How My Camera Led Me to Build a Rebirth Sauna (and Why I'm Changing My Name)
Okay, let me tell you something wild.
Sixteen years ago, I picked up a camera because I wanted to make women feel beautiful. Like, actually beautiful. Not the "lose ten pounds and smile bigger" kind. The "holy shit, that's ME?" kind.
What I didn't know? That camera was a shamanic tool in disguise.
I was healing myself through every single session. Every time I told a woman to drop her shoulders and breathe, I was telling myself. Every time I caught her in a moment of real, unguarded power, I was learning what power looked like on a body that had survived.
But here's the thing nobody tells you about healing work: eventually, the tool isn't big enough for the medicine.
The Name That Haunted Me
Let's talk about the name thing, because it's part of this story.
The name on my business card? It carried a version of me I built to survive. The funny one. The clown. The woman who could laugh off anything — including the things that were eating her alive. She was brilliant. She got me here. She kept me safe when safety was everything.
But she was also haunted.
I spent five years grieving her. Not because she failed — because she saved me. And now she gets to rest.
I'm Abena now.
Tuesday-born. Water-called, earth-held. The warrior who learned to hold instead of fight. The woman who doesn't need to perform anymore because she knows what she's protecting.
If you knew me before: I'm still me. I still laugh too loud at my own jokes. I still make reels that make no sense. I still dance in my kitchen.
But now there's depth underneath. Now there's fire. Now there's a tent.
The Rebirth Sauna: What Happens When Healing Needs Heat
For five years, I've been doing the underground work. Somatic training. Shamanic calling. Learning to sit in the dark with women without rushing to turn on the light.
And I kept hearing the same thing from the women I photographed:
“I love these photos- I can’t believe I just did this”
"I look so powerful OH MY GOD."
But one thing didn’t change. Eventually they needed another shoot because the trauma healing was only surface level.
Girl. I felt that in my BONES.
Because empowerment isn't a pose. It's not a filter. It's not even a perfect light setup (though I will fight you on good lighting, it's my love language).
Empowerment is a release.
And sometimes? You need heat for that.
The New Package: Sanctuary + Lens
So here's what I'm building. And I'm literally vibrating as I type this.
The Sanctuary Package
This isn't a photoshoot with a sauna tacked on. This isn't a sauna with a photoshoot at the end.
This is a full-circle reckoning.
Here's how it flows:
Part One: The Release
You arrive at Abena's Rebirthing Space. The bell tent. The fire. The stones. The water.
We enter the sauna together. Four rounds:
• Arrival — grounding, intention, letting your body remember it's yours
• Release — giving something to the steam (you'll know what it is)
• The Deep Work — somatic guidance, energy work, witness, whatever your body needs
• Rebirth — emergence. Walking out. Letting the cold air hit your wet skin and NOT shrinking from it.
You don't have to stay for all four rounds. Your body is the authority. I'm just the woman holding the door.
Part Two: The Integration
Cool-down space. Water. Light food. Rest. No rushing. No performing.
We sit. We talk or we don't. You let your nervous system catch up to your soul.
Part Three: The Reclamation
Then — THEN — we pick up the camera.
Not to create a persona. Not to perform empowerment.
To document what just happened.
You, wet-haired, raw-faced, standing in your power because you earned it in the heat. You, in your body, not because I posed you there, but because you fought your way back to it.
These aren't "after" photos. These are becoming photos.
Who This Is For
This is for the woman who:
• Has been told she's "too much" and made herself small to survive
• Loves a good photoshoot but is tired of performing confidence
• Knows there's something underneath the performance that wants to be seen
• Is ready to feel her power, not just pose in it
• Hears the water calling (you know who you are)
This is NOT for the woman who:
• Wants a spa day (I love a spa day, this is not that)
• Is looking to be passively "healed" (this work asks something of you)
• Isn't ready to feel (the heat will find what's buried — in a good way, but still)
The Practical Stuff
When: Summer 2026, with soft openings starting around July
Where: Wolfville — the tent is on private land, exact address shared upon booking
How long: Plan for 3-4 hours total (sauna, integration, photoshoot)
What to bring: Two towels, loose cotton clothing, water bottle, change of dry clothes, an open heart (cheesy but true)
Investment: $700 — payment plans available, because healing shouldn't be only for the wealthy
How to book: by reaching out to me on my contact page or directly at www.foreverafterphotography.ca
The Truth
I'm scared.
Not of the heat. Not of the work. I'm scared because this is the most me thing I've ever built, and what if nobody comes?
But then I remember: the water called me. The ancestors crossed an ocean so I could stand here. The Tuesday warrior in me doesn't need everyone — she needs the right women.
And they're coming. I feel them.
The Invitation
If you've been photographed by me before: thank you. You were my mirror. You taught me how to hold space before I knew that's what I was doing. The camera still loves you. And now I have more to give.
If you've never met me: HI!! I'm Abena. I laugh too loud, I cry in public, I talk to water, and I believe your body is sacred even when you don't.
If you're ready to stop performing and start becoming: the fire is being built. The lens is open. The tent is waiting.
Come find me.
Abena
Tuesday-born. Water-called.
Photographer. Shaman woman. Rebirth sauna keeper.
Still bubbly. Still fun. Just... deeper now.
[P.S. Yes, I still make ridiculous reels. No, the sauna does not have WiFi. Yes, you can laugh and cry in the same session. That's literally the whole point.]
