Healing Digestive Issues & Brain Fog with Alex Eckford

[00:00:00] Hello, hello, and welcome back to the Heal With Grace podcast.
[00:00:03] Today we have another really empowering, really amazing testimonial story. Someone who has healed
[00:00:10] from chronic illness that she honestly can't even remember a time where she didn't have symptoms or
[00:00:15] illness. She has dealt with this since she was very, very young, like a small kid, and started
[00:00:21] working together and used the my body healing method and had some private sessions with me
[00:00:26] and she's just made so much progress and like a true transformation that it's really beautiful to
[00:00:32] hear. And so I'm excited for you to hear this. If you are someone who has dealt with any kind
[00:00:37] of digestive issues, including IBS or like truly anything with the gut or any kind of brain fog,
[00:00:44] you should 100% listen to this because she's going to tell you what she experienced and how
[00:00:49] she moved through it. She's truly healed some of those symptoms and this is just going to
[00:00:54] be really important to hear. And then also, I just wanted to note and highlight that we have
[00:01:00] started new updates to the my body healing method program. There's more individual support.
[00:01:04] There's more overall support in our program. Alex actually mentions the course in her episode
[00:01:10] in this episode and she's talking about the my body healing method. She did all of the modules
[00:01:14] and skills and the practices on which really helped her heal. And so I cannot tell you
[00:01:19] how excited I am about the updates that we have because it's been really getting people
[00:01:24] so many results to heal their chronic pain and illness symptoms and not just manage,
[00:01:28] like truly be able to do this in easy processes, easy simplistic steps, which actually talks about
[00:01:34] to some of the ones that really helped her. So if you're interested, if you've been thinking
[00:01:38] about it, find the link below for the my body healing method. And let me know if you're
[00:01:43] interested or go ahead and apply. And we would love, would absolutely love to have you.
[00:01:48] All right, without further ado, here we go. Hey there, and welcome to heal with Grace.
[00:01:54] I'm your host, Grace Secker, and I'm a holistic licensed therapist and nervous system coach who
[00:01:59] believes that the chronic and often unseen symptoms you're living with are a sign of
[00:02:03] something deeper going on. A sign that your nervous system needs attention. In each episode,
[00:02:09] I'll share the science behind the most common chronic health disorders,
[00:02:12] plus holistic health tips using mental, physical and spiritual practices.
[00:02:17] You'll hear what I've learned in my journey and the true stories from our trusted guests
[00:02:21] so you can feel less alone in your experience and give yourself Grace no matter what you're
[00:02:26] going through. So without further ado, settle in and get cozy. It's time to heal with Grace.
[00:02:33] Hi, Alex. Thank you so, so much for coming on the podcast. I'm really excited to have
[00:02:38] you. Welcome. Of course. Thank you. I'm honestly honored to be here. So thanks for inviting
[00:02:43] me. Yeah. I'm excited today because I think your story is, and what you've dealt with symptom-wise,
[00:02:50] is not always talked about in terms of like my body world. We know stress affects so much,
[00:02:55] obviously, but to really come as far, I think that you have is really important for people
[00:03:00] to know and especially from where you started. So without me going farther into it, why don't
[00:03:05] you just share a little bit about you, maybe where you live and we can go from there.
[00:03:09] Okay. Well, hi, I'm Alex. I'm based in Austin, Texas. I've been here for almost two years now and
[00:03:17] I've actually lived in a couple different places all over the country. So this has been a good,
[00:03:22] a good move for me. I am in a creative work field. So I'm a trend forecaster by trade.
[00:03:28] So that's really fun. It's a fun day job, but I'm also really passionate about holistic
[00:03:32] health and wellness. So it's kind of my hobby to learn about all things related to the body
[00:03:37] and the mind. I'm so super excited to be here. And of course, to me, Grace and all the work that
[00:03:42] you've done has been fascinating to learn about. Yeah. And how did you come to this work? How did
[00:03:47] you find, did you find me first? Did you find like my body neuroplastic work? I forgot. Yeah,
[00:03:53] that is actually a good question. So I found you first. So I think at the time I was dealing
[00:03:59] with some health anxiety, I was specifically looking for a therapist who would understand
[00:04:05] that side of things. And so I think I literally searched holistic therapist and found you and
[00:04:10] then learned about my body and how much deeper all the work was than I was expecting.
[00:04:16] Yeah, as we usually do. I have no idea like actually what it entails or what it means.
[00:04:21] Yes. So okay, let's jump in. Then what exactly were you experiencing,
[00:04:26] not only just health anxiety, but anxiety around what like what were your symptoms
[00:04:29] before we started? Yeah. So I guess we started working together about a year ago now. And at that
[00:04:36] time, my physical symptoms were really centered around pretty debilitating brain fog. And then
[00:04:43] I'll call it chronic digestive distress is my favorite term. I think when I look back over
[00:04:50] my health journey, like my symptoms have ebbed and flowed and changed over, you know, my entire
[00:04:55] lifetime. But when we started working together, I feel like those were the main two things that
[00:05:01] just like never seemed to go away, no matter how hard I tried. You've had digestive issues since
[00:05:08] you were a kid, right? Like that's been most of your life. Yes. Yeah, I've tried to think back
[00:05:14] through like when they started and honestly, I can remember being in elementary school and
[00:05:19] having to stay home because of stomach problems. So there was rarely a time that I could remember
[00:05:23] things being normal. Yeah. The amount of years as being a kid, you went through so many different
[00:05:28] treatments. Yes. Yeah, for sure. I think the digestive discomfort honestly was kind of like a
[00:05:33] backseat to most of my symptoms, like growing up, I experienced chronic illness starting really
[00:05:38] young. So this idea of there being something broken or something to heal or fix or something's
[00:05:43] wrong with my body and I have to diagnose it like that has been a mentality that I've had.
[00:05:47] I mean, truly since I was a wee little one. How do you think learning that so young,
[00:05:52] like there's something wrong with my body, there's something wrong with me? How has that shaped you?
[00:05:57] It's a big question. I think it has definitely led me to identify a lot with my symptoms or my
[00:06:07] illness consciously and subconsciously. I think this idea of my body being able to heal
[00:06:14] seemed really foreign to me. And I think it kind of, I felt like I always had to rely
[00:06:19] on an outside force or an outside intervention to be able to bring me health. So whether it was
[00:06:25] a doctor or a test or a supplement or something, it felt like I needed all of those things to be
[00:06:31] able to be healthy. Yeah. I mean, even the term healthy, right? Like that can become,
[00:06:37] I mean, putting words in your mouth. So tell me if I'm wrong, but it can become an obsession,
[00:06:41] right? Like what is actually healthy? What does that look like? Because there's so many
[00:06:44] different definitions of it, right? Yeah. Yes. That is true. And it kind of becomes a little bit
[00:06:49] of a checklist of you need to do all of these things to be healthy. I think there is a part of
[00:06:54] me too. Like when you asked how long I've been experiencing digestive discomfort, like that kind
[00:07:00] of had become just a norm to me. Like I kind of accepted the reality that this is just my body
[00:07:06] and that is healthy to me is going like that is my health is just struggling with that
[00:07:10] constantly. Yeah. So the idea of like truly being healed always seemed like really far away, I guess.
[00:07:16] It's so common, especially if you've dealt with any kind of chronic illness or pain,
[00:07:20] you know, with symptoms, really that we get to a point where you kind of have to accept it,
[00:07:27] right? And there can be some relief in that instead of trying to fight so much, but you're
[00:07:31] still trying to help yourself. And that's not a bad thing. Like of course, help yourself,
[00:07:36] right? But then I think it becomes your identity too. And like you're just in it.
[00:07:41] Yeah. Yeah. It's like constant thought. Like when we first started working together,
[00:07:47] I think I don't know how much of my brain space during a day was devoted to
[00:07:52] scanning for symptoms, looking for them, trying to solve them, anticipating when they would hit,
[00:07:58] worrying if I was doing enough. It just is this constant background noise. I don't even
[00:08:02] think I realized how often it was occurring until I started being a little bit more mindful and like
[00:08:09] getting deeper into this work. But it definitely, it was hard to picture a day where the word symptom
[00:08:14] or stomach or brain fog didn't pop into my head. Can you tell me more about, tell us more about
[00:08:19] exactly like what the brain fog was for you and how much it affected you? Because I think
[00:08:24] that you're right. That was a really big one at first. Yeah. I feel like this was the
[00:08:28] symptom that was the most frustrating to me. I think it's also difficult to describe,
[00:08:34] but it almost felt like my brain shut down in a way that I couldn't fully be present. So I feel
[00:08:41] like most of the time when I'm describing it to other people, I tell them to picture, you know,
[00:08:46] when you start staring off into space and your eyes kind of glaze over, it felt like that
[00:08:50] was my life all of the time. Like I couldn't focus. I couldn't focus my brain. I couldn't
[00:08:54] focus my eyes. I was like stumbling over words. I was aware that I was trying to form a thought,
[00:09:01] but I would lose it so often. And I think for someone who is like high performing and a perfectionist
[00:09:08] and is used to meeting a certain high standard they set for themselves, that was like so,
[00:09:14] so frustrating that I could not get my mind to do what I wanted and needed it to do.
[00:09:20] And did you know or did you explain it in some sort of way? Like did you tell yourself, well,
[00:09:25] it's because of X, Y and Z? Or were you told like I brain fog because of something?
[00:09:29] Yes. Brain fog is like so ambiguous. And so, I mean, I think I was given a mold diagnosis.
[00:09:37] There was a discussion of parasite, histamine intolerance, not sleeping enough. So there's
[00:09:42] like little things and big things, but in the grand scheme of things like brain fog could
[00:09:47] be caused by almost anything, food allergies. So I had kind of explored all of the things.
[00:09:53] And it seemed like I couldn't find any sort of pattern or cause or clear reason as to why
[00:10:01] mine was occurring. Okay. Do you mind if we go down the whole mold, food, that row?
[00:10:07] Please, please. Because people don't recognize that those can be things that we heal and treat
[00:10:13] without the protocols and all the things, right? So my question is what was the point where you
[00:10:18] realized, well, I don't need to treat those even though I've been told I've had mold and parasites
[00:10:22] and like diet is an issue. What was the point when you realized actually those weren't the
[00:10:25] answers? Yeah, I think once I kept going through the process of treating and detoxing
[00:10:32] and protocols and things weren't getting better. So the amount of effort, money and time I
[00:10:39] was putting into healing those things, you would think that you would see leaps and bounds of
[00:10:45] improvement. And I might experience relief for a day at a time or like a very short stint,
[00:10:50] but it never was lasting. So eventually my brain was like, something isn't right or this
[00:10:57] isn't a full picture. And I remember asking like the practitioners I was working with at the time,
[00:11:03] how much of this could be related to stress or emotions? And they're like, oh, it could be,
[00:11:10] but most likely, mold is causing your anxiety. So it's kind of this chicken egg. But it was
[00:11:16] really given no direction on, okay, how do you handle that side of the symptoms?
[00:11:23] Yeah, I kind of forgot about that. I was told that too. Well, mold is causing all of this
[00:11:27] for you. And at first, especially if it's in the beginning, it might be a little bit of
[00:11:31] relief, right? Like, okay, cool. There's an answer. I feel freaking crazy right now. Like,
[00:11:36] maybe this is it. But yeah, it doesn't actually change after doing the things, the healing thing.
[00:11:41] Yeah. And I do remember like probably at my lowest buying like an at home mold test,
[00:11:47] and I was fully expecting for it to come back crazy full of mold. And it was pretty much
[00:11:53] so normal. There were barely any discoveries there. And then I was like, okay, this feels
[00:11:58] like my symptoms are so blown out of proportion from what like my environment actually is offering.
[00:12:04] So I think there were just a couple of different things that kind of softly nudged me towards
[00:12:09] there being more of an internal conflict as opposed to an external factor.
[00:12:13] And what was the turning point for you when you started to find relief?
[00:12:18] Yeah, that is a big question. So from brain fog?
[00:12:22] Yeah.
[00:12:22] Specifically.
[00:12:23] Well, yeah.
[00:12:24] Okay. Yeah. I was kind of reflecting back on the past year of working together. And I feel like
[00:12:30] my biggest turning point was when my brain fog kind of, I mean, disappeared. And I think for me,
[00:12:39] learning and understanding the phases of the nervous system. So I'm like, I think you called
[00:12:46] them, what do you call them in your course?
[00:12:48] The red, yellow and green or the?
[00:12:50] Yes. Yes. The red, yellow, green. There's like the green zone of where you are calm, peaceful,
[00:12:57] totally regulated. There's yellow and there's red and yellow being more of that fight or flight and
[00:13:02] red being the like top of pyramid disassociating almost. I think when I fully understood what
[00:13:09] those looked like for me and like what I looked like when I was fully calm and what it looked
[00:13:15] like to be in fight or flight, what those symptoms were, what those emotions were like,
[00:13:19] what those thoughts were like, it just that is like the moment that I think this work clicked
[00:13:24] the most in my brain. I think I was able to attribute my brain fog to being in that like
[00:13:31] top of pyramid red zone. And so once logically I understood that like, wow, my body is getting
[00:13:36] to the point where it's disassociating. Why? Why is that happening? And like,
[00:13:41] what are the things that helped me maintain that green zone space? And how can I notice
[00:13:47] that I'm entering yellow fight or flight mode? And how can I get back to green before red? And
[00:13:53] there's just something about learning that that I think unlocked a piece for me. And now when I'm
[00:13:59] experiencing brain fog or any sort of symptom, I think I'm really quick to go to what is going
[00:14:05] on internally, what is causing me to not be in my green zone, as opposed to jumping immediately
[00:14:12] to know what infection do I have or what food did I eat or what have I done wrong? So yeah,
[00:14:18] there's something about that pyramid of understanding the nervous system that was huge for me.
[00:14:23] Hey, brands, it's Grace. If you feel like you've been doing all of the treatment protocols and
[00:14:28] all the different modalities to heal and you're still not feeling better and it's just kind of
[00:14:32] managing things, I'm here to talk to you for a second. So it's not because you're doing
[00:14:38] it wrong or you just haven't found the answer yet. It's truly because your nervous system and brain
[00:14:43] are still operating in protection mode. And your nervous system and brain when it perceives
[00:14:48] danger, physical or emotional danger, and even just ongoing stress, it keeps your body on high
[00:14:54] alert. So none of those treatment modalities are actually going to stick or work until you
[00:14:59] work with the bottom line, which is your brain and nervous system. Because when you're in
[00:15:03] the danger mode state, your digestion, immune system hormones and pain signals all get affected.
[00:15:09] It's like trying to heal while the alarm bells are still ringing in the background.
[00:15:14] And that is why so many people get stuck. You can do all of the treatment things you want,
[00:15:19] but if your system isn't regulated, your body can't access its natural healing state.
[00:15:25] This is exactly why I created my four month signature program, the mind body healing method.
[00:15:31] It's a step by step process that helps you calm your system,
[00:15:34] rewire old stress patterns and retrain your brain to feel safe again. So you can finally start to
[00:15:40] heal for good chronic pain and illness. This is a true recovery program, not just management.
[00:15:46] You'll get guided lessons, nervous system practices, live support, individual and group
[00:15:50] support and a community that actually understands what you're going through.
[00:15:55] Enrollment is now open. So you can find the link below in the show notes
[00:15:59] or go to elevatetherapywellness.com slash mind body healing method. Because until your brain
[00:16:05] and body feel safe, no protocol or treatment plan will actually work. When your nervous system
[00:16:12] works, everything starts to heal. Even as you explained it, I'm like, oh, that's
[00:16:17] a simple way of explaining it. That's great. Right? I mean, I know I teach it, but
[00:16:21] you know, hearing it from you that you've learned it and how you apply it is important
[00:16:25] because everyone applies it maybe a little bit differently or just what works for them.
[00:16:29] And so, I mean, I'm hearing that you went from, okay, yeah, what food did I eat? What's causing
[00:16:34] us? What environmental toxin is my home that's causing all of this to like, oh, let me tune
[00:16:39] into myself and look at my feeling something. Is there something stressful in my life?
[00:16:44] Right? That's such a huge shift. It also gives you so much power. It takes back the power
[00:16:49] from everything or every other practitioner you've been to to you have that.
[00:16:53] You have the wisdom within you to do it. Yeah. That's cool. Yeah. I feel like
[00:16:57] when I, I mean, I've kind of been in the like functional health space for a while and
[00:17:02] I feel like it's all founded on this idea of like, your body has the ability to heal itself.
[00:17:07] But like, coming to this mind body work is like the ultimate deep dive into like,
[00:17:12] you internally have everything you need. That like, if you can mentally and emotionally
[00:17:18] create an environment in which your body can heal, then it will heal. And so, I think that,
[00:17:23] yeah, that was a huge learning to me or like a huge realization. And it's like, wait,
[00:17:27] I do have the ability to heal even when sometimes it felt hard.
[00:17:32] Okay. And I want to touch on the food piece too, because that was a big one for you,
[00:17:35] especially with, I mean, with all things, but obviously, especially digestive issues,
[00:17:39] I'm sure that you were told probably at a pretty young age to watch what you're eating or
[00:17:43] don't eat these things or eat these, right? Can you tell us a little bit about like,
[00:17:46] probably how stuck you were with food and where you are now?
[00:17:49] Yeah, that actually has probably been the biggest tangible journey throughout all of this.
[00:17:55] So when I first started experiencing chronic illness when I was a kid, functional practitioners
[00:18:00] eventually told me, you know, cut out this small list of food. And that worked so well for me
[00:18:06] at the time. It really reversed a lot of the really big symptoms I was working with.
[00:18:11] But I think instead of going backwards and starting to reintroduce those foods,
[00:18:16] I just kept growing the list in which I had to avoid. So it just kept growing and eventually
[00:18:22] I became vegan or explored raw food diet. It just kind of became this whole vortex of food
[00:18:30] equals health or not healthy. And so I was constantly like learning, researching,
[00:18:35] tweaking, adjusting like what I was eating. And so at some point it's like, oh,
[00:18:40] I couldn't eat dairy, eggs, corn, tomatoes. But like the list was just so extensive, no high
[00:18:46] histamine foods. And it just, it brought so much anxiety and like took up so much brain space
[00:18:52] having to focus on what I could or couldn't eat. And so I feel like over the past couple years,
[00:18:57] there's been kind of a slow journey of me reversing a little bit of that, introducing
[00:19:03] a wider variety of foods. But I think it's been relatively recent that I have experienced,
[00:19:08] I would say like true food freedom. So not like, well, I'm going to eat gluten today,
[00:19:13] knowing it will hurt. But like, knowing that gluten isn't bad. And I don't have to anticipate
[00:19:18] it doing something bad. So I think, yeah, that's been a huge journey and one that like
[00:19:22] even my friends and family have been kind of in awe of. Really? Yeah. I mean, going from
[00:19:28] someone who is vegan to eating anything on a menu is a pretty big jump. Yeah.
[00:19:33] And releases so much pressure and anxiety, right? Because we eat multiple times a day. And if you're
[00:19:39] so focused or worried about what you're going to or not going to eat or how it's going to affect you,
[00:19:44] I mean, it takes over your life or can. Yes, totally. And that was definitely,
[00:19:49] definitely the spot I was in. Yeah. Okay. Were there any key moments in the past year that
[00:19:54] stood out to you along this journey? Yes. I think we talked about like the brain fog
[00:19:59] shifting. That was a huge one. I think the shift in my digestive symptoms to
[00:20:07] going from like, I mean, I could never even count on like one hand how many good stomach days I was
[00:20:13] having in a week to mostly experiencing good days and now being able to notice like
[00:20:19] when I'm having bad days, it's most likely tied to stress or anxiety or something that I just
[00:20:25] haven't fully worked through in myself. I mean, that is like, I probably don't give
[00:20:30] myself or my body enough credit for like how big of a deal that was. So yeah,
[00:20:35] I feel like that was a huge piece. And I think just in general, like this isn't a moment,
[00:20:40] but I think general safety in my body has been like such a big shift and like such a big
[00:20:48] change and just like being my own source of peace or regulation and not like having to
[00:20:55] rely on other people to provide that for me has been such a big, a big change. So I feel
[00:21:02] like those are the things that stood out the most like physical ones, but also some of them
[00:21:06] more emotional ones. Yeah. Well, and I'm sure it goes together, right? Like you've been
[00:21:11] working through things in your life and emotional stressors and that helps you
[00:21:15] create the safety. But I guess actually I want to hear from you because that idea of,
[00:21:19] okay, creating safety in our bodies for someone who's just starting this, they might not
[00:21:24] understand what that means. And obviously it means something different for all of us. So
[00:21:27] what does that actually mean to you? How did you do that? Yeah, it's a good question.
[00:21:31] I feel like being able to be kind of just mention this, but like your own source of
[00:21:37] comfort or calm. I think I was always relying on doing well or performing or getting
[00:21:45] validation from someone or someone expressing love to me for me to be able to experience that
[00:21:52] for myself. So when I think of like creating safety in my body, it's like being comfortable,
[00:21:58] not always beating myself down or being critical of myself and like being able to get to that
[00:22:06] place without someone else telling me you are good or you are good enough. I was able
[00:22:10] to generate that on my own. And I think part of that too is like the symptom piece of like not
[00:22:16] seeing my body as broken, that like my body isn't in a dangerous place. Like my environment
[00:22:23] isn't dangerous. My brain isn't dangerous. My body isn't dangerous. Like I can rest and be calm.
[00:22:28] It was a hard practice for me to build, but I feel like that's been a big shift.
[00:22:32] Yeah. I mean, when you can do that, it's kind of the goal of regulating yourself regardless
[00:22:37] of chronic symptoms or not, right? Being able to be with you and create that space,
[00:22:42] that space that you feel comfortable in, right? Like, yeah, it's important to get validation
[00:22:46] and love from others. Of course we're humans, but not to rely on it. And you've mentioned a
[00:22:51] couple of times like I noticed, you know, striving for more or really being achieving,
[00:22:57] wanting to achieve more or be good at something, right? That's been something you've worked
[00:23:01] through too. Did you recognize those patterns before this work or is this something you've
[00:23:05] come to? Yeah, I think those have kind of been lifelong struggles. So things that I have dealt
[00:23:12] with, I don't think I attached them to physical symptoms until starting to do this work. But
[00:23:20] yeah, the idea of like always have to be doing something or being a perfectionist or having
[00:23:26] a standard or expectations of myself. Yeah, those are definitely lifelong struggles,
[00:23:31] but I will say I think this idea of authenticity we've talked a lot about over the past year,
[00:23:37] but this idea of not having to operate in the framework of how I feel like I'm supposed to act
[00:23:43] or perform and like actually making steps and strides to do what is authentic to me,
[00:23:50] respond in a way that feels authentic and true to my true emotions and feelings. Like,
[00:23:55] that is something I didn't realize was a barrier for me until starting to do this work. And
[00:24:00] it's hard. I think that has been like something I've grown a lot in awareness and like I'm still
[00:24:05] practicing doing, but I think that was also a huge emotional unlock piece. Thank you for saying that.
[00:24:11] It's something we end up getting to, but it's not often like one of the first things we talk
[00:24:15] about because sometimes, you know, it takes a minute to get to that. But I don't think
[00:24:20] we give it enough weight of how important that is because if you're constantly not being
[00:24:26] authentic to yourself and dismissing yourself and being critical, right? I know we've talked about
[00:24:31] that a lot of like how to come out of being critical of yourself. That is some of the
[00:24:36] harshest stress that we can put on our bodies and our minds and nervous systems.
[00:24:40] And so relieving that can open up so much and for your body to feel safe. So it all goes together.
[00:24:46] Yeah. The idea of like what is stressed to the body, I feel like my awareness of how large
[00:24:52] that list can be. Like it's not just work or not sleeping enough. Like it is, yeah,
[00:24:58] all those background dialogues, the unkind thoughts. Yeah. So I think as I've expanded my
[00:25:05] view of what that is, I've become a lot more aware of what's happening inside my brain.
[00:25:09] Okay. So how has just day to day life changed for you?
[00:25:14] That is also a good question. I think my days are a lot slower and that has become like
[00:25:22] so necessary to me. I think I wake up a little slower or I have a less pushy routine in the
[00:25:29] morning. My morning looks more like taking a moment outside and breathing or meditating or
[00:25:35] journaling as opposed to rushing through my morning, getting from point A to point B.
[00:25:40] I think there's just been a lot more intentionality in my routines and what I say yes or no to.
[00:25:47] So much so that like when I do have a rush day, it feels so foreign where that like used to be my norm.
[00:25:56] So practically, my day is like a lot more peaceful and then yeah, symptom wise, like I feel like all
[00:26:03] of a sudden I have so much more space in my brain to think about fun things, creative projects,
[00:26:09] and you know, reading or decorating my house. I was using all of that brain space to like
[00:26:15] solve or heal or fix symptoms. I didn't realize how much I, you know, was missing out on the
[00:26:20] things that I enjoyed doing and spending time with. Yeah, I just have a lot more fun in my day, I feel
[00:26:26] like. Yeah, more space without having to worry so much. Less anxiety really is kind of what
[00:26:30] I'm hearing too. Yes, yes, way less anxiety. You've kind of mentioned this along the way,
[00:26:35] but I want to just point ask how has your relationship with your body changed over time?
[00:26:40] I feel like I've had a lot more grace and a lot more compassion for my body when it's not performing
[00:26:48] to standard or you know, being quote unquote what I think to be healthy. I think I'm not quick to,
[00:26:54] you know, feel like my body is doing something wrong or I have done something wrong. I think
[00:26:59] I'm quicker to think about, okay, how can I support? How can I create that safety or how
[00:27:05] can I nurture my body or create an environment in which it can find peace or balance or relaxation?
[00:27:12] And yeah, so I just feel like in general, there's less like fixing and more more compassion.
[00:27:18] Going from you said asking myself what's wrong or trying to fixate on my body of what's wrong
[00:27:23] to how can I support it? I love that. That's huge. And that is such a big shift. And one
[00:27:29] that I think takes practice and time, right? If you've always been looking at your body
[00:27:33] of what's wrong and how do I fix this and seeking everything outside of yourself to do so
[00:27:38] instead of actually like figuring out or just asking the question being curious about,
[00:27:42] okay, what would feel supportive when my body is talking to me? That's huge. That's huge.
[00:27:46] Yeah, it is now that I'm saying it out loud. Yeah. Because there's I mean, obviously like
[00:27:52] that comes with compassion that comes from trust, right? You're trusting that you have
[00:27:56] the skills and tools and you're trusting your body that you can move through it together
[00:28:00] if there is something that pops up. And I guess then I'll ask on that too, where you are now,
[00:28:06] how, I mean, you don't have to answer exactly, right? But would you say you have symptoms
[00:28:12] pop up now and every now and then, not at all every so what does that look like for you and
[00:28:17] your symptoms? Yeah, I would say they pop up every now and then. And I don't seem to
[00:28:24] experience them for the same lengths of time as I'm used to. So like the brain fog,
[00:28:29] it'll pop up every now and then. But I think I don't necessarily panic anymore. Like, I know what to
[00:28:35] do. I know the routine. I know, I know what's going on. I know how to heal. I know what practices
[00:28:41] work. I know how to do the things. And I think digestive sometimes are the same way like they
[00:28:46] do pop up from time to time. But I'm starting to realize like, that's kind of normal. Even
[00:28:50] people who are healthy, who I would think are healthier than me experienced digestive
[00:28:55] problems sometimes. And like, that's okay. That's totally normal. Doesn't have to cause
[00:29:01] a full blown spiral. So yeah. Also, I want to note on that that I guarantee you there's not,
[00:29:07] first of all, like what is healthy exactly, right? How do we define that? But then also,
[00:29:11] there's probably not a lot of people that are quote unquote healthier necessarily than you
[00:29:16] because of how well you take care of yourself. So I just even want to point that out, right?
[00:29:19] I think maybe just in general, yeah, sure, our bodies are never perfect. And they're
[00:29:23] going to talk to us sometimes. Okay. Is there anything else around your story,
[00:29:28] what we've talked about that you feel like would be important to share that we haven't?
[00:29:32] Yeah, that is a good, a good question. And one of the original prompts you have sent me,
[00:29:38] one of my favorite questions was, what would you tell someone who is in your position now?
[00:29:44] And I'm like, I spent a lot of time thinking about that one in particular.
[00:29:49] And I feel like this idea of like healing doesn't have to be hard or challenging. When I first started
[00:29:56] doing this work, it almost felt unnatural for my regimen or tasks or protocols, quote unquote,
[00:30:03] to be so simple, like sit down and breathe our journal for 20 minutes. Like those things felt
[00:30:10] so simple to me. And I'm like, this cannot possibly be what will lead to healing. Like
[00:30:15] I have to be doing something hard. I have to be cleansing or doing the things that I think
[00:30:20] like healing can be easy. And that yeah, I feel like that's like the biggest thing I'd want to share
[00:30:26] with myself or with someone else that like, it doesn't have to be hard and it doesn't have
[00:30:31] to be challenging. That's, yeah, that's awesome. That's super powerful because it does feel like,
[00:30:36] well, if we've been dealing with this and struggling for the so long and so hard, I mean,
[00:30:40] how could it be simple? And some of these practices, I preface this all the time with
[00:30:44] people, I know you've heard me say this, like, okay, this might seem really simplistic.
[00:30:49] And it just takes a little tweak around these simple practices and some shifting
[00:30:53] in how we think about ourselves and right in the emotions, but like the actual practices
[00:30:58] and look somewhat simple, but could be really impactful.
[00:31:00] Yeah. Yeah. I think like consistency in those simple and small things is like what has led to
[00:31:06] the biggest differences for me, but yeah, it does, it feels unnatural at first.
[00:31:11] Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So along those notes, you could say someone to some or say something to someone
[00:31:16] who's listening to this and trying to figure out, okay, what is this work or is this right for me
[00:31:22] kind of hesitant, but like, you know, tipping their toes in, what would you tell them?
[00:31:26] I would think if you're wondering if it's for you, it probably is.
[00:31:32] I think for, I mean, even when I was little, I had practitioners mentioning like the stress side
[00:31:38] and how it affects your physical body. Like, I think this work has been knocking at my door
[00:31:42] for a really long time. And I think it's kind of, it's hard too, because I feel like there is
[00:31:47] a lot of information out there about, you know, nervous system regulation and somatic work
[00:31:52] and meditation. And it's so hard to know how to do it or where to start. But I think
[00:31:57] mind body method, it's like a very practical, tangible, understandable way to learn and put
[00:32:03] those pieces into practice. So yeah, I would assume that if you are having symptoms that you have
[00:32:09] tried really hard to fix and you just can't and you're wondering if it's emotional or mind-related,
[00:32:15] it is. It really is. Yeah. Awesome. Thank you for saying that. And thank you so so much
[00:32:20] for coming on. I know your story is going to help a lot of people who've been questioning
[00:32:24] or not even sure actually if their symptoms could fit this, right? And so these stories are really
[00:32:29] powerful. So thank you. Yeah, of course. Thank you. Amazing. All right. Well, we will see you all next
[00:32:36] week and keep healing with Grace. If this podcast means something to you, it would mean so much
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[00:33:02] that help you as well as others. Thanks for listening. And I hope this brings you hope on your journey.