undergo through our lifetime.

Our breasts may also evoke many different emotions, which needs to be honoured when we start to tend to this part of our bodies. This is a first step in deepening our understanding.

I wonder how you feel reading these words.

I invite you to take a moment to reflect, perhaps bring your hands to your heart and welcome in a few deep breaths. Notice how you feel and thoughts that may be arising.

Our breast tissue is located in the front of our chest cavity and in many bodies extends into our armpits, anatomically adjacent to our heart and lungs. This is the part of us that is energetically associated with compassion and love, as well as shame, grief, and sadness.

Every time we take a breath our breasts are affected by the movement in our chest wall. Did you know that the muscles of respiration (of breathing) are the same muscles which directly affect your breast health and contribute to the ability for the breasts to drain effectively.

Breath and postural patterns through the neck, chest (upper thorax), back and shoulders are some of the primary areas we need to assess when we start to consider ways we can offer ourselves care for our breast health.

Here is a link if you’d like to continue reading the whole article The Importance of Breast Massage.

The Important of Breast Massage

Heidi at the Centre for Health Innovation helped me to include some beautiful images to support your exploration.

I also created a self breast massage video, and some dry brushing guidance, just as an extra resource for you

This work travels through my heart to you.

If you need extra support or want to deepen your understanding of this sacred part of you, I offer a six – week virtual program (I’ll be setting dates for the fall soon), as well as one-on-one care / support (both in person and virtually). There are also so many other incredible practitioners in our wider community offering this care and support.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

Lots of love

Amber

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Gentle Spaces For Self Exploration

19th August 202427th September 2024Amber_Young

I love this sacred window of time, as I close my eyes and imagine all of us, sitting together in circle, honouring the evolution and unfurling of who you are, who we are – moment to moment.

Thank you for inviting me into your inbox, you give me inspiration to keep doing this work, and I am grateful.

Earlier this month I celebrated 20 years as a Registered Massage Therapist, I can’t believe it’s been over 20 years since I started doing this work. My first experience was a training at the Mueller College of Holistic Studies in San Diego in 1999, later becoming Registered in British Colombia in 2004. That feels like a lifetime ago. I guess in many ways it was, thinking about how much I’ve changed over the years, and also how much we are continually learning about how we heal.

As I reflect on all of the care, the trust and the stories I’ve been honoured to hold for people, I am in awe. It is an honour and a privilege to do this work in the world, spiraling deeper and exploring different ways to hold healing space for folks.

We are a complex interconnection woven from our anatomy, the DNA we carry, our families history, our ancestral lineage lines, the experiences we carry in our hearts, our energetic bodies, the health of the Earth and the elements, spirit, the ways we are affected by the collective, our individual beliefs – and so much more. I’m curious how people are able to focus their attention on a presenting lesion or pathology, becoming trapped within a diagnosis and forgetting to consider all the factors that contribute to our wholeness.

In my heart I feel how much we need gentle and accepting places to explore ourselves, now more than ever.

I was having a conversation the other day about pain cycles, specifically the cycles of anxiety and stress many are presently living with. These states bring our body into a sympathetic state – which is indicative of energy expenditure; rapid breathing, increased heart rate, muscular contraction – often referred to as the “fight or flight” response. We can become overwhelmed by our thoughts which can manifest as physical tension and disharmony in our bodies and our minds. Thanks to the work of Stephen Porges, Deb Dana and many others, we are also learning more about our nervous system’s survival response of freeze, a dorsal vagal response, where we can feel stopped and shut down out of a visceral reaction where our bodies are in actuality trying to keep us safe – our bodies are always trying to keep us safe. This response is like pushing a pause button and is our nervous system’s attempt to conserve energy. These reactions, both a result of stress, live in our bodies and require somatic explorations to support our unique pathways to healing, releasing, and integrating. We need to cultivate and nourish our bodies and our minds with experiences and practices that help us to feel safe, daily.

It’s important to take time to move the heaviness we’re carrying through us, not needing to cognitively understand or be required to explain ourselves, but rather to have the space to feel – to be quietly witnessed.

May we all have places and people where we can put down our defenses, allow tears to flow, honour our cracks, and explore who we are under all the layers we often carry.

In service to the sacred threads of life

Love Amber

As I celebrate my 20 year massage anniversary, I have welcomed in some supportive spaces to offer care:

Monday’s: at the Centre For Health Innovation located in the city of Ottawa at 429 MacLaren Street. To see me at this location you can book directly through the Centre.

Tuesdays, Thursday and Friday’s I practice massage therapy and sound therapy in my private forest studio, nestled amongst the white pines, cedar and birch trees.

Send me an email if you’d like to book in my private forest location. Booking is directly through me. amber@suryadaya.ca

I teach weekly online zoom yoga classes Thursday mornings from 11:00 – 12:00 am EST, you can join from anywhere (live or with the recording).

Consider upgrading to a paid membership, created with the intention to offer guidance whenever you need a little extra support. Enjoy a weekly email, free access to my monthly bedtime yoga class and special practice recordings. Memberships range from $6 to $38.

Let me know if you’d like more information amber@suryadaya.ca