An interview with Silenia: Healing Facilitator, Mama, Nature Lover, and Rebel at Heart
This is part of a series of heart-to-heart conversations I’m having with fellow holistic practitioners, guided by one simple question:
How can we live more fully — with more ease, joy, and connection?
I’ve always found that people called to healing work carry a deep spark — something rooted in purpose, curiosity, and love. These interviews are my way of exploring that spark. We talk about what lights them up, what keeps them going, and the simple (but powerful) ways we can all care for our well-being a little more deeply.
Today, I’m honored to introduce you to Silenia Gil Rhoads,— a mama, healer, nature-lover, and rebel at heart. She’s part of our amazing Village Wellness team of practitioners on the Main Line, and her presence is pure medicine.
Enjoy this conversation.
With love,
Lance
Q: Silenia! Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions! Can you tell us a little about your early life?
SILENIA: I was born in Caracas, Venezuela but moved to London at a month of age. After moving to New York at 6 years old, I grew up in Long Island but spent every summer with my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins in Venezuela. It was a dream. I was a wild child there, exploring and communing with mother nature.
Q: Did you always feel drawn to the healing path?
SILENIA: I felt that I could help heal from a very young age when I would speak to plants and, soon after, they would bloom. Or rain would fall when I asked it to nourish the earth. I believe we all come in with this connection. For me, this response from mother nature stayed in my heart and slowly I found opportunities to help others. First through HIV/AIDS peer education as a teenager, then volunteering in hospitals, then studying public health education and working with youth, learning about and teaching yoga, and so on.
Q: What keeps you doing this work — what’s the heart of it for you?
SILENIA: I'm not sure there are words for this. I'll try. There is something that happens for me when I feel others release, calm, feel loved, heal. It's universally healing.
Q: And what lights you up most in your work these days?
SILENIA: I love the surprise factor, particularly with Family Constellations and Cacao. They have both surprised me many times with the effects that they have brought to my life!
Q: Do you feel like you’re working with a guiding intention or mission?
SILENIA: My goal is always for the person to leave a tiny step closer to freedom. To finding their original self that is there, underneath the stories, events and difficulties that mute that connection. The more connected we are with our self, the better we can see each other. And we, as humans, need each other.
Q: Can you share a bit about what a session with you looks like?
SILENIA: The first session is 2 hours. In that session we get to know each other, I explain my work, and we chat about what you would like to work on. From there I suggest either a Family Constellation (intergenerational healing) or a Focalizing (somatic) practice, which we can do in this first session. The following sessions are 1 hour and we get into practice after a short discussion of the topic at hand. I also can help through Yoga, Reiki or Cacao Ceremony, and if it seems like a good fit, we can discuss these options.
Q: How might someone feel after working with you?
SILENIA: The modalities I offer are meant to release, support and balance the body and soul. A person might feel a shift in the weight that they carry around emotionally, lighter, perhaps, or they might have more insight into an issue or topic that they work on. Integration is necessary and can take a few days to weeks. I offer integration support during follow-up sessions as well.
Q: How does your work weave with the other healing modalities here at Village Wellness?
SILENIA: I think massage and acupuncture can help to unblock held emotions and experiences and therefore support the work a person would do in a session with me, or vice versa. Each modality offers an opportunity to receive more clarity.
Q: Who do you find your work is especially helpful for right now?
SILENIA: I find that many people need help healing childhood wounds that are now affecting their lives as adults. These things don't just go away. They can stay with us and affect our romantic relationships, work situations, financial life, etc. and also the way we parent.
Q: Do you have a few wellness practices or lifestyle tips you often recommend?
SILENIA: Don't fill up your calendars. Space, space, space. I mean, eating healthily and movement is really important, but if you're running on empty from the lack of rest, the stress will make those other two very difficult. I watched my grandparents into their 90s live with plenty of space in their calendars. They didn't have calendars! It was a different generation. Rest was revered and expected, no matter the financial situation you were in. I have hope that we can learn as a society to do this again.
Q: What books have really impacted your life?
SILENIA: The Four Agreements and The Celestine Prophecy. Both were life-changing for me. The first, I need to reread often as a reminder. The second I related so much with that it has never left my mind as an example of the amount of sensing that we are capable of, that we don't understand yet, and that we can use for good in the world.
Q: Do you have a favorite quote or mantra?
SILENIA: Sana Sana culito de rana, si no sana hoy, sanará mañana. It is a hopeful nurturing rhyme that loving care-takers recite to a child when they are hurt. It is why I called my practice Sana Sana. Gracias mami!
Q: What does your daily or spiritual practice look like?
SILENIA: My day varies so much because I have 3 kids, my husband, 2 dogs and another business so every day is different. However, my favorite spiritual practice is Yoga movement with breathwork and meditation and then a cup of Cacao with a gratitude practice that connects me to mother earth.
Q: What brings you joy when you’re not working?
SILENIA: I say to my kids that I am a sloth in people clothing. I'm also a mermaid. So in my free time I would love to be either in a hammock swinging away, or in calm clear Caribbean waters, swimming my time away. However, in reality, my free time is for family and movies. I absolutely love snuggling with my family watching movies, especially comedies.
Q: What are you feeling especially passionate about these days?
SILENIA: My role as a mother, my relationship with my hubbie, my healing practice, and my bakery/cafe :)
Q: Who are your biggest inspirations?
SILENIA: Seems cliché but really my parents and grandparents. I know them the best out of all human beings besides my husband and kids and as I grow older I recognize more and more how much they sacrificed, the hardships they endured and how freakin' strong and brave they are. All of them. I'm so honored and proud to have them as an example and as support in my life.
Q: Can you tell us a little about your home life?
SILENIA: My home is a mixture of raging hormones (mine included as I'm 46!) and laughter. Three hilarious and amazing teens, a partnership that I'm grateful for every single day, 2 adorable mischievous dogs, and SO MANY visiting animal friends in our yard, including eagles, hawks, fish, birds of all kinds, foxes, snapper turtles, groundhogs, squirrels, the list goes on. Also, trees and plants everywhere. And I'm so grateful for that too.
Q: Last question, is there a fun or unexpected fact about you people might not guess?
SILENIA: I am a serious rebel at heart. If someone tells me that I am incapable of doing something, well...
Want to learn more or connect with Silenia?
At Village Wellness, Silenia offers Family Constellations, Focalizing, and Cacao Ceremonies — each a powerful, heart-centered path toward deeper healing, clarity, and connection.
✨ Explore Silenia’s services to learn more about what she offers
✨ Read Silenia’s full bio and get to know her beautiful background and approach
When you're ready, book a session here — you’re in good hands.
Read some client testimonials about Silenia’s sessions
“I had a transformative experience with Silenia during a family constellation session. Her calm presence created a safe space for exploring deep family issues. With her gentle guidance and insight, I found clarity and healing. Silenia's expertise and compassion made me feel fully supported. I highly recommend her for anyone interested in family constellations; you will be in excellent hands and your life will be profoundly impacted”. — Mariela B
“Silenia is the person to work with if you are looking to clear family patterns. Her dedication and study show throughout the session. And her passion for helping others. I’ve had the opportunity to be guided by her twice and she brings such a beautiful and grounding energy to the process. She guides impeccably with a lot of love and she’s so attuned to the energetics of the client. I could not recommend her more. Any one that has the opportunity to have a session with her will be very lucky to be guided by her”. — Mila G. W
“Silenia is a compassionate and dedicated professional. My sessions in Family Constellation and Focalizing provided deep insights and support. From the start, I felt comfortable; she is an attentive listener with a down-to-earth approach. I often leave with tears of happiness, knowing the right practitioner is vital for healing. I recommend Silenia wholeheartedly—“you will be in good hands.” Her angelic voice is a special gift. I'm grateful to know her and continue to book sessions”. — Anna N.
“Silenia had a difficult task…She had to represent several individuals during my constellation. Yet, she was able to assume each and every role with empathy, connection and compassion". — Francisco G.
“Thank you so much for our session. I really can't overstate how much it meant to me and the feeling of peace it has given me in a situation that has caused me much turmoil for many years. Your facilitation was wonderful. I felt extremely safe, and I feel that we did some very deep and meaningful work together. I'm truly grateful”. — Delilah K. F.
“There are very few words that can completely encapsulate the competent, compassionate care that Silenia embodies as a healer. She has a deep understanding of the conditions that plague humanity and expresses a passion to heal those conditions for all. She demonstrates respect for the issue, no matter how challenging and stigmatizing it may be. I recommend services provided by Silenia with no reservation” — Amara S.
“It has been really special to receive my very first personal family constellation session facilitated by Silenia. The most important thing in the deep experiences like this, is safety and trust for me, and I was fully surrounded by that in our meetings. I found the pace of the conversation and her guidance very supportive too, being able to embrace every insight with no rush. I could feel how important this work is for Silenia, and how dedicated she is, and I deeply believe that it's such a crucial component in order to make these sessions impactful. Big heartfelt thank you, Silenia"— Leila B.