Hey lovelies,
So a while back I had the pleasure of interviewing Catherine Spriggs, a Purpose & Lifestyle Coach based in New York City. Her purpose is all things related to wellness, coaching and empowering women to find meaning in their professional lives.
Together we dive into all things holistic including some benefits of acupuncture therapy meditation and journaling. As well as ways to boost your self-confidence and self-esteem manage stress depression anxiety relationships to cultivate more self love and a growth mindset.
You can listen to the full interview below and be sure to follow Catherine on IG @HealingwithHolistics and find more information on her website.
Don’t forget to comment below and let us know what you think about this holistic conversation.
Reminder this blog is not a replacement for speaking with a licensed mental health professional or therapist.
You can find the full Transcription of this conversation audio linked below.
TRANSCRIPTION
Destiny Harris(Interviewer) AKA Educatedblackqueen: “So my first question to you cause I know that I was reading through your website and I saw that you’re from New York.”
“And that you kinda had your own I guess breakthrough moment where you realized that like the way you were living, you know that there were some changes that need to occur and you wanted to find more of a holistic way of being.”
“So you found your purpose in coaching wellness and empowering women to Linda just find that in their own personal lives and professional lives as well. Which I think is just really cool.”
I wanted to just ask if you could first talk about that like your experience finding a holistic way of being and what that really looked like for you?
Catherine Spriggs (Interviewee)- Holistic Lifestyle Coach: “Absolutely. So I actually moved to New York three years ago, I’m actually from the Midwest. If you think about the Midwest it’s kind of completely different from New York you know.”
“When you think about New York it’s kind of hustle and bustle, it’s go-go-go and when I came here you know I was like very overwhelmed. You know it was a new city for me”
“I came here and I was working in the HR Industry and I took a job that I completely hated and I was burnout every single day. I was working 12 hour days. I was waking up super unfulfilled. I was very unhappy and I noticed it bleeding into other parts of my life.”
“So I moved in with my boyfriend and I would come home every single day and I would talk to him about my job. I would tell him how unhappy I was. I started not taking care of myself.”
“So I have always been involved in sports and as soon as I got to New York and took on this job, I stopped working out. I did not eat right. It affected my sleep cause I was always stressed out and overwhelmed with work so then I didn’t get a good amount of sleep either. So I noticed it trickling into other areas of my life but I didn’t realize that at the time.”
“And so I just kept trekking on with life and finally I was like ‘I can’t do this job anymore’ so I quit. I went into another job and it was the same thing. So I job hopped a couple different times and finally I said I can’t do this anymore. I’m just not passionate about this and I’d just wake everyday just super unfulfilled and depressed and empty almost inside.”
“Finally a little bit before the pandemic I said enough is enough, I don’t want to do this anymore and I started brainstorming what other things I’m passionate about.”
“And wellness came to mind and I’ve always tried to live a healthier lifestyle like prior to me moving to New York. I would always be that nurturing person for my friends. I would always give them advice. They would always come to me like just for my thoughts. They actually called me mom.”
“Like they would look up to me just as like this mother and so I always tried to live this healthier lifestyle for myself. And so I was like I definitely want to do something within the wellness industry but I didn’t know what exactly.”
“So I continued to brainstorm, and I took actually this career personality finder quiz. It actually gave me a lot of my strengths and challenges and this light bulb moment kinda went off for me.”
“And I started doing research and I came across this holistic wellness coaching certification with the IWP which I’m doing right now. It talked about the holistic approach to looking at life and I was just like OMG YES THIS IS IT!”
“I didn’t really need to look at other certifications or other outlets. But I did anyways because I just wanted to make sure that I was making the right decision and I just kept coming back to nope the holistic wellness certification, the IWP is the one I want.”
“It was the most expensive one but I knew that I would be getting my money’s worth with it. I knew that I would be educating myself and getting everything I need the support and everything. So I signed up for it and now I’ve been seven months into getting my certification.”
“I’m literally a couple weeks away from getting certified which I’m super excited about. But to answer your question what does living this holistic lifestyle means to me, it’s really looking at your lifestyle and going what is out of balance for me?”
“And that’s kinda what I did for myself. I noticed that my purpose for example was out of balance. Right because I was waking up everyday feeling empty inside, unfulfilled and then I noticed it leaking into other areas. Right with my relationship with my boyfriend and then with myself and then my sleep.”
“So we can kinda look at the holistic approach as like a wheel, there’s twelve elements. So not just your career, not just your relationships, your body, your rest, the water you’re drinking, the food that you’re eating and putting into your body, the air, the sun.”
“All of these twelve elements make up a person and you can kind of tell what’s out of balance for me. If one portion of your life is out of balance it’s likely affecting other areas. So that’s kinda like what this holistic approach is, it’s looking at not just your body you know working out but what other elements are causing you to be out of balance.”
DH: “Right, I think that’s a really interesting way to look at it cause I hadn’t thought about it as a wheel. There are so many areas of your life where that can be affected without you even realizing it.”
“I think you know now I’m starting to kind of see those connections more. I think because before covid even when I was on campus and I was working and doing classes full time and apart of other organizations it was always like go-go-go.”
“And I was just doing things and it never really liked dawned on me that this is like affecting the way I’m sleeping. This is affecting what I eat you know if I’m rushing just grab a meal real quick, you know this affects my social life as well. So it really does tie into everything.”
“And when I came home it was like everything kinda paused and it was almost like shocking cause your just so used to doing things. It was almost like my mom was like telling me like it’s okay like you can be calm now.”
“You know just be in the moment. It really took me quite a bit of time to just like come to grasp with that.”
“And like I think a lot of people now experiencing covid have been trying to find that motivation outside of work, outside of the regular busy life that were so accustomed to you know just doing this, happen immediately to now okay we have to kinda sit back and wait and just pause.”
“It’s a completely different experience I think and you’re focusing on those aspects of yourself that maybe you’ve neglected in the past.”
CS: “Exactly.”
DH: “I think moving forward too cause I think about the fact that I’m graduating this December with my Bachelors Degree in Multimedia Journalism”
CS: “Congratulations.”
DH: “Thank you so much”
CS: “It must feel so good.”
DH: “Yeah. It does cause I’m graduating early so it’s an added bonus.”
CS: “That’s amazing.”
DH: “But yeah I think that aspect, you said of your professional life that’s something that me and my other colleagues and friends we talk about that.”
“Were just like, do we wanna you know go into this industry cause we know how hectic it can be and how busy it is. And time consuming and there’s so many different stressors I think that occur.”
“And we’re just like we wanna find even like my friends who are not in my major, we want jobs that we can be passionate about and feel fulfilled with.”
CS: “Right.”
DH: “I think that in every job there is value that comes along with it.”
CS: “Sure.”
DH: “It does prepare you in different ways to be able to do the work that you’re doing as your going through the classes and learning and studying.”
“For me personally I think that I would definitely want not just a job but a career where I can not just do work not just for the financial aspect but also do work that’s fulfilling and gives me purpose.”
CS: “Yes!”
DH: “So many times we overlook that and think if we work this many years or do this job then will eventually will get there. But it’s like what can we do now to really have that already and be happy about it?”
“So I think that shifting that mindset, I think that’s one of the things you specialize in. You know how we move and come into that mindset of being where we’re like okay we’re going to take this opportunity now to do this instead of waiting and prolonging that stress and things like that?”
CS: “Yeah. I think you know mindset shifting is something that takes time, it's not something that is an overnight thing. People are like ‘oh you’re such a positive person, you just wake up and your positive!’”
“That’s not it at all. Like it’s definitely something that’s practiced because our minds have been wired to think a certain way. Obviously for example I’m 31 years old. I’ve been thinking this way or having these thoughts for 31 years.”
“You know how long it would take me to re-wire some of the negative beliefs that I have about myself? That would take so long.”
“So it’s first of all being patient and just being like okay if you do have a negative thought acknowledge it and go ‘okay how can I shift this into thinking differently’?”
“For example ‘I’m not smart enough’ right like that is something a lot of us might say to ourselves. Well go back to your accomplishments, go back to the things you have achieved.”
“You obviously are smart enough because you’ve done A,B,C,D. Like write down all your achievements. So that’s just an example of something that I’ve struggled with is self-loathing beliefs and everyone has self-loathing beliefs.”
“Whether it’s I’m not pretty enough, I’m not smart enough, or whatever it is we all have them. And it’s just kind of rewiring our brains to thinking a different way and it takes time like I said.”
“But it’s also being mindful of them and coming up with different strategies into rewiring our brain and looking at when it does come up what’s something I can do to shift that?”
“So that’s something that I do with other women in my program. That’s something I do with myself and I have my own coaches.”
“Like I am all for people should have coaches, people should have therapists like we all need that support because we can’t always do all these things on our own.”
“I definitely have my own personal coaches as well because I have some rough days just like anybody else does.”
“So it’s good to have support when some of these things do come up.”
DH: “Yeah I’m happy that you mentioned that as well as far as having a support system in place. I think so often especially in our culture we try to do things ourselves. Or we limit what we can do or what we believe we’re qualified to do. And we compare a lot of the times different things that we have or that we lack that other people have.”
“And I think that if we take a moment to really reflect on like you said what achievements we have done and what we do possess in ourselves then that kinda takes some of that stress and negativity away and off of us.”
“And we’re able to put more positive energy out into the atmosphere. And we’re able to know when we’re believing in ourselves and supporting ourselves we can then support others. The way that need to be supported.”
“I think it all kind of trickles down and manifest in different ways and I’m happy that you said you have other people that you can rely on and talk to as well.”
“I think during this time for me it’s been kinda hard to talk to my family sometimes about some of the things I’m going through. While I think that they’ve done a great job of supporting me my entire life and so respect them you know in everything that they do, sometimes it’s hard to them go back and criticize certain things that might be negative.”
“There are those thoughts in your head and you don’t want to kind of offend or perpetuate that negativity. And project it onto them.”
“And so having someone else you can talk to a lot of times. I have started talking to a therapist and also talking to my friends outside of my household.”
“I think in my personal experience, it was always something I wanted to do was to talk to somebody but I never like sat down and looked into going to see a therapist or seeing someone.”
“And it was something I think I put off for awhile and I would just go to work or go to school and I would just try to focus on other things. And it was really hindering what I could do and I didn’t realize it at that time because I was just so fixated on ‘oh if I do this then I’ll be fine.’”
“Or if I focus on this then it’ll be like a distraction. I think a lot of times that’s what we do like with technology and just like other things kinda like find those distractions.”
“It takes away from or alleviates or we use like alcohol, drugs, or other things to try to suppress those feelings.”
CS: “Right. Coping.”
DH: “Yeah. And we don’t realize how much damage it’s doing until it’s like it has already come to pass.”
CS: “Woah that’s big. Right, right.”
DH: “So I was going to ask you like and you kind of touched on it already, some of those strategies and holistic plans that we can implement to kind of bring ourselves into a place where we don’t rely on those coping mechanisms that aren’t as great for us?”
CS: “So I think for me one of the biggest things is your morning routine. Some people will wake up and just be rushing themselves naturally already. So already your day is kind of thrown off.”
“And then you’re going to work probably stressed out and then you might have a rough day at work and then you might want to go out for happy hour and then it just kind of snowballs from there.”
“Which again, when I say happy hour there’s nothing wrong with that at all. I’m not saying that. I’m just saying you kind of already have this kind of negative stress ball day.”
“You know what I mean and you don’t really take care of yourself in the morning. That’s kind of what I did naturally through my time being in New York.”
“I would just wake up and rush myself out the house and have anxiety and just be stressed. The number one thing I would recommend is waking up and just you know obviously getting your stuff together, wash your face, brush your teeth.Great!”
“Start journaling right away when you wake up. When you wake up first thing in the morning your subconscious is already awake still from sleeping obviously. So start journaling, start writing down how you’re feeling at the present moment or maybe how you felt yesterday.”
“A lot of my journaling comes from the day before because I journal in the morning. You can journal at night too. Journaling about the present, what you’re grateful for, maybe what you’re feeling or what you’re excited about or what you’re looking forward to.”
“Starting off in like a positive mindset but also don’t get your phone like the first thing you do. That’s something I’ve trained myself to not do.”
“Do not look at your phone. That’s something that everybody does I feel like. Right when you wake up you go on Instagram, you go on social media, you check what other people are doing.”
“Naturally right away you’re setting yourself up to look at what other people are doing and compare yourself. We’re already naturally in a negative mindset.”
“Like you don’t want to wake up and the first thing you’re doing is looking at other people’s lives. Like no, take care of yourself first.”
“So wake up, don’t look at your phone. I would say for at least an hour don’t look at your phone.”
“Journal. I like to meditate or even breath work. Like I started doing breathwork sessions so just different ways of breathing. Closing my eyes even.”
“I have a whole bunch of crystals on my desk. And really just being in the present moment. Closing my eyes, being at peace.”
“That has really helped me a lot. Just slowing our minds down like that is really really big.”
“A lot of people are like well I can’t meditate, I don’t know how? It’s really really easy. You don’t have to meditate for 20 or 30 minutes.”
“It’s like I don’t have time. No you can sit there and start off slow. Like that’s what I did. I started with 3 minute meditation, 5 minute, then 10 minute then 15 and work your way up.”
“Just listen to your body. What do you need in that specific moment? Is it a couple minutes? Great. Start off with a couple minutes. Don’t pressure yourself into doing this big meditation practice.”
“If it’s newer to you start off slow. And this could really be you putting on some music or this could be sitting in silence, this could be you sitting on the floor, sitting at your desk, going outside whatever.”
“It doesn’t have to look the same for everybody, it's gonna look different. Whatever it is you know that’s comfortable for you that’s what I would recommend.”
“So that’s kinda what I have been doing. The breathwork has helped me a lot. I actually cried a few times during my breathwork sessions because I will be having some of these visions of me as a kid.”
“And then it’ll just bring up some emotions for me. And that’s really really cool to like envision some of these past moments that I’ve had good or bad. And it releases some of these emotions for us.”
“And that’s kinda some of the things that you’re holding onto. You know coming into some of these moments of yourself currently and it’s kind of blocking you in a way right. Like it’s kinda holding onto some fears.”
“So that’s why I think meditating and breathe work and journaling are super essential for our mindset. So really setting yourself up for success in the morning is really crucial.”
“Also just listening to your body as well. If you are feeling stressed acknowledge that and be like wow I haven’t worked out in a few days . Maybe I need to like go for a run or maybe I need to lift some weights.”
“Like get out of your head and into your body. That’s what I always tell myself. When you are working out you are releasing some of the things that are stressing you out.”
“Weight lifting is really good for us like relieving some of this tension. And a lot of people are like I don’t really like working out and it’s finding things that you enjoy.”
“Like if you don’t like running, don’t run. Do something different do something else. You don’t always have to go running like everyone’s always like well I don’t like the treadmill, I don’t like doing that and I agree I don’t either.”
“So it’s just finding some of those exercises that you do enjoy. For me I have gotten into yoga even. You know that’s definitely an exercise that a lot of people have been doing especially during the pandemic.”
“So learning some of these techniques. Stretching is really good for us as well. I recommend doing that in the morning too. It’s like activating your body and waking up. Just finding other ways to relieve stress.”
“I think the biggest thing is just listening to your body. Listening to yourself.”
“What do you need in that present moment? Is it peace? Is it silence? Is it reaching out for support? Like being around other people? Like what is it? And kinda going from there.”
DH: “Yeah. I think that is really great advice to anyone who is struggling to find those outlets and strategies to kind of help them cope with their stressors in their lives.”
“You touched on like a lot of great points. I just wanted to kind of say as well that for me I’m not a runner as far as the treadmill goes. But I will, when I was at school I loved going to the gym.”
“That was one of my things and people would say like you're like a gym rat cause you’re always at the gym. But it was like really a way for me to alleviate a lot of stress and I would go to the fitness classes that they had.”
“I loved doing like Zumba and I loved doing like strength classes and doing weights and some yoga classes that they had as well. So there’s really so many different ways you could get that physical activity.”
“ I love that you mentioned breathing too because so many times we forget to take a breath. And take a moment to really sit and reflect.”
“ you really like touched on so many things because right now I’m actually taking a stress management class. That’s been like really eye-opening for me because a lot of what our instructors been saying refers to What you were talking about.”
“And she said herself, she mentioned personally some of the things she was going through in her life. She started talking to therapist and they were like have you worked out at all.”
“ and she was like no I’m going through divorce I’m going through this and that and I don’t have time, i’m not emotionally in that mindset of doing it. And she was just like just try just try.”
“You know start with like a minute, start with a couple minutes and just do it work up to it like you were saying on a daily basis. And it really does make a difference.”
“And I think if you, I like to say i’m always in a mindset of challenging myself because I am kind of overachiever. So I always like to challenge myself.”
“Some of the challenges that I started doing some of the things I’ve started writing posts about are like doing gratitude challenges. Doing like mindfulness challenges.”
“And doing faith challenges and I’ve been journaling. I would kind of just sit in my room and journal and creativity and trying to I went in on those skills as well. I think a lot of times we neglect to do that.”
“So those have been really huge for me and really allowed me to just kind of take a step back and reflect and be mindful and be present in the moment. Which I think has brought me a lot more calm and a lot more stress relief.”
“And really helped me develop that holistic mindset and be more invested in that. I think like you said when I first wake up that was one thing I was really like centered on.”
“I would just turn off my alarm and start looking at social media or something and the first thing is like you just grab your phone. And I realize that like oh my gosh that is the first thing I do when I wake up.”
“You know I’ve had Those conversations before and it’s like do you look at your phone when you first wake up? And it’s like yeah I do and my friends and I talked about that.”
“So it can be like very hindering to you when you first wake up because it’s like the first thing you do. You start looking and you start comparing And you’re like oh my gosh they’re doing all this and I haven’t.”
“I think that also In the midst of a pandemic seeing people going out or seeing people doing other things that can be really hard as well. When you’re stuck inside at home. But you know that you’re doing it for your own health and safety and everyone has their own personal reasons for doing different things.”
CS: “Exactly!”
DH: “So I really comes down to putting yourself first and just allowing yourself to be present and in the moment. And taking a moment to just like turn off your phone or put it aside like you said.”
“I purchased like a journal and it was blank and it’s funny because I used to get so many journals. Growing up my family would just give me them on Christmas or birthdays because I’m like I’m a writer and they’re like we know you like to write so they just hand me them.”
“And I used to get annoyed that they would hand me them sometimes because I used to have so many I’d be like I’m not gonna write this much. And now i’m just like I need more journals.”
CS: “Now you’re like I need it.”
DH: “At the end of the day it’s about finding those ways to meditate and find that release of stress. So I’m so happy that you mentioned that as well.”
CS: “Definitely.”
DH: “I think even if you’re not a runner or some thing you can still you know I like to walk or just like take a stroll on a trail or something. And it helps me get that sunlight and have that time with nature.”
CS: “That’s big that’s a really really big one. A lot of us are working from home right now or just our work is at home so a lot of people forget to go outside. Because you’re trapped in all day, you’re sitting at your desk and even me I’m trying to get in the habit of going outside even just 15 minutes.”
“Walking to the store or walking around the block. Getting some fresh air. Getting some sunlight.Being in nature. We all need that to feel grounded. We all need that.”
“So if you can leave your house for just 15 minutes a day and get some fresh air you’re going to see a difference. You’re going to notice OK I feel a lot better. You know I don’t feel as stressed or whatever the case is. Or is tired.”
“We definitely need that fresh air every day. Even just opening up your windows as well. That’s a big one.”
DH: “Yeah. I agree with that. Sometimes it’s just like nice to go sit out on the porch or in the backyard. Or just like opening up a back window like a lot of us take that for granted just having the outside time to ourselves.”
“And just like emerging ourselves in nature. So that’s a really big one. There was like a walking trail where I used to live at when I was in high school and I used to love going out there. It was just like for miles you could just walk and there was like nothing except for like trees.”
“And I love it!”
CS: “Beautiful.”
DH: “And people would just be biking and running and walking and it was just like really great. So I definitely think that there are ways that people can just do those similar things as well.”
“I wanted to just switch gears a little bit and I don’t know if you can talk A little bit more about this. I was reading that you do a little bit of work in acupuncture and I if you can talk about some of the benefits of acupuncture? And also some other alternative medicines or therapies that you’ve come across as well.”
CS: “ so acupuncture is something newer that I’ve gotten into during the summer and I don’t actually perform the acupuncture. I work alongside an acupuncturist at the studio I work at. It’s a boutique here in the city.”
“And I absolutely love acupuncture. I’ve noticed a tremendous difference with the anxiety that I have and acupuncture is something that is not a one and done type of thing.”
“It’s something that you do overtime so the more you go and do acupuncture The more benefits and relief you’ll see.”
“So acupuncture has been around for years like thousands of years. It’s a traditional Chinese medicine. So what it is is there’s needles and people are like oh my gosh like needles I’m scared.”
“The needles size is one 30th the size of a regular needle at the doctors office. So it’s very tiny, you can barely see them. And what it does is we have different points in our bodies and the needles help to kind of clear some of these blockages.”
“So if you’re stressed if you’re having trouble sleeping if you’re on your period even for example it helps to treat over 3000 different things. Arthritis, if you want to get pregnant, like it’s so amazing.”
“There’s been a lot of people who have actually coming to the studio because they’re trying to get pregnant and they get pregnant from acupuncture.”
“It is AMAZING!”
“So I’ve been going for the past few months and I actually go on a biweekly basis. I try to go weekly if my schedule allows me to. But I literally go for my stress and my anxiety.”
“Anxiety has been something that has been struggling with for a long time. And like I told you earlier during the jobs I had in corporate I would be up in the middle of the night.”
“And now since I’ve gotten acupuncture I don’t wake up in the middle of the night anymore. I don’t at all. Not even once.”
“So it really really helps you just have to keep going. So that’s one of the natural holistic remedies that I would recommend.”
“It can be expensive. The studio that I work at is fairly inexpensive honestly. Your first time is $65 and anytime after that is $85.”
“I know other studios charge hundreds of dollars for a session. It just depends on where you are I guess and what studio you go to.”
“Like I said acupuncture helps treat dozens of things. I think gut health is really really important as well.“
“What we’re putting into our bodies is going to help with just general things.”
“Stress, sleep, all of those things. So definitely take a look at what you’re putting into your body. A probiotic is something that I’ve started to take as well through my journey.”
“I just had like a powder probiotic. So I put it in my tea or some thing that I’m drinking in the morning. A probiotic really helps with just balancing out the bacteria in your stomach.”
“So if you have like these bad bacteria or things in your stomach that aren’t really sitting well chances are it’s going to kind of put off maybe how you are interacting with people. Or maybe giving you more anxiety or affecting the way you’re sleeping and going about your day.”
“So gut health is very important as well. And taking a look at maybe sugar like what you’re eating and are you that person who reaches for chocolate in the morning?”
“Are you eating fruits? Like what are you eating? Just taking a look at the things your putting into your body like right away in the morning.”
“Trying to just go after something that’s going to be a little bit better for your stomach. Some more fiber things like this. So looking at gut health is big.”
“Another natural remedy maybe would just be like essential oil‘s. So like smells things like that is really big. I got a diffuser Over the summer and I may be just put in some eucalyptus or lavender. I have candles.”
“I’m trying to get away from the candles and just go after the essential oil‘s. You can rub them on your chest if you’re sick or behind your ears if you’re stressed. Just different points of your body like even like your wrist. Just like the different pulse points within your body.”
“So I sometimes try to do that if I’m stressed. I’m trying to think of other things. I love crystals personally I love love love my crystals.”
“That has really helped me and just getting present. I have gone to a crystal shop. Some people will buy the crystals online. You can do that I am personally about building a connection with your crystals.”
“It’s all about like when you go into the shops, like what speaks to you you know you can buy them online but you don’t know who they’re coming from or who they’re from.”
“So I’m just all about doing that. So I go into the crystal shop and I’m just like OK This one is really speaking to me. And also Asking yourself what do I need to Crystal for? Do I need Self love and compassion for myself or do I just need to slow down and be in the present be at ease?”
“Be more calm be more grounded like what do you actually need? Also just like talking with the people that work there even as well because i’m not an expert in crystals but they are. They’ve been doing it for years so maybe asking them for their advice as well I just see you at speaks to you.”
“I’ve been in the crystals for a little while now and they just bring me a sense of peace and clarity and they make me feel better as well. And I just go outside with them and you can hold them in your hand as you’re meditating as well.”
“During your breath work sessions that helps a lot as well. Those are just a couple things that I recommend just as natural holistic remedies.”
DH: “Yeah I think that something I have tried is just like the essential oils that you mentioned. And me and mom both have like different oils that we use and I’ll see her use them on her neck or behind her ears like you said.”
“And she has a diffuser sans I just got my diffuser not too long ago because I’ve been wanting one. And I have a wax warmer for like other scents. But I wanted to kinda start using the diffuser more and see if that makes a difference.”
“I like different scents like lavender and lemongrass and peppermint and things like that. And they all have like different purposes like you said.”
“It’s really important like you said if you’re using essential oils or crystals like you said that you can know what your body needs and what your mind needs at that moment.”
“And really watching and listening to what you need in that moment. Like if you’re feeling like exhausted like I need more energy. Or feeling like I need to be calm and I’ve just been working and I need to just relax.”
“That those are really great just natural remedies you can use. And they all have different effects on your body. I like that you mentioned with the acupuncture like if you’re trying to get pregnant or if you have like period issues or if you’re trying to alleviate stress and tension in different areas of your body that it’s really like a great mechanism.”
“I think that’s something I’ve always wanted to try was the acupuncture and I’ve heard different things about it. So I still want to do that and I think it’s really great to know that it’s a great outlet to get you into a new place in like your mind and your body.”
“And a great way to alleviate stress like you said. A lot of times we will go straight for meditation and in our society it’s just like popping pills.”
“It’s really become like an epidemic in and of itself with pharmaceutical companies and things like that trying to promote different things. And a lot of times we forget that there are natural things we can take and supplements and in our food. What we put in our bodies.”
“That can affect how we react to certain things. And I know like my grandparents are diabetic so it’s really important that they eat throughout the day. And that and their medications and things like that.”
“You notice it a lot more if their levels drop or things like that. So it’s kind of made me more conscientious of what I’ve been eating or how I’m feeling.”
“If my sugar gets too low or if my blood pressure gets too high or things like that. So a lot of times it can be treated just by having like a healthy gut and making sure you are like focusing on nourishing your body and replenishing those vitamins and minerals you need.”
“That we don’t really think about as much and making sure that we’re getting a colorful meal as well. Cause I think that’s another thing too we like to go for the food that might pacify us in that moment.”
“So like if you’re stressed you might reach for like some dessert or some ice cream and cheesecake or like some chips. Depending on like your cultural beliefs or your religious beliefs it kind of just depends. But I think overall there’s just foundational things that we need to be nourished.”
“Making sure that we have the right nutrition and value that over everything else. What we put in our bodies really affects how we are outward. On the other end of that spectrum.”
CS: “Yes. Absolutely. That’s a big thing that I also kind of neglected through the years as well is just like a big thing for me. I will be so busy that I know that I’m hungry but I don’t take time to eat.”
“When you eat it gives you fuel. You need to give yourself fuel. Like if you’re running thin you’re running tired, when was the last time you ate and what did you eat?”
“Was it giving you what your body needed? You know what I mean. Was it something that was fulfilling you and fulfilling your body. One thing that I actually got into was looking into our chakras like the seven chakras.”
“Which I am obsessed with right now. So I actually have a chakra bible and like yesterday I noticed my energy being down and kind of like my self-esteem as well.”
“I’m on my period right now too so it could be just like my emotions going up and down. As we know that’s what happens when we’re on our period but I was looking kinda at my chakras and saying like okay what’s out of balance?”
“And I was looking at the sacral chakra because that one is associated with self-esteem and stuff like that. Like I love the chakra bible but I love the chakras in general because based on what chakra is out of balance it also kind of tells you what foods to eat.”
“In terms of getting your chakras back in balance what food you should be putting into your body. So like for me, yesterday I could look at the sacral chakra and go okay it’s associated with yellow so I need to eat more yellow foods.”
“Bananas, yellow peppers, these other things that are just gonna get my body more nutrients and just more yellow foods that I really need to get that more in balance. So, sorry when you had said nutrients and things like that it kinda just reminded me of the seven chakras and how I was feeling.”
“And I was kind of neglecting myself in terms of what I was putting into my body yesterday. Like oh yeah I could be eating some more bananas maybe or something that will give me some more energy and nutrients for my sacral chakra.”
“So that’s another thing I wanted to touch on with the natural remedies is just like looking at the chakras and seeing what’s out of balance for you.”
DH: “Yeah I think, you don’t have to apologize cause I was actually interested to hear what you had to say. I had read a little bit about chakras and in terms of just the different aspects of your body and based on those colors it really does affect what you’re eating.”
“All that really does come back into play when you’re talking about your self-esteem when you’re talking about your energy and everything else incorporated with that. It’s really like based in historical things that they found that work.”
“I never really thought about that until I started eating and it’s like oh this is really interesting. Like you know it makes a lot more sense when you think about it in that way.”
“That’s something that I think a lot of people don’t really consider and it’s something I want to continue to learn more about myself.”
“It’s really fascinating I think and a great message you know to just remember those nourishing aspects. It all comes back to you and how you feel and what you do to really have that whole sense of yourself and be aware of how you’re feeling completely.”
“So that really is great in terms of the chakras and that was pretty much all the questions that I had. I was kinda just and really it was more about having that conversation with you.”
“So I was thinking of these things as they came up so I didn’t know if you had anything else that you wanted to add or anything else that you done more recently or starting to do?”
CS: “Yeah I’m definitely starting to gravitate towards learning more about inner child work. Because a lot of us have past traumas or traumas from the past that maybe stem from our childhood that we still hang onto.”
“A lot of these traumas and anxiety that we have in our everyday life stems from childhood. So for example I moved a lot when I was a kind so like for me I have anxiety now because of things I went through as a kid.”
“I think that people don’t realize that maybe some of the things they went through when they were young has really stemmed into their adulthood right now.”
“So I’m starting to research how do I feel now but also what was my childhood like looking back at what are the things that maybe are still coming up for me? And maybe some of these traumas that I experienced that I necessarily haven’t let go of that I want to work on.”
“Some of these things are showing up in our adult life and it’s actually causing us harm in terms growing. So a lot of her fear in growth and moving forward in career or relationships or confidence or whatever it is.”
“Fear always comes up for us and we get scared to grow and move forward in some of these avenues for us. We allow fear to kind of hold us back. And every person out there has had fear of moving forward with something.”
“It’s because again it’s our mindset and a lot of these self living beliefs that we have and again they stem from our childhood. So looking at our childhood and really trying to figure out what are the causes?”
“Maybe write down some of the things that affected you as a kid and kinda see what we can do about it now. So I’m actually going to likely be working with an inner child coach specifically cause I’m not somebody that does inner child work.”
“But maybe it’s something that I could do in the future cause I think it’s really interesting. But I’m going to work with my own personal inner child coach cause I really don’t want some of these fears or things that I’ve experienced in my past to affect my future.”
“I want to be somebody who’s always trying to strive for more and just be fearless. Obviously all of us want that but there is always going to be things that come up in our lanes to hold us back and to block us.”
“We definitely need to be mindful of some of the things that are holding us back and what are some ways that we can kind of fix that.”
“I acknowledge it, I see that it’s happening to me and that’s the biggest thing. Just acknowledge what’s happening.”
“A lot of people don’t want to admit that they are afraid or that you know something else is holding them back but I acknowledge that some of these fears are coming up for me.”
“So I really want to work with somebody that maybe is experienced in childhood trauma or inner child work. Once you’re able to release some of those things that are holding you back then you’re able to move forward more confidently.”
“Some of these things are meant for you. But I know that one thing that I learned as I was buying these crystals the other day is that dancing and singing help with inner child work.”
“So if you’re feeling like I do have some things that are holding me back from childhood or I do have some scars or things that I’ve gone through dance it out, sing it out. Find ways to be creative. To get back to your childhood.”
“Having fun and being playful. Those sorts of little activities help. Again I’m not like an inner child coach but I think about working with one could always help. Obviously therapy too.”
“But these are just some things that I’m kind of like researching getting into more. So like looking at like traumas and things from the past is big.”
DH: “Yeah I agree with that as well. I think that a lot of times we don’t think about how much our upbringing has affected us as adults.”
“Some of the things that you know we still hold on to that affect our relationships and our career choices and our just overall development and how we are able to become the best version of ourselves.”
“Sometimes we hold on to that past self and instead of letting that define us we should work on those issues and make sure that we are moving forward in the best way from our present state of being.”
“I’m happy that you’re looking more into that aspect of being because I think that’s really important. Just like from my own personal experience I’ve struggled with being more vulnerable and being open.”
“I think that’s something that I didn’t really think about but it does affect my relationships and the way I communicate with others.”
“And the way that I’m able to perceive different things and process different things. So that’s been something that I’ve been working on. Is trying to allow myself to be more vulnerable and be more open.”
“And share my emotions within my immediate family and friends and just with others that I come across. Being the most authentic version of yourself can only happen when you move past that fear and when you can be open and honest and vulnerable and things like that.”
“You find that true authenticity, so that’s been something really big that I’ve been working on. I think that other people should you know like you said they should work on themselves and things they’ve struggled with in the past.”
“I’ve had a friend of mine recently who reached out to me and they were saying ‘I know this sounds weird and I know we haven’t talked in awhile and they were just saying everything in my life is good right now but I was wondering if you could just pray for me?’ and they were saying that they felt like everything is going so well and I’m afraid this ‘isn’t going to last’. ”
“Or something is going to happen. I think A lot of times we do that to ourselves. We kind of sabotage good things that are going well or aspects of our lives or professional career or relationships or if we’re doing well financially we don’t want this to end.”
“So I said that I will pray for you and I hope that you continue to have gratitude for what’s going well in your life Now and that you’re able to just sit in this moment.”
“And just embrace it as it comes and as these changes, you know we’re always going to have different things that we fear. Like you said there’s always gonna be some type of struggle there’s always gonna be some type of stressor but how we manage that and how we react to that is really what we try to focus on.”
CS: “Absolutely.”
DH: “If we don’t then the moments going to pass and that’s going to be that so I think that’s been something that’s been really helpful for me is finding that in prayer and meditation and then having gratitude.”
“There has been some of my coping mechanisms for fear and anxiety and things like that like you said too.”
CS: “Definitely. Yeah I love that.”
DH: “So I kind of just wanna wrap up and saying that I think that the work you’re doing is amazing. I hope that you can continue to develop yourself professionally and personally and help others along the way. I think that you were doing some really insightful and reflective work with a holistic living that is really a lifelong practice.”
“So it’s something So you’ll never be bored there’s always something New to learn about yourself so I think that is great!”
“ I am so happy that I got the chance to speak with you today. You’ve definitely open me up to learning more and there’s definitely gonna be some more growth to do. So I’m happy that we got the chance to have that conversation today and that you’ve been here with me.”
“ I appreciate your time and anyone who wants to get in contact with you can do so through your website is that correct?”
CS: “Yep. Website or Instagram as well @healingwithholistics LLC. So you can reach out to me on my website or Instagram as well either one.
DH: “Okay. So I thank you for your time today.”
CS: “Yes. Thank you so much Destiny. I loved this!”
DH: “Yes, I loved this whole conversation!”
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