Have you ever felt disconnected from your own body, as if your emotions were a mystery even to yourself? Ashley Sitterding, a guide in the realms of emotional mastery and embodiment, joined me to unravel this conundrum. Together, we embarked on an odyssey into the heart of self-awareness, tapping into our innate capacity to heal and thrive. Ashley's wisdom illuminated our discussion on the transformative power of somatic practices like dance and Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), revealing how these tools can help us navigate the nervous system ladder and reclaim the joy of our inner goddess through movement and self-expression.
Our conversation took a deeply personal turn as I opened up about my own trials with disordered eating and how I transitioned from merely acquiring self-help knowledge to engaging in meaningful inner work. We examined the societal constructs that often dictate our measure of success, and how breaking free from these shackles through practices like dance can lead to a seismic shift in our ability to feel and heal. Ashley and I shared our own experiences of skepticism, only to find ourselves transformed by the very approaches we once doubted, and how embracing our emotions and physicality can unlock doors to profound self-growth.
In this heart-to-heart, Ashley and I delved into the nuances of integrating tapping with the rhythm of dance, discussing how such synergy can defuse the tension of our fight or flight instincts, and make way for a higher consciousness. We looked at how authenticity emerges when we allow ourselves to be vulnerable and dance like nobody's watching, stretching our nervous system's capacity for resilience. Join us for an episode that's not just an exploration, but a celebration of coming home to oneself.
* * * * * * * * *
Follow Ashley --> @wholisticalignment411
Ashley's Offers
* * * * * * * * *
Shop our apparel! --> Love Your Body Now
Follow us on socials: @weareloveyourbodynow
Have you ever felt disconnected from your own body, as if your emotions were a mystery even to yourself? Ashley Sitterding, a guide in the realms of emotional mastery and embodiment, joined me to unravel this conundrum. Together, we embarked on an odyssey into the heart of self-awareness, tapping into our innate capacity to heal and thrive. Ashley's wisdom illuminated our discussion on the transformative power of somatic practices like dance and Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), revealing how these tools can help us navigate the nervous system ladder and reclaim the joy of our inner goddess through movement and self-expression.
Our conversation took a deeply personal turn as I opened up about my own trials with disordered eating and how I transitioned from merely acquiring self-help knowledge to engaging in meaningful inner work. We examined the societal constructs that often dictate our measure of success, and how breaking free from these shackles through practices like dance can lead to a seismic shift in our ability to feel and heal. Ashley and I shared our own experiences of skepticism, only to find ourselves transformed by the very approaches we once doubted, and how embracing our emotions and physicality can unlock doors to profound self-growth.
In this heart-to-heart, Ashley and I delved into the nuances of integrating tapping with the rhythm of dance, discussing how such synergy can defuse the tension of our fight or flight instincts, and make way for a higher consciousness. We looked at how authenticity emerges when we allow ourselves to be vulnerable and dance like nobody's watching, stretching our nervous system's capacity for resilience. Join us for an episode that's not just an exploration, but a celebration of coming home to oneself.
* * * * * * * * *
Follow Ashley --> @wholisticalignment411
Ashley's Offers
* * * * * * * * *
Shop our apparel! --> Love Your Body Now
Follow us on socials: @weareloveyourbodynow
Today on the podcast, we have Ashley Sitterding as our guest and I'm so excited for you to listen to this episode because I met Ashley at an event called Gallentines, which I did an episode all about my healing experience at this event in the previous episode and I actually mentioned Ashley a couple of times and we discussed what she does and how she helps women but essentially a little bit about Ashley. She is an emotional mastery and embodiment mentor who is deeply passionate about helping women reconnect to their body and soul essence so they can attune their internal wisdom and God. Through her nurturing guidance, ashley helps you reignite the fire within so you can live a fulfilling and authentic life full of passion, peace, joy and love. You are going to love this episode. You are going to learn so much. She literally has so much wisdom and she has healed. She has gone through the journey herself and now she is helping other women do so. So, without further ado, let's get into the episode.
Speaker 1:Welcome to the Love your Body Now podcast, the podcast for women who are ready to feel confident in their body right now and redefine what health looks like for them. I'm Savannah, your host, and together we'll be having conversations about what it means to accept and love our bodies now, while simultaneously prioritizing our health journey. We'll be debunking beliefs that do not serve us and diving into misconceptions and unhealthy narratives in the fitness world, so that we can rebuild our foundation from a place of self-love. Okay, ashley, thank you so much for joining us on the podcast today. I'm super excited to have you on.
Speaker 1:You were just for some context for the listeners. So I met Ashley at Gallantyne's that Gallantyne's event that I actually recorded a separate episode talking all about my experience and I actually mentioned you, ashley, in the video or in the podcast because she basically ran what we called Goddess Night and it was this really impactful evening where she led us through EFT and dancing and just like reconnecting with our body, and I was craving that night so much like I. I loved everything about it and the way she led. It was so beautiful and so impactful. So I'm super excited to have her on and actually speak about the work that she does and go into her journey and her story and how she's been able to use these tools to help her along her own journey. So, with that, ashley, go ahead and just share a little bit about what you do and how you help people.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So ultimately, for me it's really finding where someone's at in life. Usually there's one stuck point, whether that's relationship, finances, their career, wherever it is, and really try to get down to the nitty gritty of like, what is that looping thought, what is that one emotion that you constantly find yourself in? Is it anger? Is a frustration? It's its sadness? Do you feel like what? Like what is the underlying need that you feel, quote-unquote, stuck in your life?
Speaker 2:And we're kind of just start there and we start unraveling, but ultimately, with every session although it's always different and depending on where they are on the nervous system ladder but you've got the dorsal vagal, which, at the very bottom, is shut down, then you've got freeze and then you've got the sympathetic, which is the fight or flight, and then you've got ventral vagal, so, like it's a, it's a ladder that I like using as a visual and often used for poly bagel theory learnings, and so for me, I find out where they are on that and I try to get them connected back into their body, because I believe our bodies truly know how to heal. We know the answers within ourselves and it's really, how can I give them the tools to connect back to their body, find some time and that there's going to be some element of like solitude, of trying to just use that time to connect to the body. Again, I different strategies for all that. My favorites are tapping, dance and breath and prayer, and I just really get to know them and see what it is that we, we created goal essentially, like, even if it's five minutes a day, of doing some type of practice, to really start getting that consistency and building that self-trust again and building that connection to self. And yeah, and so I, that's primarily what I do, and, again, each, each person is going to be different, but ultimately it's like what's that one thing that's blocking you from? I'm really feeling fulfilled and passionate, excited about life yeah and okay.
Speaker 1:So I didn't realize, like I love that you broke down the ladder a little bit and you talk about the nervous system, because I think there's such a disconnect, especially like I. I've felt it for so long and that's why, when I learned about what goddess night was all about which was like reconnecting and finding ways and tools to help regulate your nervous system I'm like I need that so bad because I've been so disconnected from my body for so long and it's kind of like it's like a gradual thing that happens and then one day you wake up and you're like I don't. How did I get to this point where, like I, I feel anxiety all the time? You know, like there's, you know you're feeling stress over things that you shouldn't be stressed about. Your brain is creating problems to solve constantly and even just like the lack of pleasure that you can experience because you're so out of body.
Speaker 1:And I love that you you have that ladder and I'm actually very curious. So, like I know from your Instagram, you go by like embodiment coach. So what is your background like? How did you get to this point of you know understanding the nervous system in such depth and being able to help others tap into that?
Speaker 2:yeah, well, it's kind of like for me when it first started. When I first started this journey, it was a lot of the mind, a lot of just grabbing every self-help psychology, all the different, you know, coaching things to do for mindset change, and that was all great, but ultimately it was the ego is so smart that the parts are the wounded parts of us are so smart. They'll keep us running in the mind trying to solve issues and solve problems, to feel better while still staying in the mind, and so I was willing myself to doing all these different things but ultimately I was like I just still feel so lost and trapped in, was like an everyday, like having to fight for that piece and that sense of wellness and just like zest for life ultimately, and so I just kept going. I got certified in NLP and hypnosis to really like learn about the subconscious mind and I was noticing a lot of times when I was having sessions with myself but also with others. It's like, yeah, we can have great changes but ultimately doesn't stick and that ultimately comes down to our nervous system if our nervous system doesn't feel safe.
Speaker 2:I know I shared at goddess night. One of the things I love and blew my mind is that 80% of our nerves go from our body to our brain and only 20% from our brain to our body. So we're using our willpower and like constantly pushing ourselves. We're only using 20% of our nerve ability to like make change. And if the body is constantly stressed or just feeling this sense of pressure, that's chronic stress on our system and ultimately leads us into freeze. There I think so many people are actually running around in functional freeze. I was there for so long and didn't even realize it and ultimately, when we're, it's like a fish that's swimming in water and someone comes by and it's like oh, the water feels great to me. Like what do you talk about?
Speaker 2:it's like you're in it, right, you don't really know, you don't really see it, until you start feeling better, until you start moving through the ladder. I think we're familiar with the fight or flight like when we're in that like go, go, go. Very much in the head and in the mind and maybe we're missing out on our body cues of when we're hungry or when we're tired or we just reach for coffee instead to be like, nope, we're gonna, we're gonna power through. And it's like how often do we just know our body sentences and what our body's trying to tell us? And meanwhile we're like wondering why we're unhappy and disconnected and can't feel the depths of a pleasure or or play or connection, and it's like, well, because we're disconnected.
Speaker 2:So then that led me yeah, so then that led me down, learning about EFT and emotions and nervous system regulation and all that. So I started taking a bunch of courses, in that I'm probably gonna start somatic experiencing practitioner in April. It's not official, but I'm really feeling called to doing that to even deepen the tool belt. But you know like our somatics are so important in this journey of feeling better and feeling well, and understanding our nervous system is key yeah, and I really resonate to what you said.
Speaker 1:We're, you know, when you kind of got started and you started diving into like the self-help and personal development world. I feel like that's kind of how it started with me and I didn't realize for the longest time. I feel like I was avoiding truly healing by the overwhelm of knowledge and like learning all these things and it's like, okay, I'm so knowledgeable, like I know all these things and I don't know what is about. This year I keep talking about this year like feeling so different and like I've been really starting to feel the impacts of healing and I mean, I've only tapped the surface of it but like understanding how these past four years where I've been so into self-development and all of that, I've been just basically consuming knowledge as it comes and not really tapping into the inner part. And then I noticed how I was also kind of like projecting things onto other people, like what I would notice about other people. You know, kind of project that or I'd really notice it in someone else and it's like, wow, I'm really good at noticing about other people. But like I suck at the self-awareness like a really understanding and, like you said, the ego is so smart where it's like it can make you think you're really doing the work and it's like actually I really haven't been, I've just been learning, and which is great, but like to do the inner healing, it's like a completely different experience and I mean I think that that's why I connected with you and I did.
Speaker 1:I feel like it was like the perfect stage of my healing. You know, you introduced me to a whole new realm that I've never even really I mean I've kind of known about it but never like fully understood the impact it can actually have on your healing journey, and so that's why I was so excited to like learn from you and like connect with you, and I would love to understand how you got to where you are like. I know you kind of touched on your past and like your own personal journey of how it led you to where you are in this work. So if you feel okay with sharing some of back before you are who you are now, like how it led to this yeah, absolutely so.
Speaker 2:About when I was 15 16, I developed an eating disorder it was bulimia and there was some anorexia in there as well and really dealt with a lot of like body dysmorphia and you know, that was the I that I remember being like the catalyst of when I really became disconnected from my body and that just continued. I went to nursing school and was just all in the mind just learning all the things and taking in whatever I could and, you know, taking off all boxes. I was, you know, on paper, like doing well financially, I had a really great career. I was, you know, in a loving relationship. We had a house and the dog and, like you know, everything on the surface was perfect and I was so empty. I was so empty and so much of that was because I was so disconnected for myself and I was living a life that society was telling me is is the perfect life. You know that you're gonna find happiness outside of yourself and if you strive enough, if you work hard enough, you know and achieve all the things, you're gonna feel fulfilled and successful and all these things. But I just wasn't there. And so, to really learn and dive deeper because even you, you know, you brought up the somatic part and that's been a big thing of like.
Speaker 2:When we first start this journey, it's all taking it in on the mental level, right, and that's great. We, that is an important aspect of it, and there's a difference between understanding and inner standing on a visceral level and like, even just last night, I had a really beautiful somatic. I'm in a container, a five-month container, and she was leading us through something and I I took all my own practices and kind of did it along with her and it felt so great because I was being guided instead of being the one guiding. So I felt really held and I could go and do my movements and my dance and like, really like. Like I'm reenacting how my body and emotions are feeling.
Speaker 2:I'm giving voice. I like literally use my voice, but I'm giving movement to that energy. I'm allowing it to be there, allows me to dive deeper into it and not be in the head, and there wasn't even a moment where I uncovered something that was like whoa, this is big, since I'm working through, because every time we get a stretch we're doing something new in our life. We we can track beforehand or our old stuff starts coming up, so somatics allow us to like be with whatever that is, so we can move through with a little bit more ease.
Speaker 2:But I found myself like that emotion was coming up and I I found myself jumping out of it and I was like come back and breathe and just like be with it. But it like you were saying the ego. You know, it is so smart and I started wanting to go into the story of why I'm feeling this and da, da, da and again. That can serve a purpose, but it also comes from actually healing and feeling and just really being with it. I think the most important thing we can do is stretch our capacity to feel more and be with all of it, all humble embarrassment some may have a hard time with anger, whatever that one emotion is.
Speaker 1:It's like starting with one and allowing the body to just get used to it and grow its capacity for more of that yeah that's kind of where so I had been familiar with like sonomatic and EFT, like as far as like understanding you know they're like tapping into the body, but that's about the extent of what I knew. Can you explain a little bit more like how it works if there's differences between different things? You know how you incorporate dancing, like how that all is tied together and how it actually releases tension? Because let me just say, when we went through goddess night, you you kind of gave us like here's what you can expect if you fully like let yourself immerse into this. And I I feel like I could have gone even more, but like the capacity of what I could actually connect with in my body, like I did what I was capable of. But I know there's more in me that it's just like I just wasn't at that level yet where I could fully tap in. That's how disconnected I am.
Speaker 1:But like we went through like tapping different areas of the body and you said, like if you need to cry, like let it out, like it's it's natural for that to happen.
Speaker 1:And I was so like curious I'm like I that's so interesting and as we're doing it literally it starts happening where it's like I'm tapping above my eyebrows and like I'm just like like sobbing and I don't even know why, like I don't have, and you said, don't try to like figure things out, like just let your body release what it needs to release. And it was just so fascinating and I'm like okay. And you said to like stay if you know if we move on to another position, and but you're like still releasing stuff, like keep doing it, like listen to your body. So I'm like hanging out at one spot, I'm just like tapping and tapping and tapping until it feels like okay, like I feel like I released what I needed to release, but it's just like what the hell did, just happen yeah, yeah, I'd love to like hear how this, how this even works yeah, I love that you just shared that because it's so funny.
Speaker 2:I mean, when I first got EFT practice show, it was actually part of another certification, it just came along with it I never would have thought I would be using tapping and, like I said, even the first year that I was certified in it I was like this is so silly. Like what? How is this gonna help healing? Like tapping on my face? Okay, but when I actually started giving myself space and that means just sitting and opening my mind, shutting off the judgment, the trying to figure it all out, and just being with my body and just tapping, and as I'm tapping, I'm oftentimes connecting to what does that sensation feel. I'm connecting to my breath, I'm that's. That's called introspection.
Speaker 2:And when we can tap into our internal landscape, in a world where we're constantly being inundated with digital delusion just non-stop, you know ways and forms of communication we can actually like give ourselves space to be seen and be witnessed, because oftentimes like, okay, for example, a little kid that is been like tugging and tugging and tugging on the mom to be you know, help me with this, I want this. Or da, da, da, and just keeps getting ignored, keep getting ignored, keep getting ignored. That's us with our own inner child and our owning. We don't have time for that. Or da, da, da, da, like there's never enough time. And that, again, is one of the ways our ego is really smart and keeps us going and moving, cause if you keep going, then we won't have to look at what's underneath all it, right, but when we could just like pause in a lot of space, it's not that difficult and it's not that scary. But when we allow ourselves to just be and be like, oh, I'm crying, I don't know why and that's okay, like I'm here. Buddy, whatever you needed to know, whatever you experienced where you felt like you needed to cry, let it be, you know.
Speaker 2:And the thing I love most about tapping what it's taught me is bringing in acceptance and compassion. For wherever I am, I think, with law of attraction, in the beginning of like on this journey, you want to think positive thoughts and, yes, that has truth. And we have to acknowledge our reality too. We can't just sugarcoat and put on rose colored glasses and walk through the world Like everything's always peachy and rainbows Like no. I think Carl Jung has that quote. That's like the top of our tree can't reach heaven without the roots reaching to hell, something like that. I probably butchered it, but the point is is like we get to that ultimate ecstasy and joy when we can actually be with our sadness too, and so that's really what I love about EFT and a big part of why you also experience that on a science level is it deactivates the mucula, which is our fight or flight center.
Speaker 2:It's when sensations come from our body, they go up through our brainstem, have to pass through our mucula before reaching our prefrontal cortex, which is our higher consciousness. It's our all knowing, wise, overall observer that knows what we need to be doing, but maybe, like the other part of us, the mucula, the fighter flight it's like, no, but I can't, I'm stuck. When we tap it deactivates that center, so we can actually access the prefrontal, we can actually access a sense of presence and peace to allow whatever needs to come up. Come up, we're in a state of calm, we're in parasympathetic, if you will. So that's probably why you experienced that. It's like, oh, I'm actually giving my body state to feel what's been running in the background, but I haven't allowed myself to actually be with it.
Speaker 1:So where does the like dancing come in with it? Like, how is that like a normal thing to come in with tapping or is that like part of what you do, where you inquire? Just basic step up. We got like a full blown workout which I loved.
Speaker 1:Like we were dancing and like going hard and then all of a sudden we were split with down and we were crying and tapping and it was like back and forth, back and forth and it was just like the most interesting, incredible experience. But like, but it's interesting too, because I actually used to dance in high school and again, somewhere along the way I have become so out of touch with myself that, like the thought of dancing anywhere other than in four walls by myself makes me so uncomfortable and so self-conscious and like literally feel shame and embarrassment. I'm like, how did I get to this point? And it helps that we were like doing things where our eyes closed and I was like I literally was like I am acting as if no one else is here and it was fun, like for once. I'm like, finally, like I am learning how to have fun again. So, yeah, where does the dancing come?
Speaker 2:from. Okay, there's so many things that I wanted to talk about just within that, but I'll start with honestly, because I think, more than anything, dancing, like singing, just being seen being witnessed, fully expressed. Cause I think when we're dancing and singing, we are ultimately expressing that inner child, that spirit, that fun, that playfulness that we don't often allow ourselves to be in. But also it's gonna bring up the shame, the wanting to contract, the wanting to not be seen and to be small and to like to throw out any other, like desire to just get up and move. And so it translates for me. My thought process is it translate like, if we can be big and we can hold that energy, we're actually stretching our capacity for real life situations. Again, it still may be uncomfortable, but we're literally. It's a workout for our nervous system, for our capacity. And to be with the judgments, to realize like, oh, geez, like I can't tell you, many times it's like, you know, we think we're good, we got all the self love down and everything else, but like, oh, do something that makes you uncomfortable or that like you haven't allowed yourself to experience in a while, and that judgment comes up so loud. So it's like, really like allowing people to witness. Oh, that's my inner judge, that's that inner critic or that's somebody else's voice, and it just gives more awareness to that. But ultimately it's to freaking, have fun, it's to play, it's to create, it's to express, it's to like. We have to bring life and fun and joy and celebration into healing. Like I know, for me on my journey it was very much what can I consume? I gotta consume this, I gotta do that, I gotta take this course. Like this constant, like not being enough, and it's like hold on. Can we like? Can we just pause and play? Can we just like not take life so seriously? Can we? And I think too, another part of it is workout. That is also designed in there, because that really gets us out of our head, like our mind's going to want to be like oh my God, I'm tired, or how much more of it. And it's like when we push past the point of like thinking, oh, I want to stop, like that just grows our confidence, our courage, our level of like, empowerment and, more importantly, just like it gets that heart rate up and it gets you out of the head and into the body. But what you experienced was I was taking people on the ladder of the nervous system so that they could feel the different sensations of like how to access and how we can move out of it quickly, to how we have the power to do that. We can work ourselves up and like. Let's use that energy and that like fire, that with that's you know built within, and let's put that towards like our internal world. Now Can we just be with our breath and our heartbeat and grounded in like, grounding the ecstasy into our body, into presence. So, yeah, that's that's a lot of where that's going to get.
Speaker 2:It was my own journey, was my own practices. That was how I was able to start connecting back in my body. I remembered, I cheered my whole life. Dance was always my favorite part of it, always wanted to be a dancer and I remembered in 2020.
Speaker 2:I don't remember who was, I was watching, but like I used to be like in dance or like just would go crazy. And then I'm like you, walking around with hat on, nobody look at me like I couldn't be seeing doing any dancing, and I actually would practice. I would do is I'd go on walks and I would, little by little, just start dancing while I was walking. And if someone came, like normally I would like stop it. I'm like, no, we're going to keep dancing, even if someone's watching. Like, because I promise you it plant scenes for other people to be authentic and to be able to express and be like, wow, that person looks like they're having fun. Wow, they look free. Well, they look connected and comfortable in their body, you know, and so like.
Speaker 2:It was small, incremental things, but I remember not being able to shake like my hips at all, feeling so uncomfortable, and I just kept doing it. I'd be in my room in front of the mirror. Mirror work is incredibly powerful, incredibly powerful. When it was hard for me to look in the mirror, I would just put on candles and it would be lightly dim and I would dance, you know, and now it's like I build up to now more light and stuff like that to love every part of me. But dancing in front of the mirror just was like I see you and I'm allowing you to just move however you want to move, whether that's slow, that's fast, that's crazy, it's wild, whatever that looks like. Yeah, kind of went on a tangent there, but that's that's where. That's where it came from. It's my own practices.
Speaker 1:That's great, though. I mean it's so true like how much we kind of like start this narrative in our head where we should feel embarrassed to be seen, and you know, when it's our true, authentic self, like we should, we suppress it so much that then you know we get to a point where we don't even know who that is and like to be able to like do the mirror work, like you said. I mean, I've kind of done a little bit where even just like affirmations, every time I see myself in the mirror, every time I look at myself saying such kind things to myself, I mean you have to train yourself because naturally it's our instinct to ugh, like what is that? Like you know, and pick apart everything. Well, we're just passing by a mirror and it's like having to retrain yourself to do the exact opposite. But it is so powerful because I've even started to believe the things and you know you start to carry yourself a little bit differently.
Speaker 1:And again, it's such a slow process, like you said, and find ways to do it in increments I think is very impactful because you know I see you and when we're at, god is saying I see you, like literally just showing up as you and your authentic self and part of me is like ugh, like I want to be that. But then it also is, like you said, like it's inspiring because it gives someone else permission to step into that and to just fully be you know, just be who you are, and I love that about you and I feel like that's why I felt so, you know, connected with you at that event.
Speaker 2:Thank you that. I really appreciate that and like, honestly, savannah and I still know there's layers of me that hold back. It was layers of me that night that still held back and that's okay. It's learning about when and where is appropriate to contain. Sometimes we do have a lot right and it's not always meant to be so big and expressive either. And can we be seen in all everything in between and layer by layer? And for me, like I always recommend to certain people when, when we're in that place of like wanting to look in the mirror and say the affirmation sometimes that still can be hard.
Speaker 2:So what I really advise and what I love using, and something I've learned in tapping, is like using the words I choose to see myself in a more loving way. I open to being shown how to love myself at a deeper level, like just even saying that, instead of saying like I love you, I love you, you're beautiful, you, beautiful you, it's like yes, that's great. And it's like how, how true does that feel in your body? Because if it's like that's a lie, like that's not true, then acknowledging like oh, it's really hard to look at myself in the mirror and you know, tap, tap while you're doing it like this is really hard to look at myself.
Speaker 2:There's so much that I've allowed myself to believe that I know deep downs. Not true, but it feels really true and that's okay. I'm open to seeing the beauty beyond my physical and then start naming all the things that make you beautiful that have nothing to do with your looks, and for me that was huge because it was like I have a really loving heart. I love to cheer people on. You know I hold doors for people, whatever that is, you know like what qualities of greatness or of your own goodness that you could start using as as an instrument that's not marked on your external. I think it's huge.
Speaker 1:Yeah, are there. I mean, I know what you took us through. There were certain points that you, we did tapping. So for anyone who doesn't know, like what tapping is and like how you know how it really how you do it I mean myself included are there certain areas that you're supposed to focus on or is it anywhere like how, how do you know like someone wants to start doing it while they look in the mirror? How do they know where to tap?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so there was a study that was done where they actually did like a placebo where they had them tap on the actual real points. There's nine different reading points. Technically there's 10. This, there's different ones out there, there's more than just the nine, but like typical standard tapping will just have the nine and you move through in a sequence that you start with your karate chop point, you have to the top of the eyebrow and again you want to Google this. Will the video be on for all of this for people to see?
Speaker 1:We'll see.
Speaker 2:I'm going to try to put it on YouTube actually, we'll see if I can figure it out.
Speaker 2:You can wait. So I recommend Googling it Side of the eye, under the eye, under the nose, under the lips, collarbone, kind of where your bra line would be for women, under the arm and then top of the head, and then you start that over again and they did a study with, like, those who didn't tap on the points and they still showed a significant Well, those that did show a significant decrease, who had the actual points, versus others. However, I'm going to just say I think doing this tapping like here, sometimes I just tap here, sometimes I just run up my body, like that vibration, that like touching your body, getting yourself in your body, there's so much power in that. So I always say, like you can't screw it up Like you, just if there's a point on your body that feels good or that you feel like, oh wow, there's some energy here, there's something here, stay with it. You know, which I'm so glad to hear you did, because each point it correlates to the different meridian in points within our body, and so every meridian is attached to every single organ throughout our body. It's our life force energy highway, if you will. I also believe fashion or fun dolls are in those same areas, so I think it's kind of a again, I don't know, this is my own like belief. But yeah, I think tapping solutions app is a really great free app that people could get started with to that teaches. I have some in my Instagram as well some videos and basic. I was like probably three years ago so I could probably update them. But yeah, just on like typical ones like anxiety, overwhelm, not good enough, anger. There's different videos that you could go through. But yeah, I always recommend just you know, because, again, like any practice, even breath work like you could still be in your head and not fully be present in your body.
Speaker 2:I experienced where I'm tapping and I'm like I'm not really there, I'm not really fully present. I do still believe it does work, but if I'm holding my breath while I'm doing the tapping, I'm like what? No, like I've got to bring in the breath, I've got to bring in my intention, I've got to bring in my internal focus on my internal landscape. So you know, there's just something so calming, I don't know, after I'm done tapping I'm buzzing, like I can literally feel so. When I first got into this work, I was a Reiki master, so I really started learning energy and all of that. And I knew once I started feeling that cause I'll feel energy release out through my right and I'll feel energy come into my left and oftentimes when I'm tapping I'm feeling a lot going down my right foot. So I just anecdotally, I'm like, wow, there's something to this.
Speaker 2:And I have experienced where I just started crying and I didn't know why and I'm like, and it's okay, I don't need to. This is where I get to shut off the brain and just be and just tap on my body and humming along with that is so soothing for your nervous system. It activates the bagel, the vagus nerve and your bagel tone. So there's so many. I love singing while I'm tapping. I just change it up, like I try to listen to my body. I try to just really tap into how my body wants to express, because the body doesn't know the language, doesn't know language, like it knows rhythm and resonance and energy and sound and frequency and touch and sensation, like that's how our body communicates. So we can bring on all these different ways to express through sound and movement. I say even greater chance to get connected to the body.
Speaker 1:So yeah, I love how you said you can't mess it up Like that. I feel like already like can help people realize like this isn't about doing something like the right way. It's literally about letting your body express how it needs to express. And I recently heard a quote that, like it stood out to me so much right now in the season that I'm in, where it was like we are spiritual beings meant to, we're here to experience like being a human being, as opposed to we're human beings meant to experience spirituality, like it's the exact opposite, and that it hit me so hard and it was just like it really has helped me start to lean into that side, because I've realized, like, how far away I've gotten from it and then sometimes I would like recognize like signs from the universe. So you know like just tiny little things that I would think, and then I, you know part of me would like shut it down and be like, oh, you're just like making something up and it's like no, like, when you start to lean into that like you realize how spiritual you actually are and it's like such a beautiful thing to like actually you receive different messages in different ways and be so like, feel so connected to nature again and just feel so connected with yourself and your own intuition.
Speaker 1:And I've been down the rabbit hole of human design lately. Like it's like, oh my gosh, like I, I am a generator, an emotional generator which, like I actually just the girl that I follow I requested a guidebook, so I'm waiting for my guidebook to like see everything and break it all down for me. But like, oh my gosh, like it is so cool and so interesting and I'm loving using the things that I'm learning as tools to really reconnect with myself, cause I know, you know, even my old self would kind of if just hearing about some of this is kind of like what are you talking about? You know, it's kind of like if you're not fully open to hearing it, it's kind of like that stuff's weird. But it's actually quite crazy how real it is. And I'm like curious what you have to say to maybe like, have you ever heard people kind of like give you their misconceptions on it? Or like what you feel is very common misconceptions about what people say or believe when you maybe they're not open to really hearing it.
Speaker 2:Right, Well, oftentimes, I mean, I think like a lot of people are like I'm not going to do that, that looks ridiculous. No, you know, they're just completely shut down from just looking at it. But I think too, this goes with a lot of different things, like, oh, I did it once and it didn't work. It's like for me, like I had a lot of skepticism and that kept me from not really having the benefits working for a while, and so I made it to where I'm like, okay, I'm going to tap this amount of minutes per day for this amount of time and I'm going to like I'm going to actually do my own study on myself and see does it work, Does it help? And again, like I found profound shifts, I found so many releases throughout the day. It's like my one time that now I do 10 minutes every day and oftentimes more than that throughout the day. Like I tell people, just while you're driving, just turn off all the radio, put down your phone and just start, and just start sighing and start like making noises and allow just energy to move. And I'm telling you like it's so calming. Again, I kind of give you the science, but it almost seems still like to this day. It still blows my mind sometimes. But also like if somebody's in complete shutdown or they're so disconnected, it's going to take more time. It's going to take doing that practice over and over. It's going to take breath. It's going to take getting out in nature. It's going to take tuning into the internal cues of their body, like oftentimes that can feel like climbing Mount Everest when we've been disconnected for a long time. Like this has been a journey for me for the last, consciously, for the last seven years. So it's not like I just got here overnight, you know, like there's a build up to it. But when I brought in the somatic component, I feel like it's left me like quantum, leaped me in so many ways and it's like again, we can know all day long, but if we're not really feeling and we're not really connected, we're always going to be searching, we're always going to be looking for a sense of satisfaction or fulfillment. And so and for me, like my faith has been huge on my journey as well, I lean on that so much throughout my day. I just feel like when I pray and I tap, it just amplifies it Oftentimes, like my prayers, through my worship, like through singing, and so that's why I feel so powerful about, or so like strong about, bringing in singing and dancing, and like our body needs to express in the ways to really heal. I feel like. So Other misconceptions would probably be like you know, honestly, I haven't heard other than just like people not doing it long enough or really giving it an opportunity.
Speaker 2:And also, too, I think there's not that many YouTube videos. To be quite honest, I'm actually feeling like inspired to start creating more. But what I'm learning is I love it when I can have someone one-on-one. I feel like it's just so much more potent because I can take people deeper, and like we can start with one thing, but I'm always amazed at how many things unravel throughout the process of tapping. That brings up more and I'm like, okay, can we be with that? Like we're then pausing and breathing into that area where you're feeling that discomfort, that constriction, that tightness. That's an emotion, no matter if we don't know what that name is, if we can't label it, because you know we have to bring awareness first to our emotions and then there's management, right, but if you were to just be with a sensation in your body, you're gonna be with that emotion ultimately in the most loving way. So yeah, that would be what I would say Just giving it a chance, just try doing it longer.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I've kind of gone to a point in my journey where I've always been.
Speaker 1:I'm starting to learn about myself through human design and everything that I love. Once I consume a lot of knowledge, I want to tell everybody and just shout it through the rooftops. I've allowed myself to kind of just allow myself to experience it and learn how to apply it, because not everyone is on that, like I was kind of saying before, where you can't tell someone about tapping unless they're open to receiving it. And through this healing process I've realized that I just really want to focus on what I'm learning and applying it and not worry about trying to help other people do it too. I just want to experience it for myself, Writing down my desires and what I'm calling in and it's like if I receive those, it's more about having that time with God and journaling and being able to go there with myself, as opposed to going and projecting it out and saying all these things I just love everything that you share and being able to learn from you is. I honestly want to learn more about how to work with you, to be honest.
Speaker 1:But I want to wrap things up and just give you the opportunity to. If anyone's really just wanting to start reconnecting with themselves and their body, do you have like three to five tips of here's exactly where I'd start? I mean, I know you've kind of shared throughout the recording, but if you have like three steps, here's where I'd start.
Speaker 2:If someone's brand new to learning this, it is a little hard to give blanket because I don't know where someone is. The nervousness of several people with breath work like to start, I wouldn't recommend somebody that is addicted to adrenaline and cortisol and stress and going going going to be doing holotropic breath work like the Wim Hofstahl breath work that is releasing more of what we're addicted to. So of course it's going to feel good and we're going to get a high. Now, somebody that's in more of a functional freeze or they're in like a fawn type energy where they just like they feel stuck and they feel like they need to get some energy going and build that internal fire, then Wim Hofstahl is great, right, but ultimately I would say giving yourself at least 10 minutes a day to just be with yourself, and that could look like journaling, that could look like going on a walk, that could look like dancing, that could look like singing, but like putting away all distractions and allowing yourself to like really focus in on on your internal and what's happening and like giving yourself that space.
Speaker 2:For me, I also think that just getting out of nature is huge, like if we're not getting out moving our bodies, being in trees and grounding and getting sunlight and everything else, like it's just. It further disconnects us when we're constantly on a computer and buildings with artificial lights and all the things right, like we need to just get out into silence, hear birds, like just go listen to birds, or a creek, you know, going by and being able to cultivate a time where you're really disconnecting for everything. The other thing would be like, yeah, just having those moments where you're tuning into your like just catch yourself throughout the day Like how are you breathing? Are you breathing in your chest? Are you breathing through your mouth? Like those are often signs of stress, or you're in your head Like can you take a hold the breath? And through your nose, starting with the belly all the way up, like what is your, is your state of your nervous?
Speaker 2:It's like starting to just check in with yourself and bring awareness to where you are most of the time throughout your day, and maybe that looks like checking in in the morning and the night, and then maybe you start adding in an afternoon check in, and now I mean like almost like on the hour, like there's some type of check in or praying, or I'm doing something where I'm like I've got to keep practicing to connect with myself again and again, because we can get lost in the to do list and things we got to get done and all the things we've scheduled for ourselves. That you're just like coming back and having like 10 seconds of just like a putting our hands on our heart and just taking a breath, or the womb or wherever you want to put it. You know, but that would be, yeah, be my first person.
Speaker 1:I love that. I mean, it's super simple and it's going to help with the awareness. I think awareness is, like always, the first step with a lot of this, this type of work, and the more you can create around it, I feel like, the more you can expand with it. So I think that that's a really great places to start and just start like reconnecting with yourself. So, ashley, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and your experience and everything I mean I feel like I could do like more, even asking more, but is there anything else that, like I didn't ask or you know, like that you want to like, share or leave the listeners with before we hit the hit the stop button?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, shoot, if you know someone were to leave with anything and be, find ways to dance more, sing more, play more, celebrate more, like maybe that looks like pushing your comfort zone and going and taking a dance class, like just putting yourself in that environment, and maybe that's too big for you and that's okay too.
Speaker 2:Like start in your room, like there's so many tutorials, like I learned how to shuffle on YouTube you know so and I continue to still get on there. There's there's different ways that you can do it inside your home and then, when you feel a little more comfortable, go out and find other people and be in community and that's just. It's such a beautiful way to activate the ventral vagal, the state that feels really good, where we have energy to do things but we're not burning out, we're not like using our survival energy. And and, of course, if anyone's interested in more, you can find me on my Instagram or DM me, ask me any questions. I love answering and responding with questions further about you have to your dance or working with me. Even I have got a link in my bio, but you could also just DM me to so yeah well, thank you.
Speaker 1:Yeah well, for sure, include like your Instagram in there and the show notes so that if anyone wants to go follow you and check out what you do or message you that they can easily go do that. But thank you so much. I really appreciate you saying yes to this and coming on. Really loved having you on the podcast.
Speaker 2:I love being here. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for tuning into today's episode. You have no idea how grateful I am to have you as one of the love your body now listeners, if you are loving this podcast, it would mean the world to me if you subscribed and left a review. This helps me get the message out to more women just like you who are also committed to their journey. And if you love this episode, please be sure to share it with someone who you know needs to hear today's message. Together, we can help more women recognize their self worth and build their confidence from a much deeper place, just like you're doing right now. Let's help change the world, one woman at a time. Alright, talk to you soon, friend.