Divas That Care Network
The #DivasThatCare movement is a dynamic force of positivity and progress. It's a collective of empowered women united by a shared vision: to pave the way for future generations. These women are not only breaking barriers—they’re also committed to equipping the next generation with the tools, resources, and confidence to lead with purpose.
By discovering and defining your purpose, you unlock the power to uplift those around you and contribute to a better world—every single day.
The Divas That Care Change Makers lead by example. They’ve walked the path, and now they’re using their voices to inspire others—one intentional day at a time.
Divas That Care Network
Finding Self in the Face of Loss
What begins as tragedy can sometimes forge an unexpected path to healing and purpose. For Lydia Cecilia, losing her father to a sudden heart attack while he danced with her mother on Valentine's Day became the first step in a profound journey toward holistic wellness and self-discovery.
Lydia's story is remarkable not just for its challenges—surviving two different cancer diagnoses within a year—but for the wisdom she extracted from these experiences. At 24, she faced Hodgkin's lymphoma, followed by AML leukemia exactly one year after completing her first cancer treatment. These back-to-back health crises opened her eyes to the intimate connection between emotional and physical wellbeing. "I believe that the emotional hurts that we carry through life, that we bury, that we suppress, that we deny, eventually find a way of coming to the surface," Lydia explains, noting how her unresolved grief manifested in her physical body.
What makes Lydia's approach uniquely powerful is her balanced perspective. She embraces conventional medicine while incorporating complementary practices like reflexology, Reiki, and yoga—a combination that addresses both symptoms and root causes. Her yoga instruction focuses not on physical achievement but on self-acceptance: "I can't even touch my toes without bending my knees, and I've been a yoga instructor since 2011," she shares with disarming honesty. For Lydia, yoga creates "a sacred space where you make time for you," grounding practitioners in their authentic selves rather than external judgments.
Now a certified health and wellness coach, Lydia helps others bridge what she calls "the gap between knowing better and doing better," empowering them to take proactive steps toward holistic wellbeing before crisis forces their hand. Her message resonates with profound simplicity: "Just love yourself... once you have self-love, you don't have to attach your worth to anything outside of you." Connect with Lydia at www.lydiacecilia.ca to learn more about her global coaching services or look for her complete story in the upcoming Business Divas that Care book releasing this fall.
For more Divas That Care Network Episodes visit www.divasthatcare.com
Love Talks Radio of you that have just tuned in for the very first time. We've been doing this show now for over seven years, eight years almost and this year we've actually added in seven more hosts. So we now have a total of eight hosts and we're going to be adding two more before the end of the year. We're now a network, so we're really excited that you have tuned in today and we hope that you tune in to all of our other divas at DivasAtCarecom. Well, let's get started, ladies. I'm so excited. Today's guest is Lydia Cecilia, and we're going to be learning about her. As I said, she's a brand new diva to our family and I'm really excited to get to know her better. So welcome to the show, lydia.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much for having me. This is quite the honor. I appreciate it.
Speaker 1:Well, lydia, I am so excited. You and I have had a chance to talk a few times here and I'm really excited. You have such an amazing story and I think our ladies, our divas out there, are really going to love it. You have definitely a lot to offer, so we're going to start now. I'm going to ask you to share a little bit about yourself. Tell us who you are, where you're from and what you do.
Speaker 2:Well, as you said, my name is Lydia Cecilia. I'm 45 years old. I was born and raised in Toronto, ontario, and I live with my family currently in Bradford, ontario, which is about an hour north of the main city, toronto. I'm a mom to two kids Alessia, who just turned 12 at the end of May, and my son, luchano, will be 10 in July.
Speaker 1:Wow, and you are a health and wellness coach, correct?
Speaker 2:I am. I am a certified health and wellness coach.
Speaker 1:yes, how did you get involved with that? What was your aha moment to get involved to be a health and wellness coach? Yes, how did you get involved with that? What was your aha moment to get involved to be a health and wellness coach?
Speaker 2:Well, candice, that's a long story that we don't have time to delve into today, but just to give you a quick idea of where it started, I would say it was a week after my 24th birthday. Idea of where it started, I would say was a week after my 24th birthday. My dad had a massive heart attack and passed away at a Valentine's Day dance, while dancing with my mom on the dance floor.
Speaker 1:Oh, my goodness, that would have been heart-wrenching. I am so sorry about that.
Speaker 2:Yes, it was life-changing. I felt like my world had fallen beneath me and it really put life into a different perspective for me, and it really was the beginning of a journey that has taken me, you know, 21 years later, to becoming a health and wellness coach.
Speaker 1:Well, tell us more about that.
Speaker 2:At the time of my dad's death, like I mentioned, I was 24, and I was very devastated by what had happened, as many people would be. It definitely left me feeling many emotions and it left me feeling stressed and I was in denial. I wasn't accepting of his death, even though, logically and rationally, I knew that he had passed. So it began to take a toll on my health and I started to explore what was happening with that, which again is another little piece to the puzzle as to what led me here. I was diagnosed with my first cancer in 2001, and it was Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Speaker 1:And that's kind of how you got started. I know that you and I have talked a lot about your journey and, if you're okay with it, let's talk a little bit more about that, because I think it's important to tell our listeners and share with them why it is that you've really delved and why it was important for you to become a wellness holistic coach, because a lot of individuals have different journeys and yours has been one of a. You know a lot of ups and downs through yours, and I think it's important that we kind of share a little bit more about that and then talk about what kind of modalities, too, that you you've incorporated into your health practice because of what you've learned through the years.
Speaker 2:Okay, I'm happy to share that. So I mean, what started the journey for me was my dad's death. What led to me discovering and learning about different modalities was going through my health experience.
Speaker 2:I did choose to use Western medicine as my therapy to be put into remission. And it wasn't until after getting a clean bill of health that I really started to question if there were other ways that I could have considered to look after my health. And what I started to recognize was there were a lot of emotional hurts, you know, and a death Like that was my first experience to losing a parent, and it was at a really pivotal time in my life. You know when you are coming into your own, and so the death of my dad really left me feeling like I didn't belong. I didn't really know where my roots were. I was always seeking outside of me, feeling like I didn't belong. I didn't really know where my roots were. I was always seeking outside of me, you know, whether it was acceptance, approval.
Speaker 2:So I started to make these connections while I was in my recovery. So it was looking back in hindsight that I started to realize that for me, in my opinion, I believe that the emotional hurts that we carry through life, that we bury, that we suppress, that we deny, eventually find a way of coming to the surface. And unfortunately, I find that us, as humans, tend to wait until it's too late. Sometimes you know where it comes into your physical health or ailments, that you have no other choice but to start to deal with it. And not everyone chooses to deal with their emotional pain because it's really difficult. So I found for me that I wanted to start exploring who.
Speaker 2:I was. Am I really who I was raised to be? There's this conflict with that? What is real for me? What are my beliefs, outside of what I've been conditioned to believe, be it through family, be it through culture, be it through society? And this is when I discovered things like foot reflexology and making the connection that all our parts, organs and glands are reflective on our feet as they are in our body.
Speaker 2:So that was pretty mind-blowing because I would only knew things like Western medicine and making connections to our health and well-being. Now I discovered something that was completely different than what I had chosen for myself to look after in my health. From reflexology, I would say that, you know, there were a lot of other things going on in my life at the time. Emotionally, I had just been diagnosed, actually with my second cancer shortly after I was certified for a foot reflexology and actually yesterday was June 5th, correct yes.
Speaker 2:Yesterday was my anniversary. It was a very significant day because June 5, 2002, I had finished my chemotherapy treatments for Hodgkin's lymphoma. Right after the treatment, they scan you and, you know, check to see if I needed any radiation, which.
Speaker 1:I did.
Speaker 2:I had to do that one month of radiation. So from that one month of radiation you know you get checked and you're going follow-ups every three months. So again, this is now in 2002, going into 2003. Sars was out in 2003. So my nine-month follow-up appointment got postponed. As a result of that. I went in on May 28th, got my blood work done like I normally did. I was asked to come back because the blood work didn't look right. I went in on June 5th 2003, which is now a year after the day that I finished my chemo for Hodgkin's lymphoma and that's when I got diagnosed with AML leukemia. So you're talking a year apart, two different cancers.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Here we are yesterday, again June 5th, now 2018. And I just got my certification for level two Reiki, which makes me a Reiki practitioner, which, for me, really makes this a full circle, and not because of the cancer, but because of what it opened my mind, my eyes and my heart to and it really helped me find myself in ways that I would never have been open to had I not done that first course in foot reflexology.
Speaker 1:Isn't that amazing? And congratulations on that, because I know a lot of amazing individuals that have taken those courses and they're absolutely fantastic and you know it's a big step and I think that's great. So congratulations on that.
Speaker 2:Thank you. So I believe there's a really and I'm not anti-Western medicine. However, I do believe that there's ways that we can support ourselves on a regular basis in maintenance if we have the awareness and the tools to do so. I don't like to take medication for things if I can help to make it better for myself, and an example that I like to use is a few months ago, I was having some issues with my digestive system and I could feel like these pains when I would eat, and it was on the right side under my ribs.
Speaker 2:So this is my thought process and maybe this is a little insight into really who I am, how my life and health experience has affected and impacted me in such a way that I've completely, you know, taken on a new belief system and approach to my health. So when I was getting these pains, I absolutely went to my doctor and asked to be scanned and, to you know, to have blood work done, because I always want to be proactive.
Speaker 2:I've been through cancer twice and I really don't ever want to go down that path again, so I do still work with western medicine. However, I start to question what's going on in my life emotionally that could be affecting these organs. What do these organs that are specific on the right side under the ribs, which are the gallbladder and the liver, what do they hold and what do they represent, not medically, but more emotionally, energetically? So I know, because I've learned, through people like Louise Hay and you know, learning about the human energy system, which is known as chakras, that in these organs, emotionally, we hold and energetically we hold anger and resentment. Well, there were situations and things happening in my life that made sense to me as to why I was feeling this pain because, all of my blood work came back clear.
Speaker 2:All of my scans came back clear ultrasound and x-ray so if it's not something physically going on that they cannot see. But yet this physical pain is here. Why is it here, when I have the understanding of where it's coming from? For me, it puts me at peace. When I am at peace, my immune system is not suppressed. It is actually able to flow properly, and energetically and emotionally I get stronger in myself because I have more awareness and I have more insight and I am in tune with my body to understand that when I'm feeling things, it's not always what you assume it to be. There could be something that is an underlying issue and it doesn't always mean it's medical. Maybe this is an opportunity where we have that chance to bridge the gap between knowing better and doing better, where we can actually be empowered and proactive to make the changes necessary to actually live a life of health and well-being. I don't know if that's helpful, but that's how.
Speaker 1:I break it down, it is you know what. I love that and I love how you're explaining it because I think it's really important. A lot of people that listen to the show, I think, have that same philosophy in a lot of ways, because there is that connection. We know that there's more to life than I would say, than what meets the eye and our emotions. They are so in tune with our bodies and if we can figure things out too, we're able to fix a lot of it. And I think a lot of our listeners they're big into meditation and yoga and you're a yoga professional also and you do teach yoga and I think that having that whole round wellness background, I think, is going to be very helpful. And talk a little bit about that, because I know that in your practice that you're starting up and you're getting going, that's something that's really important to you also. So can we talk a little bit about your yoga and how you're wanting to bring that into your practice too?
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Yoga for me was a saving grace. Yoga for me was an opportunity to really learn about myself and find a practice of self-love and, like most things that we don't want to do, those are usually the things that are the most necessary for us to do. They bring the most opportunity for growth and healing. So the way that I like to use yoga is not so much about you know how do you get into your postures and can you hold it, because I can't even touch my toes without bending my knees, and I've been a yoga instructor since 2011.
Speaker 2:What yoga means to me really is it's a practice of looking inward, of making these connections, of accepting yourself on that mat and letting go of whatever you hear in your head, that is, your own voice, of negative internal dialogue or other people's voices. It is a sacred space where you make that time. For you, it is a practice of self-love. So for me, that's why yoga is so important, because it helps to keep me grounded. Love. So for me, that's why yoga is so important because it helps to keep me grounded. It helps to keep me in the energy and space of me seeing myself through my own eyes and not through the eyes of the world, because sometimes we can get distorted by listening to other people's opinions. You know there's not a lot of people out there like you, candice, that are willing to lift others.
Speaker 2:It's unfortunate that majority of us have to experience, you know being stepped on so other people feel better about themselves, and this is what yoga means to me. It's about saying I really don't care what you on the outside think. I'm good with me. I'm good with me, I have a pure heart, I see myself for who I am and I can only be in the present moment. And that's what yoga does for me, and I hope that it does the same for my students and clients that use any of my modalities be it yoga, be it foot reflexology, be it Reiki, be it my holistic approach to life coaching.
Speaker 1:Oh, and I love it because I think it's important, and what you're doing, too, is that you're showing empowerment, you're teaching empowerment, and I think that's what we need, especially in today's society. You're right, we're overwhelmed with a lot of negativity and I think when we have that belief in ourselves, anything can happen. And if we have that support network of individuals that are going to stand by us and help us through that because there are a lot of ups and there are a lot of downs they're going to stand by us and help us through that, because there are a lot of ups and there are a lot of downs. But having those individuals and knowing that we're not alone and we can do it I think that's the key. And I think what you're talking about is yoga is a really good modality in order to get almost that relaxation, that internal release that we need especially in our society when we're very overwhelmed with stress, no matter what you find out there, we all need some sort of way to release.
Speaker 1:You know there's been a lot of individuals on our show that have talked about color therapy and how they sit down and then they color because it helps them release. That is a way to get out of your head. Yoga is a way to do that too, and there's a lot of different things and I think it's important to really stress that. You know, when we can find that thing that works for us, we should definitely use it and make sure we use it on a continual basis. It's not just a one-time thing. We can't just say, oh, I did yoga once and we're done. You know that. That, as an instructor, it's like no, you have to continue it.
Speaker 1:Just like anything else that you find out there, find something that works for you, continue with it, and it's going to make such a big difference in your life. So, cecilia Lydia, I want to talk about one thing. Like for any of the individuals, I want to talk about your practice. Now Is there a way for individuals, because we do have listeners all over the world now. Do you work with people just in your community or do you work with people on a global scale?
Speaker 2:In terms of coaching, I can work with people on a global scale. We have great technology these days where you can be, live, you know in person, where you meet, you see them, you know with things like Skype and Zoom and what have you. In terms of yoga, my intention is to start getting some videos up on YouTube. I do have a YouTube channel. However, I've just been working on getting my website and getting all my social media platforms in order, so there will be a subscription to participating classes that I'm going to have on YouTube. But reflexology, I mean I could send information to people, but locally in Ontario and in my surrounding areas easier, because I do offer workshops. Meditation is something, again, you know it can be done through live streaming, but I think it is something that is better done without the technology you know, so that you can tune out from that.
Speaker 2:And hopefully in the future I will have some podcasts going so that there could be more discussions.
Speaker 1:You know what, and I think that would be a great thing and we're going to. When you have that up, we're going to be posting that on our website for sure, lydia, if, since you don't have your website up and about and for any of our listeners today, is there a way that they can get a hold of you and in touch so that they can make sure they're either connected to you through email or anything like that, in case you have, like a newsletter coming out, they, they want to be involved with that.
Speaker 2:I actually do have a website. It's a. It's a soft launch, so it's. It's up, it's available, it's published. It's wwwlydiasaciliaca. They can reach me by email at info at lydiasaciliaca. I'm also available by mobile. You can call me directly. I will get back to you at my earliest convenience at 416-931-9309. And I do plan to do a firm launch of my website in the next couple of months. I've been working with a branding photographer and I also want to start to implement some of my media that I've had in interviews up on the website as well, so I am happy to also share this on my website.
Speaker 1:Well we're excited about that and thank you. So last minute. Lydia, do you have any tips or tools for our divas today?
Speaker 2:Just love yourself. Just do whatever it means to love yourself wherever you find joy and peace and really, once you have self-love, you don't have to attach your worth to anything outside of you.
Speaker 1:Perfect. I love that and, ladies, for any of you that would love to learn more about Lydia's story, we're really pleased to announce that Lydia is going to be in our next Business Divas that Care book that is going to be coming out this fall. So make sure that you go and check that out and read her story, because it is a beautiful, amazing story of what she's done and her journey and, oh my goodness, I love it. So, lydia, thank you so much for being our guest today. Thank you for everything that you shared and I hope that you come back on again in the future.
Speaker 2:I look forward to it. Candice, I wish you and your listeners so many blessings of good health, self-love and happiness for today and all of your tomorrows. It's really been an honor.
Speaker 1:Thank you, oh thank you so much and to thank you to all of our listeners today. I know there's quite a few of you that are listening today and we appreciate each and every one of you. There's quite a few of you that are listening today and we appreciate each and every one of you. For all of you that have not had the opportunity, our shows are recorded, so I hope that you're able to listen to this recording and also to send it out all to your family and friends.
Speaker 1:Lydia is doing some amazing things. Her story is fantastic. It's a beautiful testimonial and I hope that you're able to really get in touch with her, get to know her, follow her on social media and perhaps work with her in the future. So until next time, ladies, make sure that you go out there and do something great for somebody else. And again, I'm going to let you know about our website at wwwdivasatcarecom. That is where we host all of our shows and you can check out our other divas there. So until next time, ladies, have an amazing day and we will talk to you soon. Bye-bye, everybody. Thank you. Collaborate on work docs so everyone can literally be on the same page. How cool is that? Smartvoice works seamlessly across any device with your entire team. Even when you're not together, I'm still here. Discover all the benefits of SmartVoice at shopbusinessca.