Heal the brain-gut axis
You know I do my research and want to help myself and community FEEL HAPPY, BETTER, AND AT PEACE!
The Happiness chemical, serotonin, is produced in a balanced gut-brain axis. Along with doing the mental and physical healing work, I find that supplements help so much! You can check out my amazon storefront for many supplements that I recommend but I have also partnered with a new company, Amare.
Let's learn about the brain-gut axis!
The gut and the brain are intricately connected through what is known as the gut-brain axis. Research has shown that the health of the gut can have a significant impact on mental health. Here are some ways in which healing the gut can improve mental well-being:
Microbiome Influence: The gut is home to a diverse community of microorganisms known as the microbiome. This community of bacteria plays a crucial role in maintaining a healthy gut environment. The microbiome produces various neurotransmitters, including serotonin, which is often referred to as the "feel-good" neurotransmitter. An imbalanced or unhealthy microbiome has been associated with mood disorders, anxiety, and depression.
Inflammation Reduction: Chronic inflammation in the gut has been linked to systemic inflammation, which can affect the entire body, including the brain. Inflammation is associated with various mental health conditions, and addressing gut health can contribute to reducing inflammation levels.
Nutrient Absorption: A healthy gut is essential for proper nutrient absorption. Nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and amino acids are crucial for the production of neurotransmitters and other molecules involved in brain function. Improving nutrient absorption can positively impact brain health and cognitive function.
Immune System Support: A significant portion of the immune system is located in the gut. A healthy gut helps regulate the immune response and promotes a balanced immune system. Dysregulation of the immune system has been linked to conditions such as depression and anxiety.
Regulation of Stress Response: The gut-brain axis plays a role in regulating the body's stress response. An imbalanced gut can contribute to an exaggerated stress response, leading to increased levels of stress hormones, which can negatively impact mental health.
Synthesis of Neurotransmitters: The gut produces and releases neurotransmitters, including gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and dopamine, which play key roles in mood regulation. A balanced and healthy gut contributes to the synthesis of these neurotransmitters.
Reduction of Toxins: A compromised gut barrier can allow toxins and harmful substances to enter the bloodstream. This can trigger an immune response and contribute to inflammation, which has been associated with mental health disorders.
Improved Sleep: Gut health can influence circadian rhythms and sleep patterns. Disruptions in gut health may contribute to sleep disturbances, and addressing gut issues can potentially improve sleep quality, which is crucial for mental well-being.
Healing the gut often involves adopting a healthy diet, incorporating probiotics and prebiotics, managing stress, and addressing any underlying gastrointestinal issues. While improving gut health can positively impact mental well-being, it's important to note that mental health is complex, and multiple factors contribute to its regulation. Individuals with mental health concerns should consult with healthcare professionals for comprehensive evaluation and guidance.
I have been prioritizing gut healing and gut health and here is something that I have found that helps me on a daily basis!
Why most people get trapped by avoidanCe
𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘂𝘀 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱?
The very things that will change our lives. ⤵️
Even I am guilty of avoiding the very things I know “work“
What changed my perspective on these things and helped me to consistently implement them in my life was cultivating a sense of safety, peace, and harmony in my life through nervous system reprogramming. 𝗜 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱.
🧠 We get stuck in survival mode.
When stress activates the survival stress responses in our body and mind.
Our body and mind become comfortable in a familiar state of being. We avoid, we have negative self talk, we repeat unhealthy patterns.
It’s all about reprogramming, and there are several ways to do this to help you make better choices, have healthier patterns, and feel peace and happiness.
Not only do I go over this exact methodology that I created in my book, safety at the roots™️ but I have a membership coming out soon where I will have weekly videos uploaded to help you move through these very things.
You can purchase my book and find out more about the membership by exploring the website!
Improve your mental wellness with supplementation
A lot of the clients in my community and who I work with have struggled with their mental health for quite some time. Feeling stuck, exhausted, stressed.
Something that I am passionate about is finding innovative ways to help my community FEEL BETTER and thrive.
We do a lot of healing work here at STS. I also finally found something that is going to really enhance your healing journey.
I have partnered with a new mental wellness company that has a variety of clean ingredient supplements formulated to improve your mental health.
I tried these myself to see my own improvements. I studied the company for months and read the scientific facts and formulations.
I am impressed!! The science of the gut-brain axis is right up my alley and I am excited to share it with you. I have a $10 coupon for you and % off residual orders each month.
They even have clean supplements for kids. LOVE THIS!
Supplementation is powerful and can make a great enhancement to your healing journey. I have been loving the “happy juice” and digestive enzymes.
Take a look at the link below! Thank you for being here.
How I became more intentional with my relationships
I take what I learned with my sister into every one of my relationships.
Here is what we did 👇🏻
My sister and I have always been close and each other’s support system through our family and life challenges.
Like all sisters do, of course we argued and clashed but nothing that we couldn’t overcome the same day.
One day in our 20s, we fought so bad because we triggered each other and couldn’t effectively communicate or understand each other. Our fight or flight mode was activated constantly.
▶️ The next morning we had a conversation that changed everything. We validated each other and promised each other we would never fight like that again and we haven’t.
✨ We both were living in trauma responses and taking it out on the one person that was our safe space.
I share the story with people often and I share this with you because it is so common in relationships especially when you feel safe with that person. Conflict can be prevented by acknowledging the emotions and responding differently. Self-awareness and validation.
How to raise your vibration
Have you felt low energy lately? I have briefly broken down my tips to on how to raise your vibration when you feel stuck.
How to raise your vibration 👇🏻🌈
1. Recognize immediately that being in a lower energy means you’re transitioning and working through something heavy. There is NOTHING WRONG with you.
2. Ask yourself why are you feeling this way and process the feelings swirling around in your energy. Emotions are energy in motion. Let’s shift and let’s heal. You’re not making excuses for feeling stuck AND let’s move the energy to where you feel BETTER! Let’s shift the mindset, restore your body, and align your energy. Patterns of behavior are rooted in something deeper like programming, trauma responses, and emotional dysregulation.
3. Empowerment is the foundation where we can make positive change. When we force ourselves into change, it won’t last and the intention behind it signals our energy that we just need a quick fix and eventually the patterning will go right back. You want long lasting change. To shift higher into a vibration that aligns with your desires, connect to the root of love and empowerment.
4. Embodiment sends you into truly aligning with your authentic self and truth and when we do that, we immediately shift into feeling higher energy.
5. Movement- when we move our body, we shift our energy
6. Abundance mindset versus lack mentality. When we focus on what we have a lot of, it immediately connects us to the frequency of abundance and in all forms of it. This is why gratitude is such a energy shifter because we are focusing on abundance. Feelings = Reality.
7. Emotional processing. Process what you feel and transcend! Allow yourself to rise into a new higher frequency by moving the energy from stagnant emotions to healed and processed emotions.
8. Divine connection and guidance will attune you to a higher frequency because we are all connected to it. Leaning into our source of love and light helps us move through this human experience.
If this was helpful, comment below 👇🏻
You can find all of this information in my book titled: Safety at the Roots 🦋
Wellness Trends to incorporate into your life now.
Right now, there are so many wellness trends going around, based on clinical research of what we need as humans to enhance our lives.
And when I say trends, I mean, extensive amounts of information from experts, floating around, helping society, understand how we can create optimal functioning in our lives.
It’s so important to follow, consume, connect, and learn from experts, that you align with and trust. Also, it’s be mindful of what is behind peoples claim to wellness. For example, are their clinical studies? Are there credentials behind the person speaking have they done extensive research and showing you where they sourced this information from.
The reason why you’re seeing a lot of things pop up to help you on your wellness journey is because it works and it’s life-changing.
Based on my own research, this is what I’m seeing:
Biohacking tips
Gut health priority
Maximizing hydration for your mental and physical health with emphasis on mineralizing your water
Hormone regulation, and stress reduction practices
Focus on our metabolic health
Nervous system regulation and trauma recovery
Energy healing
Manifestation practices
More natural, holistic, sustainable nutritional Diets, where we focus on eliminating toxic and harmful ingredients
Holistic living
Emotional intelligence
Expect to see Strengthen the Soul, LLC on all of our platforms and resources speaking about these trends more and more.
Are you struggling to seek help on your transformation journey?
A powerful message on positive change👇🏻🦋
I have the privilege of witnessing peoples vulnerability as they are opening up about their core wounds.
I have the observations that we are all the same and collectively suffer with limiting beliefs, fear, false identities we took on as children and throughout our life, lack of coping skills, and wanting to be seen and heard.
There are some people who seek out support and help and others who are hesitant to. No matter what your circumstances are, you are not wrong. If you are feeling stuck and not seeking support, it doesn’t mean you’re less than- it means that there are blocks to heal through.
There are a variety of reasons why we don’t seek out support. Is it:
Lack of worthiness?
Lack of funds?
Lack of confidence?
Lack of knowledge on who to go to?
Lack of self awareness?
Fear?
Feeling like a burden?
Perfectionism?
These are all blocks to you feeling better and stepping into the best version of yourself.
In order to get to where you want to go, you must heal through the blocks preventing you from leaning into the very support that can take you there.
Use your body as a tool on your healing journey
How using your body as a tool can change your life 👇🏻
When we use the tools that our vessel offers, we create sustained feelings of freedom, harmony, and health.
𝗪𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵, 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲. we can clear dense energy, release and process emotions, and regulate the nervous system.
We have 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 within our body that are rooted in sustainable functioning, if we nourish them and take care of them right.
Our body constantly sends 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀 to us when something is off. If you don’t feel good in your body, there is a reason.
Our body is 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 to our mind and when in harmony, the mind and body can create powerful healing and change.
Our body responds to sound, energy, frequency, the nourishment, detox, and how well we are caring for it.
I utilize EFT, breathwork, movement, energetic, and nourishment into the work that we do together to use our body as a tool to create healing and life transformation.
Shifts to stop anxiety from running your life
Is your anxiety running your life?
Anxiety can feel so crippling to our daily existence.
I do recommend working with a professional to get to the understanding of the root cause.
Here is what I would recommend to get you started:
🌈 Remove caffeine
🌈 Begin your day with a nurturing slow morning
🌈 Organizing your day the night before and get into bed at a time that feels good to your body
🌈 Focusing on lowering cortisol levels in the body (future post coming on that entirely)
🌈 Prioritizing breathing through out the day
🌈 Using journaling as a way to process the thoughts and emotions
🌈 Changing diet and supplements to support gut health
🌈 Setting stronger boundaries with yourself, routines, and relationships
How I supercharge my water
We already know I am obsessed with mountain valley spring water because of the natural minerals it contains STRAIGHT FROM THE SOURCE!
I want to tell you how I supercharge my water even more!! 🔥🔥👇🏻👇🏻
Since I’ve started taking Revitalize, I’ve noticed a huge difference in my mood, energy, stress levels, and more. This is because our body requires micro and macro minerals to function properly AND MOST OF US DO NOT GET ENOUGH!
How do we get more of the minerals that we need?
By eating more nutrient dense food first and foremost
… And then supplementing with bioavailable supplements.
This supplement not only tastes great, it increases our bioavailability which means that the body absorbs more of the minerals that we consume. Helping us to feel and function BETTER.
Shilajit has been used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine for centuries and is an ingredient in this supplement blend which helps to naturally increase energy levels, brain function, anti-aging, anti-viral, liver and heart health, muscle recovery, and more!!
This supplement has 70+ trace minerals and replaces 7 essentials minerals in our body when taken.
𝗜 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘆!!
*Add to subscribe and save so you don’t miss a day or month without it.
you can also learn more by listening to our podcast episode here:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0QttQQB7tCUQB2k73z0ucE?si=_ujw3ohzT9eDfsHqMDxqrg
How to holistically minimize anxiety
𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 👉🏻 How to Holistically Treat Anxiety 👇🏻
Our brain has an alarm system that sends our mental state and physical body into protective mode. It’s our job to control whether or not we have an actual threat. We can assist our mind and body into a state of peace by using a variety of tools.
Here are just a few 🌈 don’t hesitate to reach out for more.
🌈 Supplementation. There are more natural ways to give your physical body and brain what it needs to help you mentally.
*Disclaimer: always consult with your doctor and also I have witnessed wonderful transformations as a licensed therapist of how being on proper dosage of a pharmaceutical medication can aid in mental illness. There is no shame in either option. You must do what you feel is best for you.
*𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘶𝘮 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘹𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺.
Linked Here is a bioavailable product that I recommend. Bioavailable means that your body is absorbing it, the supplements are working together rather than going in your body and back out. This product not only promotes stability in foundational wellness working with all the systems in the body, it also enhances wellness and the pack gives you a 30 day supply.
🌈 Hydration. Your body and brain is made up of 80% water and keeping yourself hydrated and eating properly can decrease anxiety. *minimize caffeine which is stimulant that increases anxiety.
🌈 Physical Movement. Moving your body helps to bring yourself out of your mind and into your body, also sending positive signals to the brain to release endorphins.
🌈 Breathwork also decreases anxiety by bringing yourself into your body and activating the parasympathetic nervous system.
*achieving a relaxed state in the body through the parasympathetic nervous system is a holistic and effective medicine. You can also use cold water to help stimulate emotional regulation by using the physical body.
🌈 Mindfulness and Thought Pattern Awareness.
Becoming mindful of thoughts and feelings can help you to re-wire and self-soothe. I often like to encourage clients to challenge these fear based thoughts that trigger feels of anxiety by asking them to identify the facts in the anxiety. Do you have factual evidence that makes this thought true right here and right now?
more tips to come xo
God is lining it all up for you
When the possibilities of our life feel so far out of reach, know that God is lining things up for you. When the light in the darkness doesn’t seem visible, understand that there is a plan bigger than us, a source lining things up for our greatest good.
On my life path, I have been met several times with frustration, hopelessness, confusion, and judgement just waiting for the answers to find me and tell me that I will be okay. I think we just want to know that we will be okay, and that it will work out. Think about where you are right now in your life. Are you living out the very things that you had once hoped for? This is a message that I have been receiving lately that I wanted to share.
God is lining it all up for us. Everything in our life is compiled by our intentions, our actions, and God’s timing. The universe, source, life, God, whatever you connect to, has an influence on helping us to live out our sacred lives. We walk a path and learn with each step. Time is relative. One day we look back and realized how quickly time has gone by and in each moment, we feel that life is moving so slowly.
What if we shifted the perspective that our goals, our hopes, our dreams, are not meant to be rushed. Maybe the timing is all a part of the greater plan. Maybe God needs the season you’re in to prepare for what is to come. That is something magical. I also believe we have the will to take the required actions to co-create with God. At the root of all support from the Universe, God, and life is love. Life supports us. God supports us. Universe supports us. We support us. In a world where there is an infinite connection to all things, remember that the possibility for our life is limitless and it requires us to have faith. It requires us to continue to heal. Healing is getting closer to our authentic selves. We are love. We are light. We are worthy.
I want you to look at where you are right now and if you feel stuck, I want you to know that you are in a season of growth, preparation, and right where you need to be. Your path is perfectly lined up in this moment to bring in what you want. Stay open, stay learning, stay faithful, stay true to who you are and know that God is lining it all up for you. Every moment in time is a gift. Every moment in time is a learning lesson. Every moment in time is step forward even if you feel far from movement. It’s all part of your divine plan. A plan only your soul and God know well.
Holy Fire Reiki Healing Testimonial
My husband and I recently had a reiki session with Katie that brought our healing journey to fruition. I met Katie this year during an empowerment weekend and immediately felt how special she was. I knew I wanted to connect with her, but also knew in my soul the timing would be right when I did. My husband and I are both on the path to healing but coming from two completely different places. A little back story on us… I’ve always been more of the intuitive one in our relationship, more self-aware, and the one to communicate my emotions effectively. My husband on the other hand has struggled with communication and being self-aware for most of this life. It wasn’t until I started working with him and communicating with him in ways that began waking up his intuitive side where he became more open to the spiritual realm of life. The two of us have pain that stems from our previous generation and were ready to break that cycle. There are no secret words or actions that bring you to this place, but a deep feeling from within, a deep emotion that awakens when your soul is ready to meet its higher self. It was in these deep emotions that I knew I was ready to work with Katie. I went to Katie for a reiki session knowing I was going to receive answers, or gain clarity and was open and ready to receive all that was meant to be. The moment Katie began, I felt an overwhelming sense of energy come over me literally from head to toe; this immediately changed the way I was breathing…. The deepness of each breath was not something I’ve experienced before. The best way for me to describe it was my breathing felt like it was trying to align with the emotions I was wanting to heal. Essentially, I began breathing to the pain that I have been holding on to. I cried about 4 times during our session, and this deep emotion to cry at those given moments felt like they came out of nowhere but felt needed at the same time. With each intense cry, I felt relief. Relief that my body could release. I’ve struggled with releasing emotions for a very long time. I always feel like I have to cry, but my body just never lets me. As our session went on, the deeper my body felt to surrendering my pain, to accepting, to feeling, to shedding, and to aligning. I had a few breakthrough moments during this reiki session where I either spoke to, felt, and met my higher self. My confession: I came to Katie to meet my higher self, and she led me straight to her. There are no true words to express the emotions felt when I met my higher self, but I want to try to explain it because it truly is the best feeling, and a moment I feel everyone should be open to receiving. At random times during the reiki session while Katie was shifting my energy, I would hear my higher self-speak affirmations to me, words that I needed to hear, words that I needed to say to myself. While hearing my higher-self speak to me, I felt my body tingling, at moments I would shake, and moments where I felt flutters in my abdomen. These words of encouragement from within were things my higher self knew my soul needed to BELIEVE not just hear, and while listening, I felt the message of “this is truth” come over my body. At the very end of our session, it was like Katie knew I needed to meet her, and guided me right to her, and I received the greatest gift of all time, my own heart. Yes, my higher-self handed me my heart and I just broke out into tears. I lack so much confidence, compassion and love for myself, and intuitively my higher-self handed me what I needed to begin healing. It was at this moment where I felt like I was floating, my physical body felt like it was weightless.
I cannot speak for my husband’s experience. However, doing a reiki session with him was a different form of healing that began. My husband is not very vocal with his emotions; he has a very difficult time putting his deep feelings into words because once he begins confronting where its coming from, he shuts down. This reiki session created a space for him to be more open, to understands what his inner self needs to feel happy. For us and our relationship this was amazing because I am now able to connect with him on a deeper level where he actually understands spiritually.
Thank you so much Katie, we cannot wait to connect again.
How to honor the relationships that have ended in your life
The energetic exchanges we call relationships are one of the most important catalysts for growth in ourselves and others lives. We meet people on our life path that we connect to and develop these special bonds with to enjoy life. I always say that each relationship in our life does something different for us. Its up to us to honor that and discover it within that relationship. We never know how the path of each relationship is going to go and often times we have the highest expectations for the people that we come to love. The unfortunate and fortunate part is that not every relationship is meant to remain on the life path as you continue to walk forward. It can be extremely difficult to handle our emotions when there is a break in this bond we came to value. It’s healthy for us to surrender to how life presents itself. Our egos have a difficult time understanding this and it’s really our soul that knows of our highest good. It’s so hard in the moment to follow through on our highest good because we are human. With continued growth, you will have an easier time letting go of those not meant to stay because in the growth you learn to come home to your soul and trust the purpose of life.
Each season of our lives, while we are here on Earth, was designed to help us get to this magical place of alignment and alchemy. In these seasons, people have a unique purpose in our lives and we only truly gain this by reflection. Its important to be mindful of how our ego will get in the way of our soul’s reflections and that is why my advice to you is to be very intentional with your soul’s growth. Actively choose to take the time to reflect and honor the place you are in because of that unique relationship. We are all truly mirrors for each other with an important purpose to reflect things to each other.
On a true spiritual level, our souls know each other before even getting to this place we call earth school. It’s a school of powerful learnings and it’s in our relationships that we learn the lessons necessary for our souls evolution. The ultimate goal of our soul is to evolve, grow, love, and teach. If we keep this purpose in mind, we can honor the relationships we’ve had in this lifetime that didn’t quite make it to the next chapter and the ones that align with our soul and continue to walk down this path with us. Even the souls that transition back home continue to walk with us down this path. You chose to connect with each person in your life for a very special reason in this life. Don’t define it as positive or negative, simply define it as a way to evolve.
You first need to honor your emotions because it is a necessary step in moving forward with grace and acceptance. Most importantly it will ground you. We need to stay grounded to be healthy emotionally. When our emotions are completely dysregulated, we tend to make poor decisions and feel out of balance. The key here is to honor your emotions and stand in your power, not allowing these emotions to control you. Let them come in and flow effortlessly until they have served its purpose. Release with grace and continue to reflect.
Acceptance of what is your current reality vs what you wanted to come of it, is key here as well. This is a skill I have yet to master and I am aware of how it will help me be happy. Knowing that we are all on our own individual journey joined together at the right perfect times in life will help to separate yourself from others. We all have our own learning lessons and it’s your responsibility to acknowledge yours and not internalize other people’s actions or take on other people’s stuff. Other people’s options, life choices, feelings, etc do not define you. Again, that’s our ego taking over when our souls knows our truth. If a situation presents itself where you need to forgive someone, begin the process. Yes, it’s a process. It’s not something that we can do immediately and naturally, we need to be ready and it is a necessary step to take. Forgiveness does not mean acceptance. It means peace of mind and soul for you. To hold on to those negative emotions means to be giving someone you have no control over, the power. You do have control over your peace of mind and soul. Take that step for you. You deserve it.
You need to flow through these steps in order to get to a place or peace and gratitude. In this place you will be able to honor these relationships and people who helped shape your current reality. Don’t hold on to pain, resentment, regret, and anger. These emotions will only hold you back from being who you’re meant to me. Write a thank you letter to the people who have left your life to continue down their own life path. There is no telling that they are not meant to return or maybe they never will. And it is okay. Thank them for your learning lessons. Thank them for your growth. Thank them for bringing you closer to your authentic self. Honor these relationships and honor yourself for going through the steps to embody true inner peace. Do it for you.
It’s time to take the training wheels off
I was in a session with a client recently and we were discussing her feeling trapped by her trauma and how she allowed it to rule her daily life. She was allowing the fears and pain she had developed in response to the trauma to keep her feeling safe, and in reality that was the complete opposite of what was happening. In fact, it was keeping her trapped, stuck, and not in her true alignment with who she was meant to be.
I took a breath and kindly said to her, you need to now take the training wheels of trauma off your bike and learn to ride without them on. The time was right for her as she had taken healing into her hands for the last 6 months and was ready to face her discomfort head on.
Its time for you now to take the training wheels off. If you have been living in a place of comfort, fear, remaining small, limiting beliefs, and not truly living; I am here to tell you that its safe for you to be you and all of you. All you were meant to be.
What happened to you is not your fault, AND healing is your responsibility. It’s time to refuse to accept how things are in your life and fight to live the life you deserve. It starts with knowing you are worthy of riding that bike with ease and knowing you deserve to live a life where you are happy and healed.
The discomfort is where the growth is and true alignment is on the other side of fear and the false protection your ego tries to fulfill. The first step is the hardest. The mental warship it takes to fight through the discomfort can seem like a daunting task and I know it is a capability for you.
If this resonates with you, I would love to help move you past the barriers to positive change. xo
The future of Strengthen The Soul
Strengthen the Soul has always been a dream of mine. For as long as I could remember helping others has always been my passion and purpose. I set out on my journey for my career right away after high school over 10 years ago to pursue an education in social work and really have learned so much incredible life lessons through my life experiences. Throughout my life thus far, with every hardship, I’ve asked myself why me? Why me? And why me again and again. Until one day I realized, yes me!
These experiences have not been in vain and they are strengthening my soul. The very soul that has chosen to come to earth and help to heal others. Without going through everything that I have gone through, I would never be in the place I am today or would not be able to help others. I am grateful for the growth. The biggest mantra in the healing community is that you really need to heal yourself first before you can heal others and that truth is what I live by! I am the woman I am today because the hardship and heartache gave me strength and perspective. I took responsibility and healed.
So that is why this beautiful heartfelt business is called Strengthen The Soul, because I strengthened mine to help strengthen yours.
I’ve been working hard on building this business up! There are so many things I am doing that I want to share with you.
The Empowerment Workshop Event Series
my dream come true! On a larger scale, I am providing a space for my community to grow! Powerful leaders and mentors will present tools and experiences for our guests to be the best version of themselves. This series started off with a positive, beautiful energy on August 16th and will resume planning for our second one as soon as I can really get a grasp on what our word with COVID will look like. Until then, I am continuing to host my mini empowerment workshops in the park led by me and some guest co-hosts throughout the year. These Mini empowerment workshops include meditation, journal prompts and processing with like minded individuals in our community.
Empowerment Mastermind
I will be launching an empowerment mastermind class for individuals who need accountability, tools, mindset shifts, processing, community building, networking, releasing barriers to change and growth, and business mentorship! This will be a 6 week mastermind group of likeminded individuals ready to take their life to the next level. I am ready!! Are you??
Mental health and healing programs
I am launching 2 mental health and healing programs.
“From the Roots Up” and “Be Here now”
from the roots up is a program designed to help you in establishing healthy coping skills and living your life. We will begin with identifying underlying issues causing you suffering and establishing the right coping skills for you. This program is to help eliminate maladaptive behaviors we develop to survive the difficulty of life.
be here now is a program designed to help you establish mindfulness and presence in your life. Life goes by so fast and we want to truly live and soak up everything that life has to offer.
1:1 coaching and therapy
I am continuously taking 1:1 clients as I am establishing a therapy private practice that is in the works for opening sometime in 2021. Strengthen the Soul will incorporate individual therapy sessions, individual and group coaching sessions, empowerment workshop events, and meditation classes.
I can’t wait to fully launch all of these things and stay tuned!! Email me at strengthenthesoul@yahoo.com if interested in any of my upcoming programs, coaching, and events!
Impostor Syndrome
All we ever want is to have our dreams come true, be happy, and align with our authentic self. We put in so much work to get there and work hard everyday. We think we are going to be on top of the world when entering this place. AND THEN BOOM. Those negative thoughts creep in and we begin to question ourselves by giving into the negative thought patterns our brain likes to hold on to, to feel safe. We end up doubting who we are in this very moment and have an inability to internalize our own achievements. This is called impostor syndrome. We begin to question our hard work and ourselves because we can’t believe the positive and the fulfillment is real.
It’s our job to challenge those negative thought patterns and re-invent ourselves as THE NEW US. It’s in feeling that WE DESERVE the new sense of success and fulfillment that we can really challenge the impostor syndrome and those self-doubting thoughts. If you find yourself beginning to say to yourself that you can’t do this, you are not good enough, I am never going to be great, I suck, I don’t deserve this, this can’t be me, was I just lucky, this good feeling will end, this is too good to be true, I am not good at this, I am a fraud.. I want you to recognize that THESE THOUGHTS ARE IRRATIONAL AND DO NOT DEFINE YOU. You have the power to recognize this thought pattern and consistently re-wire until your success feels natural to you.
Focus on the hard work and how special you are. Each day, allow yourself to feel the feels and fight the urge to self-doubt. You are uniquely you and the more you embrace who you are and all the strengths you have, the more it will over power those negative limiting beliefs about yourself. Here is a tool and some positive affirmations to assist you in re-wiring those thoughts from negative to positive. The key is you need to be mindful of the negative thoughts and the urges to self-doubt and immediately address it.
RE-WIRE THE THOUGHTS
I am worth it, I am worthy, I am authentic, I am worthy of these positive feelings, I am good enough, I am valuable, I am not giving up, I worked hard to get here, I earned this, I deserve this, I am not afraid to fail, I embrace my strengths, I am learning to love myself, I am proud of myself, I am deserving of success, I am the one who has it all, I am the one who deserves it all, I am in control of my thoughts, I am just as successful as everyone else, my needs are just as important as everyone else’s, all the good in life flows to me because I deserve it, happiness is my birthright, success is my birthright, I am living my true purpose, I am good enough all on my own, I am good enough all on my own by just being me, I no longer will accept less than I deserve, I release self-judgement, I release limiting beliefs towards myself.
I hope this blog helped! If you resonate, I want you to know that you are not alone and as always… Hope and healing are possible.
Mental Wellness
There is no perfect recipe for mental wellness because we are all navigating our journey in the best way we know how with having survived so many obstacles in maintaining our mental state.
We have been hurt, we have been scared, we have been overwhelmed, we have been wounded, we have been confused, we have been abandoned, we have been gas-lighted, we have been manipulated, we have been embarrassed, we have been wrong, we have been right, we have been through so many things put on our path to tear us down. Those things happened for us not to us. The things meant to tear us down are the greatest catalysts for growth. However, navigating those growing pains can be really hard. I have filtered through some great ways to prioritize your mental wellness so you can feel good while you navigate through life.
Eliminate Negativity
When you truly take a look at the things weighing you down, you can see where these negative things are limiting your growth, healing, and power. Eliminating the negativity in your life, opens you up to feeling great. Feeling loved. Feeling positive. Feeling free. Eliminating things can be hard and it can be scary. The other side of fear though is where the magic is. There is magic in living a life filled with love. Think about the negative thinking, the negative people, the negative energy, the negative habits and release what isn’t serving you anymore. You deserve to be at peace and this will help you feel more stability in your mental wellness.
Practice Gratitude
Incorporating gratitude into your daily life can drastically enhance your mental wellness. It doesn’t do you any good to focus on the lack. If you’re grateful for what you already have and are open for the unknown magic entering your life- there’s no room for that negative thinking. What you focus on grows. Think about the times you practice gratitude and how it makes you feel. It instantly raises your mood. To live in that elevated vibration is so good for your soul. You can yearn for things you want. Allow those feelings to come and go and know that you will have everything you want because you deserve them. Just don’t focus on not having them too much. It will lower the vibration. Even if you focus on one thing in the moment to be grateful for, you can increase your mental wellness.
Focus on Self-Care
Spending more time focusing on what brings you peace and assisting you in caring for you will help you have positive mental wellness. Some self-care tips I focus on can range from hygiene and beauty, to meditation and relaxation. Self-care can be making time to see friends and family and be in nature. It can also be spending alone time reading and taking a bath. Self-care can be ensuring you have a clean home and feel at peace and also be engaging in self exploration creatively. Self-care can be relaxing and rejuvenating and it can be fun-filled adventures. It is all about making this a priority in your daily life.
Routine
Having a routine in place can help you feel control, stability, accountability, and good for your mental wellness. The key to routine is to be flexible with it. Often times when I recommend that people add this in, it makes them feel more anxious because they go into the “what-ifs.” Having a routine that has wiggle room will help you to feel at ease and also accountable.
Be open
It’s important to have standards and set boundaries in your life. However, I can’t urge you enough to also be open to how life is unfolding for you and accept what is right in front of you. When we fight it and try to control the outcome, it causes more harm to our mental wellness than it does good. Focus on what you can control and let go of the rest.
Be present and mindful
We often look back at moments we wish we could hold onto forever. We often are distracted or giving into the negative emotions or things going on. Be present. Allow yourself to feel, taste, listen, smell, see everything around you. Be all there, where ever you are. All we truly have is this moment. Meet yourself where you are at and truly enjoy the little things.
Relationships
There is power in embracing love. Be love and receive love. If someone in your life is not embodying love, not in alignment to who you are, causing you pain, lacks respect and boundaries, drains your energy, is negative, doesn’t bring you peace- think about stepping away in whatever that looks like to you. On the contrary, truly be grateful for the souls you have connected with who are loving and true. It feels so amazing to be surrounded by like minded souls who embody love. It feels good to help and support others just as good as it feels to be loved.
Physical nutrition
There is a direct coloration between the food you place inside your body and the wellness of the mind. Your gut is a powerhouse. It really is like a whole separate brain. When the gut is happy, so are you. Everything is energy and food is our main energy source. If you are fueling your body with negative things, that is how you will feel- negative. Just like if you fill your mind with negative self-talk, you will feel negative towards yourself. To improve your mental wellness- include physical wellness. That also includes a healthy balance with movement and sleep/rest. Create that clear channel to happiness.
Do the hard things
Do the work, you deserve it. On the other side of fear and discomfort there is happiness. There is freedom. Addressing those hard things will be life changing and it will be extremely difficult. Your future self is thanking you for taking the first step towards change.
Be Creative
Being creative and following your passions create a whole life changing view. You hold the power to how you live your life. Dont hold back on your greatness. Feel how good it feels to do the things you are good at and do the things that bring you so much JOY. You might even surprise yourself! Your potential in this life is limitless. I was stuck in a day to day routine not embracing my creative side and I never knew the power that creativity held for me. Embrace your strengths!
There are many more things that help to create positive mental wellness. These are the 10 things I have found make a huge difference. Let this be a reminder to you to choose yourself because you are worth it.
Expectations
“Expectation feeds frustration as its simply an illusive form of control by attempting to grip the reins that aren’t ours to hold.
Breathe. Release. Let go. Allow your life to naturally and quietly unfold.” Victoria Erickson.
I have realized that when I am harboring negative emotions around circumstances or the relationships I have in my life, I need to re-evaluate my expectations around them. I think it is important to have expectations with certain things in life because you deserve to have standards. Its when the outcome does not meet your expectations that is the concern. I have began to shift my expectations to minimize my disappointment. I have also learned to keep an open mind. People and life can surprise you. Appreciating how life naturally turns out can help you shift your mindset from “I am disappointed” to “I appreciate how this turned out.” You might not get to that mindset right away. Through processing you can release the expectation you had for the outcome.
There is an importance in meeting you, meeting others, and meeting the situation where it is at. Be open to however things are meant to be and take it for what it is. If someone is not meeting your expectations, do not try and control it or make it what it is not. When you force the outcome you want- you are not truly receiving it. Doesn’t it feel amazing to have a loved one put in effort naturally and truly embody what you have in mind for that relationship? Doesn’t it feel good to put in hard work and get the job that is meant for you?
The things that are meant for you will never lose you. The right people will be there, the right opportunities will be there, and the right timing will be there. Release the need to control the outcome or what you think needs to happen for you to be happy and you will see that you will find more peace and appreciation in knowing there is no attachment to the outcome. Accepting what is and not what you think it should be can be a powerful perspective to increase peace of mind.
Toxic Positivity
Being a positive person and spreading positivity is truly a gift to this world. I try to embody a positive mindset and lifestyle as much as possible. Negative energy is heavy and the further away you get from a negative mindset, negative people, and negativity in general, the better you will feel. Negativity is projection of unresolved emotions and can be a barrier to so many wonderful things in life.
There is a thing called toxic positivity and I think it is worth talking about. It can be done without even knowing. “Toxic positvity is the over-generalization of a happy, optimistic state that results in the denial, minimization, and invalidation of the authentic emotional experience.” Putting that into short-terms- it is truly not validating the emotional experience one is having. When you are sad, it can sometimes help to gain support and know that there is hope AND hearing “it is going to be okay” is so invalidating to the sadness you are feeling in the moment. Toxic positivity can also be a form of gas lighting which is manipulating someone with false information and making them question themselves.
Are you pushing someone’s feelings away on behalf of your own? Are you invalidating someone else’s feelings because you don’t know how to validate? Here are some examples of toxic positivity statements you can minimize and some validating statements you can use instead. Sometimes telling someone it is all going to be okay can be comforting and you might not know what else to say and that is okay! Just be open that validation can be a powerful tool.
Toxic positivity statements:
Just be happy
Don’t be negative
Look on the bright side
You just have to be positive
It will all be okay
Look for the Good
I’m sure its not so bad
You’ll get over it
Think happy thoughts
It could be worse
Validating Statements:
Describe what you are feeling, I am listening
This is really hard, I am thinking of you
I know this is hard
It is okay to feel what you are feeling right now
I am here for you
I am so sorry to see you go through this
I am here through the good and the bad
I am proud of you
You have survived hardships before AND I believe in you
It is okay if you are not feeling the best right now AND I am here
I am here to help and support you
What is your ideal outcome from this?
I understand why you would feel that way
Creating a positive mindset can really help you
You are strong
Life is filled with positive and negative experiences
I understand the negativity you are feeling right now AND remember who you are and how much you’ve overcome
You are allowed to feel how you want AND I lovingly set this boundary against the negativity
Validation does not mean acceptance. Validation does not mean lack of boundaries. Two things at once can be valid. As you can see, I put emphasis on the AND in statements to indicate that both parts of the statement are valid. We all have our truths and our perspectives. We are all on different levels of growth. Validation is extremely powerful for yourself and your relationships. Even when you are apologizing for something you did not intend to do, say being late. Instead of saying I am sorry I am late, you can transition to a more validating way of expressing that by saying, Thank you for waiting. You are expressing gratitude towards the other person and validating yourself.
“Kindness is Free.”