February 26, 2025 • 21 mins
Get ready for an uplifting episode! Join Tiffany as she chats with Raven Santiago, a passionate massage therapist and health coach, about tackling stress.
Key topics include:
- Spotting sneaky physical signs of stress and what to do about them (and the one sign you may have missed! 😮)
- The incredible benefits of breathwork and stretching as stress-busters
Tune in for a delightful mix of practical tips and playful insights!
About Raven: Raven Santiago is a certified health coach and licensed massage therapist with a rich educational background in integrative medicine. Known for her holistic approach to health and well-being, Raven has become a trusted figure in the wellness community. Her journey into the world of healing began with a deep fascination for how lifestyle choices directly impact physical and mental health. From nutrition to exercise, to stress management and mindfulness, Raven is dedicated to helping her clients discover a path to a healthier, happier life.
Connect with Raven: Instagram - Feelgoodbodyworks
Connect with Tiffany: www.porpoisefulwellness.com
Want the ocean-themed affirmation cards from the show? Check them out here!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Tiffany (00:03):
Hey friends, I have a question for you.
When is the last time youlaughed in a conversation?
Maybe you're in need of somelaughs or some good vibes.
And if that's the case, thisepisode is for you.
I sit down with Raven Santiago,a massage therapist and health
coach, to talk about sneakysigns of stress and what to do
about them.
We keep it lighthearted and giveyou some practical tips for
(00:23):
catching stress before itspirals and managing it when it
inevitably does show up in yourlife.
It's definitely a fun one and Ihope you enjoy it.
Well, welcome to the Dancing tothe Rhythm Within podcast,
Raven.
It's so great to have you.
Raven (00:37):
Thank you for having me.
Tiffany (00:39):
Yes, of course.
So I thought to help ground thissession, I could pull an
affirmation card for us.
How does that sound?
Raven (00:47):
That's awesome.
Let's do it.
Tiffany (00:49):
All right.
So I have my Porpoise FullWellness deck here full of all
these vibrant ocean theme cards.
Um, I'm just shuffling them.
Raven (00:59):
I have seen the cards before.
They are gorgeous.
Tiffany (01:03):
Well, thank you.
So, lately, two cards have beencalling to me when I do these
affirmation card pulls.
So the first one says, InfinitePossibilities Surround Me, it's
this one, um, but thisbeautiful, looks like a,
sunrise.
And then the other one says, IAm Playful.
Raven (01:23):
I love it.
Tiffany (01:24):
I love it.
I love it.
It's a little, uh, beluga whaleplaying with, uh,
Raven (01:28):
I think that resonates with me today, actually, because
of what we're going to talkabout, but then also this is my
first time being on a podcastand, you know, I was a little
nervous, but we can be playful.
Tiffany (01:43):
Yes, absolutely.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
I think that's a sign for me tothe playfulness.
Cause I think in growing abusiness and being a coach,
you're always.
It's looking for your nextclient or the opportunity, and
sometimes it's hard to be like,I'm going to be playful when
you're pushing, pushing,pushing.
And so it's sort of a, it's agood reminder.
Definitely.
Raven (02:04):
Yeah.
Tiffany (02:04):
I think the other one kind of goes hand in hand, the
infinite possibilities surroundme.
So it's, saying to keep an eyeout for those.
It's actually timely, I think,because we're going to talk
about stress on this podcast.
Raven (02:15):
And not taking things too serious, right?
Like that kind of goes hand inhand.
Tiffany (02:21):
Yeah.
I find these affirmation carddecks really fun because it's
always a chance to pause, butalso it's always the cards that
you need to see.
Raven (02:32):
Do you have a routine with them?
Tiffany (02:34):
Yeah, for a while, when I was transitioning from my
corporate job, I was doing anaffirmation card pull after I
did a gratitude journalpractice, and so, really simple
practice, I just wrote downthree things I'm grateful for,
and then, I also took a look atmy calendar for the day, and I
wrote down what my prioritieswere, and then I pulled an
(02:55):
affirmation card, so, eventhough I was looking at all my
priorities, and that could be, Atime where I could get stressed.
I tried to counter that with theaffirmation card and the
gratitude.
So anytime I looked at myplanner, I would see what I was
grateful for and then have thecards on my, on my desk.
Yeah, I did that for a while andnow that I'm saying it out loud,
I'm going, okay, I should reallygo back to doing that.
(03:17):
Yeah.
So welcome again, Raven.
So happy to have you here.
Raven Santiago is a massagetherapist and a health coach and
does all these great things.
Do you want to tell us a littlebit about yourself?
Raven (03:30):
Yeah, I am so excited to be here.
I have a huge smile on my face.
my name is Raven.
I started my career not knowingwhat the hell I wanted to do.
I had no direction.
I just knew there was alwaysmore.
So my undergrad, I studiedEnglish.
I thought I wanted to be ateacher.
(03:50):
Didn't work out.
Didn't want to teach.
Um, then I wanted to change tonutrition because I started a
new lifestyle, but I would be inschool for another three years.
So that didn't really work out.
And I found my grad.
Program.
And that was an integrativehealth and holistic medicine.
And I fell in love.
(04:11):
In one of my classes I had to doa project on complimentary
therapies and in that class orin the project, I mean, my topic
was massage therapy.
So I ended up falling in lovewith massage therapy, going to
trade school and then graduatingboth grad school and trade at
(04:34):
the same time.
And then six months later,became licensed in massage
therapy, a year later, startedmy own practice and fast forward
to now I co own healing housewhere we focus on also aspects
of holistic health.
Tiffany (04:51):
Thanks for sharing.
And how cool that being in aclass could change your
direction.
Raven (04:57):
Seriously, I mean, any advice that I would give
someone.
Who is maybe lost or doesn'tknow just keep doing things just
Tiffany (05:08):
yeah
Raven (05:09):
Because it'll find you yeah,
Tiffany (05:13):
yeah They they say I remember when I was in school to
like keep exploring keepexploring, but I think I was
very at the time sort of type Awhere I was like, I need to
check the box for all myclasses.
I need to get my degree.
And you don't really take timeto say well, how is this class
impacting me?
Am I actually interested inthis?
Raven (05:34):
Or if you're, if you're taking the class because of
influence, cause someone elsewants you to take it.
And then you find out yearslater, wait a minute, I don't
even like this.
And so it's just good to listento yourself.
If something's not working, moveon, find something that you do
like.
It is scary, but I promise itworks out.
Tiffany (05:53):
Yeah.
It sounds like it worked out foryou.
I love that.
So tell us a little bit moreabout the healing house.
For, for those of you listening,I also work with Raven at the
healing house.
I teach a dance class and theenvironment is so welcoming and
I just feel like I can be myauthentic self there.
And when I teach, it's one ofthe most fun times for me to
teach because the energy is sogood.
(06:13):
People are just picking up onthe moves and just having a good
time and laughing and, um, It'sso great.
So tell us more about whatinspired you to open the
wellness studio.
Raven (06:24):
So, your actual Intro to you working there is one of the
things that inspired me.
I wanted to create a place wherepeople felt like they could be
themselves and not feel thepressure of trying to fit some
type of mold or, you know,society's standards.
(06:45):
We really wanted to create aspace where people felt safe to
explore their health in a waythat's different than, you know,
getting blood work or going tothe gym or you know, those
annual checkups withprofessionals, we really wanted
to create a community, createevents where there's opportunity
(07:06):
to be creative and to reallyconnect.
So our inspiration was reallyjust to create this little safe
haven and we did.
Tiffany (07:17):
Yeah, it seems like a theme of exploration and
allowing people to Exploredifferent sides of their health
because I think there's a lotof, in the healthcare system
right now where we feel like wehave to do, like you said, the
blood work, we have to go to ourPCP, we have to do all these
things, but A lot of the timethere's so much more to it than
that, um, and things that areour healthcare system or primary
(07:41):
care physicians can't alwaysprovide.
And so I just feel like thecommunity you're building is
fantastic and I'm excited to seewhere it goes.
Raven (07:49):
Yes.
Yes.
So are we.
Tiffany (07:52):
Yeah.
So another thing I know we weretalking about before we decided
to do a podcast episodetogether...
you're a health coach, I'm ahealth coach, you're a massage
therapist.
A lot of the things that we seeare kind of stress related.
And so people come to us andthey're burnt out or you're
maybe having a client, um, in amassage session that, you know,
(08:13):
you can tell they're reallystressed out.
And so.
I guess as a massage therapist,do you have tips for recognizing
when your body is stressed out?
Cause we go about our day alwaysin this hustle and bustle, I
feel like.
And then eventually our body'sjust like, Hey, over here, I'm
really stressed out.
And then you, then you feel likeyour neck is out of whack or
(08:35):
your back is out of whack.
So I don't know if you have tipsfor like, before it gets to that
point where you're like in pain,how can you recognize when your
body's starting to stress out?
Raven (08:44):
So absolutely, there are a lot of signs, and signs that
we don't think about.
So as a massage therapist, we'realways taught in school to
observe your client when theycome in.
So observe the way that theywalk, ask them questions about
their job or any other thingabout their physical appearance
(09:05):
that we can see.
Chapped lips is one of thebiggest ways that you can tell
if someone is stressed.
Tiffany (09:11):
Wow.
Raven (09:12):
And if you're not drinking water, it's either
you're too busy or not thinkingabout it.
Maybe you're going to othersources of hydration that isn't
water.
And so you're making it a littlebit worse that way by maybe
sugar intake or caffeine intakebecause you're trying to find
some type of, You know, likesomething that fills that.
(09:35):
That's one, headaches areanother one.
This could be a tensionheadache.
I mean, people come in and thinkit's their sinuses.
Oh, I'm so stuffed up whenreally it's the tension that
they're carrying in theirshoulders.
People.
tend to carry their stresseither in their traps like the
shoulder area or in their lowerback.
(09:57):
So you can have someone who hasno disc issues, no injuries,
perfectly healthy, but a reallypainful either upper shoulders
or lower back and most of thetime it's stress.
We start talking a little bitand they tell me about their job
or stuff that's going on athome.
(10:18):
And then instantly I know whatthe source is and we kind of
develop a game plan from there.
Tiffany (10:25):
Wow.
That's so interesting.
I've been in the wellness fieldfor a little while now and I'm
like, okay, chapped lips, OhGod, maybe I'm super stressed
right now.
Raven (10:34):
Brain fog is another one.
I mean, that's more of like amental health thing, but you
know, some of my clients get onmy table and they just go and go
and tell and talk and vent.
And I mean, I'm not really, whenthey're doing that, I'm not.
giving any like mental therapyadvice or anything like that.
(10:55):
But I do hear them and after thesession is over, I always
suggest something that wouldhelp.
My master's, like I said, is inintegrative health.
So I am very familiar with a lotof Alternative routes other than
prescription or over the countermedication, and a lot of them do
(11:16):
help.
Tiffany (11:17):
So you're an expert it sounds like in the holistic
space, so If people are startingto feel stressed and they want
to prevent themselves fromspiraling, is there a small
thing that they can do to try toget back in alignment before
it's like, Oh my gosh, my backis killing me and I can't walk
up the stairs?
Raven (11:35):
So, this sounds so cliche and I hate to say it out loud.
Um, But breathe.
Breath work is incredible.
When you feel like you'restarting to panic or you need to
like really have a reset, find aquiet space, lower the lights,
(11:56):
be very intentional with yourbreath, and calm your nervous
system.
I can't stress it enough.
When we learn to calm ournervous system, we learn to
manage other stressfulsituations.
So that way when they'represented to us, we can navigate
them a little bit better and wedon't have those spirals as
much.
(12:16):
I mean, we're all human andwe'll spiral at one point, but
breathing really does help.
And if that sounds like it'ssomething that, you know, it
sounds silly.
Okay.
See one of us as a health coach,and we will show you that it's
not silly, but another thingthat you can do is just taking a
(12:37):
walk outside.
Take a walk outside.
If it's cold out, bundle up, getcomfortable, make it at least a
30 minute walk, bring a lovedone, walk a pet, but just spend
time with yourself and thenyou'll start to reflect on
what's going on and you'll startto become more body aware.
Tiffany (12:59):
Yeah, yeah.
I think that body awareness isreally key.
And the more you can tap intothat, the more ease that you're
going to start to feel.
And so you mentioned the breathwork, and I think that's such an
easy entry point to releasingall that stress that can be held
in the nervous system.
And it doesn't even have to be,I think.
(13:19):
There can be a misconceptionabout, oh, I have to sit in
meditation and be in lotusposition or something like that.
Raven (13:25):
Uh, we have to be here and, you know, namaste, it
doesn't have to be that way,even though that is phenomenal.
It doesn't have to be as intenseas we think.
I think a lot of people willavoid doing recovery or, stress
relieving activities becausethey think it's like, Oh, I
don't have time for that, but wehave time for it.
(13:45):
If we have time for our phonesand social media, if we have
time to binge watch Netflix, ifwe have time to take out the
garbage, we have time for it.
Tiffany (13:54):
absolutely.
And a lot of the time whenyou're doing breath work you can
do that while you're taking outthe garbage or while you're
doing something else and yeah, Ilike to do it when I'm in the
car And so I don't recommenddoing like a full on meditation
when you're driving because thatcould be dangerous But if you're
at a stoplight You knowbreathing in on a count of two
(14:16):
Exhaling on a count of foursomething really simple or just
paying attention to the rhythmof your breath.
Raven (14:21):
Yeah,
Tiffany (14:21):
actually really help especially When people are
rushing around trying to getplaces.
So, uh, yeah, yeah.
Um, so are there any other tipsthat you have for working
through stress?
Like what's your go to?
Raven (14:41):
Yeah.
So stretching helps me becauseit forces me to focus on my
breath and be intentional withmy time.
So I can't really stretch andmultitask.
I can't do the dishes and get aproper stretch in.
I mean, I could probably stretchmy hamstring or quad really
(15:02):
quickly, but what I mean bystretching is get a comfortable
space on the floor or on yourbed and really lay out and
stretch your muscles and feelit.
So sometimes people will do likea three to five minute stretch
and be like, okay, I stretched.
Sometimes you sweat during astretch.
(15:23):
It should feel a little bit likea workout.
It doesn't have to be.
But when you are in anintentional stretch, you will
release so much tension and As amassage therapist, I'm always on
my feet.
I'm always working on someoneelse, whether that be a sports
massage or deep tissue.
(15:45):
So my body, I can feel thestress, building up and building
up.
So if I go a long time withoutstretching, my body will be
like, um, Hello.
Is anyone home?
Yeah.
And it will remind me becauseI'll start having symptoms where
I feel like I need to you know,crack my back or stand up every,
(16:07):
few minutes.
And once I start feeling thosethings in my body, I'm like, all
right, Raven, get on the floor.
It's time.
Tiffany (16:14):
Yeah.
So not being afraid to stretchout whatever way that feels good
to you.
You mentioned people do it forthree minutes and they're like,
okay, I'm done.
And it's sort of like, if we canget rid of that idea of checking
the box, like, Oh, I did it.
It's another thing to do.
It might feel like a more of arelease.
And so I'm going to try that.
Raven (16:33):
Also, I just want to say, when you feel like you're
stressed and you may bespiraling, you're not alone.
Always seek some type of help,whether that is from a loved
one, a mentor, a massagetherapist.
You can always book anappointment with a massage
(16:54):
therapist or with a healthcoach.
Because if you don't know, howcan you fix it?
We don't know what to do orhaven't felt that before.
Google doesn't have all theanswers.
I mean, it's technically, butyou'll find the answers a lot
better through someone who isexperienced.
(17:16):
So, Before we move past that, Ijust want to say, you are not
alone.
We all, we're all human.
We all get stressed and we allget better at dealing with
stress once you're able topinpoint it.
Tiffany (17:30):
Thank you for sharing that.
We're so conditioned to go, go,go, go, go, and, you know, climb
the ladder of success and allthe things and sometimes I think
it can be viewed as a weaknessto get the support, but people
like Raven or myself absolutelywant to help you get back in
(17:50):
alignment and back into balanceand whatever that means to you.
And so that's a really, reallygreat point.
So thank you.
And then, um, I like to alwaysask my guests, before we close
out the podcast uh, so mybusiness is purposeful wellness
coaching like the dolphin.
So I like to ask them what theirpurpose is or their purpose, and
(18:10):
what really drives them andmotivates them.
So what's your purpose, Raven?
Raven (18:15):
So this again is so cheesy, but I really just want
to make the world a betterplace.
And I think it starts fromwithin right and figuring out
what is going on with you andworking on yourself because then
you start to really understandother people better and once
(18:35):
you're able to understand peoplebetter then you can help them
and i feel like that's kind ofhow my journey has progressed so
my lifestyle changed i startedto understand myself better i
started to work through sometraumas that i had in childhood
We kind of keep on pushing andthen even, you know, getting
more educated with, you know,anatomy, everything that I can
(18:57):
do in my massage therapypractice, continuing education
course courses, and now withhealth coaching, um, the
fulfillment that I feel whenpeople.
Reach a milestone in theirjourney, even just starting a
journey and being committed tostarting something is so
(19:18):
fulfilling and I never want tostop feeling that because I know
that I'm, leaving something withthem, even if it's just one
little piece of advice, or wehave a good conversation, or
that was the best massage everor whatever it was.
I feel like I'm doing my jobhere on earth.
Tiffany (19:39):
Yes, yes, I feel like my heart was just like expanding
when you're saying that becauseit's you're describing taking
what you've learned from yourown journey and wanting to share
it with others and continuing tobetter yourself and then sharing
that with others.
And that has a ripple effect.
And so it's such a incrediblemission.
And it resonates so stronglywith me.
(20:00):
So, thank you for sharing that.
Yes.
Of course.
Yeah.
So I think that wraps up thisepisode, but Raven, where can
people find you if they want amassage or some health coaching?
Raven (20:14):
On Instagram is feel good body works.
That's where you can findeverything with massage therapy
and health coaching.
You can shoot me a DM or bookdirectly through the link in my
bio.
And yeah.
Tiffany (20:28):
Yeah.
Thank you again Raven
Raven (20:31):
Thank you so much for having me.
It was a pleasure.
I can't wait to do it again.
Tiffany (20:36):
Hey friends.
Thank you so much for listeningto today's episode.
If you enjoyed the episode, keepthe good energy flowing and
share it with someone who wouldalso enjoy it.
And check out the show notes formore resources.
If you'd like to find out moreabout what I do at Purposeful
Wellness Coaching, join thePurposeful Wellness Pod by
signing up for my freenewsletter.
Visit PurposefulWellness.
com for details.
(20:57):
That's P O R P O I S E F U LWellness.
com.
Hey friends, I have a question for you.
When is the last time youlaughed in a conversation?
Maybe you're in need of somelaughs or some good vibes.
And if that's the case, thisepisode is for you.
I sit down with Raven Santiago,a massage therapist and health
coach, to talk about sneakysigns of stress and what to do
about them.
We keep it lighthearted and giveyou some practical tips for
(00:23):
catching stress before itspirals and managing it when it
inevitably does show up in yourlife.
It's definitely a fun one and Ihope you enjoy it.
Well, welcome to the Dancing tothe Rhythm Within podcast,
Raven.
It's so great to have you.
Raven (00:37):
Thank you for having me.
Tiffany (00:39):
Yes, of course.
So I thought to help ground thissession, I could pull an
affirmation card for us.
How does that sound?
Raven (00:47):
That's awesome.
Let's do it.
Tiffany (00:49):
All right.
So I have my Porpoise FullWellness deck here full of all
these vibrant ocean theme cards.
Um, I'm just shuffling them.
Raven (00:59):
I have seen the cards before.
They are gorgeous.
Tiffany (01:03):
Well, thank you.
So, lately, two cards have beencalling to me when I do these
affirmation card pulls.
So the first one says, InfinitePossibilities Surround Me, it's
this one, um, but thisbeautiful, looks like a,
sunrise.
And then the other one says, IAm Playful.
Raven (01:23):
I love it.
Tiffany (01:24):
I love it.
I love it.
It's a little, uh, beluga whaleplaying with, uh,
Raven (01:28):
I think that resonates with me today, actually, because
of what we're going to talkabout, but then also this is my
first time being on a podcastand, you know, I was a little
nervous, but we can be playful.
Tiffany (01:43):
Yes, absolutely.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
I think that's a sign for me tothe playfulness.
Cause I think in growing abusiness and being a coach,
you're always.
It's looking for your nextclient or the opportunity, and
sometimes it's hard to be like,I'm going to be playful when
you're pushing, pushing,pushing.
And so it's sort of a, it's agood reminder.
Definitely.
Raven (02:04):
Yeah.
Tiffany (02:04):
I think the other one kind of goes hand in hand, the
infinite possibilities surroundme.
So it's, saying to keep an eyeout for those.
It's actually timely, I think,because we're going to talk
about stress on this podcast.
Raven (02:15):
And not taking things too serious, right?
Like that kind of goes hand inhand.
Tiffany (02:21):
Yeah.
I find these affirmation carddecks really fun because it's
always a chance to pause, butalso it's always the cards that
you need to see.
Raven (02:32):
Do you have a routine with them?
Tiffany (02:34):
Yeah, for a while, when I was transitioning from my
corporate job, I was doing anaffirmation card pull after I
did a gratitude journalpractice, and so, really simple
practice, I just wrote downthree things I'm grateful for,
and then, I also took a look atmy calendar for the day, and I
wrote down what my prioritieswere, and then I pulled an
(02:55):
affirmation card, so, eventhough I was looking at all my
priorities, and that could be, Atime where I could get stressed.
I tried to counter that with theaffirmation card and the
gratitude.
So anytime I looked at myplanner, I would see what I was
grateful for and then have thecards on my, on my desk.
Yeah, I did that for a while andnow that I'm saying it out loud,
I'm going, okay, I should reallygo back to doing that.
(03:17):
Yeah.
So welcome again, Raven.
So happy to have you here.
Raven Santiago is a massagetherapist and a health coach and
does all these great things.
Do you want to tell us a littlebit about yourself?
Raven (03:30):
Yeah, I am so excited to be here.
I have a huge smile on my face.
my name is Raven.
I started my career not knowingwhat the hell I wanted to do.
I had no direction.
I just knew there was alwaysmore.
So my undergrad, I studiedEnglish.
I thought I wanted to be ateacher.
(03:50):
Didn't work out.
Didn't want to teach.
Um, then I wanted to change tonutrition because I started a
new lifestyle, but I would be inschool for another three years.
So that didn't really work out.
And I found my grad.
Program.
And that was an integrativehealth and holistic medicine.
And I fell in love.
(04:11):
In one of my classes I had to doa project on complimentary
therapies and in that class orin the project, I mean, my topic
was massage therapy.
So I ended up falling in lovewith massage therapy, going to
trade school and then graduatingboth grad school and trade at
(04:34):
the same time.
And then six months later,became licensed in massage
therapy, a year later, startedmy own practice and fast forward
to now I co own healing housewhere we focus on also aspects
of holistic health.
Tiffany (04:51):
Thanks for sharing.
And how cool that being in aclass could change your
direction.
Raven (04:57):
Seriously, I mean, any advice that I would give
someone.
Who is maybe lost or doesn'tknow just keep doing things just
Tiffany (05:08):
yeah
Raven (05:09):
Because it'll find you yeah,
Tiffany (05:13):
yeah They they say I remember when I was in school to
like keep exploring keepexploring, but I think I was
very at the time sort of type Awhere I was like, I need to
check the box for all myclasses.
I need to get my degree.
And you don't really take timeto say well, how is this class
impacting me?
Am I actually interested inthis?
Raven (05:34):
Or if you're, if you're taking the class because of
influence, cause someone elsewants you to take it.
And then you find out yearslater, wait a minute, I don't
even like this.
And so it's just good to listento yourself.
If something's not working, moveon, find something that you do
like.
It is scary, but I promise itworks out.
Tiffany (05:53):
Yeah.
It sounds like it worked out foryou.
I love that.
So tell us a little bit moreabout the healing house.
For, for those of you listening,I also work with Raven at the
healing house.
I teach a dance class and theenvironment is so welcoming and
I just feel like I can be myauthentic self there.
And when I teach, it's one ofthe most fun times for me to
teach because the energy is sogood.
(06:13):
People are just picking up onthe moves and just having a good
time and laughing and, um, It'sso great.
So tell us more about whatinspired you to open the
wellness studio.
Raven (06:24):
So, your actual Intro to you working there is one of the
things that inspired me.
I wanted to create a place wherepeople felt like they could be
themselves and not feel thepressure of trying to fit some
type of mold or, you know,society's standards.
(06:45):
We really wanted to create aspace where people felt safe to
explore their health in a waythat's different than, you know,
getting blood work or going tothe gym or you know, those
annual checkups withprofessionals, we really wanted
to create a community, createevents where there's opportunity
(07:06):
to be creative and to reallyconnect.
So our inspiration was reallyjust to create this little safe
haven and we did.
Tiffany (07:17):
Yeah, it seems like a theme of exploration and
allowing people to Exploredifferent sides of their health
because I think there's a lotof, in the healthcare system
right now where we feel like wehave to do, like you said, the
blood work, we have to go to ourPCP, we have to do all these
things, but A lot of the timethere's so much more to it than
that, um, and things that areour healthcare system or primary
(07:41):
care physicians can't alwaysprovide.
And so I just feel like thecommunity you're building is
fantastic and I'm excited to seewhere it goes.
Raven (07:49):
Yes.
Yes.
So are we.
Tiffany (07:52):
Yeah.
So another thing I know we weretalking about before we decided
to do a podcast episodetogether...
you're a health coach, I'm ahealth coach, you're a massage
therapist.
A lot of the things that we seeare kind of stress related.
And so people come to us andthey're burnt out or you're
maybe having a client, um, in amassage session that, you know,
(08:13):
you can tell they're reallystressed out.
And so.
I guess as a massage therapist,do you have tips for recognizing
when your body is stressed out?
Cause we go about our day alwaysin this hustle and bustle, I
feel like.
And then eventually our body'sjust like, Hey, over here, I'm
really stressed out.
And then you, then you feel likeyour neck is out of whack or
(08:35):
your back is out of whack.
So I don't know if you have tipsfor like, before it gets to that
point where you're like in pain,how can you recognize when your
body's starting to stress out?
Raven (08:44):
So absolutely, there are a lot of signs, and signs that
we don't think about.
So as a massage therapist, we'realways taught in school to
observe your client when theycome in.
So observe the way that theywalk, ask them questions about
their job or any other thingabout their physical appearance
(09:05):
that we can see.
Chapped lips is one of thebiggest ways that you can tell
if someone is stressed.
Tiffany (09:11):
Wow.
Raven (09:12):
And if you're not drinking water, it's either
you're too busy or not thinkingabout it.
Maybe you're going to othersources of hydration that isn't
water.
And so you're making it a littlebit worse that way by maybe
sugar intake or caffeine intakebecause you're trying to find
some type of, You know, likesomething that fills that.
(09:35):
That's one, headaches areanother one.
This could be a tensionheadache.
I mean, people come in and thinkit's their sinuses.
Oh, I'm so stuffed up whenreally it's the tension that
they're carrying in theirshoulders.
People.
tend to carry their stresseither in their traps like the
shoulder area or in their lowerback.
(09:57):
So you can have someone who hasno disc issues, no injuries,
perfectly healthy, but a reallypainful either upper shoulders
or lower back and most of thetime it's stress.
We start talking a little bitand they tell me about their job
or stuff that's going on athome.
(10:18):
And then instantly I know whatthe source is and we kind of
develop a game plan from there.
Tiffany (10:25):
Wow.
That's so interesting.
I've been in the wellness fieldfor a little while now and I'm
like, okay, chapped lips, OhGod, maybe I'm super stressed
right now.
Raven (10:34):
Brain fog is another one.
I mean, that's more of like amental health thing, but you
know, some of my clients get onmy table and they just go and go
and tell and talk and vent.
And I mean, I'm not really, whenthey're doing that, I'm not.
giving any like mental therapyadvice or anything like that.
(10:55):
But I do hear them and after thesession is over, I always
suggest something that wouldhelp.
My master's, like I said, is inintegrative health.
So I am very familiar with a lotof Alternative routes other than
prescription or over the countermedication, and a lot of them do
(11:16):
help.
Tiffany (11:17):
So you're an expert it sounds like in the holistic
space, so If people are startingto feel stressed and they want
to prevent themselves fromspiraling, is there a small
thing that they can do to try toget back in alignment before
it's like, Oh my gosh, my backis killing me and I can't walk
up the stairs?
Raven (11:35):
So, this sounds so cliche and I hate to say it out loud.
Um, But breathe.
Breath work is incredible.
When you feel like you'restarting to panic or you need to
like really have a reset, find aquiet space, lower the lights,
(11:56):
be very intentional with yourbreath, and calm your nervous
system.
I can't stress it enough.
When we learn to calm ournervous system, we learn to
manage other stressfulsituations.
So that way when they'represented to us, we can navigate
them a little bit better and wedon't have those spirals as
much.
(12:16):
I mean, we're all human andwe'll spiral at one point, but
breathing really does help.
And if that sounds like it'ssomething that, you know, it
sounds silly.
Okay.
See one of us as a health coach,and we will show you that it's
not silly, but another thingthat you can do is just taking a
(12:37):
walk outside.
Take a walk outside.
If it's cold out, bundle up, getcomfortable, make it at least a
30 minute walk, bring a lovedone, walk a pet, but just spend
time with yourself and thenyou'll start to reflect on
what's going on and you'll startto become more body aware.
Tiffany (12:59):
Yeah, yeah.
I think that body awareness isreally key.
And the more you can tap intothat, the more ease that you're
going to start to feel.
And so you mentioned the breathwork, and I think that's such an
easy entry point to releasingall that stress that can be held
in the nervous system.
And it doesn't even have to be,I think.
(13:19):
There can be a misconceptionabout, oh, I have to sit in
meditation and be in lotusposition or something like that.
Raven (13:25):
Uh, we have to be here and, you know, namaste, it
doesn't have to be that way,even though that is phenomenal.
It doesn't have to be as intenseas we think.
I think a lot of people willavoid doing recovery or, stress
relieving activities becausethey think it's like, Oh, I
don't have time for that, but wehave time for it.
(13:45):
If we have time for our phonesand social media, if we have
time to binge watch Netflix, ifwe have time to take out the
garbage, we have time for it.
Tiffany (13:54):
absolutely.
And a lot of the time whenyou're doing breath work you can
do that while you're taking outthe garbage or while you're
doing something else and yeah, Ilike to do it when I'm in the
car And so I don't recommenddoing like a full on meditation
when you're driving because thatcould be dangerous But if you're
at a stoplight You knowbreathing in on a count of two
(14:16):
Exhaling on a count of foursomething really simple or just
paying attention to the rhythmof your breath.
Raven (14:21):
Yeah,
Tiffany (14:21):
actually really help especially When people are
rushing around trying to getplaces.
So, uh, yeah, yeah.
Um, so are there any other tipsthat you have for working
through stress?
Like what's your go to?
Raven (14:41):
Yeah.
So stretching helps me becauseit forces me to focus on my
breath and be intentional withmy time.
So I can't really stretch andmultitask.
I can't do the dishes and get aproper stretch in.
I mean, I could probably stretchmy hamstring or quad really
(15:02):
quickly, but what I mean bystretching is get a comfortable
space on the floor or on yourbed and really lay out and
stretch your muscles and feelit.
So sometimes people will do likea three to five minute stretch
and be like, okay, I stretched.
Sometimes you sweat during astretch.
(15:23):
It should feel a little bit likea workout.
It doesn't have to be.
But when you are in anintentional stretch, you will
release so much tension and As amassage therapist, I'm always on
my feet.
I'm always working on someoneelse, whether that be a sports
massage or deep tissue.
(15:45):
So my body, I can feel thestress, building up and building
up.
So if I go a long time withoutstretching, my body will be
like, um, Hello.
Is anyone home?
Yeah.
And it will remind me becauseI'll start having symptoms where
I feel like I need to you know,crack my back or stand up every,
(16:07):
few minutes.
And once I start feeling thosethings in my body, I'm like, all
right, Raven, get on the floor.
It's time.
Tiffany (16:14):
Yeah.
So not being afraid to stretchout whatever way that feels good
to you.
You mentioned people do it forthree minutes and they're like,
okay, I'm done.
And it's sort of like, if we canget rid of that idea of checking
the box, like, Oh, I did it.
It's another thing to do.
It might feel like a more of arelease.
And so I'm going to try that.
Raven (16:33):
Also, I just want to say, when you feel like you're
stressed and you may bespiraling, you're not alone.
Always seek some type of help,whether that is from a loved
one, a mentor, a massagetherapist.
You can always book anappointment with a massage
(16:54):
therapist or with a healthcoach.
Because if you don't know, howcan you fix it?
We don't know what to do orhaven't felt that before.
Google doesn't have all theanswers.
I mean, it's technically, butyou'll find the answers a lot
better through someone who isexperienced.
(17:16):
So, Before we move past that, Ijust want to say, you are not
alone.
We all, we're all human.
We all get stressed and we allget better at dealing with
stress once you're able topinpoint it.
Tiffany (17:30):
Thank you for sharing that.
We're so conditioned to go, go,go, go, go, and, you know, climb
the ladder of success and allthe things and sometimes I think
it can be viewed as a weaknessto get the support, but people
like Raven or myself absolutelywant to help you get back in
(17:50):
alignment and back into balanceand whatever that means to you.
And so that's a really, reallygreat point.
So thank you.
And then, um, I like to alwaysask my guests, before we close
out the podcast uh, so mybusiness is purposeful wellness
coaching like the dolphin.
So I like to ask them what theirpurpose is or their purpose, and
(18:10):
what really drives them andmotivates them.
So what's your purpose, Raven?
Raven (18:15):
So this again is so cheesy, but I really just want
to make the world a betterplace.
And I think it starts fromwithin right and figuring out
what is going on with you andworking on yourself because then
you start to really understandother people better and once
(18:35):
you're able to understand peoplebetter then you can help them
and i feel like that's kind ofhow my journey has progressed so
my lifestyle changed i startedto understand myself better i
started to work through sometraumas that i had in childhood
We kind of keep on pushing andthen even, you know, getting
more educated with, you know,anatomy, everything that I can
(18:57):
do in my massage therapypractice, continuing education
course courses, and now withhealth coaching, um, the
fulfillment that I feel whenpeople.
Reach a milestone in theirjourney, even just starting a
journey and being committed tostarting something is so
(19:18):
fulfilling and I never want tostop feeling that because I know
that I'm, leaving something withthem, even if it's just one
little piece of advice, or wehave a good conversation, or
that was the best massage everor whatever it was.
I feel like I'm doing my jobhere on earth.
Tiffany (19:39):
Yes, yes, I feel like my heart was just like expanding
when you're saying that becauseit's you're describing taking
what you've learned from yourown journey and wanting to share
it with others and continuing tobetter yourself and then sharing
that with others.
And that has a ripple effect.
And so it's such a incrediblemission.
And it resonates so stronglywith me.
(20:00):
So, thank you for sharing that.
Yes.
Of course.
Yeah.
So I think that wraps up thisepisode, but Raven, where can
people find you if they want amassage or some health coaching?
Raven (20:14):
On Instagram is feel good body works.
That's where you can findeverything with massage therapy
and health coaching.
You can shoot me a DM or bookdirectly through the link in my
bio.
And yeah.
Tiffany (20:28):
Yeah.
Thank you again Raven
Raven (20:31):
Thank you so much for having me.
It was a pleasure.
I can't wait to do it again.
Tiffany (20:36):
Hey friends.
Thank you so much for listeningto today's episode.
If you enjoyed the episode, keepthe good energy flowing and
share it with someone who wouldalso enjoy it.
And check out the show notes formore resources.
If you'd like to find out moreabout what I do at Purposeful
Wellness Coaching, join thePurposeful Wellness Pod by
signing up for my freenewsletter.
Visit PurposefulWellness.
com for details.
(20:57):
That's P O R P O I S E F U LWellness.
com.
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