DESIREE RAQUEPO

There are many reasons why I chose to walk the path of the natural healer: it feels instinctive & familiar, and it is both subtle and sophisticated. When I discovered my love for massage, I grew a passion for natural

& traditional healing.

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As a kid, my father always reminded me that as a Villegas & a Filipino, I have it in my blood and in my bones to be intelligent, strong, and efficient enough to carry my own and to support my family. Because I believed that (and I still do) the idea of being able to live, sustain and heal solemnly off the land and its resources, is one of the highest forms of power we can have as human beings. There's so much I can receive & offer as a natural healer. I get to play with light, colors, sound, emotions, texture, water, minerals, flowers, and herbs. I get to be a scientist, a chef, an artist, dancer, healer, poet, visionary, a builder, gatherer, hunter, philosopher,

leader and follower - because there are universal laws, patterns & systems found in everyone and everything.

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Having ancestral values allow me to stay grounded, rooted, faithful, and expansive. I get to be with the past, the present, and the future at the same time. I can be space, I can be warmth, I can be healing, cleansing, protective, invasive & amplifying. My lifestyle allows me to be limitless.

Naturally, like many, I explored and developed multiple methods of expression as of early age. From paint to photoshop, to web design, and blogging - I was heavily into trends, the intrinsic & extrinsic, and underground music, always looking for 'the next big thing'. But my path took a turn when I learnt that I didn't want to be told how to create art. With my mother's guidance, I fell into the world of esthetics: skincare, make-up, nail art & body morphology. Within my first year in the industry, I came across the world of manual bodywork. Inevitably, my world started revolving around natural medicine, homeostasis & holistic health. Today, this never-ending journey of self-development & healing in now my source of curiosity and drive. 

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In the last few years, I've questioned the ways in which I could pick the interest of my community in order to offer them my gifts. It was difficult because massage is seen as a luxury amongst most. Big on the sense of belonging, I lead my approach in ways inspired by my ancestors & the motherland. To know who I wanted to reach and how I wanted to reach them, I began asking questions and understanding their struggles, navigating myself through their stories. Today, I am still discovering the role that best fits me in my community. Through my practice, my digital art, and community engagement, I am an expression of my transformative self.

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I have a theory on why we're drawn to beauty & design: it soothes, it comforts, it creates a sense of familiarity and opportunity. We fall in awe when we begin to see patterns, systems, and functions. It can make our hearts and our minds feel weightless and heavy at the same time. Our need to relate to what is outside of ourselves is our need to rediscover who we are and where we stand.  Life seeks gravity to survive. We seek to connect so that we can destroy & rebuild. Life knows that it is powerful, graceful, simple & grandiose. It is egotistic, and it values death. Life, like art, soothes, comforts, feels familiar and is faithful.

Through my means of expression, I am filled with gratitude, I am filled with love, and I am filled with faith. My ability to be free & to dance with life gives me reason to be proud when I am feeling unworthy.

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I am light, sound & spirit in the flesh. xoxo

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- Aquarius Sun, Virgo rising, Aries Venus & Scorpio Moon.