E53: Your body, mind, and spirit are connected in ways you never imagined.

Ever wondered what happens when engineering precision meets holistic healing? Meet Alex Willen, founder of Wholesome Therapies, whose remarkable journey from competitive sports and engineering to somatic therapy offers a fascinating glimpse into the evolution of a modern healer.

Alex's practice stands at the intersection of body and mind, challenging conventional approaches to wellness. "Our body and mind, our thoughts, our beliefs are all connected," he explains, detailing how his structural integration techniques—similar to Rolfing but with important nuances—address multiple dimensions of wellness. With offices in Fort Collins and Boulder, his work particularly resonates with women and trauma survivors, offering them a uniquely sensitive therapeutic experience.

What sets Alex apart is his identity as a "wounded healer." Having navigated personal challenges including sports concussions and Lyme disease, he brings profound empathy to his practice. This vulnerability transforms into a strength, enabling him to connect deeply with clients while maintaining professional boundaries. Perhaps most refreshing is Alex's rejection of ego-driven practice: "I'm not looking to necessarily make the most money out of them or provide them like that have to be the absolute solution," he shares, explaining his willingness to collaborate with other practitioners when a different approach might better serve his clients.

Beyond his professional life, Alex finds fulfillment as a father to two children and as a member of an intentional community, embodying the holistic values that inform his therapeutic work. Whether you're seeking relief from physical discomfort or deeper emotional healing, Alex's integrative approach might be exactly what you need. Discover more about Wholesome Therapies at wholesometherapies.com or reach out directly for a consultation to see how this unique blend of technical knowledge and heartfelt care could support your wellness journey.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Nick George.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Are you in need of holisticcare that empowers clients to
nurture every dimension ofwellness, from body and mind to
spirit, community and creativity?
Today I have the pleasure ofintroducing your good neighbor,
Alex Willant, with WholesomeTherapies.
Alex, how's it going?

Speaker 3 (00:30):
Nick, it's going great.
Thank you so much for thegenerous introduction.

Speaker 2 (00:34):
We're excited to learn all about you and your
business.
Tell us about your practice.

Speaker 3 (00:37):
Yeah, it's a somatic therapy practice that works on
both the body and also throughsome coaching.
I have offices in both FortCollins and Boulder and just
loving supporting this community.

Speaker 2 (00:50):
We're excited to figure out how you got into this
business.
So tell us the story.

Speaker 3 (00:55):
Yeah, it's been a long, circuitous route.
I started in engineering andcompetitive sports, grew into
management where I realized thatI understood the things of
engineering but not you knowpeople in management.
So I deepened my studies to alittle bit more formal
understanding, first, startingwith the body, at a school

(01:17):
that's similar to the RolfeInstitute.
A lot of people in Colorado area little bit more familiar with
Rolfing.
I went to a school that agentleman who started ran the
Rolf Institute, and while in mystudies I realized that our body
and our mind, our thoughts, ourbeliefs are all connected when
you can't just only work on thephysical or sometimes working on
the emotional and evenenergetic parts of the body.

Speaker 2 (01:39):
What are some myths or misconceptions in your
industry you'd like to tell usabout?

Speaker 3 (01:44):
Good question, there's so many.
Some people hear the wordrolfing, they think oh, that's
really painful or that's reallydifficult.
These methodologies which areunder the umbrella of structural
integration, this body workform is a little bit more seen
as an appropriate level of touchnow.
Sometimes we're working with,like deep muscular things or all
the way down to the bone, wherethe pressure might need to be a

(02:05):
little bit greater.
But sometimes we're working onmore superficial tissues, like
blood vessels or nerves or lymph, where if we did apply a lot of
pressure we could actually domore damage.
So it requires a lot morenuance and a lot more
intelligence than just applyingpressure and hoping things work
out for the best.

Speaker 2 (02:25):
Yeah, finesse.
Who are your target customersand how do you attract them now?

Speaker 3 (02:31):
That's a good question.
Referrals has been my numberone source of clients and to me
that's such a compliment Ifsomebody has had a good
experience with me and they knowthat I can help somebody else
for them to pass them along.
As far as demographics go, Iwork predominantly with women,
also with trauma.
A lot of my training has beenfocused on that, to hold that

(02:52):
sensitive space.
And yeah, as I said, referrals,networking, chamber of commerce
, a couple of other channelsthat I go through.

Speaker 2 (03:03):
We know that marketing is the heart of every
business.
Have you ever thought aboutdoing your own podcast to reach
people about your very uniquepractice?

Speaker 3 (03:10):
Yeah, it's one of those things I love joining
others in the communities thatthey build to share knowledge
and information about some ofthese podcasts.
Right now is not, like you know, the next thing lined up for me
.
I do have some social mediagoing where I can share some
information and promote some ofthe podcasts that I really value
and the influencers in thosespaces.

Speaker 2 (03:34):
Cool Outside of work.
What do you do for fun?

Speaker 3 (03:38):
Other titles that I have are a father.
So I have two young kids.
I have a seven-year-olddaughter and a 12-year-old son
and, whether we're in northernColorado or the surrounding
areas, getting into nature,being in community with others I
also live in an intentionalcommunity, so just supporting my
neighbors and sharing lifetogether.

(03:58):
I found that it's been apassion of mine and something
that I'm really drawn to let'sswitch gears.

Speaker 2 (04:06):
Can you describe a hardship or a life challenge
that you overcame?
How it made you stronger?
What comes to mind?

Speaker 3 (04:12):
yeah, there's.
There is a concept of, like the, the wounded healer.
So there's a strongidentification awareness that I
have in some of my hardships and, whether that's through
childhood issues, all the way upthrough my adolescence, playing
competitive sports, I had anumber of sports-related
concussions and had to addresssome of the challenges that come

(04:37):
up with that.
Been diagnosed with things likeLyme as well and navigating
that entire process.
And while there have beendifficulties, there's certainly
been some strengths andresilience that have been
developed in the process andwith all of those, just the
active participation of being aparent and sharing, you know,

(04:59):
just the love and care that Ihave for my kids, not wanting
them to have the same strugglesthat I do yeah, the efforts that
I'll go through for that.

Speaker 2 (05:09):
Alex, please tell our listeners one thing they should
absolutely remember aboutwholesome therapies.

Speaker 3 (05:14):
Yeah, you know, one thing that I've been working on
in all of these things about mydevelopment is the release of
the ego and the belief that Ihave to be the savior for
everybody.
So one thing that they shouldknow is stepping into my
practice and under my care isthat I'm not looking to
necessarily make the most moneyout of them or provide them like

(05:35):
that have to be the absolutesolution.
So I've developed relationshipswith a number of other
therapists and people that I caneither refer out to or just
understand that I might be partof someone's journey and I'd
love to help them as much aspossible.
And there's other people tooand there's other methods and
needs that somebody might comeacross.

Speaker 2 (05:58):
Wow, Alex.
How can our listeners learnmore about Wholesome Therapies?

Speaker 3 (06:04):
Website probably has the most amount of information,
so it's wholesome.
Therapiescom.
I do have a social mediapresence on Instagram and
Facebook, um, but sometimes thebest way is just to reach out.
Uh, give me a call, send a text.
I also have consultations andthings like that that are
available.

Speaker 2 (06:22):
Well, Alex, I really appreciate you being on the show
.
We wish you and your practicethe very best moving forward.

Speaker 3 (06:28):
Thank you, I really appreciate the time and thanks
so much for what you're buildinghere in Northern Colorado.

Speaker 1 (06:37):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go tognpfortcollinscom.
That's gnpfortcollinscom.
That's gnpfortcollinscom, orcall 970-438-0825.