Healing by Ali

At Healing by Ali, I offer gentle yet potent, heart-centered practices designed to help you return to balance, clarity, and peace, while deeply connecting with the truth that you are enough. Each session is an invitation to slow down, reconnect, and realign with the natural rhythm of your own being through alternative therapy methods.

My offerings weave together meditation and journaling for self-reflection and inner clarity, sound healing to calm and soothe the nervous system, and Reiki energy work to restore harmony and energetic flow. These modalities can be experienced together or individually, allowing you to intuitively choose what your body, mind, and spirit are calling for in the moment.

Every experience is created as a safe and nurturing space to support your well-being — physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Whether you are seeking grounding, emotional release, or a gentle moment of stillness, each session meets you exactly where you are. Through the power of sound, energy, and mindful awareness, spiritual healing naturally unfolds from the inside out — inviting peace, expansion, wholeness, and a deep sense of enoughness into every part of your life.

As a teacher, healer, writer, and founder of Uthrive Wellness, a nonprofit organization dedicated to sharing mindfulness and the healing arts with the community, Alison Ungaro grew up in Northern Virginia and has called Los Angeles home since 2008. 

Alison studied Psychology and Art at St. Joseph’s University. She began her master’s studies in Art Therapy before earning her M.A. in Child Psychology and School Counseling from Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia. After graduation, she chose to dedicate time to raising her four children while maintaining a steady yoga and mindfulness practice. 

In 2017, Alison deepened her path by pursuing certification in Meditation and Mindfulness through the McLean Meditation Institute in Sedona, Arizona. She continued her studies with an additional Mindfulness at Work certification in 2018, focusing on bringing mindfulness into schools and corporate settings. 

During her training, Alison began teaching as a volunteer in her youngest son’s kindergarten class, where her mindfulness lessons soon expanded to over ten classrooms throughout his six years at the school. This experience sparked her passion for integrating mindfulness and alternative therapy into educational settings. 

Over time, Alison expanded her studies to include trauma-sensitive mindfulness, Reiki, sound and voice healing, yin and kundalini yoga, breathwork, and yoga nidra. She discovered how potent yet gentle these modalities become when woven together, forming the heart of her work today - helping others reconnect with balance, clarity, and inner peace through spiritual healing.

Meditation and mindfulness have the power to truly transform a person’s life. They help us feel grounded, clear, and able to make conscious choices that support our well-being, creating space to respond rather than react. I teach meditation as an alternative therapy to both individuals and groups in a variety of settings, including nonprofits, schools, corporate offices, family centers, community centers, and private sessions. This supports growth through journaling and reflective practices that deepen self-awareness and clarity. Through my work with people of all ages and backgrounds, including those navigating trauma, stress, neurodivergence, or everyday challenges, I guide tools for self-regulation, emotional expression, and mindful awareness, helping each person discover a stronger sense of balance, confidence, and inner peace, much like the benefits of reiki and spiritual healing practices. 

Personally, these practices have transformed my family life, helping me respond with presence, patience, and clarity while processing emotions in a safe, reflective way. My practice also serves as a mirror for my children, showing them how to honor and regulate their own emotions. Meditation and journaling allow us to connect to our consciousness, make choices from a mindful place, and embrace life with more ease, balance, and a deep sense of enoughness. 

In addition, I have been trained in a variety of meditation practices, including guided meditation, breath and body awareness, affirmations, loving-kindness meditation, and yoga nidra. I am also trained in the Kundalini tradition, incorporating mantra and mudra, as well as trauma-sensitive mindfulness. These diverse practices allow me to meet individuals and groups wherever they are, offering tools that support healing, self-regulation, and mindful connection in ways that are safe, nurturing, and empowering.

Reiki is a gentle, hands-on energy healing practice that originated in Japan in the early 1900s with Dr. Mikao Usui. Rooted in the belief that a universal life-force energy flows through all living beings, Reiki serves as an effective alternative therapy that supports the body’s natural ability to heal by restoring harmony and balance within the mind, body, and spirit. It is a deeply nurturing practice that invites relaxation, releases energetic blockages, and brings a sense of peace and grounding, embodying the essence of spiritual healing.

After experiencing my first Reiki session in 2017, I immediately knew it was something I was meant to learn and share with others. After becoming attuned to Level II, I began volunteering once a month alongside my Reiki Master at the Cancer Treatment Center in Los Angeles until 2020, a humbling and profoundly beautiful experience. In 2019, I became a Reiki Master, allowing me to carry this healing practice forward and attune others. Today, Reiki continues to be an integral part of my personal practice and is woven into all of my sessions, classes, and programs, offered to both people and animals as a gentle, loving support for healing and wholeness.

Somatic Breathwork is a healing modality that uses conscious breathing to release accumulated stress held in the body. Ongoing stress can keep the nervous system in a state of activation even after the stressor has passed. Through intentional breath, the body is gently guided back into regulation, allowing tension to soften and a greater sense of calm, presence, and balance to emerge.

This practice supports both nervous system regulation and emotional well-being. Many people experience feeling more grounded and centered, an increased ability to respond rather than react, and a deeper connection to inner awareness. Over time, breathwork may support improved sleep, emotional resilience, mental clarity, and overall immune health, while creating space for safe emotional release and insight.

Breathwork is offered in a trauma-informed, choice-based approach that honors each individual’s pace and needs. Simple techniques learned in sessions can be integrated into daily life, providing practical tools for navigating stress, transitions, and moments of overwhelm—supporting lasting regulation, self-trust, and physical ease.

Sound healing is a powerful alternative therapy that supports healing through the frequency and vibration of sound. These vibrations work on a cellular level, helping the body release tension, calm the nervous system, and return to a state of balance and harmony. Sound healing has long been used across cultures as a way to support physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

This practice naturally became integrated into my meditation sessions and, in 2020, grew into a more regular offering as the community sought safe, nurturing ways to come together. What began as simple gatherings on the beach has since evolved into sound healing experiences offered in a variety of settings, including community workshops, collaborations with horse ranches, nonprofit initiatives, private sessions, and small group circles. Each experience is guided with intention, creating a supportive space for rest, reflection, and restoration.

When blended with meditation and Reiki, sound becomes an even more profound pathway for healing. Together, these modalities support deep relaxation, energetic release, and heart opening, allowing individuals to reconnect with themselves and access a sense of peace, clarity, and spiritual nourishment.