Episode 113: Understanding Yogic Nadis - The Energetic Lines In Your Body with Sytera Field

There’s so much to learn about our bodies and the mind body connection! For example, did you know that we have thousands of intricate lines of energy running through our bodies? You’ve probably heard it by one of these names: prana, chi, meridian, sen, fascia lines or NADIS.

Every part of ourselves is interconnected and the more we understand about this interconnection, the more power we have to improve our well-being.

Sytera Field is a dancer, artist, yoga teacher and creator of the yoga massage “Nadi Ball” that helps you release blockages from the lines of energy in your body.

It was so exciting to talk to her about the nadis because she brings such a tangible approach.

“you can think of it as pressure points and energetic lines or as connective tissues that transports fluids and information from the brain” she says as she encourages listeners to physically feel the interconnection within their own bodies.

Sytera shares so much with us but I think the coolest information that I learned is how she describes the chakras in our bodies. The way she describes it, it makes chakras sound almost touchable, which in a way it is.

If you’re intrigued about the functionality of the body, energy and the mind-body connection then you gotta listen to this one! It was so cool and I can’t wait to hear what you have to say about it.

Okay, plug in those earbuds and let’s go!

Topics:

• Benefits of yoga in terms of grounding and energy

• Understanding the Nadis - the energy lines in your body

• Applying knowledge of nadis for emotional release

• Applying knowledge of Nadis to release body pain

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Key Nuggets:

Nadis

• Nadis are pressure points and energetic lines along the body

• Also known as Chi, Prana, Sin, and Fascial lines

• You can also think of them as the connective tissues that transports fluids and info from brain

• Chakras are where the Nadis meet and bundle up

• Different levels and qualities of each nadi line

• While there are different levels of nadis, it’s not about moving through the levels as much as it’s about the quality of it because they communicate with each other.

• The foundational nadi can be found in the feet. Try rolling a ball around your feet and feel around the energy lines

Nadis and Yoga

Practicing yoga actually opens up the nadi lines – it’s like an actual massage for your chakras

Nadis and Body Pain

We train our body to hold a particular posture by staying in the same position day in and day out. The body, in it’s earnest effort to support us, then builds up fascia (what we’d feel as “tightness”) to help you stay in that posture.

The tightness and restriction is ACTUALLY your body trying to help you!

How have you been communicating with your body?

Nadis and Emotional release

The saying “You have issues in your tissues” is true. If you keep yourself fluid in body by moving around and your thought patterns and emotions fluid then you stay fluid.

Relaxation: there’s actually only a signal to tell muscles to contract but no signal to tell it to relax! So the act of relaxing is actually a blockage of the signal to contract. This means that you can’t actually make yourself relax. The best you can do is set up your environment that’s conducive to stopping the contractions (ie. removing stresss…)

 3 Main Messages about the Nadis:

1. It’s actual and tangible and you can really feel it in your body!

2.  Movement opens up your body lines. 

3. Play with nadi lines in foot

One of Your Biggest Lessons So Far:

Don’t try to be everything for everybody.  Be honest with yourself about what you want and don’t be afraid to specialize in whatever you pursue. Don’t let anybody tell you that’s not enough!

What is one nugget of wisdom that you would share with fellow seekers who are on this journey of growth and transformation?

Become a better communicator and it will help you in every situation of your life. If your words come from a place of true honesty, it will almost always be received well.

Links:

If you have any questions for Sytera or want to learn more, connect with her through:

Website:  syterayoga.com

Facebook: facebook.com/SyteraYoga

Instagram: instagram.com/syterayoga/

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Episode 112: Stop Burning Out! Utilize Play and Creativity to Work A Whole Lot Less with Lisa Murray

Lisa Murray, Business + Creativity Coach and the founder of Creative Alchemi, has a fantastic vision to make living into a playful, satisfying adventure rather than a predictable daily grind. 

…and she knows about the daily grind. She herself has experienced burnout three times in her life. It happened so many times because she didn’t know to even identify her state as “burnout”. The thing is, you can get so used to being in a certain state that you’re not aware that something is wrong.

Burnout feels and looks different for everyone. One common determining factor, and also what distinguishes burnout from general fatigue, is that it feels the same way day in and day out. Fatigue is temporary and you eventually get your energy back.

What’s riveting is what the burnout can be telling you. As Lisa learned, one reason why you may burnout is because you’re dishonoring your soul….you’re dishonoring who you really are and it’s trying to point you in the right direction.

In this episode, Lisa shares with us what she’s learned about burnout, creativity and play. Burnout can be a sign of dishonoring your soul and creativity and play are outlets to allow you fully express yourself. Understanding each of these elements can bring a whole lot more ease into your life! 

At the deeper layer lies a conversation about self worth, owning who you really are and honoring the full expression of yourself and your soul. 

Listen in to see what the connection is between burnout, creativity, play and how to use them to your advantage!

Topic Summary:

• Burnout - what it looks like, why you burnout

• Creativity - creative energy is life energy

• Play - what the heck even is play?? Why do it, how to do it

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Key Nuggets:

• To live a life you love be willing to choose what you want even if others may not agree

  • This is how Lisa stepped into the incredible work that she does today. She realized that she had to choose what makes her happy rather than what people were telling her to do.

Burnout:

• Lisa’s been burned out three times.  Before she realized what it was, she couldn’t even identify because we can get so used to being in a certain state we don’t realize that something is wrong.

• Burnout, unlike general fatigue, feels the same way day in and day out. Fatigue is temporary and eventually fades.

• For Lisa, being burned out felt like: Dead inside, so physically tired, low tolerance, self judgement off the charts

• Why would we burnout:

  • Making decisions that aren’t right for us

  • A message for you to look at a part of who you are that wants to be looked at.  It’s not just your body, it’s also your being.

  • An indication that you’re stepping too far way from who you really are

  • An indication of a dishonoring of your soul.

• Some people refuse to admit burnout because it means that something in their life has to change

• The change doesn’t have to be scary though - you don’t need to rip your whole life apart! You don’t need to give up everything. Start small.

• Get honest with yourself.  Once you know what you want to ask for, ask how to create what you’re actually asking for.

• Compare the feelings of burnout to the feeling of alignment…that feeling of when you are being who you really are - this is what alignment feels like for Lisa:

  energized, aliveness that goes deeper than physical, alignment, synchronicity, flow, gives herself space when she needs to, more confidence, more self expression, okay with not knowing

Creativity

• Creative energy is life energy

• It’s about having presence in the moment and allowing yourself to choose what you really want. Allowing yourself to live in the creative moment.

• Experiment with what makes you feel heavy versus light.  If it feels lighter, then maybe there’s something there to explore!

Play

• To play easily and joyfully you need to let go of the mind

• Play is unplanned, spontaneous fun. Kids don’t work out how to play before they play. They just do!

• Another key to play is that there’s no expectation of an outcome. Think about animals (who absolutely know how to play). There’s no purpose to it other than it feels good!

• In essence, this is a mindfulness practice.

Lisa’s tips for bringing more creativity + play into your life:

• Travel – unplanned, unscheduled travel

• Self expression – often we’re not allowed to self expressed because we’re said that we have to be a certain way

• Go into nature and receive everything that’s there. Watch and observe how nature creates

One of Your Biggest Lessons So Far:

Don’t work so hard.  Be still, peaceful and present until you know what inspired action will make the greatest difference.  Work a whole lot less and make more impact! Working in this way will bring a lot more ease into your life

The gifts that com with starting are really rewarding

What is one nugget of wisdom that you would share with fellow seekers who are on this journey of growth and transformation?

You can always make a different choice.  Even if you think that you have NO choice, there’s always a different choice!  Choice is like a lever that opens invisible doors.

Links:

If you have any questions for Melanie or want to learn more, connect with her through:

Website:  https://www.lisamurray.co/

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Episode 111: The Wisdom Of 2019 - Trust Yourself, You Are Worthy & Self Acceptance Is The Key

I love doing the year end episodes where I compile the wisdom from each interview of the previous year. Usually there are a few strong themes that emerge. This year was no exception. The Wisdom of 2019 lends 4 main lessons for us to utilize. Coincidentally, they all kind of match!

This year’s wisdom is:

1. Trust in yourself and your experiences.  Your intuition will never lead you astray.

2. The universe wants for you what you want for yourself.  Understand that getting to what you desire is a process and have patience in knowing that it might not happen overnight.  Know that it's unfolding and get out of your own damn way!

3.  We get in our own way by thinking that we're not worthy of what we want or that we're not enough.  Well, the truth is that you are enough and that you are worthy. Stop waiting for other people’s permissions for going after what YOU want!

4. To feel more worthy, practice self-acceptance, self-love and give yourself space to integrate. (Seriously, it all comes back to self love!)

A final BONUS message:

It's never too late to go after what you want.  And what you want is not too wild.  So go for it and trust that you can figure it out because you can!

Use this episode often as your energy boost of inspiration!

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Episode 110 BITE SIZED: 6 Simple Steps To Start Living The Life You Desire This Year

January has a certain air of renewal and possibility about it. It feels very “the world’s your oyster”!! 

No matter what happened last year, you now have an opportunity for new beginnings, bigger possibilities, and new perspectives to work through what you're working through.

Technically you can choose to begin anew at anytime but there’s something to be said about the energy that happens when the entire world welcomes a new year together.

That’s why I always do a New Years Intention and Goal Setting Ritual. I want to bank in on this energy of possibility and call in wonderful new opportunities for the New Year!

When it comes to goal setting, I’ve always done it for as long as I can remember. Might not be much of a surprise considering that I was Type A, studious and craved achievement. My goal setting has evolved so much over the years - from to-do lists, to smart goals and finally something more heart centered that really hits home. It’s not so much about what I’ll achieve or own by the time I’m 40, 45, 50…122 or whatever. No, I’ve learned to ditch the to-do lists. They don’t lead to happiness. Trust me.

I take a more heart centered approach these days and get to the root of the matter first before I start ticking off check boxes. I know what it’s like to bark up the wrong tree and become depleted of energy and joy.

In this episode, I share with you 6 Simple Steps that you can take to set your New Years intentions so that you can start living the life that you desire.

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If you want a supportive group to do this with, join me for a 2 hour Virtual New Year Desire Map Workshop on Saturday January 11, 2020. 

We'll come together to celebrate what helped you grow, let go of what doesn't serve and set heart centered intentions for 2020.

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR TICKET NOW

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Key Nuggets:

6 Steps To Start Living The Life You Desire This Year

1. Reflection of 2019

   • Brief outline of events that happened

   • What did you discover?

   • How did you grow the most?

   • What did you learn?

2. Choose 3 Words to Describe 2019

3. CELEBRATE

   • What’s the smallest victory from 2019 that you can celebrate?

   • Listen to Episode 109: Celebrate Victories to Increase Your Self Worth and Episode 70: Celebrate to learn more about celebration

4. LET GO

   • Whatever feels heavy from 2019, choose to release it

5. Desire Mapping

   • Gratitude: what are all the things you’re grateful for from 2019; they made your life much better

   • What’s Not Working: what didn’t work for you in 2019; it made your life a little worse

6. Choose your feeling word for the year

   • This is how you’ll seek and choose to feel more often than not

   • Use your gratitude and what’s not working lists as clues to how you most want to feel.

   • Once you have your word, make decisions that make you feel this way more often than not

Upcoming Workshop

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Episode 108: Strategies To Bring Your Ideas To Life with Ariane Schuessler

This episode is just in the nick of time! As we approach a brand new year, goals and vision setting is on many of our minds. We think about what we desire and the life that we truly want to live.

This episode isn’t about goal setting though. It’s about bringing your ideas to life!

The only way to make your dreams a reality is to start taking action on your ideas. Good ideas can sit around for years...or even lifetimes, without ever being brought into reality. This happens for so many reasons - aside from sheer fear stopping you from taking action (self doubt, overwhelm, insecurity…)

you can also get stuck if you have a bunch of ideas and don’t know which one to go with. Or for some people, time was never taken time to get clear on their idea so it eventually became a pipe dream.

Ariane Schuessler, Creative Clarity Coach, is here to tell you that

It’s never too late, an idea is never too crazy and you have to trust in your own strength!

Ariane is a German Canadian who currently resides in Black Forest in Germany. Having tried everything from pottery to herbology and even art therapy, she knows a thing or two about creativity. She loves helping women who have many creative ideas but are uncertain on how to bring them to life.

In this episode, we have a marvelous conversation about the aliveness of creativity and how pertinent it is for creating joy in our lives. We also discuss ideas, clarity, intuition and overcoming fears to help bring your brightest ideas to life.

Plug in those earbuds and fuel up with inspiration to TAKE ACTION!

Topic Summary:

• What’s creativity and why it’s important to have in your life

• Where do people get stuck with their ideas

• Common fears for pursuing an idea

• Overcoming fears

• Trusting intuition

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Key Nuggets:

Creative Living

Creativity is the sense of aliveness of being human. Having tried everything from pottery to herbology and art therapy, Ariane has witnessed how beautiful the creative process is.

Everybody is creative - creativity is a way of life. It’s about having an idea, getting clear on it and bringing it to life.

Lessons from living a creative life

• Trust your own intuition and give it [your ideas] time

• We don’t fit into one mold and we need to find our own concoction of strengths to work with

• Ariane has learned to prioritize self care so that she can continue coming up with great ideas and stay in the right mindset – she particularly loves walks in nature with her dog. This is where she gets energized and have space for ideas to flow and clarify themselves.

Sorting your ideas

When you have many ideas then start by brainstorming them all down. Make them tangible - do research on them and even start looking at how much it would cost if you were to pursue it.

Also helps to bounce your ideas with somebody that you trust. Talking can help bring clarity.

Pursuing Ideas

Common fears when it comes to pursuing an idea includes insecurity, overwhelm, doubt and feeling like we have to do it all by ourselves (like as if we magically need to know what the right idea to choose is). Echoing above, this is where it helps to talk out your idea with somebody that you trust, like a coach.

How to know if an idea is right for you

To know if an idea is right for you, simply try it!

But also…

After you do your research and look the time, financial and resource investment that it will take to pursue your idea, take honest reflection and ask yourself:

Am I really up to this reality? Is this the lifestyle that I would like to live?

For example, the idea of owning a coffee shop might be nice but will you be happy waking up in the early hours of the morning to open up?

Also reflect on your intention for pursuing an idea

How do I want this idea to serve me? Am I trying to earn money with it or is it a creative outlet?

Overcoming Fear

• Fear will always be present. Acknowledge its presence, don’t push it away. As Elizabeth Gilbert suggests - let fear be there. Just put it in the backseat rather than letting it drive.

• Do mindset work around your fear with affirmations and recognition of old belief patterns

• Ariane has come up with a few ways to deal with her own fears:

  • She started the practice of honestly looking at herself in the mirror for pep talks when she had to defend her masters. A connection to herself helped her reinforce the strength within her.

  • Has a jar of self-care suggestions (ex. spa day, writing a letter to a friend…) so that she always has tools in place that make her feel good.

  • Build up people around you who support you

Tuning Into Intuition

Ariane has a few practices to help tune into her inner knowing:

• “pockets of nothingness” - time in her day where nothing is scheduled and she has the freedom to choose what she’d like to do in the moment

• Take yourself seriously - write out your ideas and take action on them like doing research

• Remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day. Give it time to brew, create and happen.

One of Your Biggest Lessons So Far:

Don’t underestimate the power of being listened to and to discuss ideas with somebody. Through the synergy with the exchange of these ideas, things move forward and you come into action.

What is one nugget of wisdom that you would share with fellow seekers who are on this journey of growth and transformation?

It’s never too late, an idea is never too crazy….have trust in your own strength!

If you have any questions for Ariane or want to learn more, connect with her through:

Website:  www.derarianefaden.ca

Email:   ariane@derarianefaden.ca

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/der_ariane_faden/

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Episode 106: Use Core Energetics Help With Shadow Self and Negative Beliefs Stuck In Your Body with Isha Vela

Cognitively understanding something may not be enough to release all painful thoughts because trauma also gets stuck in our bodies. It’s important to look at the mind-body connection to understand our whole selves.

This is what Isha Vela, psychologist and Core Energetics practitioner, realized this after becoming direly ill during her second pregnancy. Although she was well studied in psychology (the cognitive part) old trauma kept resurfacing. This prompted her to discover that trauma also gets stuck in our bodies and we need to take a holistic approach to alleviate it.

In this episode, Isha talks to us about Core Energetics, shadow self and reconnecting back to your true self.

Topic Summary:

• What is Core Energetics

• How negative experiences are also stored in our bodies

• Shadow Self, Higher Self and Shame

• How to come back to your authentic self

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Key Nuggets:

We can understand something cognitively but trauma also gets stuck in our bodies. It’s important to look at our mind-body connection to understand our whole selves. This is what Isha realized after becoming direly ill during her second pregnancy. As a psychologist, she understood the psyche well but the illness revealed trauma that was stored in her body. This is when she became interested in Core Energetics.

Trauma (any experience, big or small, that’s beyond an individual’s ability to cope at the time) is a biological process - the body has its own language and own logic. We underestimate how disconnected we are to our bodies

Core Energetics

Core Energetics is a therapy that looks at mind, body and spirit. It works on the basis that we are born into our authentic selves, our core selves, but as we go through life we go through injuries that cover up this core self. Core Energetics is about working through the shadow self to come back to this core.

We can pick up negative messages even pre-verbally while we’re in utero (before we’re born). While we won’t have memories about exactly what the situation was, we may have an intuition about it. For example, if we were an unwanted pregnancy we might grow up with a sense of “I don’t think I’m supposed to be here”. Core Energetics helps release this energy through movement, breath work and vocal toning.

The spiritual side of Core Energetics is coming back to the light that you are and learning to show up as your whole self.

Shadow Self

• The Shadow Self are the parts of us that say no to life (whereas the higher self are the parts of you that say yes to life).

• We all have a shadow self and we often bypass it because it’s so uncomfortable to be around

• You need to go through the shadow self to get to your higher self. This process is all about owning the parts that want to separate from your heart and your light.

• Examples of shadow: hiding, not really putting yourself out there, judging others, rejecting others (so that they can’t get close to you), self sabotaging

• There’s a lot of ways that we’re unconscious to how we relate to ourselves and others.

How Can We Better Cope With Trauma

• Use shaking to let go of pent up energy

• Embrace that we’re meant to feel a whole range of emotions and that it’s not wrong to feel the bad ones sometimes (highest of joys and deepest of sorrows)

One of Your Biggest Lessons So Far:

Learning how to nurture herself and asking herself in a tender way “what do I need right now” and ultimately learning how to love herself

What is one nugget of wisdom that you would share with fellow seekers who are on this journey of growth and transformation?

Our capacity to sit with everything that is, is our path to liberation and freedom.

Our being-ness is powerful. There’s nothing that you need to do beyond that. Trust that just being is enough.

Links:

If you have any questions for Isha or want to learn more, connect with her through:

Website: www.embodiedquest.com

Email:   isha@embodiedquest.com

Instagram: @embodiedquest

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Episode 104: Using Story to Heal + Transform Your Life with Anjanette Fennell

“Storytelling is transformational because it helps you move from one place of knowing and understanding to another”

Anjanette Fennell is a literary coach and agent who finally found her calling when she combined her passion for writing with her compulsion to help others find and honor their own voice. The way she sees it, “storytelling is spiritual and we have the power to tweak or completely shift our story on a daily basis.”

In this evocative episode, Anjanette shares with us her iteration of Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey and we have an exceptional discussion about how just merely knowing about these steps can lighten any struggle or challenge that you’re currently facing; and more powerful yet, how telling/writing your story can help you through to the other end of transformation. In between, there are mighty nuggets of wisdom about surrender, facing the dark places and moving through change.

Topic Summary:

• The 5 steps of a story: opening scene, inciting incident (you saw and now you can’t un-see), messy middle, final battle, transformation

• How to use the steps of a story to help you through struggles in your own life

• How telling/writing your story can help you through transformation

• How even writing fiction stories can be healing

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Key Nuggets:

Story:

There’s a general path that every story takes - in movies, books, life, nature….everything

Anjanette’s Iteration of Hero’s Journey:

• Opening Scene: this is what life is like right now

• Inciting Incident: something happens that you can’t un-see, un-hear, un-know. Life as you know it will never be the same (ex. meet the love of your life, get diagnosed with an illness…)

• Messy middle: many parts to this including

  • Denial: you may try to pretend that thing that you can’t un-see, un-hear, un-know didn’t happen. You try to go back to status quo (the opening scene) but it no longer exists!

  • There’s a struggle to accept this change and usually the main character (if it’s your own story then the main character is you) tries and does everything but that thing they need to do. The paradox is that that thing you don’t want to do is the only way to the other side of transformation.

  • That “thing” usually means peak vulnerability

• Final Battle: Only when you surrender can you move onto the final battle

• Transformation

Surrender

What the messy middle asks for you to do is to surrender. Stop resisting. You can’t trick the universe and say that you’re surrendering and not really do it. You must feel and experience it.

The most control you have throughout the path of a story is in the messy middle because there you can decide how long you want to languish before you let go and surrender.

Use Storytelling to Heal:

Storytelling helps you see where you are in your life. It gives you relief knowing what’s to come next and perhaps you may even move more swiftly through it (ex. if you know you’re in the messy middle and identify it then you may be more inclined to surrender faster).

We’re constantly playing out millions of stories; we get to use this story formula again and again.

You don’t even need to write out your story - just find a way to express it and you’ll find healing.

If there’s something particularly troubling or triggering for you and you aren’t ready to be too close to it then write it out in fiction! Whether you actually tell it as yourself or a fictional character named Sally, you’ll find healing all the same.

A Word On Transformation:

Once a transformation is done, it’s done. Each new story is a new transformation. Ex. Once you have a baby you can’t re-have that same baby.

One of Your Biggest Lessons So Far:

You can’t get it wrong because it’s your story.  However you tell it, it’s your story.

It’s okay to own your truth and your truth can’t be wrong because it’s yours.

What is one nugget of wisdom that you would share with fellow seekers who are on this journey of growth and transformation?

Story is in everything – you can’t hack your way past the hard parts of it but when you know the process, it can help. Whatever is triggering you or troubling you in the moment, identify where you are in your story and take comfort in knowing what’s to come.  You know you’ve been there before and you can get through it .

Links:

If you have any questions for Anjanette or want to learn more, connect with her through:

Website:  http://www.anjanettefennell.com/

Facebook: @storyaslife

Instagram: @anj_fen

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Episode 100: 5 Ways To JUST START Going For What You Want

WE MADE IT TO EPISODE 100!!! WHOO HOO!!!!

Thank you so much for coming along with me on this journey, it has been an incredible one! There is much to be celebrated this month - not only have we made it to episode 100, but it’s also Curious Monki’s anniversary month and also happens to be my birthday month.

With all of these big milestones, I can’t help but become a little reflective. That day when I purchased my first mic, I had no idea what kind of a journey I was in for and how many opportunities were going to come from going for what I truly wanted. I wish there was a word for to describe how extremely achingly grateful I am - for the lessons that cracked me open, for the

connections, for the guests that continuously floor me with how many amazing people there are out there….for the flow of life that’s brought me to a place of alignment that I never imagined (even though I kept trying to force my way to where I thought I was supposed to go). WOW. WOW. WOW.

There’s a lot here and we NEED to celebrate this! I’ve got two ways to celebrate:

1. I’m going to share with you the biggest lesson that I’ve learned along doing these 100 episodes and teach you 5 Tools/Tips that you can concretely apply to your own life so that you can get started on that thing that’s been calling out to you!

2. I’m going to do a GIVEAWAY FOR A MONTH OF FREE COACHING (3 sessions). I feel more aligned with my North Star than I ever have been before and I’m ugly cry grateful for finding this place. I get to help others find what their hearts are calling out for and have the courage to go for it so that they can blossom into the fullest version of themselves (whaaaat).

   I know that the target moves and alignment with our inner truth is a fluid dance. But for now This. Is. It.. This is it for me - it’s what I’m meant to do!! So I need to share this out with the world!!

   For details on how to enter, listen to this episode or visit my Instagram @curiousmonki

I’ll draw for 3 winners at the end of the month on Nov 30th.

Topic Summary:

• The story of how I started this podcast (including the time that I totally quit because I was scared)

• Just starting [that thing that you’re being called to do] is the single most impactful step that you can take but what can you do if you’re caught up in the details or needing to get things right (in other words, paralyzed by fear)?

• 5 Tools/Tips to help motivate to JUST START going for what you want already!

• Moving through the fear of starting is a practice. A lesson that needs to be relearned again and again. Each time you move through the discomfort you get stronger.

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Key Nuggets:

5 Ways to Just Start and Go For What You Want

1. Your desire comes from somewhere - if you know that you want to start something (an art project, new career, side hustle…) but don’t know what it is, look back at what you already love. What interests you and lights you up? What you already enjoy will pave the way to clues.

2. What’s your creative genius - what do you do well and lights you up? This will give you more clues

3. Take small steps

4. Trick yourself to take the edge off - if you make that thing you want to start doing this whole big thing, then you can get paralyzed because it looks like such a big feat. How can you reframe to re-open up possibility within yourself?

5. Find your motivation - why do you want to do that thing that you want to do? Is it an honest heartfelt desire or is ego driving the show? The difference is that your honest heartfelt desires will fuel you and your ego will deplete you (or fuel you with fear which isn’t a great place to be).

Bonus: How will doing this thing benefit you, those around you or the world? When it’s not about you anymore, you connect to a sense of something bigger. Your mission is fueled with a powerful sense of purpose.

Celebrate with me and put in your entry for the GIVEAWAY FOR A MONTH OF FREE COACHING (3 sessions).

For details on how to enter, listen to this episode or visit my Instagram @curiousmonki

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Episode 99: How Craniosacral Therapy Can Help - From Anxiety & Low Energy to Tight Shoulders & Locked Jaws with Lucille Rayner

Lucille Rayner is a fellow yogi and local Calgarian who has studied and worked in the natural health industry for over ten years. Yoga, meditation, and chi kung (also spelled qigong) are all part of her practices. Today, she’s best known as a Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapist.

If you’re wondering what that even is, then perfect, you’ve landed into the right episode! In a nutshell, Craniosacral therapy is a bodywork modality that uses light touch therapy and your body’s own intelligence to help you re-balance physically, mentally and emotionally (they’re all connected as you’ll learn). Through very gentle touch, Craniosacral Therapy helps support and

reorganize body, tissues and balances the central nervous system.

Lucille goes into way more depth about how this works and the benefits that it can have. She explains the mind-body connection and how mental and emotional pain also shows up physically and vice versa. This actually leads us to a super fun pit stop in talking about the fascia and how the whole fascial system is like those ropey web playground structures that kids play on. If a child sits on one side, the whole structure is tugged and misshapen to support their weight. Experiences that we go through are held in our fascial system. When we strain a part of our body, the entire fascial system (that’s like the web where everything is interconnected) gets tugged and manipulated to support this strain.

Plug in those earbuds and listen to the episode to hear about our mind-body connection!

Topic Summary:

• What is Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy and how does it work

• Benefits of Craniosacral Therapy

• Mind-body connection (there’s always a connection between how you feel and what’s going on in your body)

• Fascia and the importance it plays in your body

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Key Nuggets:

Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy

A type of body work that uses light touch to cue into how body structures like fascia, interstitial fluids, and bones are moving. Uses body’s own intelligence - the body is met with gentle touch and allowed to breathe and move in its own time. 

Adjustments gently made as needed to soothe the nervous system or manipulate muscular structure

Physiological and also there’s an energetic piece because of the mind-body connection. 

Benefits

Teaches you to trust your body again and begin to build a relationship with it especially if you’ve dissociated

Cranialsacral therapy helps release adhesions from scar tissue as the body is ready to (rather than forcing it).  Allowing rather than forcing leads to longer effects

Releases painful patterns that exist within our bodies

Because mind-body is connected, you go for anxiety, depression, not feeling energized and also for tight shoulders, strained jaws and other physical or emotional issues.

Mind Body Connection

Everything is connected – when you get hurt emotionally, it’ll show up in your body and vice versa.

Ex. Heartbreak – your heart isn’t actually breaking but it feels like it is. You feel the emotional pain and physically your back hunches forward and chest curls in, creating physical tension.

You need to feel it to heal it – we often dissociate in our bodies but we need to feel it to heal it

 Fascia

As we form in the womb it all starts with fascia.  At first it’s just goop then all the different parts start to pop up as limbs and organs.  Essentially, different organs are made of the same components but laid down in a different way.

Fascia is housing place for our  nervous  system and vasculature.

Experiences that we go through are held in our fascia – holding pain in fascia.  Like the ropey web structures in a playground, pressing on one part of the structure causes the rest of it to be tugged and misshapen.

One of Your Biggest Lessons So Far:

Trusting the inherent intelligence within herself.  To not give her power out to external things like putting people on pedestals.

What is one nugget of wisdom that you would share with fellow seekers who are on this journey of growth and transformation?

There’s always something that you should be doing but sometimes you just have to not do.  Slow down and PLAY. Do things that are fun.  You’re already doing enough!

Links:

If you have any questions for Melanie or want to learn more, connect with her through:

Website:  https://serenitynowwellness.ca/

Email:   lucille@serenitynowwellness.ca

Facebook: @lucillelight

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Episode 96: How To Heal Your Shadow Self with Amanda JP Brown

"Everything I ever been ashamed of, was part of me, a powerful part of me, because it was my forge, my place of creation and learning to own and love of the disowned and rejected pieces of myself was where my power resided."

Former trauma therapist, Amanda JP Brown, was once a high school drop out and drug user who struggled with shame, self confidence and loving herself. Today, she is an author, speaker, and coach who guides women to walk through their

darkness and reclaim the disowned pieces of themselves so they can stand confidently in their power. Her journey has led her to write her book,You're Brave Enough: 8 Daily Practices to be Your Own HERO.

“No knight in shining armor is coming to save you. Even if he did, how can he save you from the thoughts and beliefs you use to belittle and judge yourself? You hold all the power to change your life. No one can do it for you”

In this episode, we have a lively and meaningful conversation about judgement, shame, self-rejection; self-acceptance, self-love and personal power.

We all have shadow parts to ourselves, it’s part of being human - but it doesn’t mean that we’re meant to suffer with them our whole lives. Plug in those earbuds to absorb the insight on how to heal your shadow self!

Topic Summary:

• What is judgement, shame, self-rejection and how to deal with these difficult emotions

• How to heal your shadow self with forgiveness and self acceptance

• When is it safe to share your story

• Story of how Amanda was called to write Brave Enough

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Key Nuggets:

What does it mean to be Brave Enough?

To look at all the dark places within yourself and be ready to ground yourself to move through it.

Shame, Rejection & Judgement

• Shame: personal experience of feeling so bad that you don’t want to talk about anything so that you don’t get hurt. Constrict yourself off and you really don’t want to feel it or experience it but don’t want to or don’t know how to talk about it

• Rejection: really is about lack of acceptance and being heard or if it’s self rejection it’s about not wanting to accept parts of ourselves

• Judgement: you don’t reject things you don’t judge. When you find yourself judging ask yourself “where’d it come from?” and “what do I need to let go of?”

Healing the Shadow Places

• Starts with owning what it is that you think

• We reject the parts of ourselves that we’re actually afraid of

• Forgiveness “it’s okay, you tried your best”

• Accept all parts of yourself - Everything that you ever wanted to get rid of within yourself is exactly where your power is.

Sharing your story

• It can be powerful to share your story in a supportive environment as a way to get through the dark places.

• Some stories don’t need to be shared out to the world ever and it’s just meant to be witnessed by you.

One of Your Biggest Lessons So Far:

"Everything I ever been ashamed of, was part of me, a powerful part of me, because it was my forge, my place of creation and learning to own and love of the disowned and rejected pieces of myself was where my power resided."

What is one nugget of wisdom that you would share with fellow seekers who are on this journey of growth and transformation?

"You have to look within yourself for the answers you seek and be open to exploring all the pieces of who you are including your past experiences, what you think and believe and start asking new questions. And I believe You're Brave Enough to do just that.

Resources:

Episode 73: What does it really mean to live your truth?

Links:

If you have any questions for Melanie or want to learn more, connect with her through:

Website:  www.amandajpbrown.com

Email:   hello@amandajpbrown.com

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Episode 92: You Develop Self-Worth By Choosing That You're Worthy with Lina Carvajal

Lina Carvajal is an engineer turned banker turned Art Therapist, Life Coach and Counsellor. She’s gone from being stuck (more than once) in a life that looked great on the outside but felt completely misaligned on the inside. This is a story of how she found her way out of the ruts and into a life that she loves.

Lina also shares the valuable wisdom that she gathered about self-worth and self-love - the two things that were most impactful in her transformation.

Listen in for golden nuggets on how to get over “not good enough” and “not worthy” and into a place of total enough-ness and worthiness.

In Lina’s potent words:

“You Choose If You’re Worth Or Not”

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Key Nuggets:

Lina’s Story:

Lina spent much of her life seeking happiness - she lived a life that looked great on the outside but misaligned on the inside. She was uncomfortable and felt like she just didn’t fit. She found herself in this rut more than once in her life! She found what she was looking for when she turned toward self inquiry and looked into self-worth and self-love.

Getting Out Of A Rut

Once Lina realized that she as living a life of expectations, she started to make changes to get out of that rut including moving from Columbia to Australia. She also realized that she was focusing on trying to fix her weaknesses rather than build her strengths. That realization also helped her get out of the rut. Other things that she did to move forward include:

• Asking herself the transformational question “What do I want to create?”

• Asking friends for feedback to figure out her strengths. They helped provide a helpful objective view for her own blindspots.

  • These breadcrumbs lead her to counseling

• Dived into self inquiry and challenged her own limiting beliefs

• Learned to move out of her thinking mind and into her emotions

Learning to accept yourself and be comfortable in your own skin

Lina developed self worth when she:

• Stopped living by other people’s expectations

• Stopped looking for approval by collecting a bunch of certifications. She leaned into her own skills and trusted that it was good enough.

You’re Enough

Whatever you’re creating in the world at this moment, is perfect. You’re enough.

Lina felt good enough when she:

• Gave herself permission to feel everything that she did about herself

• Knew her strengths (it’s always been there, but are you ready to see it)

• Got back in touch with her inner self

• Asked herself “What do I want to create”

You choose if you’re worthy or not

• Start where you are and use what you have, knowing that it’s enough

• Use the resources that you have and do what you can

• Feel the fear but do it anyway

• Do something to move toward your better life every single day!

Philosophy for living a life you love:

Everything begins within yourself.  The relationship that you have with yourself is the relationship that you have with everything. Have the best relationship that you can with yourself and then from there, you’ll affect everyone outside of you.

One of Your Biggest Lessons So Far:

“We’re all an original so don’t die as a copy”

What is one nugget of wisdom that you would share with fellow seekers who are on this journey of growth and transformation?

You are already who you’re looking for.  You are who you are and that’s enough.

“The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are” – Joseph Campbell

Links:

If you have any questions for Melanie or want to learn more, connect with her through:

Website: https://about.me/linacarvajal

Instagram: @micoach.lina

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lina-carvajal-552971a/

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Episode 88: Are You Breathing Correctly? Functional Breathing Can Reduce Stress, Anxiety & Pain with Marco Tesi

“You can change your whole life with your breath”

I couldn’t agree more with the statement above! In yoga, we refer to breath as pranayam. Translated from sanskrit it means “life force”, which makes absolute sense as our breath, in essence, is our life force. Stop breathing and you stop living.

The way I’ve taught my students about the importance of breath in class is that the simple act of changing your breath can alter your entire physiology (body response) which in turn changes the way you feel > your thoughts > beliefs > actions > and ultimately your life because your life is made up of the actions, beliefs and thoughts that you create. Lengthen your breathe to soothe your nervous system, release the tension from your body and make better choices. Fragment your breath and you’ll create more anxiety and stress in your body.

In this episode, we get to talk to Marco Tesi about the epic power of breath and how to use it to reduce stress, anxiety and pain. He approaches the topic from a Sports Science background which is exciting because he rounds out what yogis have known about breath for centuries with the physiology and functionality of it all. It just make so much sense when he explains it! Marco shares so many important nuggets that need to be applied for our lives for better living. For example, it’s all about functionality and balance! Short breaths can save your life or they can give you a panic attack. It all depends on what you’re doing. Our body system isn’t rigid, it’s meant to flow and pivot with whatever situation is currently facing us. Okay, before I spoil it all, plug in those earbuds and listen in!

Marco is the creator of Respiro Breathing technique and has helped over a hundred people overcome chronic pain, autoimmune diseases, anxiety and other challenges through breathing techniques.

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Key Nuggets:

Importance of Breath

Breath is the bridge between your body and your mind. It affects the mechanical body (ex. help with posture, emotional body (activating different areas of your brain) and physiological body (can actually change the chemistry of your blood)

Based on this, breath is the connector of all parts of you

Chemistry of Breathing For Stress & Anxiety

The way you breathe can actually change the chemistry of your blood. Contrary to what you might think, more oxygen doesn’t mean that it’s better. It’s about the balance of oxygen intake and carbon dioxide removal. An imbalance can cause harmful outcomes like acidosis or panic attacks.

In a nutshell: short, fast breathing that feels like you’re never getting enough air is not good for a body and is usually an effect of chronic stress.

Functional Breathing

It’s all depends on the context. For example, hyperventilation is great for if you’re in a real danger or doing strenuous activity because it helps match your real physical demands to what the body needs (ex. doing sprints on a treadmill = need oxygen).

Hyperventilation is bad for you if it’s a result of chronic stress and you’re hyperventilating even as you try to go to bed.

Our body has been made to oscillate between high to low – just don’t get stuck.

Breathing Technique

Always let it be functional - practice by placing your hands on ribs and belly to sense what your natural rhythm of breathing is. Changes are made from there and it all depends on what you want to use your breath for. It’s like how you use your voice - raising it if you’re doing something like giving a presentation and lowering if you’re in a library.

Breathe through your nose because your nose hairs filter for you affects the tone of your airways.

Snoring and sleep apnea are results of dysfunctional breathing.  Mouth breathing creates loss of tone in airways.

One of Your Biggest Lessons So Far:

Learn to inhabit your body again because your body holds the tools for whatever you’re dealing with. It will allow you to modulate and reframe the perceptions you have now.

What is one nugget of wisdom that you would share with fellow seekers who are on this journey of growth and transformation?

Work on yourself first and get experience. It takes courage to try. Find the art in whatever your work is and don’t lean just on methodology.  In the end, trust yourself with your skills!

Links:

If you have any questions for Melanie or want to learn more, connect with her through:

Website:  https://www.marcotesi.com/about

Facebook:   Respiro by Marco Tesi

Instagram: : @respiro.marcotes

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Episode 87: Use Discomfort To Live A Life You Love with Melanie Scott

The entirety of this episode can be summed up with one simple quote from our conversation:

“Getting uncomfortable is the key to growth, change and fulfillment”

Melanie Scott, Intuitive Business Strategist, has a mission to empower women to wake up, connect to their truth, and to reflect to them what's possible. 

Her own story of how she came to live a life she loves revolves around discomfort.  Basically, she was feeling so uncomfortable living in the box of “should” that she made a drastic move to live in Italy.  It was there that she learned to get in touch with her true self.  She became aware, conscious and learned how to feel her emotions (skills that aren’t usually taught to us, certainly not in school).  In connecting to her soul (her true essence) she was able to find her calling.

There are SO many motivating messages in this episode!  With great passion, Melanie tells us to lean into the things that make us feel uncomfortable.  She challenges us to question what the discomfort is really about – is a bear literally chasing us and we should run or are we scared of being judged so we don’t show up for what we’re meant to do. 

“In order for transformation to occur, you need to go through it”.

We also talk about other important ingredients to create a life you love like energy, alignment, and self worth.  Plug in those earbuds!  Melanie’s exhilaration for getting out there and answering your call is contagious.  Use it to get motivated and take action!

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Key Nuggets:

• At our very core, we’re all seekers.

• To start doing what she loved, Melanie had to get out of living a life of “shoulds” and tune into awareness and consciousness. She had to learn to feel the emotions that were coming up for her and meet up with who she really was.

• Life is more than the box we’ve been conditioned to live in.

Ingredients to living a life you love:

• Energy is so powerful. It is consciousness and awareness and always in motion. We have the power to harness the energy around us to create a life we love.

• Creates a sense of alignment with your soul.

• Your soul is your essence, pure truth. Get in touch with that part of you and align all decisions to that and that’s what we all want in our lives.

• Once you know what alignment feels like then you know when you’re out of alignment (like when you cut out foods that are bad for your body and then it becomes apparent of how crappy it makes you feel when you ingest them again)

• Do what scares you

• Get out of the resistance and into flow

  • Challenge every resistance that you have and consider sincerely: what is this really about?

• Self worth: knowing that you’re worthy and needed. Trusting that you’re being led, believing in yourself and getting back to your sense of self.

  • Self worth is a muscle to be built.  It can be helpful to have somebody who can reflect your thoughts back to you in order to build this muscle.

The Path

• In order to experience transformation, remember that you actually need to step into it and get to the other side

• Hero’s Journey:

  • You hear the call and you either take action toward it or not (Most people don’t either because they fear the challenges or they start and then stop because it gets too hard)

  • When you follow the call, you meet all the parts of yourself that are the shadows and evolve into what you’re meant to be

  • Through the journey you find a place called bliss

• You have many journeys in one life

• When it comes to “the call”, it’s any sort of outlet that let’s you experience the creative outlet and connects to your soul

One of Your Biggest Lessons So Far:

When you answer the call and you follow it, it will never ever steer you wrong.  When you believe that life is truly working for you, you know that your heart and soul will never steer you wrong.

…and also…

“It's in the discomfort that we actually grow, evolve and have an impact. Leaning into the discomfort, even though it feels counterintuitive and something we are never taught, will change your life. In life and business if we move in the direction of the discomfort there will be massive movement and transformation and growth on the other side.”

What is one nugget of wisdom that you would share with fellow seekers who are on this journey of growth and transformation?

Carve out time to be with you.  Cut out technology and find silence, whether you meditate or take a walk, just have time to be with you.  5min-10min is enough!

Honor the downloads that come to you – have a journal ready to write it down.

Links:

If you have any questions for Melanie or want to learn more, connect with her through:

Website:  http://anintentionalbusiness.com/

Email:   melanie@anintentionalbusiness.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melaniescott1111/

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Episode 86: THE HUSTLE SERIES - Doing Business For A Social Cause. Becoming a Social Entrepreneur with Carlie Rioux

And for our final story….

A social entrepreneur is somebody who does business for a social cause. Their bottom line includes profit as well as the improvement upon the world, especially the lives of people who are connected to the cause.

Local YYC movement maker, Carlie Rioux, is a social entrepreneur who started an international fashion company to change the lives of hundreds of women. Using an innovative beach bag design to fuel the show, Carlie is supporting local artists, loving the environment and saving lives of women who are victims of human trafficking.

The driving force behind Carlie’s cause to keep women safe stems from a childhood experience in Tiajuana where she first witnessed what poverty looked like. It was further magnified through a number of traumatic experiences she experienced as a young adult.

We don’t talk about this social issue because it’s so uncomfortable but according to Carlie, human trafficking doesn’t exist only in developing countries. It also happens to be the fastest growing industry in Canada (yes, Canada! Seriously! My eyeballs could’ve dropped to the ground when I first heard. I had to ask her to confirm several times because I couldn’t believe it). Victims are usually in a physically, socially, or economically vulnerable position. When she read the research, a pivotal thought dawned on her:

“If she - a privileged citizen of a safe first world country, could be attacked by men multiple times in her life, then what about girls who live in more dangerous places? Who is looking out for them?”

She knew that she had to step up and do something. Through further research, Carlie learned that providing work for women who came from human trafficking was the best way to help them stay out of it. In our talk, Carlie share with us how she was able to step up for her cause and keep going despite imposter syndrome and a whole slew of other fears.

Listen in to see how this girl from the prairies created an international company that shines so bright for the world.  

PS. If you’re just joining in, this is an episode of the special mini series,The Hustle Series. September is like a second new year where we get to establish new routines, refresh goals and create new dreams. Taking full advantage of this new energy, fresh start vibe, I’ve collected stories of amazing individuals wh

o took the courage and leaped for their heart calling.  As a result, they're now making riveting impact on positive change around the world.

They tell us about what it really took to make their vision a success - triumphs, trials and everything in between. They share candidly about how they figured out their heart calling was in the first place and what they leaned on to get this far. We especially dive deep and get real about the challenges they’ve faced. Oftentimes, we hear success stories about how there was a challenge and then ta-da! they made it….but what happened in the middle? It’s the sticky part that’s the thick of it and where we can use the most support when going for these endeavors.

The times when things seem hopeless and we’re about to throw in the towel. Maybe you run out of money and you literally can’t pay the bills. How do you know if you should keep trying? How do you manage when you wake up feeling like everything is a complete wash?

I’m so grateful to these individuals who graciously share the sticky parts of their journey with us. We learn so much from hearing about their passion, will and deep sense of resolve to follow their heart calling. Of course, we celebrate their triumphs with them cheer them on as they keep on going!

For you, I hope that these stories can be your anchor and inspiration as you daringly go for your dreams!

If you haven’t caught the first three episodes yet, go and listen to it now!

Episode 83 with Lyndsay Morris who has started a movement to get mindfulness into schools across America.

Episode 84 with Mandy Balak who started a national movement across Canada to help entrepreneurial women Rise Up

Episode 85 with Ingrid Huffman who’s working fearlessly operates a healing ranch to help US veterans reconnect with their happiness

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Key Nuggets:

The Story:

When she was young, Carlie’s parents passed by Tijuana on their way to Disneyland to show her what different socioeconomic status’ looked like. Carlie noticed a little girl who was caring for her baby sister and selling roses on the side of the road. In that moment, a seed was planted that would change Carlie’s life forever. She was floored by the fact that while she and her brother were so lucky to go to Disneyland, there was this other little girl who was just trying to survive on the side of the road. The call to contribute to a social cause had been instilled.

This calling sat with her for a long time until the idea of the beach bag came along. In a nutshell:

• Came up with beach bag idea

• Interviewed 55 women and came up with design

• Failed

• Tried again

• More challenges

• International company

Biggest Challenges Along the Way and How You Got Through It

1. Wanting to contribute to this cause but not knowing how or where to start. Then one day the idea came naturally. Carlie’s mom helped come up with the idea of a beach bag. Well actually she was complaining about how beach bags really sucked because it’s just one big hole and the idea dawned on Carlie to innovate the design.

   The idea presented itself and Carlie was listening.

2. Not knowing anything about fashion. Unable to tell her polyester from cotton, Carlie had to somehow design an innovative beach bag. She got through it by doing what she does best - problem solving. She started with hiring a designer and got to work.

3. a.) Prototype was all wrong - it was nothing like she imagined. Even after spending so much money on creating it, she had to stay aligned to herself and muster up the gumption to change it.

   b.) This led to the night where she sat in her car until 1 am waiting for the new prototype to be finished. It was URGENT because she needed it for a trade show the next day. Instead of letting the fear get to her, she defaulted to the tool that she uses in the most dire times - thinking about what a great story/speech/talk it would make someday (and it worked out because it was a great story for this podcast!)

4. Being pushed to go bigger. She was advised at a startup workshop that she needed to go bigger. She took on that challenged and once again realigned herself to what she felt was true. Instead of just supporting villages, she also found space to support local artists. Instead of just a pretty beach bag, she found a way to make it eco friendly as well .

Lessons To Share

• Carlie got through all of her challenges because of her problem solving skills but also because she was deeply anchored to why she was doing all of this in the first place

• You have to trust your gut. When Carlie strayed from her vision, the energy fizzled from her business. When she realigned (ex. saying not to mass production in China and opting to support small villages instead) the inspiration came back (ex. idea to support local artists)

• Keep challenging yourself to see if you can do even more

• Helping people doesn’t have to look a certain way (ex. being a doctor, doing volunteer work…or anything else that you’ve associated with it). Don’t feel guilty if what you truly want to do doesn’t line up with what you have in your head as a commendable cause. Not everybody needs to be passionate about clean drinking water or building shelters in third world countries. Or in Carlie’s case, she didn’t want to keep her cause local and that’s okay! You need to follow what feels good for you and it will most certainly be helping somebody.

• Celebrate even your smallest wins

• If you’re scared, DO IT ANYWAY

• Learn to get comfortable with discomfort. If you’re doing anything worth doing, you’ll grow and in that growth there will be discomfort

Favorite Triumph

The moment her trust came through. She took her business plan to an entrepreneur friend to review, expecting to see red marks and questions returned, but instead he cut her a cheque to help her get the project off the ground. Working with so much faith and it worked!

What made your vision a success?

Problem solving – there was a problem, she didn’t know the answer so she researched, tested, researched and tried again. It’s about trial and error and she gave herself time and space to own that.

What’s your advice for others who are also trying to go for their dreams?

Pick your dream and get honest with yourself about how that life will look like.  Get hellbent on it then let it go.

If you’re not feeling scared, it’s not right.

Whatever that perfect life you have as a vision – chase it and chase it with everything that you have.

Your biggest lesson along the way:

 Get out of your own damn way.  There’s nothing ever an excuse or reason big enough to stop you from what you really want to do.  Stay dedicated.

What is one nugget of wisdom you would share with fellow seekers who are also on this journey of self discovery?

Surround yourself with bangin’ good people!  She’s really leveled up her friend group in her journey.  You need your tribe to lift you up during challenges. 

Links:

If you have any questions for Carlie or want to learn more, connect with her through:

Website: www.theacaye.com

Email: info@theacaye.com

Social: @theacaye

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Episode 85: THE HUSTLE SERIES - Follow Your Yes with Ingrid Huffman

Next, we have…..

Ingrid Huffman, founder of Blue Winds Dancing Ranch. After serving in both the US Navy and Army Nurse Corps, ingrid came to a point where her life just didn't work anymore.  She experienced PTSD and felt like she was “flapping in the wind”. All she knew was that she had a desire for something different...something more.  As she followed her yes's, she was guided to become a shaman and start a non profit Ranch where she helps veterans reconnect with themselves by connecting through nature.

Today she happily lives on a ranch with happy horses, goats, cows, ducks….and spends her time running programs to help veterans “re-member “ themselves. All Ingrid knew when she was younger was that she was called to be a nurse. Now she runs three separate businesses…or when it comes to Blue Winds Dancing Ranch, in her words “I’m not just starting a business, I’m starting a movement”.

In this episode, Ingrid shares the story of how she made this vision a success. One of the takeaways that most resonates with me is that she clearly sees how every single experience of her life has guided her to where she is now; and how she also got here by heeding to the yes’s that her intuition called out for.

Plug in those earbuds and listen in!

PS. If you’re just joining in, this is an episode of the special mini series,The Hustle Series. September is like a second new year where we get to establish new routines, refresh goals and create new dreams. Taking full advantage of this new energy, fresh start vibe, I’ve collected stories of amazing individuals who took the courage and leaped for their heart calling.  As a result, they're now making riveting impact on positive change around the world.

They tell us about what it really took to make their vision a success - triumphs, trials and everything in between. They share candidly about how they figured out their heart calling was in the first place and what they leaned on to get this far. We especially dive deep and get real about the challenges they’ve faced. Oftentimes, we hear success stories about how there was a challenge and then ta-da! they made it….but what happened in the middle? It’s the sticky part that’s the thick of it and where we can use the most support when going for these endeavors.

The times when things seem hopeless and we’re about to throw in the towel. Maybe you run out of money and you literally can’t pay the bills. How do you know if you should keep trying? How do you manage when you wake up feeling like everything is a complete wash?

I’m so grateful to these individuals who graciously share the sticky parts of their journey with us. We learn so much from hearing about their passion, will and deep sense of resolve to follow their heart calling. Of course, we celebrate their triumphs with them cheer them on as they keep on going!

For you, I hope that these stories can be your anchor and inspiration as you daringly go for your dreams!

If you haven’t caught the first episode yet, go and listen to it now! Episode 83 with Lyndsay Morris who has started a movement to get mindfulness into schools across America.

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Key Nuggets:

Challenges Along The Way And How You Got Through It

The hardest part about starting Bluewinds Dancing Ranch was to keep going. In the first ranch, Ingrid found herself cold, without heat and wondering why in the world she was doing this. The thing that kept her going was the strong anchor to her why, which you can hear the passion behind when she talks about it.

Lessons To Share

Everyone’s story brings them to where they are now

If you’re going through a challenging time, remember that “this too shall pass”

When she felt lost, she found herself seeking answers.. She didn’t know where home was and when she realized home was where her soul was, this energized and anchored her reason for doing what she does

Favorite Triumph

When she sees the recovery of her clients.

What are 3 things you can share with people who are ready to go after their vision?

Get to know your story (because your story has brought you to where you are now)

Have a solid Why for doing what you’re doing

Say Yes to your yes’s!

Your biggest lesson along the way:

Embracing her shadows and realizing that she can be the alchemist that can turn the shadows into gold.

Loving herself

What is one nugget of advice you would share with fellow seekers who are also on this journey of self discovery?

You are a divine miracle and you can become a cosmic collaborator so that you can live out your perfect vision of health and wealth

Links:

If you have any questions for Mandy or want to learn more, connect with her through:

Website: bluewindsdancing.org, or bwdranch.org.

Email: ingrid@bluewindsdancing.org, blueheronwarrior@gmail, bluewindsdancing3@gmai

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Episode 84: THE HUSTLE SERIES - Fail Faster + Grow with Mandy Balak

Next, we have…..

Mandy Balak, founder of YYC Date Night and Ace Class, spends her days both saving relationships from dull monotonous routines AND building an empire of women who rise together. With presence in six major cities across Canada, Ace Class has built a brilliantly bright community where female leaders grow and thrive together.

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

When I first learned about Ace Class, I was drawn to it like a moth to a flame. Bright, beautiful and refreshingly strong women getting together - YES!

It’s awe inspiring to witness the end product of Mandy’s visions, but what’s even more fascinating is how this vision came alive and stayed alive! I’m so excited for you to listen to Mandy’s story as she courageously and vulnerably (Brene Brown fans will know these two absolutely go together and we totally talk about that in this episode) takes us through the ups and downs in her journey. Included is the story of how she figured her way out of a life that she was unhappy in and into one that she actually desired; her major failures and how she got through the sticky middle; and her big lesson about vulnerability.

Plug in those earbuds and get ready to re-invigorate your kick ass vibes!

PS. If you’re just joining in, this is the second episode of the special mini series,The Hustle Series. September is like a second new year where we get to establish new routines, refresh goals and create new dreams. Taking full advantage of this new energy, fresh start vibe, I’ve collected stories of amazing individuals who took the courage and leaped for their heart calling.  As a result, they're now making riveting impact on positive change around the world.

They tell us about what it really took to make their vision a success - triumphs, trials and everything in between. They share candidly about how they figured out their heart calling was in the first place and what they leaned on to get this far. We especially dive deep and get real about the challenges they’ve faced. Oftentimes, we hear success stories about how there was a challenge and then ta-da! they made it….but what happened in the middle? It’s the sticky part that’s the thick of it and where we can use the most support when going for these endeavors.

The times when things seem hopeless and we’re about to throw in the towel. Maybe you run out of money and you literally can’t pay the bills. How do you know if you should keep trying? How do you manage when you wake up feeling like everything is a complete wash?

I’m so grateful to these individuals who graciously share the sticky parts of their journey with us. We learn so much from hearing about their passion, will and deep sense of resolve to follow their heart calling. Of course, we celebrate their triumphs with them cheer them on as they keep on going!

For you, I hope that these stories can be your anchor and inspiration as you daringly go for your dreams!

If you haven’t caught the first episode yet, go and listen to it now! Episode 83 with Lyndsay Morris who has started a movement to get mindfulness into schools across America.

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Resources:

My interview with Mandy on Ace Talks - Core Desired Feelings

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Key Nuggets:

The Story

Shortly after moving to a new city (Calgary), Mandy found herself out of alignment with herself and living a life that she didn’t like. She had moved to Calgary for her boyfriend and didn’t have a network of friends in the city. She was introduced to a few new people and tried to fit in but it just wasn’t her people and she felt inauthentic. She wasn’t thrilled with her mostly male dominant finance career in the oil & gas industry either. So she started making changes - opting out of her friend group because it didn’t feel right and then taking up a serving job and became a spin class instructor instead because it felt better. One nudge at a time, she followed what lit her up until one day the idea for YYC Date Night was born. And then eventually the idea of Ace Class was born. She found her people and continues to build a strong community that completely lights her up. There’s definitely ups and downs in between, which Mandy shares with us.

Challenges Along The Way And How You Got Through It

There were many discouragements and failures along the way for Mandy including people cutting down her idea, losing $50K, and having to close an entire company altogether. There was a point in time when Mandy had just broken up her relationship, lost money on a business she tried, and her friends and family back home in Vancouver kept telling her to just come home. It didn’t seem like there was much here for her. And then there was another time when she had to close down her business and lay off all of her employees.

What kept her going was:

• trust in her intuition

• community and finding connection with others

• Knowing that the target can change shape and persevering in light of that

Lessons To Share

There’s more that connects us than divides us.

Without the failures and challenges, she wouldn’t be where she is in her life today because they helped her grow.

At the end of the day, whatever you do, you need to be in alignment with yourself.

Sometimes it’s easier to figure out what doesn’t light you up to help lead you to what actually does.

It’s never going to be perfect. It’s better to get it out there than not at all. Fail faster to grow faster.

“done is better than perfect” - Sheryl Sandberg

Be brave, be vulnerable. Ask for help and lean on your support when you need it.

Most unexpected thing about taking a leap toward your dreams?

Everytime she got a “dream” she realized it was just a goal because it all changes as you go.

What made your vision a success?

Amazing mentors and women who opened up doors for her. “it’s not often somebody sends and elevator back down”. This experience fueled her motivation for Ace Class and to create a community of women who thrive together.

Many shares her tips on how to find a mentor.

Also, keeping up the mindset with support is key - aside from a mentor, maybe get a coach. Know which teachers you like to learn from and the books/podcasts that you like to hear for inspiration.

The Philosophy That You Now Live LIfe With:

If it’s not a Fuck Yes, It’s a No. Follow that intuition everytime. Whatever you do, you have to love it!

Resources:

My interview with Mandy on Ace Talks - Core Desired Feelings

Links:

If you have any questions for Mandy or want to learn more, connect with her through:

Website: www.theaceclass.com

Social Media: @theaceclass_ @mandybalak

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Episode 83: THE HUSTLE SERIES - Creating A Movement For World Peace with Lyndsay Morris

Can you believe it, we’re already into the last two weeks of August! I’m not ready for the summer fun to be over but at the same time I’m excited for the Fresh Start vibes that are upon us.

September is like a second new year where we get to establish new routines, refresh goals and create new dreams. Taking full advantage of this new energy, fresh start vibe, I’ve created a special series for you! In this The Hustle series, I’m releasing one story each week from now until September. These are stories of amazing individuals who took the courage and leaped for their heart calling.  As a result, they're now making riveting impact on positive change around the world.  

They tell us about what it really took to make their vision a success - triumphs, trials and everything in between. They share candidly about how they figured out their heart calling was in the first place and what they leaned on to get this far. We especially dive deep and get real about the challenges they’ve faced. Oftentimes, we hear success stories about how there was a challenge and then ta-da! they made it….but what happened in the middle? It’s the sticky part that’s the thick of it and where we can use the most support when going for these endeavors.

The times when things seem hopeless and we’re about to throw in the towel. Maybe you run out of money and you literally can’t pay the bills. How do you know if you should keep trying? How do you manage when you wake up feeling like everything is a complete wash?

I’m so grateful to these individuals who graciously share the sticky parts of their journey with us. We learn so much from hearing about their passion, will and deep sense of resolve to follow their heart calling. Of course, we celebrate their triumphs with them cheer them on as they keep on going!

For you, I hope that these stories can be your anchor and inspiration as you daringly go for your dreams!

Lyndsay Morris kicks off the first of this series

Lyndsay founder of Generation Wellness, creator of The Mindful Student Online Platform and the host of the Wellness Warrior Show. She’s committed to whole child education and teaching peace around the world through mindfulness practices, cutting-edge social/emotional techniques and fun, interactive activities.

She started off as a 4th grade teacher, then school counselor and eventually realized that the school system was missing a huge part of wellness for children. The system builds academics and achievements but doesn’t teach anything by way of how to be happy or how to find intrinsic motivation. Lyndsay saw a need to include the mental and emotional well-being as a child. She’s created a whole movement of wellness practices for school to help children find peace! The goal of Generation Wellness is to be in every single school in North America by 2023!

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Key Nuggets:

The Story

Lyndsay Morris who was a 4th grade teacher and school counselor realized the need for education that takes the whole child into account. Not just academics and achievements but mental, emotional and mindfulness too so that they can learn how to be happy and find intrinsic motivation.

In 2014, Lyndsay started a movement to cultivate well-being to students and Generation Wellness was born.

Challenges Along The Way And How You Got Through It

When she first started there was a lot of outside noise and everybody seemed to have an opinion. “why are you throwing away your degree?” “you know few businesses make it to even year 5” “why would you leave your secure job?” - she overcame that by anchoring herself to her why and staying in alignment with herself

Spread herself so thin for the first two years and really had to learn to focus on just 1-3 things in order to make progress

To learn to appreciate the process by using Shawn Anchor’s Happiness Habits (gratitude, doubler, movement, acts of kindness and stillness). Lyndsay explains in detail in the episode.

Her biggest challenge was when she was experiencing much pressure from her personal life and she came to a point where she didn’t even have money to fix the washer. She thought she’d hit rock bottom and that she’d have to get a job again. Lyndsay shares how she managed her way through this sticky part.

Lessons To Share

We think that happiness is on the other side of achievement but in reality you need to learn to appreciate the process

Working hard is not the solution (hard lesson learned from ending up in many hospital beds) - find self-care and don’t let yourself burnout

Decide how you’re going to show up for what you’re called to do

You need to believe in yourself before anybody else believes in you!

You don’t need to know everything at once, you just need to know where to go

Know your why, your intentions and what the world needs

Favorite Triumph

Favorite memories all end up being the small moments like the moment she walks off the stage and people tell her they really needed to hear her message.

Most unexpected thing you learned about starting your business?

There is no finish line which is why you need to fall in love with the process

Intention + Heart Print + Aligned Committed Action = Results

What made your vision a success?

A strong why, mentors, loving your mistakes, loving yourself, loving the process and having a support system for when you’re in the valleys

One of Your Biggest Lessons So Far:

“Fall in love with the process. Most of life is the process, not the moment in which you speak in front of thousands, meet the love of your life, hit that income goal, travel to the place that’s been on your bucket list. These are moments. However, most of life is the journey in between the moments. Business is the ultimate personal development course- it’s daily, hands-on in the trenches. Fall in love with the mistakes. Fall in love with getting back up. Fall in love with learning. Fall in love with growing. Fall in love with the excitement of new. Fall in love with doing the best you know how to do. Fall in love with the people who you connect with. Fall in love with creating. Fall in love with igniting your light to illuminate the world.”

What is one nugget of wisdom that you would share with fellow seekers who are on this journey of growth and transformation?

“ “You always have options.”

Delete all reasons why it won’t work. Be open to help, resources, abundance and everything you need for massive positive impact + income. You always have options.

“You must find the light in you, so that you, in your own way can illuminate the world.”

Get super clear on who you are AND what you desire for self, friends/family and the world. Stay around your sweet spots and in alignment with your intention. Every choice you make matters. If you’re not making choices that align to your intention/heart print, you will burn out. Awareness of who you are and what gifts you offer is key.”

“Education is not the learning of many facts but the training of the mind to think” – Einstein

Train new neural pathways for happiness and dissolve limiting beliefs.

Links:

If you have any questions for Lyndsay or want to learn more, connect with her through:

Website & Live Training App: https://www.generationwellness.com

Private Facebook Group:   https://www.facebook.com/groups/generationwellness
Facebook + Instagram: @generationwellness

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Episode 82: How To Create Habits That Actually Stick with Elizabeth Sherman

Here’s a question - why is it so hard to develop good habits like eating healthy even when we know what’s good for us? Or even more intriguing - what makes some behaviors stick even when it gets hard (ex. eating healthy even while on vacation…that’s some major willpower) versus habits that slide right off at the first sight of difficulty?

Elizabeth Sherman, Executive Health Coach, has been pondering this question for the last decade. Over the past 12 years, she’s helped hundreds of people achieve optimal health for them through staying consistent with the basics, getting a little bit better every day, and having self-compassion on those days when we thing we ‘should’ be more. Lucky for us, she’s here to share her findings with

with us in this episode! The topic of health & fitness, and in specific, healthy habits first dawned on her after her mother had passed away from breast cancer. Elizabeth was motivated to understand how she could stay as healthy as possible. As she puts it, she thought that

“once I found that magic pill, everything would be easy”

Sorry to break it to you, but there’s no magic pill. But what she found does come in as a close second! She discovered that the brain (mindset) is crucial when it comes to being healthy. We can extend that into something even more concrete and say that forming healthy habits is all about how we wire our brain.

While our examples revolve around habits for health, you can take the principles that Elizabeth shares and extend it into any good habit that you want to develop - relationships, work or self care. Here’s my take on habits:

• Good habits for health are crucial to every part of your life because it’s one of the drivers of your energy. Energy is one of the most important commodities that you have so do everything that you can to keep it up. Without energy, you end up as a potato! You feel slow, foggy, and unmotivated to create a life you love. With energy, you can take life by the horns and go live vibrantly!

• Creating any good habit will help you live in ease and flow! Imagine all the brainpower you save when you just get up and workout in the morning without having to think about it. Or that you get up and slip right into meditation and start the day off just the way you want. Even simpler yet, maybe it’s something like taking out the trash every time you leave the house - like a well oiled machine. No pep talk needed, no extra energy spent on remembering…then forgetting…then berating yourself for forgetting….

I used myself as the guinea pig with my issue of not being able to wake up early even though I really want to. Elizabeth quickly revealed a few possible limiting beliefs and helped me flip it - a technique that you can apply too.

So in summary, this episode is all about setting habits that stick. Elizabeth tells us why sheer willpower or even setting our environment up for success (ex. laying out your gym clothes the night before) isn’t the key. She shares the number one most important thing when it comes to actually making a habit work. I can’t wait for you to listen in - what she shares will make your life a lot easier!

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Key Nuggets:

What makes some behaviors stick even when it’s hard (ex. eating healthy even on vacation) and some that don’t?

•    Identity, limiting beliefs & belief systems

Why are some habits easy for us to stick with but others are not?

• For example, why is it easier to exercise regularly but so hard to eat healthy regularly (or vice versa)

Elizabeth shares with us a pyramid that describes the layers of habit forming. From the top:

• Environment - the physical things can you do to set yourself up for success ex. Put out your workout clothes, only have healthy foods around the house

  • Problem: When we’re thrown off our game (ex. you miss your Sunday groceries or you have a stressful day) it’s easy to blow them off

• Habits & Skills – pegging something to something else

  ex. If you want to start taking vitamins then peg it to something you already do daily like brushing your teeth. 

  • Problem: Once again, habit falls away if stressed out

• Abilities

• Beliefs & Values

• Identity – the most important layer.  Elizabeth explains in more detail but essentially you become what you think you are. 

How do you know if your identity is holding you back? 

• You can identify your identity through noticing resistance. Ex. If you’re wanting to go for a walk but you end up watching a Friends rerun, why is that?

• Elizabeth actually takes my trouble forming a habit of waking up early in the morning and workshops it with me. That was really cool because we got curious about possible beliefs like:

  • What do I think about people who wake up at 6am?

  • What are my beliefs about people who sleep early?

• You can work through your own limiting beliefs by:

  • Figuring out what belief about the habit you’re forming bothers you (ex. I believed that people who sleep early are boring)

  • Reflect on the domino beliefs that come with that

  • Flip the belief (ex. find examples of people who sleep early who aren’t boring)

Why affirmations actually work

3 things to do right now that you can do to start living healthier:

1. Start small – start so small that you can’t fail.

2. Try to be 1% better everyday – do a little more than you did the day before

3.. Do what you can with what you can – we put pressure on ourselves to be overnight successes. Relieve yourself of that pressure

One of Your Biggest Lessons So Far:

The reason why diets and exercises don’t work for us is because you need to go through the mindset shift to create lasting change. (You can extend this concept into any habit you’re trying to form)

What is one nugget of wisdom that you would share with fellow seekers who are on this journey of growth and transformation?

It takes time to unlearn years of programming that we learned. Realize that as we’re creating new habits, we will backslide.  Approach it with compassion!          

Links:

If you have any questions for Elizabeth or want to learn more, connect with her through:

Website: www.elizabethsherman.com

Email:   eliz@elizabethsherman.com
Facebook: www.facebookcom/totalhealthbyeliz

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/esherman68/

Instagram: www.instagram.com/esherman68

Twitter: www.twitter.com/esherman

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethsherma

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Episode 81: Why You Should Do Kundalini Yoga with Victoria Amore

There are many tools and practices out there that help us understand ourselves through our mind and bodies, but not very many that can help us understand ourselves through our subtle energy body. This is where Kundalini Yoga comes in! This practice is all about aligning your energy body so that you can flow as a whole being. When you get to know yourself through your energy, you increase your capability to process emotions. You also have one more access point to understand where you may be depleted or blocked. Personally, I’ve never felt a shift so strongly

as I did when I (accidentally) took a Kundalini class at the Bali Festival. I’d never felt strongly emotional during a yoga class before but at that moment when we let the vibration of our collective mantra chanting sink in, I couldn’t help but let a tear roll down my cheek because that feeling of “oneness” was so strong. That’s when I started to get curious about Kundalini…

In this episode, we get to learn from Kundalini Yoga and Meditation teacher + Gong Sound Healer, Victoria Amore. Her passion is bringing the ancient technology and wisdom into our modern lives.. Obsessed with the Moon and the power of being a woman, Victoria’s deeply spiritual lifestyle has placed her in the presence, teaching and learning alongside some of the worlds renown spiritual teachers from many linages in India, LA, Peru and across Europe- all of which is intuitively woven into her teachings. 

Victoria had a similar bumpy experience with Kundalini in that she went into her first class expecting one thing but walked out with a completely different outcome. It was a good thing because it’s what’s led her to share this practice with so many people today! In specific, Victoria talks to us about the Kundalini energies which also includes the chakras. We learn about the benefits of this practice on an energetic & practical level.

Okay, plug in those earbuds! You may just get inspired to try something new ;)

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Key Nuggets:

Benefits of Kundalini

Kundalini yoga teaches you to get to know yourself through your energy. Understanding energies and breath has helped Victoria with her anxiety.  Instead of a bad day or week she only has a bad hour because she has learned to process her emotions through this practice.

Victoria emphasizes that the benefits of this practice shows itself most powerfully during times of hardships because it can help you get past your downs.

To start a Kundalini practice, just show up, be open and surrender. 

Kundalini Energies

Kundalini is all about aligning our energy body so that we can flow as a whole being. Simple alignment starts with breath.  A mindful breath can immediately bring in calm and get you tuned into your body. As the energies align you may experience many sensations including tingling or seeing colors.

As we continue to talk about the Kundalini energies, Victoria explains that they come up through the base of the spine and moves up the chakras. Since chakras are such an important part of this system and I haven’t done an actual episode on this yet, Victoria takes the time to briefly bring us through (see below).

In Kundalini yoga, you usually practice based on a chakra ex. there could be a whole class based on the throat chakra. As you get to know your energy body,  you’ll being to know which space you need to work on and then use the kriyas and mantras to help you align the energy in that area.

I inquire about why we need to shift our energies in the first pace (ie. why do our energies get blocked) and it all goes back to the negative experiences that we encounter along our journey that have been jarred up and hasn’t had a chance to release.

 Chakras

Victoria gives us a quick run down of our chakra system, which is essentially a map of our energy body.

Chakras: Root, Sacral, Solar Plexus, Heart, Throat, Third Eye, Crown and in Kundalini there’s an eighth point which is the aura.

The root chakra is particularly important because it’s our foundation. If it’s not strong then it’s like building a house on sand.

Victoria identifies the root and crown chakra as the most important points when you are trying to gain a sense of self. Together, these two chakras help you understand Who Am I.

A mantra to help balance yourself: sa ta na maa

This mantra represents infinity - life, death and rebirth. During our conversation, we’re also given hand movements to go with this mantra for max wellbeing

One of Your Biggest Lessons So Far:

“To be unapologetically myself.  To find out who that is and be it in every moment”

What is one nugget of wisdom that you would share with fellow seekers who are on this journey of growth and transformation?

Honor the pause.  Take a pause and give yourself however long it takes!

Resources:

For more about Kundalini Yoga, listen to Episode 67: "Weird" Practices in Kundalini Yoga Explained with Sat Shakti Kaur

 Links:

If you have any questions for Victoria or want to learn more, connect with her through:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vkundalini/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victoria_kundalini/

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Episode 80: What's Meant For You Will Find You with Mariaestela Gullestrap

One fascinating inquiry that guides my curiosity and was an essential building block that led to the creation of this podcast is:

How do we end up doing the work that we do?

In specific, what I really mean to explore is

How do people end up doing work that totally lights them up?

How can we live lives that feel purposeful?

What can we do to ensure that we take our right path...the best path for ourselves?

I’ve been completely captivated by these questions ever since the first time I ever felt “stuck” in life. They seemed more reachable than the sometimes intimidating and seemingly amorphous existential questions of “why are we here?” or “why am I here?” (although these are fun to contemplate too). In the end, these question are in and of the same as there is only one essential truth. But there are many paths to get here and at times the initial questions just seem more palpable than the last.

Good thing that Spiritual Business Coach, Mariaestela Gullestrap is on the same wavelength! In this episode we explore these questions and Mariaestela lends the wisdom that she’s collected from her own journey into this inquiry. One of my biggest takeaways from our conversation is that we can be prescribed a hundred thousand million kajillion famillion strategies/habits/skills to “get it right” but at the end of the day, it boils down to a very simple piece of knowledge that we already know at some level or another.

Live your life. Choose love.

Live your life. Whether you like it or not, your life is already unfolding. Instead of worrying and fighting and trying to control it to look a certain way, just try going with it. See what happens. It’s already started and it’s already bringing you to where you need to be.

Choose love. Make the choices that make you feel light and expansive - that’s the real you. Anything that shrinks and suffocates you is not you.

Damn. As always, the most powerful wisdom is the simplest (I didn’t say easiest ;))

Okay plug in those earbuds and listen away! Maybe have a journal ready, there are some mighty nuggets you might want to remember!

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Key Nuggets: 

You don’t find your purpose, your purpose finds you.  You just need to be ready to hear it and willing to listen

• What Mariaestela has learned from her own journey is that it’s all about the continuous practice of surrender and that there can be so many lessons in the darkness. Sometimes the pain becomes so great that it’s easier to actually surrender to something bigger

• Surrender is an internal process but it also has an external result

• In her own story, she realizes that she’s been preparing all her life for the work that truly lights her up. The preparation came naturally as it has been in being an older sister and the friend that everyone confided in

How to find balance between the seen and unseen (energy and concrete action)

• When you feel resistance, give yourself some space

• Take what serves and leave the rest. What resonates with your truth?  That’s your guide.  We keep looking outside of ourselves but you already know that the answer is inside

• There’s a moment when it clicks! Don’t think that you have to max out your credit card or jump off planes.  Live your life and it will unfold!

• And when in doubt always default to the mantra of “choosing love”. In fact, a practice that Mariaestela suggests is to put a reminder alarm in your phone to CHOOSE LOVE. When she initiated this practice for herself, everything changed

Spirituality

• Spirituality for For Mariaestela is everything that can support you in lifting the veil. “God is one song but there are many DJs”.  Basically the vast and expansive universe. Her spiritual practice is truth, her values, her practices, faith , beliefs, how she shows up in her world.

• We’re all weaved from this source of love and there is something bigger than us

Is it fear or love?

• Inspired action: being willing to listen to what you’re being called forth to do and then being wiling to do it.  Take one tiny step at a time knowing that you expand in love –then next thing will show up, next thing will show up…

• It’s about the activation because if you don’t then the shadow self starts coming up

• Answer for yourself: How do you tap into the right energy?

One of Your Biggest Lessons So Far:

“Love is The Way - not in the airy fairy, unicorns, rainbows and butterflies kinda way, although who doesn’t love unicorns! LOL I’m a firm believer in expansion from a space of love, meaning that as we review and build our day, our lives, our businesses, really anything - make sure it’s done in a way that uplifts you and propels you forward rather than drag you down, which doesn’t serve you nor those you’re here to serve”

What is one nugget of wisdom that you would share with fellow seekers who are on this journey of growth and transformation?

“Love is the way.  It’s better to take one small step than to plan out a hundred.  Start where you are and do what you can with what you have.  Trust that you already have everything that you need to take the next step right now.”

Resources:

Podcast episode of Magdalene Voices that we talked about: Visibility and the Witch Wound

Mariaesta’s Freebie: Divine Clarity & Inspired Action

A Course In Miracle’s Begginer’s Guide

Links:

If you have any questions for Janice or want to learn more, connect with her through:

Website: www.mariaestela.com

Email:  hello@mariaestela.com

Social Media: @xomariaestela

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