Shining a Light on the Positive Power of People
LIGHT UP MAG
Somatic Therapy Practitioner & Trauma-informed Wellness Coach
Choiwee Moon is a passionate advocate for healing and personal growth, drawing from her own transformative journey to empower others. With roots in both French and Māori heritage, she weaves a unique tapestry of cultural wisdom into her holistic wellness practices.
Having faced significant challenges in her early life, including family trauma and the complexities of solo parenting, Choiwee has cultivated deep compassion and understanding for those she serves. Her experiences have shaped her mission: to provide support and guidance for individuals navigating their own healing journeys.
As the founder of Mama Chow Holistic Healing, Choiwee offers somatic therapy sessions, communication coaching, and trauma-informed workshops. She is dedicated to creating safe spaces for healing and connection, both for her clients and within the communities she serves.
Choiwee also collaborates with organizations like Tautoko Mai and True Colours, focusing on sexual harm prevention and maternal mental health, bringing her vision of empowerment and awareness to a broader audience.
An Exploration of Cultural Heritage, Confronting Shadows of the Past, and Unfolding a Path to Empowered Healing.
How has your French and Māori heritage influenced your approach to wellness and healing?
My Mum is Māori, however, I have not connected deeply into this ancestry due to major fracturing within our family line for a number of reasons. There is a subtle feeling that a part of my identity is yet to be discovered and reclaimed. I am sure that in time I will uncover it all and it will weave beautifully into my own healing and perspective on holistic wellness. My French bloodline is much more prominent in my life. My many visits to France, and other parts of Europe and the United Kingdom as a child, and adult, opened me up to consider many ways of living and gifted me cultural experiences that were so vastly expressive and inclusive.
Can you describe how the challenges you faced during your early life have shaped who you are today?
It has been a profound experience unravelling my formative years through various therapeutic modalities and finding so many supressed memories of abandonment, abuse, deep fear and confusion. Although it has taken a lot of me to work through so much murkinesswithout a doubt I would not be the woman I am, Mother I am and in the line of work I am if it hadn’t been for those experiences.
The depth of compassion and understanding I now have for myself, and for all of my clients comes from accepting and transmuting my own heartaches.
What was the most difficult part of choosing to cut communication with your mother, and how did that decision impact your personal healing journey?
The grief that came with making the choice was immense. It was grief for the Mother I wanted her to be for my whole life. The sense of loss for all the times I had wanted her and she wasn’t there and for all of the future moments I would have without her being there. The grief hit me hard and lasted many years. Nothing about making the choice was easy, however, I was committed to ending cycles of harm in my family and essentially it came down to the physical and emotional safety of my own children. This choice was a major catalyst for me to seek help and support and to begin my own healing. Through doing so I developed a passion for understanding trauma and mental health which propelled me into the work I do now It has been just over 10 years and one of the major drives I have to help others comes from becoming the living evidence of overcoming adversity. I have full faith that with the right support, tools and a willingness to change every single person can totally transform their lives.
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As a solo parent raising your children, how do you manage the balance between parenting and running two businesses?
It’s a lot! I’ve developed many systems over the years to help keep me organised and on top of everything. Some days and weeks are definitely still hectic! However, I adore parenting my kids and love my work so it definitely never feels like too much. I do my best to keep my work separate from my time with them so that they get presence and energy from me. Due to the nature of my work, which can be super intense a lot of the time with helping people move through major issues, I ensure that my own self-care practices and nervous system regulation tools are used regularly. I learn and adapt as my life continues to evolve as well. It is a skill from parenting that definitely helps now. As my 3 kids continue to change in age, interests and needs so does my work and businesses and so I have learnt to be malleable in life.
What inspired you to transition from a career in education to focusing on holistic wellness and therapeutic work?
My own journey was definitely the inspiration behind wanting to work in the therapeutic space. Experiencing such a major internal shift through the practices and tools I came across when I dove into personal and spiritual development. Then I started seeing big changes with clients I was supporting while still working in the education sector. There was also a part of
me that felt frustrated with mainstream education systems and didn’t feel like they were providing the holistic care I expected them to. So I had been considering the complete shift of work industry and then ultimately the final push out of my career came when vaccine mandates were introduced in New Zealand. Both of my jobs came under the education mandate and because I chose not to have the covid injection I was fired.
Overcoming Challengesand FindingPurpose
How did your spiritual development journey begin, and what role does it play in your current work with clients?
There have been some pivotal moments that have guided me into my own healingone being becoming estranged with my Mum, another was having post-natal depression with my second baby and then 7 years ago leaving my ex-husband. All of these shook me massively and the recovery process from them took me deeper into my own journey.
In reflection I was also gifted so many beautiful experiences as a child, with my Father and Stepmum, where I spent lots of time in nature and learnt about naturopathy, homeopathy and aromatherapy from how they raised me. This definitely played a part in my own connection to my spirituality. Something I hear all the time from the clients I work with is that they feel so safe with me and that my authenticity and relatability gives me the ability to travel deep into their healing. I’ve been to some very dark places and so have no resistance to holding people through theirs.
What has been the most transformative experience in your healing journey, and how has it helped you find your purpose?
There isn’t one particular event or epiphany moment, however, the discovery of tantra over many experiences definitely opened me up to a much vaster understanding of healing, of relating and of the power of the body to heal and transform. Those personal experiences led me down a path of truly comprehending the essence of conscious relating and the limitless potential of selfhealing.
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Could you share how your personal healing journey informs the somatic therapy and coaching services you offer today?
As my own internal development and awareness continues to expand so does my work and my businesses. I believe deeply in living the practices that we teach, and think it is particularly important in these lines of work. So, as I have new opportunities to learn and develop myself personally I find new areas to support others in I currently specialise in sexual trauma and conscious relationship, communication and intimacy coaching.
What do you hope participants gain from the workshops you lead on trauma, stress management, and conscious relating?
I have a huge vision that involves living in a world where everyone is educated, and embodies, and awareness of themselves, how their lives have impacted the present and the ways in which they can alter their current reality to a more empowered, happier, healthier existence. I see communities understanding one another more through a lens of compassion, instead of competition, comparison and judgement. I believe in the power of union, both of self and within partnership and how incredibly healing this is. My workshops provide all of the tools needed for this vision to come to life.
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Building a Safer, Healthier Society LIGHT UP MAG
Through your work with organizations like Tautoko Mai and True Colours, what change do you hope to bring about in sexual harm prevention and maternal mental health?
As much as I possibly can. Our mission with Tautoko Mai is to bring sexual harm in NZ down to 0%. Which is mammoth and reminds me to focus on what is within our influence and what is not. As long as you stay with that in mind then you can end your day knowing you did everything you could have to make a difference.
The True Colours- Honouring the Mother group has a big place in my heart as it is a space I would have benefited from so much when I was struggling with postnatal depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and insomnia. We know how much healing gets to take place- not only for the Mamas but for the babies. Which is how we create a happier and healthier future for society.
As a marriage celebrant, how do you bring your holistic approach to creating meaningful ceremonies for couples?
I absolutely love weaving in some super helpful tips and support into my weddings. I’m really passionate about bringing couple’s visions to life and work closely alongside them to support them
with their personal vows, ceremony ideas and details to the whole wedding. I offer some stress management support tips as we get closer to the wedding date and always arrive with time before the ceremony to help ground and bring everyone into presence for the special occasion!
What advice would you give to someone who is facing significant life challenges and searching for their purpose in life?
Get curious! Become interested in what lights you up, what type of people you enjoy being around, what is YOUR truthnot the truth other people want you to believe in, not the truths of the people you know or don’t know, not the truth of old versions of you. What truly creates fire in your heart. Find that and then work to remove any and all obstacles and beliefs that tell you that you can’t live the life of your greatest dreams. Audit your life.
Remove the unhealthy habits, patterns and people that do not serve your present and future. Enlist help from friends, family, coaches, mentors, therapists. Whoever you need to help you through the challenges and help you remember the absolute gift that you are, bring them in. You’re not meant to do this alone!
The world is asking you to find out how great you truly are and how abundant your life could be when the path becomes clear.
Choiwee’s journey is a testament to resilience, compassion, and purpose. Through her commitment to healing and connection, she not only transforms lives but inspires us all to embrace our fullest selves. Her work embodies the courage to face our shadows and the wisdom to uplift others on their paths. In Choiwee, we see that healing is not just personal— it's a gift that ripples out, creating brighter futures for generations to come.
Article by Camila Sanches