Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Techniques Questions for Nicole Leffler
By Samantha Beidoun
From a start in retail and cannabis management, to thinking bigger and broader and opening her own brick and mortar, to now offering a space for individuals to heal through a multitude of transformative healing services, Ann Arbor native Nicole Leffler has made her way to delivering something special for all.
Which of your businesses came first and how did the others flow into procession?
Nicole Leffler: My first business began with consulting in Ann Arbor right after business school, but my first brick and mortar was Wild Ginger Apothecary in 2014 in Sarasota, Florida. My “starter career” was as a Licensed Builder running my father’s Residential Remodeling firm with the intention to take it over, and after a few years, I left both my Ann Arbor roots and that role with a dream to open a metaphysical shop. I stepped into leadership roles within the natural retail, wellness, and then cannabis industries in the process. I moved to Florida which led to opening WGA.
WGA started as predominantly clean beauty and lifestyle retail but quickly shifted into a larger metaphysical store with a healing studio/community including dozens of practitioners, teachers, readers—so my calling to that realm couldn’t escape me. I then sold that space in 2022 to move back to Washtenaw County with my family.
In 2023, my husband and I began our practice in Chelsea as New Moon Neuro, only offering Neurofeedback. Less than a year later, we evolved into the ALCHEMY Holistic Collective studio space with a larger array of wellness offerings.
What is neurofeedback?
Nicole Leffler: The neurofeedback we offer, IASIS Micro Current Neurofeedback (MCN), supports both the brain and central nervous system by allowing it to reorganize itself and shift from fixed patterns. Unlike traditional neurofeedback that most are familiar with, (which primarily works via brain training) MCN is similar to toggling a light switch. Basically, we are helping the brain move from the sympathetic (fight or flight, anxious, stressed, burned out) response and into a parasympathetic (rest and digest, relaxed, calm, alert) space.
So, we give the mind and body a “reboot” with creating new neural pathways and increased neuroplasticity in order to support clients suffering with anxiety, depression, insomnia, PTSD, ADHD, OCD, or other diagnoses. We really focus on long lasting sustainable shifts and improvements to revitalize the nervous system. This occurs especially when paired with other modalities we offer.
Tell me about Dharma Hive Workshop.
Nicole Leffler: There are a few different versions over the years, but my core offering is the Inspired Business Intensive. This deep dive into our soul calling is focused on getting out of our own way and anchoring in how we want to feel in our lives, business, body, and interactions. From there we work on tangible, impactful, inspired action to make things happen faster, louder, and in a bigger way than previous attempts. It’s very much a no-nonsense nudge to choose the path that’s choosing you. Most often it is interactive, in-person (or virtual) group work with raw, real honesty and emotion amidst passion exploration.
Currently I teach these classes for private groups only, though I hope to bring them back within ALCHEMY someday soon. Everything I do with Dharma Hive (my consulting practice) is focused on our dharma itself. Like David Simon said, “We know we are in dharma when we cannot think of anything else we would rather be doing with our life.”
I know that ALCHEMY now offers scar therapy. Tell me a bit about how that came about and what it entails.
Nicole Leffler: The body and mind intersect in so many ways—and after an emergency C-Section delivery for my daughter, I realized how much energy (plus pain, blockages, and restriction) scars hold. I had received amazing results with a broken wrist scar with Scar Release Therapy many years earlier and couldn’t find any practitioners locally to work on my abdominal scar, so it was a perfect addition to our lineup. Scars affect your mental health and trauma recovery, which is something no one talks about. Now we offer SRT as a companion to neurofeedback and other healing arts. For anyone who has a surgical scar, it’s often the place we start even with mental health support.
Plus, now I’m more passionate than ever about postpartum recovery and supporting mamas of all stages—which is definitely my current dharma path. SRT, whether for c-section, or joint replacement, or even common surgeries like gallbladder, is a must-have healing tool for everyone, especially mamas!
Were you raised with holistic medicinal practices or did that come to you in your own self-discovery?
Nicole Leffler: A little of both! We grew up pretty crunchy in Ann Arbor with a special affection for the Co-Op and original Arbor Farms, which allowed me to better understand and appreciate holistic health. My family gave me the foundation to explore and trust alternative medicine, but I really branched out further as I worked more with it.
What pivotal point in your life led you down the path of becoming a founder of a holistic business?
Nicole Leffler: In this current business, having our daughter and stepping out of the hustle of a primarily retail business led my husband and I to a deeper desire to work together and within one-on-one transformative healing modalities with a mandatory work-life balance for our family. In my personal “entrepreneur” and lifelong overachiever burn out, nervous system support was critical– then motherhood really emphasized that need all over again.
In the early days, I was really focused on finding what I personally truly loved to do, share, and learn.Once I realized that passion work was what it was all about, I couldn’t stop chasing it. I had to do something that makes a lifelong impact and improvement on lives in an approachable, accessible way.
Is what you do intuitive to you? Are there parts that feel more challenging?
Nicole Leffler: In my intuitive business consulting, it’s absolutely intuition driving it. The same goes for taking the leap with business launches, changes, evolution, even offerings from a business perspective. It also comes into play with healing clients and “next step” protocols! The most challenging part of that process is getting those you are working with, whether clients, employees, even employers, on the same page and to be willing to let go of their old stories and patterns that have kept them stuck for so long. Ironically that’s part of how neurofeedback came into our path: the majority of my consulting clients (predominantly mindful entrepreneurs) in the last 20+ years limited their business potential, abundance, and freedom by being in mental loops they couldn’t get out of (which is a lot of what neuro resolves).
How do you manifest your goals and dreams?
Nicole Leffler: I love a crystal-clear manifestation list or chart. I have had wildly detailed lists I edited for years and decades that spelled out exactly what became with Wild Ginger, re-meeting my husband, or even moving to a small town like Chelsea, but I think an intentional intuitive practice is where it all begins. I’ve always been aware of what I do and don’t want around me energetically, but only as I fine-tuned my own skills, did I actually fully CHOOSE it and got more refined in just what I was calling in.
How did you and your husband meet?
Nicole Leffler: I met my husband the first time in 2011, when we casually dated in Ann Arbor. We reconnected in divine time at the start of 2020 after many, many years out of touch, and by that fall he moved to Florida to start our life together. Our daughter was born in 2022, and she was very much a spirit baby that had led me to meet him the first time (and led us back together). More on that in another story!
What do you enjoy outside of work?
Nicole Leffler: These days my biggest joy involves time with my family, particularly my three-year-old. We love to explore outdoors, sing, dance, cook together, and nurture our newfound love for neuroart. She loves a good tarot or oracle deck as much as her mama (which always gives me the messages I need these days!) She’s the most inspiring sidekick I’ve ever had.
To learn more about ALCHEMY and all that Nicole Leffler and team has to offer you, visit her website alchemyholisticcollective.com.
