Meet Mel: Yin Yoga Teacher, Holistic Counselor, Reiki and Founding Practitioner of Sondera House

Mel is a holistic counsellor, yin yoga teacher, and energy healing practitioner with a deep love for walking beside others through life’s sacred thresholds.

She's here for the raw, tender, and transformative seasons — those moments when life stretches us, softens us, and calls us to become something new. Whether you’re navigating grief, burnout, anxiety, or sensing the quiet stirrings of change, know this: you don’t have to walk alone.

In this conversation, we dive into Mel's personal journey, the wisdom she’s gained along the way, and her vision for helping guide others back to their truth.

How did your journey into holistic counselling, energy work, and ritual begin?

After the birth of my third son, living on a Date Farm in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, my heart was cracked open. I was teaching full time and struggling to keep my head above water as a mother. During one of my very first Yin Yoga Classes I heard the words clearly in my mind "Mary mother of boys, Mary mother of boys, Mary mother of boys" Falling deeper into my forward Butterfly pose I felt something shift.

A change in direction. An opening. I didn't realise it then, but at this moment I was being called to remember the Divine Feminine, The Great Mother, The Mystery of Life.  I began a path of seeking that led me to a number of great mentors and teachers, who magically and synchronistically began to weave their way in to my every day life. I converted my upstairs room - a majalis in our giant villa - into a yoga studio ... and soon the instructors, alternative practitioners, dream weavers, drummers, Reiki Masters and soul family started arriving. Each one imparting a lesson, a course, a new way of being. This is how my journey began.

Was there a point (or series of moments) when you felt this was your path?

On the date farm where I had opened my Blue Lotus Tree Studio lived a family of white barn owls. They would fly over us during savasnana and meditation as we lay beneath the stars and flickering torches. One day I awoke to one of these owls staring at me on the downstairs verandah through the glass doors. That's odd I thought to myself. Later that day I was in my bedroom upstairs, and there was the Owl again standing on my balcony at the sliding doors. I went outside and he let me pick him up. He seemed unwell and I contacted my friend who was a vet who came around at once.

It was very rare to have an owl just arrive at your doorstep like that. Together we nursed him, fed him, loved him, but it was to no avail. A couple of days later his little feathery body breathed his last breath. That evening at sunset I climbed the tallest red sand dune  with two friends, we wrapped him in coloured silky cloth and buried him there. It felt ceremonial, like a gift.  My teacher and mentor at the time presented me with the name White Owl Dream Catcher Medicine Woman. It has been 11 years now since I was bestowed with this title, hesitant at first I am now embracing it fully. I have stated a podcast called White Owl and believe it is my Birth Vision to keep illuminating the truth and love that exists within us all.

How has your background in counselling shaped how you hold space now?

My Social Work Degree, which I undertook at age 21 after studying Theology, Philosophy of Religion and Aboriginal Culture, has enabled me to work as a Health Professional in many different settings. Family Violence, Sexual Assault, Child Protection, Mental Health. From busy Emergency Departments in Victoria, to remote Yolgnu Aboriginal Communities in Nhulunbuy, Northern Territory. This has given me practical experience to develop my counseling skills, to try out different frameworks and approaches. The way I now work with my clients weaves all of this practice wisdom together with my energy healing, somatic movement and sacred sound practices.

How would you describe the blend of modalities you offer (e.g. counselling + energy healing + ritual + yoga + sound)?

This is not traditional talk therapy. This is soul work.

The White Owl Soul Song & Heart Journey is a sacred therapeutic process that weaves counselling, intuitive enquiry, energy awareness, and embodied presence. It’s a gentle yet powerful invitation to reconnect with the deeper truth that lives within you — the part that may have been silenced, buried, or forgotten.

Together, we explore your inner landscape through a trauma-informed, heart-centered lens. Using compassionate questioning, soul enquiry, movement, sound and stillness. We follow the threads of your pain, your longing, your memories — until we arrive at the place where your soul is still singing beneath it all.

This journey is for you if you feel disconnected from your inner voice or sense of self, you’re holding unspoken grief, shame, or ancestral wounds, you long to remember who you truly are beneath the roles you’ve carried, you seek a grounded, sacred space to be seen, heard, and held, you're ready to move from survival into soulful embodiment and expression. This is a return to your inner knowing. A listening beneath the words. A remembering of your unique Soul Song — the truth of who you’ve always been.

“Within every story there is a pathway to follow, a portal to enter,  shining a luminous light upon what it is you came here to do, on who you truly are"— Mel Craven, White Owl Medicine Woman

What does a typical session with you look like — how do you integrate these different approaches?

It may be a soul led heart enquiry conversation on the phone or over zoom, or a meeting in person where you lie down to receive an energy or sound healing. Movement and breathwork, or a supportive closing the bones and rebozo massage treatment. During sessions, in consultation with each client I bring what is needed with deep respect, gentleness and deep listening. 

Each session is a sacred weaving —a blend of counselling, breath, sound, and silence.Together we listen for the truths hidden in your body,the whispers of the inner child,the song that was silenced but never lost.

In person or online, alone or in circle,the work may unfold through guided enquiry, yoga, Reiki,sound bowls, Light Language, or ceremony.From Closing the Bones to Mother Blessings,from grief to rebirth,I walk beside you as you remember your Soul Songand come home to yourself.

Which offering / “portal” (e.g. Womb Wisdom, Sound Medicine, Sacred Guidance) tends to be most requested right now, and why do you think that is?

At the moment all the portals are being illuminated and opened. Perhaps Sacred Guidance and Embodied Flow are the most requested as I am more widely recognised and established in these modalities as a mental health clinician and Yoga instructor.  However, I also regularly provide Voice and Sound Medicine through my community sound baths, and individual Tibetan Singing Bowl sound healings. 

Closing the Bones and Rebozo Massage, as part of my Womb Wisdom Portal offerings are beginning to be recognised here in Tasmania and requested for more threshold and trauma recovery work, and I  am excited to currently be launching my online Closing The Bones Course for people to study and learn this powerful healing tradition themselves. Included and woven throughout all of the healing portals is my Elemental Essentials. You will always leave, regardless of which portal you enter,  with an invitation to embrace the supportive aroma of essential oils.

What is your guiding philosophy when working with someone in a fragile / transformative season?

My belief is that people have the answers to their  problems and concerns, deep within. My role as a therapist and guide is to shine a light into these dark troubled places and highlight all the gold that already exists, to guide them back to their truth, their strengths. I focus on clarifying each person's unique values and examining unhelpful or self sabotaging beliefs. Each session is different, as I am guided by what is surfacing for each individual and what they are being intuitively led to explore further.

It is important that in every session we explore nervous system regulation, ways to relax more, find peace within the chaos and skills they can use straight away to calm down. While I welcome the expression of emotion .... I work with each person to find a way back to their centre, back to their heart. Sometimes my greatest gift is providing a space for somebody to feel heard, to be vulnerable and to be real. A session might include one hour of reiki or sound energy healing .... or it might involve psychotherapy techniques like ACT and CBT, with mindfulness exercises, movement, breathwork and meditation.

What role do the physical (body), emotional, mental, and spiritual levels play in your healing approach?

I honor and respect the whole person, all of them is welcome. Mind, Body and Spirit.  My practice integrates all aspects of an individual. We use somatic practices to find out where the body is holding tension, grief or trauma. The body speaks and often has a message for us, if we give it the time and space to talk. Through heart led soul enquiry the body is listened to deeply. Did you know that the body sends more messages to the brain, than the brain sends to the body? In particular the heart knows.... if you want an answer to a question, direct your attention to your heart. As a yogi, medicine woman and energy healer, the spirit and soul is central to my practice.  I encourage each person to explore their spirituality by connecting with their higher self, the mystery of life and universal love.  All beliefs, faiths and religions are welcome. At the heart of all is Love.

How do you stay embodied, grounded, and energetically clear in your own life while holding space for others?

I practice what I teach. Mindfulness and Self Care. Taking time to recharge with Universal Love, and to reconnect to my heart. I find spending time in nature, even if it is just smelling the flowers and watching the bees in between clients, is a perfect way to get out of my head and back in to my body.  Yoga, drumming, light language, essential oils, dancing and sunshine are other favourite ways I reset my nervous system if I am feeling overwhelmed or have taken on somebody else's energy.  

What ritual, practice, or daily offering is essential for you?

I find that spending time with Spirit each day is essential .. finding a quiet moment to breathe, meditate, channel automatic writing, tone and sing my light language, even if just for ten minutes is incredibly powerful  ... if I neglect this I get anxious and restless. I like to begin each day by sun gazing and recharging a glass of water with light codes (and then coffee LOL)  I try to end each day by giving gratitude for all that I have and experience each day. Just being alive is truly a blessing. It really is. I absolutely love being on EARTH at this time of increasing consciousness and global awakening. Its a wild ride! 

Are there particular teachers, traditions, or practices that have influenced you deeply?

Ram Dass, Eckhart Tolle, and Gary Zukav — just a few of so many that stand out in my mind today — have each shaped my spiritual understanding and presence in profound ways.

I was born asking why, with most of my teenage and early adult years being an ongoing search for meaning and truth. That curiosity became a lifelong journey of exploration. I grew up in a conservative Christian home, yet my parents encouraged me to study and question. This open-minded foundation led me to explore the philosophy of religion, completing a degree in Theology, and immersing myself in the works of great Philosophers such as Kierkegaard.

Living in the Middle East and hearing the daily call to prayer in Islam opened my heart to the beauty and devotion that flow through all faiths. As a yogi, I have also been deeply influenced by Buddhist teachings and Eastern philosophy, which continue to inform my mindfulness and embodied practice.

My Sagitarius thirst for knowledge and understanding also drew me to the ancient wisdom of the First Nations peoples of Australia, particularly the Anangu and Yolngu, whose spiritual connection to Country and Dreaming stories hold profound lessons about belonging and balance. I have also journeyed into Earth Medicine, learning from the Cree Nation and the sacred teachings of the Medicine Wheel, which honour the cycles of nature and the interconnectedness of all life.

I am also deeply drawn to the stories of the Seven Sisters, the Egyptian mysteries, and the Pleiades. I feel an ancient connection to the stars and to the greater cosmic story of humanity. These celestial threads remind me that we are not separate, but part of a vast tapestry of light, memory, and love.

Through these diverse paths and teachers, I discovered a universal truth that transcends all boundaries — that at the centre of everything is Love. Love is my guiding faith, my religion, and the essence of all that I teach and share.

What shifts or breakthroughs have you been honoured to witness in clients that deeply touched you?

My greatest honour is witnessing clients fall back in love with themselves, watching them develop deep compassion and understanding for all that they have been through. We are so often taught to be critical, to judge ourselves harshly, and to focus on what’s “wrong.” Many client's feel like their own worst enemy.

Through our work together, clients begin to reconnect with their inner wisdom and feel empowered to honour their values, needs, and desires. They learn to embrace their shadows, to accept all parts of themselves, and to see their emotions and thoughts from a higher, more compassionate perspective. They stay curious and gentle with themselves, discovering that healing is not about perfection but about presence.

I have witnessed people transform self-hate and shame into profound empathy and love for self. This softening naturally ripples out into their relationships, allowing for greater authenticity, vulnerability, and acceptance with others. Some find the courage to leave relationships or careers that no longer serve them; others rediscover purpose and clarity within their current circumstances, realising that everything in their life has been preparing them for a greater birthing of their birth vision and soul mission.

Do you have a story or metaphor of someone’s transformation through your work?

One moment that will stay with me forever was after a 40-minute Inner Child Healing meditation over Zoom. A mother and successful career woman who struggled with depression and suicidal ideation, who had endured immense trauma, journeyed deep within herself to meet and hold the parts of her that had been silenced and shamed for so long.

As she began to offer forgiveness to herself, truly seeing her innocence and worth, something extraordinary happened. I watched her inner world shift before my eyes: from black and red pain to radiant golden light. Her whole face softened and lifted, her features seemed to glow, and light quite literally began to emanate from her. It was as if she had remembered who she truly was.

Moments like this remind me that healing is not about fixing what is broken, but about remembering the light that has always been within us.

What do you hope someone feels or carries after working with you?

That they remember who they truly are ... magnificent souls on an earthly journey. My deepest hope is that they leave feeling reconnected to their light, grounded in self-love, and empowered to walk their path with authenticity, courage, and grace.

What drew you to join Sondera House as a founding practitioner?

What drew me most was the sense of community and shared vision. To be part of a movement, not just a platform for advertising. I definitely feel called to help others come home to themselves through conscious connection, healing, and soul-led discovery.

When I received the invitation to join Sondera House, it felt completely in alignment with my soul mission. I call myself The Embodied Lightworker because I believe I am part of the great awakening, one of many lightworkers on this planet weaving a net of light and connecting all the seekers who are ready to rise.

In your view, what makes Sondera House different from other wellness directories or platforms?

Sondera House feels alive with compassion and transformation. It’s not just a collection of practitioners, but a living, breathing community of souls devoted to healing, integrity, and conscious evolution. It’s a place where heart-led professionals can truly be themselves, and where clients are invited into genuine connection rather than transaction.

Sondera House honours both the human and the divine — creating a sacred bridge between professional care and soulful healing.

For someone reading this who is curious but cautious, what simple first step would you invite them to take with you?

If you feel even the faintest spark of curiosity, trust it because that’s your soul whispering, "you are ready".  Take a moment to pause, place a hand on your heart, and breathe. Notice what you feel.

Respond to that calling to open your heart and look into your soul. You don’t have to have it all figured out to begin; simply take the next gentle step. I would be honoured to be your guide as you walk this path back to yourself.

I invite you to connect for an intuitive conversation, where we can explore what’s calling you and how I can best support your journey. Sometimes the smallest step can open the biggest doorway to transformation.

How can people connect with you or begin their journey?

They can find me on my website: melcraven.com my FB page and

instagram pages, or reach out via email address melcravenyoga@gmail.com