Welcome!
Thank you for your interest and for the opportunity to tell you about myself and my work.
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Through Blue Heron Wellness I offer gentle body work that helps calm the nervous system. When the nervous system is relaxed it can report less pain. So you may experience a decrease in pain even without direct attention to the painful area. Please go to Services for more detail about the techniques I use.
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I draw on my background as a maternity nurse, my training with master healer and teacher Janet Evergreen, my intuition and inner wisdom, and a
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lifelong reliance on a Higher Power for a balanced, holistic approach in my healing arts practice, offering intuitive, body-centered sessions.
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Because of my own sometimes difficult journey, I have compassion for those who struggle with self-esteem, and with a sense of belonging and safety in the world.
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I root myself in prayer, meditation, and mindfulness and am familiar with the principles of Twelve Step programs. I am committed to offering kindness and safety as pillars of my practice.
I work exclusively with women, welcoming each client with the same compassion and joy I offered the women whose births I have been honored to attend. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve women who seek wholeness and hope in their lives.
I approach my practice with an inherent sense of the wonder about the human body. Complementary to that wonder and to my deep commitment to spirituality, I have a healthy respect for the scientific process, based on my nursing education and my years as a research assistant in various science, medical and social science departments at the University of Virginia.
One of those departments was the Division of Perceptual Studies (DOPS) in the Department of Psychiatry at UVA, where I worked for eight years as research and editorial assistant to founder and director Dr. Ian Stevenson. Dr. Stevenson studied over two thousand cases of young children who seemed to remember previous lives. A consummate scientist, he also studied near-death experiences, crisis apparitions, altered states of consciousness, death bed visions and other unusual experiences, and always insisted that people draw their own conclusions based on the data. This wonderful opportunity opened up a whole new arena of thought and awareness for me.
I am excited about the recent flowering of research in neurology, biology and psychology that sheds light on mind-brain-body-spirit connections, and on processes that practitioners have been using intuitively for years.
In my spare time, I enjoy writing (see my blog), making collages, gardening, cooking and taking walks with my husband—you can often find us on the Downtown Mall, in our neighborhood, or down by the river.
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I look forward to meeting you and offering you support on your journey.
Dawn Elizabeth Hunt, RN, BSN
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“Dawn truly knows how to listen—to my words, to my body,
even to my soul, it seems. She has been been supporting me
as I learn how to take better care of myself.”
E.B., Artist
Curriculum Vitae
Education
University of Virginia: Bachelor of Science in Nursing with Distinction, Wellness and Chronic Illness
Wellesley College: Religion & English
Related Continuing Education (CE)
Janet Evergreen, NCBTMB-certified instructor (over 180 CE hours)
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Exploring the Vagus System, Parts 1, 2 & 3
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Biodynamic Approach to Craniosacral Therapy, Parts 1, 2 & 3
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Zapchen Somatics group (three years)
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Somatic Dialogue: Relationship Attunement and Attachment
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Birthing Yourself Process Workshop
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Mindfulness Center, University of Virginia
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Science and Practice: The How and Why of Mindfulness
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Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
Institute for Brain Potential (18 CE hours)
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Mastering Sixteen Key Habits of Emotionally Resilient People
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Calming an Overactive Brain
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Stress-related Disorders
Association for Psychological Type (APT)
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Introduction to the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator (MBTI) and Psychological Type
RN.com (6 CE hours)
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Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Part 1
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Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Part 2
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Experience
Blue Heron Wellness
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Owner and practitioner, 2015-present
University of Virginia
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Associate for Special Projects, UVA CHARGE, recruitment and retention of women faculty in STEM disciplines, 2012-2019
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Project Manager/Writer, Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, building a diverse—and happy—faculty, 2004-2013
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Research Assistant, Division of Perceptual Studies, research and editorial support for investigation of unusual experiences, 1994-2002
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Research Assistant, Division of General Medicine, rural African-American health, 1992-1994
Freelance Editor
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Most clients were UVA faculty, 2003-2012
Pharmaceutical Research Associates
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Clinical Data Coordinator, 1989-1991
New Life Postpartum Doula Service
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Owner, supporting new mothers at home, 1989-2001
Martha Jefferson Hospital
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Staff Nurse, Maternity, 1986-1989
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Nursing Assistant, Maternity, 1985-1986