Ashlieya featured in Twenty4Seven Magazine as a “born to be” storyteller

A recent Twenty4Seven Magazine profile presents Ashlieya Mariano as a “born to be” storyteller whose entire life—acting, dance, writing, retreats, and nonprofit work—is organized around emotional literacy, nervous system regulation, and human development. Read the full article here.

Roots And Early Sensitivity

Ashlieya describes herself as being “from many places,” with Ireland and Southern California both holding a special place in her identity because of deep familial and emotional ties. Moving 32 times by age 23 sharpened her sensitivity to energy, tone, and the unspoken emotions people carry, turning her into an intensely observant, athletic, and artistic child who learned to endure and grow through complexity.

Movement As First Language

In the article, she explains that movement became one of her first languages: dance trained her body, theatre trained her expression, and storytelling trained her perception. Rather than choosing a single path, she felt called to integrate physical discipline, artistic expression, and human development, a through‑line that now shapes everything she does.

Acting As Emotional Literacy

Ashlieya frames acting as “emotional literacy under visibility,” where you must understand a character’s internal logic and contradictions instead of sanding them down into a neat persona. She argues that society often rewards coherence and predictability, while acting gives permission to explore paradox and complexity, teaching that contradiction isn’t weakness but part of the architecture of being human.

Storytelling And Lifelong Training

Her acting journey began in childhood with theatre at age 8, expanded into broader performing arts training, and eventually led to TV and film work starting at 19. She views every experience—learning, witnessing, traveling, and living—as material that enriches her capacity to tell stories on stage and on screen, making acting less a profession and more a way of life.

Healing Through Youth And Writing

When asked which of her many endeavors is most healing, she points to working with young people through the arts, watching them realize they are not “too much” or “not enough” and that their voice matters. Writing and service also function as healing practices for her, and she sees living her purpose and tending to her own healing as a way to help others heal by proximity.

The Art Of Solo Travel

Her book “The Art of Solo Travel” is positioned not as a tourism guide but as an invitation into self‑trust, perception refinement, and internal discovery through traveling alone. By removing familiar anchors and social buffers, solo travel becomes an initiation that shows readers they are more regulated, intuitive, and capable than they realize, and that their body can feel at home anywhere.

Retreats As Regulatory Ecosystems

Ashlieya’s retreats are described as immersive “state‑heavy” environments that emphasize nervous system calibration and creative embodiment over information overload. They weave together sacred geography, land immersion, reflective integration, emotional literacy, and whole‑self wellness, so participants leave with clearer perception rather than just new concepts.

Falconry And Wild Intelligence

A striking section explores her relationship with falcons, hawks, and owls, which began from a fascination with ancient practices like falconry and led to her first hunt in the Scottish Highlands. She sees raptors as embodiments of focused, tension‑free presence and collaborative intelligence, especially Harris Hawks, whose cooperative hunting teaches patience, respect, and the value of shared effort where “everyone gets to eat.”

Dance Masters As Ecosystem

When discussing Dance Masters Performing Arts Studio, Ashlieya emphasizes that it is more than a place to learn choreography—it is a developmental ecosystem. The studio focuses on regulation under visibility, discipline as lifestyle, expressive freedom, and teamwork that preserves individuality, treating the arts as a training ground for emotional literacy and a thriving community.

Confidence, Discipline, And Expression

Drawing from her book “Arts as the Way to Emotional Literacy,” she reframes confidence as an emergent property built through repeated experiences of activation, effort, difficulty, and recovery, rather than a simple belief or mindset. Discipline becomes embodied identity and commitment to “Whole Wellness,” while expression is framed as essential creative freedom within a safe environment that celebrates the full range of human experience.

Builders Of A Better World

Her nonprofit, Builders Of A Better World, integrates dance, theatre, and music with social‑emotional learning, nervous system regulation, and flow states to empower children, families, and communities. The organization provides scholarships and programs in under‑resourced areas, treating emotional literacy as infrastructure and the arts as both experience and evidence of inner transformation.

Hands‑On Change And Burnout Prevention

The article underscores her belief that hands‑on work—teaching, funding programs, mentoring—creates real change, as “abstract outrage does not reorganize reality.” To avoid burnout while managing multiple roles, she prioritizes regulation, clarity, recovery windows, and nervous system coherence over adrenaline, viewing self‑care and pattern awareness as non‑negotiable.

Culture Loves And Future Plans

Twenty4Seven closes with lighter, personal touches, such as her top martial arts films, including “Enter the Dragon” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” revealing her love of narrative and disciplined movement on screen. Looking ahead in 2026, she anticipates expanded international retreats, deeper integration of performance with human development, more film projects and books, scaled access through Builders, and building a “Thrive Tribe” rooted in emotional literacy and embodied leadership.

Staying Connected With Ashlieya

Readers who resonate with Ashlieya’s blend of artistry and nervous system mastery are invited to follow her on Instagram and YouTube. Her central hub, ashlieya.com, connects her books, podcast, retreats, and programs across the intersecting worlds of art, authorship, leadership, emotional literacy, and creative development.