If you’ve ever wondered why your gut issues, burnout, or emotional spirals just won’t fully heal—even after all the therapy, supplements, and self-help—you’re not broken. You’re bracing.
In this episode of Embody This – The No B.S. Healing Podcast, Lauren sits down with Dr. Marisa Catapano, a licensed Naturopathic Doctor (ND), Fellow of the American Board of Naturopathic Oncology (FABNO), and certified Neo Emotional Release Practitioner, to unpack the emotional and somatic roots of chronic symptoms.
We go deep into:
- Why shame is the hidden force keeping your body in survival mode
- How gut issues like constipation and bloating are linked to unprocessed emotions
- Why symptom flares often show up right before you’re about to up-level
- What it really means to "let go" emotionally (hint: it's not about forcing)
- How reconnecting to your natural rhythm (inside and out) is the key to sustainable healing
Dr. Marisa brings a rare blend of clinical expertise, somatic wisdom, and emotional attunement—reminding us that healing isn’t about fixing the body. It’s about finally listening to it.
If you're done with surface-level solutions and ready for real, embodied transformation, this conversation will crack something wide open in you.
Guest Links:
Connect with Dr. Marisa Catapano:
Instagram → @dr.marisa.catapano
Website →https://www.marisacatapanond.com/
Book a Free Discovery Call → Click here
If this episode lands, follow the show, leave a review, and share it with a woman who’s ready to stop performing wellness—and start embodying it.
Disclaimer:
This podcast is for educational purposes only. It does not substitute for medical care. Always consult a trusted healthcare provider before making changes to your health plan.
🔗 CONNECT WITH LAUREN MICHELLE JEWEL
✨ Instagram → @laurenmichellejewel & Lauren's Facebook
💌 Join the Embody This Collective → Join Here
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🎁 Free Resources → Grab All My Freebies
🎙️ Podcast Hashtag → #EmbodyThisPodcast
💬 DM me on Instagram and tell me what resonated most with you from this episode.
📣 Share the show and tag me so more women can reclaim their body, identity, and f*cking life.
⚠️ Disclaimer:
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
Welcome to Embodied This, the NoBS Healing podcast for women who
are done playing small.
If you're in your thirties orbeyond, and you've made it
through the heartbreaks, theidentity crisis, the diets, the
late night, what the fuck am Idoing with my life moments?
Then this is for you am Lauren,Michelle Jewel, a single sober
(00:22):
business owning badass who hasbeen humbled as hell by healing.
But I'm not just someone who'slived it.
I've studied it.
I've coached it and I've helpedother women walk through it with
seven years in mind, bodyhealth, gut brain science, and
nervous system healing.
I've worked with women who'vetried everything.
The therapy, the diets, thesupplements, the endless self
(00:44):
help work, and yet they stillfeel disconnected from their
bodies, from their health, fromtheir truth.
Because here's the thing,healing isn't a trend.
It's not an identity, it's notan aesthetic, and it's
definitely not some perfectlycurated Instagram Post healing
is embodied, and let me be realwith you.
(01:06):
It's hard as fuck and it's alsorewarding as fuck.
I know because I've lived it.
And along the way, I realizesomething, modern healing
methods are failing us.
Everything is compartmentalized.
Go to therapy.
They say, take the supplements,do the inner work.
But no one teaches you how toactually integrate it all, and
(01:28):
that that's why this podcastexists.
This show is for you if you'reready to rethink healing.
It's not about being perfect.
It's not about being a spiritualguru or wellness influencer, and
it's not about having a trustfund for therapy or PhD in
biohacking.
This is about undoing,unlearning, and finally coming
(01:50):
home to yourself.
In a quick disclaimer before weget started, this podcast is for
educational purposes only.
It's here to expand your mind,challenge old narratives, and
empower you with knowledge.
It's not to replace medicaldiagnosis or treatment.
And as always, consult aprofessional when making health
decisions.
(02:11):
If this episode hits home,follow the show, rate it, review
it, share it with someone whoneeds to hear it.
Because you never know whoselife you might change.
Now let's get into today'sconversation.
If you've ever wondered why yourhealing isn't working, or why
you're still bloated, stillanxious, still holding it all
(02:32):
in, even after the therapyjournaling, and probably a small
fortune on supplements, becauselet's be honest, this episode is
gonna hit you like a loving slapfrom the universe.
Today I am joined by someone whogets it, who doesn't just
understand the intersection ofscience and somatics, but she
embodies it.
Audio Only - All Participan (02:53):
Dr.
Marisa Kao is a licensednaturopathic doctor, a fellow of
the American Board ofNaturopathic Oncology, and a
certified neo emotional releasepractitioner.
So yeah, she speaks fluent labwork and emotional language.
After completing her oncologyresidency, she realized
(03:13):
something most of the wellnessworld still hasn't caught up to
that.
You can't treat the body if youignore the emotional weight it's
carrying.
Healing protocols mean nothingif the shame, grief, or self
abandonment underneath themstays buried.
So in this episode, we go deepinto why shame is the emotion,
keeping your body in chronicfreeze, how gut issues,
(03:35):
especially constipation andbloating are tied to emotional
bracing.
Why symptoms flare often show upright before and uplevel and
what it actually looks like tolet go, not through force, but
through presence.
Marisa's work is a return tonature, to rhythm, to truth.
Whether she's guiding clientsthrough integrative cancer care
(03:55):
or somatic sessions that unravelyears of stored survival, her
message is clear.
Your body is not a problem tofix.
It's a story to listen to.
And if you're willing to gethonest about what you're holding
onto, that's when the realhealing begins.
So let's dive in.
Audio Only - All Particip (04:12):
Let's welcome Dr.
Marissa Kano to the show.
Wow.
Thank you so much.
That was the most beautifulintroduction I've ever heard.
I'm so honored to be here.
So excited to have you.
Honestly.
When I found you through the neoemotional release
practitionership, and I saw thatyou were in the Annapolis area,
I was like.
(04:32):
Oh my gosh, there's someone whodoes this.
This is so exciting and I'll,we'll get into what that all is
in a moment, but I remember Ijust found you and immediately
was like drawn to you and Ireached out to you and I was
like, this is so crazy.
She lives in the area where Ilive.
She's doing what I love.
She's also involved with thenutritional health aspect of it.
I was like, this is a match madein heaven.
(04:54):
Why don't you tell us a littlebit about yourself and how you
got into this work, and what itis that you do?
Absolutely would love to.
So first and foremost, I'm anaturopathic doctor and I really
became interested innaturopathic medicine because of
my mother's journey withmetastatic breast cancer.
(05:15):
So I was an undergrad at thetime and I was studying
psychology.
Not really sure what I wanted todo with that.
And really seeing the healingthat she went through with her
naturopath in terms of nutritionand herbs and lifestyle.
And yes, even then the mentalemotional side of things.
I was like, what kind of adoctor are you working with?
(05:37):
Like I had never heard anythinglike this before, coming from
conventional medicine.
So I was so intrigued.
And one day she ended up takingme to see my own naturopath and.
In the first visit, thatnaturopath cured me of the
migraines I had suffered fromfor my entire life.
And I was like, okay.
(05:59):
Path has unfolded and we knowwhere we're going.
So after undergrad I pursued mynaturopathic doctorate and
because of, my mother's journey,I knew that I wanted to focus in
oncology and cancer care.
And so that's what brought meafter school to Portsmouth, New
Hampshire, to do my two yearresidency.
My passion for the mentalemotional aspect of healing
(06:20):
never left me, and so while Iwas in residency, I decided that
wasn't enough and I was going topursue this new emotional
release training.
It just fell into my lap.
I was listening to a podcastand.
This fellow naturopathic doctorwas talking about it and it just
landed so strongly in my body.
(06:41):
I think that was the first fullbody yes, I may have ever really
felt, or at least recognized.
And I was just like, yeah I haveto do this.
And it has transformed my lifepersonally and professionally in
ways that I never could haveimagined.
Even though.
It seems like two separatethings of, naturopathic doctor
(07:01):
and integrative oncologist, andthen the neo emotional release
practitioner.
It's really not because there'snever a person that I'm working
with on the naturopathic sidewhere I'm not bringing that
psychosomatic lens in.
And when I'm working withsomeone somatically, I'm always
thinking, okay, but.
Are you feeding yourselfproperly and are you moving your
body on a daily basis, like tohelp you process all of this?
(07:24):
So it really is sointerconnected and I just feel
so blessed to have the knowledgeand the training that I do to be
able to look at people soholistically and see them for
more than just the dis-ease thatwe're trying to treat, but
really just as a human beingwhose body is telling a story.
And how do we really supportthat story in unfolding uniquely
(07:48):
and as beautifully?
Yeah, that's absolutelycompletely aligned with one, my
experience and that's somethingthat I created this podcast for
was to.
Really one, obviously educatepeople around understanding that
it's not separate.
It's not compartmentalized.
It's not like you're going foryour mental health and then you
(08:11):
have to go for your physicalhealth.
It's all one and the same.
And the minute that we realizethat and the minute that we are
able to release those oldparadigms of understanding
health we can really.
See it.
It looks like miracles, right?
But it's not.
It's actually just aligningproperly with the way that the
body works and when you.
(08:32):
Understand that you understandthat the body's made to heal,
right?
It's made to protect you, it'smade to keep you alive.
So what are a few of the thingsthat you've been seeing recently
with your clients?
I know that, we don't see thiscombo every day.
So breaking down that model,what's something that you've
been seeing that's common, acommon thread when people are
coming in to see you?
(08:53):
That is a really great question,and I would say that.
There's definitely a widevariety of, let's say, reasons
that people come to see me,especially for the new emotional
release work, and then theyrefer to me for the somatic,
more emotional side of thehealing.
And something that this commonthread within my sessions, no
(09:14):
matter what the presentingsymptom is shame.
It's been, I would say, the oneemotion that has been coming up
so much and it has been sopresent in my own work with
myself.
But it's really, it's the heavyblanket that lays over us and.
(09:37):
It keeps us from, the outsideworld and really showing up as
authentically and openly andfreely as we would like to.
But it also insulates us fromourselves.
And so as much as it keeps usfrom the outside, it also keeps
us from the deeper emotions likeanger.
(09:57):
Or sadness, helplessness, likeall of these things tend to be
encased in this heavy blanket ofshame.
It's really, it's the rejectionof our identity.
It's the antagonist of ourself-worth.
It's the thing that keeps ussmall.
It's really at the root of somuch perfectionism and so much
(10:18):
just hustling and you're someonethat's always needing to be
doing something, like you cannotsit still and rest.
And so this is something thathas been coming up a lot and
it's heavy.
It's not easy for people toreally work through.
It's not a one session kind ofdeal.
(10:39):
You know what I mean?
It's really.
To witness the weight that shamehas carried in your life.
It feels heavy and it takes alot of presence.
It takes a lot of compassion,and it takes a lot of courage
because not only do you need tosee yourself at your most
(11:00):
vulnerable, but.
You also need to let yourself beseen by another at your most
vulnerable.
And this is a really hard piecefor so many people.
And so when people are dealingwith shame, oftentimes they're
not reaching out and letting meknow how they're feeling because
the shame is keeping themhidden.
And my job to really help peoplefeel so safe and comfortable
(11:21):
that they can let me see them inthat state.
It's a challenge, but it's also,it's so rewarding as when you
can really learn how to relateto your shame and to give
yourself that compassion, love,and grace that you need.
I see so much open up for peoplein their lives, and so it's one
(11:42):
of those things where if you arewith me and you're sticking with
yourself through this process.
Shame, starts out as this cagethat holds us back in our lives.
But once we can witness that, itactually really just becomes the
invitation for self love.
Yep.
Exactly.
And that's something that I'vebeen really focusing on helping
people see is that our symptoms,and whether they're mental,
(12:06):
emotional, or physical, they areinitiations.
They are the call from your bodyto go deeper into yourself, so
that way you can open up a newpath.
And most of the time, whetherit's a gut issue or it's, shame
or you're hustling or you'rehaving relationship issues and
shame is there.
A symptom is there, they're bothdancing with each other, right?
(12:29):
They're both dancing with eachother.
And I know you can correct me ifI'm wrong, but shame keeps us in
a constant like survival in asense, right?
It keeps us constantly in asympathetic state.
So that's a stressed out stateconstantly.
It's like a low hump.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, absolutely.
It's, it really, you can neverreally feel safe to fully arrive
(12:50):
as yourself.
When there is unprocessed shamebecause you're constantly,
whether consciously orunconsciously, like really
vigilant and watching out forhow everyone around you is there
a threat that I need to watchout for, that I need to keep the
peace, right?
Like really diluting your trueself.
(13:10):
In order to, achieve some sortof peace or make someone else
feel good, right?
It's the idea that, someoneelse's needs in that moment are
more important than mine, and soyou cannot fully rest.
And this is, beautifully said.
When your nervous system is inthis very sympathetic fight or
flight mode, one of the firstthings that's gonna be affected
by that is digestion.
And psychosomatically gutissues.
(13:32):
IBS conventional medicine reallyis like, oh, are you anxious?
It's yeah, who isn't anxious?
That doesn't help me heal myIBS.
And so it's often under, again,like layers, always layers
underneath.
The anxiety is often the shamejust sitting in the gut that's
not been processed, digested.
(13:54):
And so it's, as you said, yeah,it's absolutely all connected
and that's such a big piece Ihave found for people,
especially with gut issues, withfood and body issues, eating
disorders.
Oof.
Shame.
Yeah, that's, it's, we couldnerd out on this forever about
this because Yeah, it's so true.
It really is.
Because I know you've probablyseen this where.
(14:15):
prior to starting the neoemotional release, you can give
the best, protocols or the bestguidance to somebody and they
can follow it to a T but not seethat result due to that shame or
that survival, quote unquote thelow hum of stress going.
To that undigested ormetabolized emotion within the
body and then they don't get theresult.
(14:37):
Self blame and like coat on topof the shame.
And the shame gets bigger andbigger.
Yes.
Like you said, it blocks ourauthentic self and we feel
separate.
We feel like we are alienated ina way, and then that creates
that whole storyline and thatnarrative of something's wrong
with me.
(14:58):
I need to fix something withinme.
And I'm sure you have someamazing stories, but what are a
few, stories that you'veexperienced with people when
they have come to that ahamoment of releasing the emotion
and how it affected theirphysical, whether it's in
communication from the body, butailments, in their eyes, maybe
it'd be something that wasreally weighing them down and
(15:21):
not able to live their lifefully.
Absolutely.
Great question and alsobeautifully said about just we
feel shame and then we shameourselves for feeling shame.
And it's, that's why it becomesso heavy and there's so many
layers to work with.
There is one person who reallycomes to mind.
She was, it's a young woman.
(15:41):
She had type of I-B-S-I-B-S,right?
And when we thinkpsychosomatically with
constipation.
Quite literally holding on tostuff.
And so the first piece tounderstand is the name Neo
Emotional Release does sound alittle bit it's a little bit
counterintuitive as to what thatrelease actually means because.
(16:05):
It's not like we locate shame inthe body and then we just say,
okay, now get rid of the shame.
Imagine it leaving your body.
No.
So the secret to letting go isactually first letting in.
So first you need to feel theshame and it's, emotions are
(16:27):
energy in motion.
Emotion and energy comes inwaves.
Emotion has a natural beginning,a middle, and an end, just like
any other wave.
And so most of us will see thewaves coming up, or maybe
unconsciously we won't.
And we go, whoop, gotta get awayfrom that.
And so that wave never gets tofinish.
It becomes this loop in thesession when you see that wave
(16:52):
coming up.
We really work to.
Be present as that wave actuallymoves through you.
And so that's of course usingthe breath and feeling the
sensations of that emotion inthe body.
And so when this young woman wasreally in the depth of her shame
and I was holding her and shewas also holding her inner child
(17:13):
in that, because this is, we'renot born with shame.
Babies cry, scream, gigglewhenever they want.
They don't feel shame.
So the shame is put upon us atsome point.
And so there is, within all ofus that feel the shame.
There is a little child who'sholding onto that.
And so just letting that shamebe held and witness and accepted
is what allows that wave tocomplete and move through.
(17:36):
And after this session.
The next day, this woman sent mea message and basically said she
had not only an energeticrelease, but a physical release.
It was almost like an energeticcolonic, if you will.
Mind you, this woman would godays and days without having a
bowel movement, and it was likeit all just came.
(17:57):
Flooding out of her and she waslike, whoa.
And she felt so, she was like, Ihave never felt so light and so
joyful and so present.
And it's just amazing that themoment you actually let yourself
feel so vulnerable that thingsjust naturally open up and
there's absolutely nothing thatwe forced there.
(18:18):
It was so natural.
And from then on, it's does theIBS go away?
Does she never feel constipatedagain?
No, because life happens, right?
And of course we feel shameagain.
And so it's all about how doesshe hold herself And she's able
to really experience so muchless physical and emotional
dis-ease since having that oneexperience That's so beautiful
(18:43):
too.
And it's such a gift to be ableto.
Walk clients and just peoplethrough such a.
It's not a simple tweak, butit's a simple tweak, right?
Like when you're listening tothis and you're not actively
with us, and it's oh, okay.
Like just let it go.
And obviously it's never likethat.
It's never like that.
It's, we have so many thingsthat, why we can't do that?
(19:03):
What?
When we're fighting for our ownlimitations, and I love that you
just gave that example becausemy last episode for this week
was called Let That Shit Go, andit was the real reason behind
constipation, bloating, and.
Really exactly that.
And it was talking about, likefor me, before I got into this
work, I struggled severely withconstipation, right?
(19:26):
I struggled with that so bad andit was like so common for other
girls that I knew to not be ableto go to the bathroom.
They're just not go to thebathroom that much.
And it's not because we don'teat it's not because we girls
just don't go.
It's really an energetic andemotional release, and I.
One of the most common threadswithin my clients is that it's
(19:47):
whether they're either going alot or they're not able to go at
all, and right.
Again, they can follow the bestprotocols.
We can open up the drainagepathways, we can do the
lymphatic stuff, we can build upthe stomach acid within the
body.
But until you really understandwhere energetically and identity
wise and where you're holdingon, or where you're embracing.
(20:11):
That's really where it's likethis bracing, this protective
and see it as a mirror andreally reframe your symptom as
it's a mirror and it's acommunication.
It's just, it doesn't speakEnglish.
It doesn't say, a little textmessage to you.
It's getting intimate with yourbody and be able to witness
that.
And I love how you brought upshame with that because.
(20:33):
I never resonated with shamewhen I first heard that word,
but until I heard it is therejection of self.
I was like, oh, I can get withthat.
I can get with that.
I understand that, but theshame, it just, there was
another story around what shamemeant.
So how are some ways that peoplecan recognize that they are in
(20:55):
shame?
Yeah, it's a great question andso relatable, Lauren, because I
hear this so many times from mypatients, it's like shame.
It's almost like we don't reallyeven know what that word means,
but as soon as you bring up thephrase inner critic, it's oh
yeah, I've got one of those.
(21:16):
It's really loud.
So any sort of inner criticismor judgment.
To every thought.
There's actually an emotionunderneath.
We just aren't always connectedwith that experience in our
body.
So any statement I should havedone this, or I should be this
(21:36):
way, or again, just a criticalthought of oh, my stomach is too
big today.
Or the perfectionism right, ofneeding to.
Do everything perfectly to a tand always be productive.
These are probably the mostcommon other ones would be like
(21:58):
like keeping your voice heldback, right?
If you're not, if you're notfeeling free to express yourself
in a situation.
Or if you're in this kind ofpeople pleasing tendency where
it's oh no, it's fine.
Like whatever works best foryou, it doesn't matter to me.
I'll make it work.
This kind of thing can often be,there's layers to that too, but
(22:22):
often the first one can be justthe shame of actually taking
your own space and speaking ofwhat your needs are.
Yeah.
Would you say that shame isrelated to just self
abandonment?
Yeah, absolutely.
Absolutely.
And then when you put it thatway, there's so much grief in
that too.
And that's why when often wefeel shame, we do cry.
(22:45):
You realize you miss yourself somuch and it's dang, I didn't
realize how far away from myselfI really am and how much I
actually miss myself.
And the moment you witness thatyou've been abandoning yourself,
you actually, you're no longerseparate.
(23:06):
You're back.
You're right there.
So it's, yeah.
Absolutely.
I think that's a beautiful wayto put it.
Yeah.
One of my favorite sayings tosay, it's like the more that you
try to feel happy, the lesshappy you'll feel.
And the more that you learn tofeel sadness or feel the grief
or feel the shame, the lessshame, the less grief and the
more happy you eventually feel.
(23:27):
It's like a polarity there.
Yes.
And we try to do the directopposite.
We try to feel happy, but themore that we chase it, the more
indirect that means that wedon't have it, which then causes
more of the, the.
Tumbleweed of all those emotionsthat we've just been explaining
how they add onto each other.
So it's really the paradigmshift.
(23:47):
It is a complete paradigm shiftfrom the way that we've been
raised and understanding that.
We cannot shame our emotions.
We cannot shove them away.
We can't even run away fromthem.
We can't even, we can try andoutwork it, but your body will
shut you down eventually andyour body will put a full on
stop to that.
And I'm sure so many of thelisteners can relate to this.
(24:08):
Like when you are doing wellfinally, or you're getting some
traction wherever it is in yourlife, and then all of a sudden.
Something happens, you eitherinjure yourself or a symptom
pops up and it's because thebody's ha.
You're not aligned though.
You're doing this out of a, anidentity that was not truly you.
It was built upon selfabandonment or shame or
(24:32):
self-rejection.
And I see that more and more,and I see it for myself a lot of
times when I am.
About to up level.
When I'm really stepping outtamy comfort zone, the body will
actually.
Use a symptom in a way for me tocome back to before I launch off
again.
(24:52):
And it grounds me into beinglike, oh, I haven't really
checked in with myself in awhile.
Oh, I, I've been going nonstopthat I haven't taken the time to
check in.
What part of me needs to be seenin this moment?
What part of me is angry?
What part of me is sad?
What do I need to grieve?
Like grieving.
(25:13):
The idea of what I thought Iwould've been or should have
been or could have been, andallowing myself to mourn that,
to open up space for that newbecoming of who I truly,
authentically am.
I love that so much.
Yeah.
It's just really, it's alwayscoming back to your truth.
What is true for you in thatmoment, and when things happen
(25:34):
in life that disappoint you orupset you, allowing yourself to
feel that way.
Like you're gaslightingyourself.
And so if you feel upset bysomething, if you feel
frustrated by something, can youallow yourself to, and then only
when you let yourself feel thatway can you land in this place
of, actually it is okay.
(25:55):
Like it's truly okay.
And you're speaking of to thepoint of the polarity, I use the
phrase duality of.
It's like a pendulum of life,right?
Like some people, they live herewhere they're not super happy,
but they're also not like superuncomfortable.
They just live within this liketeaspoon range of emotions and
(26:18):
like they're good.
You probably know these people.
These people don't really cometo see me, but they're out
there.
Then there's other people whowant to really feel more joy and
pleasure in their life.
To do that.
That means we also are going toswing just as deeply into the
(26:39):
other side, into the shame andthe guilt and the sadness and
the anger.
And so you cannot have onewithout the other.
And so it really is about areyou the sort of person that
wants to open yourself up to thefull spectrum of life?
Because when you do, then yourealize that you know every
cancellation or every,opportunity that doesn't work
(27:01):
out actually is, life kind ofdoing what is not truly in
alignment.
And then you can flow throughwith so much more ease when
you're in that state.
Oh, absolutely.
And it's, something that I'vecome to terms with, it's like
the control, right?
So the trust or control.
And it's like when you start toget more in tune with your body
(27:22):
and you understand like bodyliteracy and body intimacy and
allowing yourself to, uns shameemotion and not even I.
Not even just the grief or theshame or the self-judgment or
the, just mellow colly feelingthat you may dance with a lot.
It's also uns shaming the joyuns, shaming the bliss uns
(27:47):
shaming the pleasure.
Because what you'll realize isthat your comfort zone for many
of us is in the.
Lower, not lower frequencies,but the denser frequencies and
of emotion to when we start tofeel those, we might enjoy it
for a little bit, but once it'spast that threshold of whatever
shame boundary we have aroundit, it's oh, we need to create
(28:09):
some chaos and we need tocontrol this situation'cause it
shouldn't be for that long.
Or, another layer pops up thatwe must heal right.
Or that we need to heal andreally allowing.
Yourself to just understand ourbodies, we came here to
experience consciousness withinthe physical body of the felt
(28:32):
sense of the sensation and notto fear emotion.
And many of us do.
We fear it.
Absolutely because.
Society has conditioned us sofar away from our bodies.
We rely so heavily on the mind,right?
Like the body's seen as thislike machine to be fixed.
(28:55):
And we could rationalize our waythrough, we can solve the
problem of disease that the bodyhas created to make life hard.
It's just.
The system is so backwards andwe, that's how we grow up.
Children are born in pureinnocence and a state of uns
(29:15):
shaming and joy.
And even with generationaltrauma, like you still, children
just being so free and being sothemselves.
And what happens when they getolder and they start to have a
sense of what is allowed, what'snot allowed, even when they feel
something is going on betweentheir parents, but the parents
(29:36):
say no, it's fine.
Like we're good.
When the parent essentially,it's oh, okay, I'm now
abandoning myself and trustingwhat my parent is telling me.
I no longer trust my intuitionbecause mom just said my
intuition is wrong, and it'sit's no one's fault because the
mother just wants to protect.
From the negative, the furtherwe also get from the positive
(29:58):
and to feel joy, we have to feelconnected to the moment that
we're in and between socialmedia and just like the hustle
of our society.
We're so focused on all themoments either in front of us,
anxiety or behind us depression,and we're never really present
where we are.
(30:18):
And so in that state, we cannotfeel joy.
It feels threatening to reallybe where you are because.
If I am where I am, then Ireally witness what's actually
there under the surface.
And I don't know what that isbecause I haven't done that
since I was like maybe two.
So it's not an easy process, butit's easier than you think
(30:41):
because to feel is the naturalstate of being.
We're not, as you can see, bythe chronic disease that we're
all suffering from.
This is not our natural state,and so it does take work and it
does take courage, and it doestake the openness to receive
support.
The body and mind actually wantto return to that state of
(31:04):
feeling.
It's just, it's natural.
We were never meant to controllife.
We were meant to experiencelife.
And so long as you are reallywilling and open to unlearning
Yeah.
And allow, the word just allow,keeps coming forward because
it's allowing the emotion andallowing life to, guide you in
(31:26):
whatever way, you resonate withI forgot to mention this
earlier.
My mother had died from cancer,which actually brought me into
this work.
And we never know, right?
The things that can be sopainful for us and can be so
devastating at times and feellike the end of the world, we
truly never know where it'sleading us.
And to this day, I feel moreconnected to her than I did when
(31:49):
she was actually on earth,because I feel as if that
experience of losing her andseeing that though she had
cancer and pancreatic cancer,and it took her so quickly just
knowing, just intuitivelyknowing she had.
So much backed up grief andtrauma and shame and things that
were left unsaid and how thatmanifested within the body.
(32:12):
And it took me down the path oflike vigorously learning about
how the emotions are connectedto our physical body and
understanding that.
Though it's not the onlycomponent, right?
We're not, again, we're notswinging to one far left and
then the other, right?
It's the combo.
So I'm sure you've seen thiswithin your clients, they do the
emotional release work, but it'syears and decades, a lot of
(32:35):
times of the body being in asympathetic state.
So there's a lot of repair thatmust take place too with the
nutritional and the herbs andthings like that.
So what are a few, I guesssuggestions for people
nutritionally and whether it's aherb that you like or anything
like that for someone who maybeis dealing with shame or grief
(32:59):
or they are trying to open theirbody to be receptive to this
work.
Beautiful question.
So I really.
I really don't give a lot ofblanket nutritional advice, as
it's always, of course, sotailored to the individual.
But what I would say is onething that I do emphasize with
(33:20):
almost all of my patients isyour protein intake.
Most of us are not eating enoughprotein, and protein is the
building blocks of everything inthe body.
If you want healing to occur,then your body needs protein in
order to do that.
We live in a society where a lotof us have dysregulated blood
(33:41):
sugar.
Some of us are in, the diabetesrange of things where it's too
high.
And then a lot of us, and I finda lot of young women with IBS,
gut issues.
Anxiety are also not eatingenough and not eating frequently
enough.
So the blood sugar tends to be abit low.
(34:02):
And so if the body doesn't havethe nutrients and the blood
sugar is, low or high or spike,it's gonna be really hard to
heal any physical disease, butalso to really feel like you
can.
Hold space for your emotionsbecause your physiology is just
all over the place so you don'tfeel like you have a solid just
based on the way that yourphysiology works with the blood
(34:24):
sugar, I recommend that mypatients eat some sort of
protein every hour and a half totwo hours.
And that almost invariably.
A tremendous difference in thesense of groundedness and in the
energy that people feel in theirlives.
(34:45):
And those are the two thingsthat people will notice straight
away once they start eating thatway.
That would be the one aspectthat I would recommend for most
anyone.
Absolutely.
And that's something that Iscream off the rooftops to
people too, because it's, that'sthe most common thread, just to
help people to really even begindoing any of the work because we
(35:06):
have to nourish our nervoussystem properly in our gut, the
governing connection, or youwill stay in a sympathetic
state, so you can do all themindset work.
You can try to release, and keepyourself in a loop, but.
If your body's in a sympatheticstate, it's bracing again and
it's in that comfort zone.
So it won't allow you to getinto that parasympathetic state
to even unlock certain things alot of times to allow yourself
(35:29):
to go there, to feel safe withinthe body to release, whether
that's physically like going tothe bathroom or release
emotionally.
So I think those are greatrecommendations for people that
are listening because I justknow that there's someone on
here that's having an aha.
Because the first time I everheard of this topic, I was like,
(35:50):
why is this calling me in?
This sounds so like familiar butnot familiar.
This is so interesting.
I know that you said somethingthat you're passionate about,
right now is reconnecting tolike your rhythm and nature and
your roots.
So I know that's lighting you upright now.
So speak on that.
Share a little bit of yourwisdom on that sense of where
(36:11):
you are as a person, not apractitioner, but just as you,
as your beautiful soul as youare.
Where are you standing right nowon your journey?
Yeah.
I love this as we've beentalking about shame and
perfectionism, I am absolutelystill in the process of
recovering from perfectionismthat I've really, as long as I
(36:32):
can remember, I've been in thatsort of state.
And just in the way I spokeabout my education, right?
Do no, no breaks, just goingstraight through, aiming for the
straight A and I was, there wasno rhythm.
Even quite literally for thebetter part of a decade, I did
not get my period because I wasso under nourishing and
(36:53):
overworking myself.
So quite literally, per monthlyrhythm.
Mine was zero.
It was not there whatsoever.
And I was just pushing through,powering through life, and boy
did it exhaust me and burn meout.
And only since beginning thisneo emotional release work, and
(37:16):
mostly for me, honestly, in thelast year as I've been working
with a coach who has been oofjust so transformative and so
inspirational to me, that shehas really helped me.
Reconnect with my feminineessence and with my internal
rhythms, and also becoming awareof how those rhythms are
(37:36):
mirroring nature.
Like in the winter actually,staying in more and just almost
like hibernating, not needing tobe so productive, but just
letting that period of rest andrestoration happen.
And a woman's winter is hermenses.
So when I have my period, if Idon't feel like we lifting
(38:01):
weights or if I don't have theenergy to, go on the call or
hold the session that I thoughtI was going to, then.
Just being honest about that andtaking that time for rest,
versus when, when I'm feelingenergetic that day when I'm
feeling creation, just I get anidea and I actually know when I
(38:21):
have time'cause I have to dothis other thing first.
It's just so much morefulfilling and you feel so much
more connected and therefore, somuch more joy.
At least, I have in working thisway and it's helped me to really
not feel so burned out.
People ask me like, you, youwork with cancer, you work with
trauma.
(38:41):
Like, how does this not affectyou?
And I'm like of course it does,but I pay attention now.
To my own energy and my owncapacity.
And I respect that.
And I respect my own time.
And I don't, I try, of coursesometimes this will do, but I
really try not to judge.
I just try to witness and say,okay, for whatever reason, my
(39:05):
energy's not there today.
And can I just allow that?
And oftentimes when I do, I'mrealizing my clients and other
women.
Are also feeling the same waythat I am.
We're very receptive.
As women, we're automatically intune with the rhythms of the
earth.
And so you're never alone andyou think you're alone.
(39:27):
And I'm learning that more andmore every single day.
And to just really trust my ownrhythm and to honor that, I
think is the best way to reallyjust, when we talk about self
care.
That to me is what it means, notthe bubble bath or the massage,
every month.
It's listening to what our bodyneeds.
(39:47):
Exactly.
And it's tuning in and.
What I found to be able to getin back into rhythm and to even
pay attention to it.
It was like, for me it was thebeginning was sunlight.
And I know that sounds so funny,but really sinking to sunlight
and understanding the connectionof the sun and the earth with
(40:08):
the body.
When I first heard about it, Iwas like, grounding surrounding
what, whatever this is.
I was very resistant to theholistic aspect.
Very surprising, right?
But once I started, I was like,I need to know the science,
right?
That was my resistance toletting in the natural essence
of our being, right?
And I needed everything to bebacked by science, even if I
(40:29):
understood it already, because Ididn't trust, right?
I didn't trust that naturealready had a plan before I
could even comprehend what planthis would be.
And so I learned about sunlightand I learned about the
importance of getting that.
For our circadian rhythm and ourtiming.
And once I learned that, I waslike, oh, like we're on a
biological clock.
(40:50):
And then I was like, oh our, mymenstrual cycle.
And I was like, I really don'tknow much about this.
This is crazy.
I'm 20, eight years old at thetime.
This is back a few years ago.
And I'm like, you're right.
I literally shame myself forhaving a menstrual cycle.
I don't know anything about it.
I look at it as a.
Inconvenient time.
(41:11):
I don't understand it at all,and the power that it holds, and
I don't understand the powerthat my organs hold, right?
Like we go to doctors a lot oftimes and they'll just be like,
remove it.
And you're like, okay.
'cause you don't understand howimportant everything piece is
within our body and within ourmind and how connected it is to
(41:34):
nature.
And the minute that I gotconnected to the sun and
connected to nature and startedspending more time out there, as
simple as it is, and justlistening to the birds and
allowing myself to walk withoutmy phone and to allow myself to
get the sun on my.
Skin.
I actually felt what true energywas not caffeine, because for a
(41:55):
long time energy was caffeineand I was like, what do you mean
like real energy?
It's caffeine or it's sleep, orit's food.
Not realizing I.
We are full of energy all thetime.
It's when we're holding, likeyou were saying, we have to be
clean and clear to allow thatenergy to flow through us and
what's blocking it, whether itbe the emotional aspect of it or
(42:16):
the physical manifestation ofthe emotional aspect of it is.
Where we can start to play with,okay, I'm feeling a little dense
today and not question it likeyou said, and allow yourself to
go, maybe my brain isn't asintelligent as this ancient
system of this nervous systemthat can sense intuitive hits,
(42:38):
that can, sync up with otherwomen when we're around them
that can breathe for me when Idon't think about breathing,
that can blink for me.
That can heal a wound that cando all these beautiful things
that we take advantage.
Like we really do not take amoment to say, wow, I am so glad
I didn't have to digest thatfood.
(42:58):
I didn't have to sit here andthink about moving this nutrient
to that spot and do this andkeep my heart beating and
breathe while I was sleeping.
I.
We're so distracted from naturethat it pulls us away from the
rhythms, for sure.
I love what you just said.
It's oh, it's just so true andyou can feel it in your body.
I love that.
(43:19):
The sun, even just yourcircadian rhythm, like that was
your real like doorway into allof this.
It's so simple.
Like how many people actuallywake up with the sun and go to
sleep when it goes down, right?
Like we're under artificiallight all day long and we
underestimate the power of justactually going and seeing the
(43:40):
sunrise.
Seeing the sunset, I take breaksbetween my sessions.
I go sit out on my porch and Ijust I just take in the sun.
I just like photosynthesize fora few minutes because it's so
just getting in that stillness,hearing the wind, the birds
like, and it's, what's so coolis you mentioned like the
(44:02):
science behind nature.
Like nature predates the scienceand now it's like the science is
proven.
Study that says like your houseplants know when you're on your
way home.
wow, I didn't know that.
That's cool.
Yeah, it's super cool.
Like we totally underestimatethe intelligence of other
(44:23):
beings.
Like this mind is not what makesus the most intelligent and.
It's so important for me inmedicine to really realize that
your body is not at all separatefrom nature.
You're an inextricable part ofnature.
You are, when you're eating,you're literally taking nature
and turning it into you.
(44:44):
And as you said, you never haveto ask your body to do this.
It's always already doing it foryou.
I just had a session yesterdaywhere we were actually really
feeling into that gratitude andit was just like, like when you
really feel that it's sooverwhelming.
Because it's like the amount oflove that's just inherent in
that is there are no words.
(45:05):
And so it's so powerful to justlike to just go outside and
re-immerse yourself, realizethat you're not as disconnected.
'cause I really do believe thatso much of dis-ease is
disconnection from nature, thenature that is around us and our
true nature.
Whether it just be emotional,spiritual.
(45:25):
It's disconnection.
Some say that the cancer cell isthe loneliest cell in the entire
body.
So to reconnect with yourself,your emotions, your physical
body with nature.
It just is one of the mostpowerful things you can do in
addition to, everything elsethat you're doing to support
your healing.
(45:46):
Reconnect with your rhythm andwith the rhythm of nature.
A hundred percent.
Yeah.
We wanna hear it, but we don't.
I know.
Someone's I knew that already.
But it's so true, and.
Breathing is free.
Like I always say, like youcan't forget breathing, like
taking a moment to intentionallybreathe.
Those little things like thatand just tuning into your body,
(46:09):
the resistance will be there,but they're free.
Sunlight is free, right?
We just have to take the time todo it rather than reaching for
the thing outside of us.
And as we've both conveyedtoday, it's.
Truly, it's the answer to a lotof things for us.
And that disconnection reallydoes.
We have experiences of seeingthis, that the moment that we
(46:30):
reconnect, your body can finallyrelease.
Your body finally feels safeenough to allow the healing to
begin.
But we need to assist in thatrather.
Just trying to bully it or,punish it into submission and,
take more supplements and domore protocols and continue
moving and moving, and then doit when we finally get there,
(46:50):
type deal.
But it takes time, like yousaid, it takes time.
And even as practitioners, youand I, we both know, we both
have been there.
We know of it.
It's in our awareness because weexperience it ourselves.
And no one is perfect or on apedestal.
We can hold more empathy for ourclients because we see it in
ourselves and we get to see thatmirrored back to us.
(47:12):
A lot of the things that you'vebeen saying today, I'm like, oh
awareness.
This is, I'm so grateful.
So grateful.
'cause this is unlocking anotherlayer.
So how can people get in touchwith you whether it be on social
media, how can they work withyou?
Share with them a little bitabout that.
Absolutely.
So I do have Instagram, thehandle is at Dr.
(47:34):
Marissa Do Catano and then Ialso have a website, Marissa
Catano nd as a naturopathicdoctor.com.
And there you can read, you knowall about the different services
that I offer and you can alsosend me a message or book, a
free discovery call with me tosee if we might be a good fit
(47:55):
for each other.
Beautiful.
And I'll put all those in theshow notes too so you guys don't
have to memorize any of that.
And to close this off, what'sanything that doesn't feel
expressed yet, what's one lastmessage that you have for that
listener who's just dialed inright now?
I see so much disconnection inpeople right now, so much
(48:18):
division, and to really openyour heart to yourself.
Allows you to actually open yourheart up to other people in a
really beautiful way.
And we are in such need ofintegration at this time rather
than division.
(48:39):
The more accepting you become ofyour own guilt and shame and
faults, right mistakes and toreally own that, the more we can
really accept other people who.
We might otherwise judge, aswithin so without, so if I'm
judging me, I'm judging you.
And that's a hard world for allof us to really live in.
And I just really feel that thiskind of medicine brings healing
(49:05):
not only to individuals, but to.
Partnerships and families andcommunities and there are people
who are around the countryengaging in this sort of
healing.
And so if you are feeling reallyalone and isolated in your
healing, reach out to me or toyou or people who are doing this
(49:27):
work and see where you canconnect with others who are.
The more that we will have thatgreater impact on our
communities.
Absolutely.
I always say community is themedicine because it truly is it
truly is.
I didn't realize how much Ineeded community until I was
immersed in a, like a communityof healing where I was able to
(49:48):
see like the raw, the realpeople being so vulnerable and
honest about their experiences.
And a lot of times I didn't evenknow until somebody spoke so
vulnerably I experienced thattoo.
I didn't even realize that, thatI'm struggling with this.
This is crazy.
And just to be able to holdpeople in that medicine.
So I think that's absolutelybeautiful and your energy is so
(50:09):
easy to feel held in.
So I truly, was so excited tobring you onto this podcast, not
only to compliment, our workthat we both do, which are
different, but also becausesomebody might not vibe with my
vibe, right?
They might not, it might notbother them, but they may feel
more pulled towards you.
And I wanna give people thatopportunity to open up my
(50:30):
network and allow people to,pick whatever flavor they like,
right?
To really see what is it that'sgonna open up that healing path
for them, because it ripples.
It ripples out.
Like when you heal yourself,you're healing the world, you're
healing your lineage, DNA, andyou're also healing the people
around you.
So I think you close that outbeautifully and I'm just so
(50:53):
grateful that we got to havethis call and I'm so excited for
the people who hear this and letit in, so thank you so much for
coming on today.
Yeah, thank you so much.
It's been an absolute pleasure.
Man, if you're still herebreathing, sitting with all the
feels stirred up by thisconversation, good.
(51:16):
That means you're exactly whereyou're supposed to be.
Today's episode was a reminder,a call back to something you
already know.
Deep down, even if the world,your trauma or your
perfectionism made you forget,healing isn't about fixing your
body.
It's about listening to it.
We are taught to treat oursymptoms like enemies, right?
(51:38):
Like a problem, that's blockingus.
And we throw supplements atthem.
We throw workouts at them.
We throw manifestation journalsat them.
But the truth is, is mostsymptoms are just your body
begging you to come back home.
The bloat, the burnout, the gutissues, and the fatigue, they're
not random, they are notpunishments.
(51:59):
They're your survival patternsmade visible.
They are your unspoken grief,unfelt, shame, unmet needs
crystallize into physical form.
And no, you cannot greensmoothie or manifestation
journal your way out of that.
You have to feel your waythrough.
You have to let the emotionaland the physical body finally
(52:21):
sit at the same damn tabletogether what Dr.
Marisa shared today is a sacredmedicine.
That healing doesn't happen.
When you control harder.
That healing happens when yousurrender when you allow, when
you lean into the feminine.
And if you're listening rightnow thinking, shit, this is me.
(52:43):
Good.
It means something real iswaking up inside of you.
So take the next brave step.
Slow down, get still.
And get honest about what you'recarrying and remember, you were
never broken.
You're just bracing and youdon't have to keep living that
way.
(53:03):
If today's conversation crackssomething open in you, even a
little, I want you to know thatyou're not alone.
There are women like me, likeDr.
Marisa, like the women listeningalongside of you who are walking
this path to, and every time youchoose truth over performance,
you make this world a softerplace to heal in.
(53:24):
So thank you for being here.
Thank you for choosing to feel.
And if this episode moved you,please follow the show, rate it,
review it, and share it with afriend who needs to hear the
real truth about healing, notjust a polished version, because
you never know whose life youmight change by simply sending a
link.
So until next time, trust yourbody.
(53:44):
Trust the process, trust yourenoughness.
You're doing better than youthink, and I'll see you soon.
Welcome to Embodied This, the NoBS Healing podcast for women who
are done playing small.
If you're in your thirties orbeyond, and you've made it
through the heartbreaks, theidentity crisis, the diets, the
late night, what the fuck am Idoing with my life moments?
Then this is for you am Lauren,Michelle Jewel, a single sober
(00:22):
business owning badass who hasbeen humbled as hell by healing.
But I'm not just someone who'slived it.
I've studied it.
I've coached it and I've helpedother women walk through it with
seven years in mind, bodyhealth, gut brain science, and
nervous system healing.
I've worked with women who'vetried everything.
The therapy, the diets, thesupplements, the endless self
(00:44):
help work, and yet they stillfeel disconnected from their
bodies, from their health, fromtheir truth.
Because here's the thing,healing isn't a trend.
It's not an identity, it's notan aesthetic, and it's
definitely not some perfectlycurated Instagram Post healing
is embodied, and let me be realwith you.
(01:06):
It's hard as fuck and it's alsorewarding as fuck.
I know because I've lived it.
And along the way, I realizesomething, modern healing
methods are failing us.
Everything is compartmentalized.
Go to therapy.
They say, take the supplements,do the inner work.
But no one teaches you how toactually integrate it all, and
(01:28):
that that's why this podcastexists.
This show is for you if you'reready to rethink healing.
It's not about being perfect.
It's not about being a spiritualguru or wellness influencer, and
it's not about having a trustfund for therapy or PhD in
biohacking.
This is about undoing,unlearning, and finally coming
(01:50):
home to yourself.
In a quick disclaimer before weget started, this podcast is for
educational purposes only.
It's here to expand your mind,challenge old narratives, and
empower you with knowledge.
It's not to replace medicaldiagnosis or treatment.
And as always, consult aprofessional when making health
decisions.
(02:11):
If this episode hits home,follow the show, rate it, review
it, share it with someone whoneeds to hear it.
Because you never know whoselife you might change.
Now let's get into today'sconversation.
If you've ever wondered why yourhealing isn't working, or why
you're still bloated, stillanxious, still holding it all
(02:32):
in, even after the therapyjournaling, and probably a small
fortune on supplements, becauselet's be honest, this episode is
gonna hit you like a loving slapfrom the universe.
Today I am joined by someone whogets it, who doesn't just
understand the intersection ofscience and somatics, but she
embodies it.
Audio Only - All Participan (02:53):
Dr.
Marisa Kao is a licensednaturopathic doctor, a fellow of
the American Board ofNaturopathic Oncology, and a
certified neo emotional releasepractitioner.
So yeah, she speaks fluent labwork and emotional language.
After completing her oncologyresidency, she realized
(03:13):
something most of the wellnessworld still hasn't caught up to
that.
You can't treat the body if youignore the emotional weight it's
carrying.
Healing protocols mean nothingif the shame, grief, or self
abandonment underneath themstays buried.
So in this episode, we go deepinto why shame is the emotion,
keeping your body in chronicfreeze, how gut issues,
(03:35):
especially constipation andbloating are tied to emotional
bracing.
Why symptoms flare often show upright before and uplevel and
what it actually looks like tolet go, not through force, but
through presence.
Marisa's work is a return tonature, to rhythm, to truth.
Whether she's guiding clientsthrough integrative cancer care
(03:55):
or somatic sessions that unravelyears of stored survival, her
message is clear.
Your body is not a problem tofix.
It's a story to listen to.
And if you're willing to gethonest about what you're holding
onto, that's when the realhealing begins.
So let's dive in.
Audio Only - All Particip (04:12):
Let's welcome Dr.
Marissa Kano to the show.
Wow.
Thank you so much.
That was the most beautifulintroduction I've ever heard.
I'm so honored to be here.
So excited to have you.
Honestly.
When I found you through the neoemotional release
practitionership, and I saw thatyou were in the Annapolis area,
I was like.
(04:32):
Oh my gosh, there's someone whodoes this.
This is so exciting and I'll,we'll get into what that all is
in a moment, but I remember Ijust found you and immediately
was like drawn to you and Ireached out to you and I was
like, this is so crazy.
She lives in the area where Ilive.
She's doing what I love.
She's also involved with thenutritional health aspect of it.
I was like, this is a match madein heaven.
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Why don't you tell us a littlebit about yourself and how you
got into this work, and what itis that you do?
Absolutely would love to.
So first and foremost, I'm anaturopathic doctor and I really
became interested innaturopathic medicine because of
my mother's journey withmetastatic breast cancer.
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So I was an undergrad at thetime and I was studying
psychology.
Not really sure what I wanted todo with that.
And really seeing the healingthat she went through with her
naturopath in terms of nutritionand herbs and lifestyle.
And yes, even then the mentalemotional side of things.
I was like, what kind of adoctor are you working with?
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Like I had never heard anythinglike this before, coming from
conventional medicine.
So I was so intrigued.
And one day she ended up takingme to see my own naturopath and.
In the first visit, thatnaturopath cured me of the
migraines I had suffered fromfor my entire life.
And I was like, okay.
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Path has unfolded and we knowwhere we're going.
So after undergrad I pursued mynaturopathic doctorate and
because of, my mother's journey,I knew that I wanted to focus in
oncology and cancer care.
And so that's what brought meafter school to Portsmouth, New
Hampshire, to do my two yearresidency.
My passion for the mentalemotional aspect of healing
(06:20):
never left me, and so while Iwas in residency, I decided that
wasn't enough and I was going topursue this new emotional
release training.
It just fell into my lap.
I was listening to a podcastand.
This fellow naturopathic doctorwas talking about it and it just
landed so strongly in my body.
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I think that was the first fullbody yes, I may have ever really
felt, or at least recognized.
And I was just like, yeah I haveto do this.
And it has transformed my lifepersonally and professionally in
ways that I never could haveimagined.
Even though.
It seems like two separatethings of, naturopathic doctor
(07:01):
and integrative oncologist, andthen the neo emotional release
practitioner.
It's really not because there'snever a person that I'm working
with on the naturopathic sidewhere I'm not bringing that
psychosomatic lens in.
And when I'm working withsomeone somatically, I'm always
thinking, okay, but.
Are you feeding yourselfproperly and are you moving your
body on a daily basis, like tohelp you process all of this?
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So it really is sointerconnected and I just feel
so blessed to have the knowledgeand the training that I do to be
able to look at people soholistically and see them for
more than just the dis-ease thatwe're trying to treat, but
really just as a human beingwhose body is telling a story.
And how do we really supportthat story in unfolding uniquely
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and as beautifully?
Yeah, that's absolutelycompletely aligned with one, my
experience and that's somethingthat I created this podcast for
was to.
Really one, obviously educatepeople around understanding that
it's not separate.
It's not compartmentalized.
It's not like you're going foryour mental health and then you
(08:11):
have to go for your physicalhealth.
It's all one and the same.
And the minute that we realizethat and the minute that we are
able to release those oldparadigms of understanding
health we can really.
See it.
It looks like miracles, right?
But it's not.
It's actually just aligningproperly with the way that the
body works and when you.
(08:32):
Understand that you understandthat the body's made to heal,
right?
It's made to protect you, it'smade to keep you alive.
So what are a few of the thingsthat you've been seeing recently
with your clients?
I know that, we don't see thiscombo every day.
So breaking down that model,what's something that you've
been seeing that's common, acommon thread when people are
coming in to see you?
(08:53):
That is a really great question,and I would say that.
There's definitely a widevariety of, let's say, reasons
that people come to see me,especially for the new emotional
release work, and then theyrefer to me for the somatic,
more emotional side of thehealing.
And something that this commonthread within my sessions, no
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matter what the presentingsymptom is shame.
It's been, I would say, the oneemotion that has been coming up
so much and it has been sopresent in my own work with
myself.
But it's really, it's the heavyblanket that lays over us and.
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It keeps us from, the outsideworld and really showing up as
authentically and openly andfreely as we would like to.
But it also insulates us fromourselves.
And so as much as it keeps usfrom the outside, it also keeps
us from the deeper emotions likeanger.
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Or sadness, helplessness, likeall of these things tend to be
encased in this heavy blanket ofshame.
It's really, it's the rejectionof our identity.
It's the antagonist of ourself-worth.
It's the thing that keeps ussmall.
It's really at the root of somuch perfectionism and so much
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just hustling and you're someonethat's always needing to be
doing something, like you cannotsit still and rest.
And so this is something thathas been coming up a lot and
it's heavy.
It's not easy for people toreally work through.
It's not a one session kind ofdeal.
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You know what I mean?
It's really.
To witness the weight that shamehas carried in your life.
It feels heavy and it takes alot of presence.
It takes a lot of compassion,and it takes a lot of courage
because not only do you need tosee yourself at your most
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vulnerable, but.
You also need to let yourself beseen by another at your most
vulnerable.
And this is a really hard piecefor so many people.
And so when people are dealingwith shame, oftentimes they're
not reaching out and letting meknow how they're feeling because
the shame is keeping themhidden.
And my job to really help peoplefeel so safe and comfortable
(11:21):
that they can let me see them inthat state.
It's a challenge, but it's also,it's so rewarding as when you
can really learn how to relateto your shame and to give
yourself that compassion, love,and grace that you need.
I see so much open up for peoplein their lives, and so it's one
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of those things where if you arewith me and you're sticking with
yourself through this process.
Shame, starts out as this cagethat holds us back in our lives.
But once we can witness that, itactually really just becomes the
invitation for self love.
Yep.
Exactly.
And that's something that I'vebeen really focusing on helping
people see is that our symptoms,and whether they're mental,
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emotional, or physical, they areinitiations.
They are the call from your bodyto go deeper into yourself, so
that way you can open up a newpath.
And most of the time, whetherit's a gut issue or it's, shame
or you're hustling or you'rehaving relationship issues and
shame is there.
A symptom is there, they're bothdancing with each other, right?
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They're both dancing with eachother.
And I know you can correct me ifI'm wrong, but shame keeps us in
a constant like survival in asense, right?
It keeps us constantly in asympathetic state.
So that's a stressed out stateconstantly.
It's like a low hump.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, absolutely.
It's, it really, you can neverreally feel safe to fully arrive
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as yourself.
When there is unprocessed shamebecause you're constantly,
whether consciously orunconsciously, like really
vigilant and watching out forhow everyone around you is there
a threat that I need to watchout for, that I need to keep the
peace, right?
Like really diluting your trueself.
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In order to, achieve some sortof peace or make someone else
feel good, right?
It's the idea that, someoneelse's needs in that moment are
more important than mine, and soyou cannot fully rest.
And this is, beautifully said.
When your nervous system is inthis very sympathetic fight or
flight mode, one of the firstthings that's gonna be affected
by that is digestion.
And psychosomatically gutissues.
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IBS conventional medicine reallyis like, oh, are you anxious?
It's yeah, who isn't anxious?
That doesn't help me heal myIBS.
And so it's often under, again,like layers, always layers
underneath.
The anxiety is often the shamejust sitting in the gut that's
not been processed, digested.
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And so it's, as you said, yeah,it's absolutely all connected
and that's such a big piece Ihave found for people,
especially with gut issues, withfood and body issues, eating
disorders.
Oof.
Shame.
Yeah, that's, it's, we couldnerd out on this forever about
this because Yeah, it's so true.
It really is.
Because I know you've probablyseen this where.
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prior to starting the neoemotional release, you can give
the best, protocols or the bestguidance to somebody and they
can follow it to a T but not seethat result due to that shame or
that survival, quote unquote thelow hum of stress going.
To that undigested ormetabolized emotion within the
body and then they don't get theresult.
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Self blame and like coat on topof the shame.
And the shame gets bigger andbigger.
Yes.
Like you said, it blocks ourauthentic self and we feel
separate.
We feel like we are alienated ina way, and then that creates
that whole storyline and thatnarrative of something's wrong
with me.
(14:58):
I need to fix something withinme.
And I'm sure you have someamazing stories, but what are a
few, stories that you'veexperienced with people when
they have come to that ahamoment of releasing the emotion
and how it affected theirphysical, whether it's in
communication from the body, butailments, in their eyes, maybe
it'd be something that wasreally weighing them down and
(15:21):
not able to live their lifefully.
Absolutely.
Great question and alsobeautifully said about just we
feel shame and then we shameourselves for feeling shame.
And it's, that's why it becomesso heavy and there's so many
layers to work with.
There is one person who reallycomes to mind.
She was, it's a young woman.
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She had type of I-B-S-I-B-S,right?
And when we thinkpsychosomatically with
constipation.
Quite literally holding on tostuff.
And so the first piece tounderstand is the name Neo
Emotional Release does sound alittle bit it's a little bit
counterintuitive as to what thatrelease actually means because.
(16:05):
It's not like we locate shame inthe body and then we just say,
okay, now get rid of the shame.
Imagine it leaving your body.
No.
So the secret to letting go isactually first letting in.
So first you need to feel theshame and it's, emotions are
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energy in motion.
Emotion and energy comes inwaves.
Emotion has a natural beginning,a middle, and an end, just like
any other wave.
And so most of us will see thewaves coming up, or maybe
unconsciously we won't.
And we go, whoop, gotta get awayfrom that.
And so that wave never gets tofinish.
It becomes this loop in thesession when you see that wave
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coming up.
We really work to.
Be present as that wave actuallymoves through you.
And so that's of course usingthe breath and feeling the
sensations of that emotion inthe body.
And so when this young woman wasreally in the depth of her shame
and I was holding her and shewas also holding her inner child
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in that, because this is, we'renot born with shame.
Babies cry, scream, gigglewhenever they want.
They don't feel shame.
So the shame is put upon us atsome point.
And so there is, within all ofus that feel the shame.
There is a little child who'sholding onto that.
And so just letting that shamebe held and witness and accepted
is what allows that wave tocomplete and move through.
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And after this session.
The next day, this woman sent mea message and basically said she
had not only an energeticrelease, but a physical release.
It was almost like an energeticcolonic, if you will.
Mind you, this woman would godays and days without having a
bowel movement, and it was likeit all just came.
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Flooding out of her and she waslike, whoa.
And she felt so, she was like, Ihave never felt so light and so
joyful and so present.
And it's just amazing that themoment you actually let yourself
feel so vulnerable that thingsjust naturally open up and
there's absolutely nothing thatwe forced there.
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It was so natural.
And from then on, it's does theIBS go away?
Does she never feel constipatedagain?
No, because life happens, right?
And of course we feel shameagain.
And so it's all about how doesshe hold herself And she's able
to really experience so muchless physical and emotional
dis-ease since having that oneexperience That's so beautiful
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too.
And it's such a gift to be ableto.
Walk clients and just peoplethrough such a.
It's not a simple tweak, butit's a simple tweak, right?
Like when you're listening tothis and you're not actively
with us, and it's oh, okay.
Like just let it go.
And obviously it's never likethat.
It's never like that.
It's, we have so many thingsthat, why we can't do that?
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What?
When we're fighting for our ownlimitations, and I love that you
just gave that example becausemy last episode for this week
was called Let That Shit Go, andit was the real reason behind
constipation, bloating, and.
Really exactly that.
And it was talking about, likefor me, before I got into this
work, I struggled severely withconstipation, right?
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I struggled with that so bad andit was like so common for other
girls that I knew to not be ableto go to the bathroom.
They're just not go to thebathroom that much.
And it's not because we don'teat it's not because we girls
just don't go.
It's really an energetic andemotional release, and I.
One of the most common threadswithin my clients is that it's
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whether they're either going alot or they're not able to go at
all, and right.
Again, they can follow the bestprotocols.
We can open up the drainagepathways, we can do the
lymphatic stuff, we can build upthe stomach acid within the
body.
But until you really understandwhere energetically and identity
wise and where you're holdingon, or where you're embracing.
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That's really where it's likethis bracing, this protective
and see it as a mirror andreally reframe your symptom as
it's a mirror and it's acommunication.
It's just, it doesn't speakEnglish.
It doesn't say, a little textmessage to you.
It's getting intimate with yourbody and be able to witness
that.
And I love how you brought upshame with that because.
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I never resonated with shamewhen I first heard that word,
but until I heard it is therejection of self.
I was like, oh, I can get withthat.
I can get with that.
I understand that, but theshame, it just, there was
another story around what shamemeant.
So how are some ways that peoplecan recognize that they are in
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shame?
Yeah, it's a great question andso relatable, Lauren, because I
hear this so many times from mypatients, it's like shame.
It's almost like we don't reallyeven know what that word means,
but as soon as you bring up thephrase inner critic, it's oh
yeah, I've got one of those.
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It's really loud.
So any sort of inner criticismor judgment.
To every thought.
There's actually an emotionunderneath.
We just aren't always connectedwith that experience in our
body.
So any statement I should havedone this, or I should be this
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way, or again, just a criticalthought of oh, my stomach is too
big today.
Or the perfectionism right, ofneeding to.
Do everything perfectly to a tand always be productive.
These are probably the mostcommon other ones would be like
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like keeping your voice heldback, right?
If you're not, if you're notfeeling free to express yourself
in a situation.
Or if you're in this kind ofpeople pleasing tendency where
it's oh no, it's fine.
Like whatever works best foryou, it doesn't matter to me.
I'll make it work.
This kind of thing can often be,there's layers to that too, but
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often the first one can be justthe shame of actually taking
your own space and speaking ofwhat your needs are.
Yeah.
Would you say that shame isrelated to just self
abandonment?
Yeah, absolutely.
Absolutely.
And then when you put it thatway, there's so much grief in
that too.
And that's why when often wefeel shame, we do cry.
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You realize you miss yourself somuch and it's dang, I didn't
realize how far away from myselfI really am and how much I
actually miss myself.
And the moment you witness thatyou've been abandoning yourself,
you actually, you're no longerseparate.
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You're back.
You're right there.
So it's, yeah.
Absolutely.
I think that's a beautiful wayto put it.
Yeah.
One of my favorite sayings tosay, it's like the more that you
try to feel happy, the lesshappy you'll feel.
And the more that you learn tofeel sadness or feel the grief
or feel the shame, the lessshame, the less grief and the
more happy you eventually feel.
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It's like a polarity there.
Yes.
And we try to do the directopposite.
We try to feel happy, but themore that we chase it, the more
indirect that means that wedon't have it, which then causes
more of the, the.
Tumbleweed of all those emotionsthat we've just been explaining
how they add onto each other.
So it's really the paradigmshift.
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It is a complete paradigm shiftfrom the way that we've been
raised and understanding that.
We cannot shame our emotions.
We cannot shove them away.
We can't even run away fromthem.
We can't even, we can try andoutwork it, but your body will
shut you down eventually andyour body will put a full on
stop to that.
And I'm sure so many of thelisteners can relate to this.
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Like when you are doing wellfinally, or you're getting some
traction wherever it is in yourlife, and then all of a sudden.
Something happens, you eitherinjure yourself or a symptom
pops up and it's because thebody's ha.
You're not aligned though.
You're doing this out of a, anidentity that was not truly you.
It was built upon selfabandonment or shame or
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self-rejection.
And I see that more and more,and I see it for myself a lot of
times when I am.
About to up level.
When I'm really stepping outtamy comfort zone, the body will
actually.
Use a symptom in a way for me tocome back to before I launch off
again.
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And it grounds me into beinglike, oh, I haven't really
checked in with myself in awhile.
Oh, I, I've been going nonstopthat I haven't taken the time to
check in.
What part of me needs to be seenin this moment?
What part of me is angry?
What part of me is sad?
What do I need to grieve?
Like grieving.
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The idea of what I thought Iwould've been or should have
been or could have been, andallowing myself to mourn that,
to open up space for that newbecoming of who I truly,
authentically am.
I love that so much.
Yeah.
It's just really, it's alwayscoming back to your truth.
What is true for you in thatmoment, and when things happen
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in life that disappoint you orupset you, allowing yourself to
feel that way.
Like you're gaslightingyourself.
And so if you feel upset bysomething, if you feel
frustrated by something, can youallow yourself to, and then only
when you let yourself feel thatway can you land in this place
of, actually it is okay.
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Like it's truly okay.
And you're speaking of to thepoint of the polarity, I use the
phrase duality of.
It's like a pendulum of life,right?
Like some people, they live herewhere they're not super happy,
but they're also not like superuncomfortable.
They just live within this liketeaspoon range of emotions and
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like they're good.
You probably know these people.
These people don't really cometo see me, but they're out
there.
Then there's other people whowant to really feel more joy and
pleasure in their life.
To do that.
That means we also are going toswing just as deeply into the
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other side, into the shame andthe guilt and the sadness and
the anger.
And so you cannot have onewithout the other.
And so it really is about areyou the sort of person that
wants to open yourself up to thefull spectrum of life?
Because when you do, then yourealize that you know every
cancellation or every,opportunity that doesn't work
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out actually is, life kind ofdoing what is not truly in
alignment.
And then you can flow throughwith so much more ease when
you're in that state.
Oh, absolutely.
And it's, something that I'vecome to terms with, it's like
the control, right?
So the trust or control.
And it's like when you start toget more in tune with your body
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and you understand like bodyliteracy and body intimacy and
allowing yourself to, uns shameemotion and not even I.
Not even just the grief or theshame or the self-judgment or
the, just mellow colly feelingthat you may dance with a lot.
It's also uns shaming the joyuns, shaming the bliss uns
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shaming the pleasure.
Because what you'll realize isthat your comfort zone for many
of us is in the.
Lower, not lower frequencies,but the denser frequencies and
of emotion to when we start tofeel those, we might enjoy it
for a little bit, but once it'spast that threshold of whatever
shame boundary we have aroundit, it's oh, we need to create
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some chaos and we need tocontrol this situation'cause it
shouldn't be for that long.
Or, another layer pops up thatwe must heal right.
Or that we need to heal andreally allowing.
Yourself to just understand ourbodies, we came here to
experience consciousness withinthe physical body of the felt
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sense of the sensation and notto fear emotion.
And many of us do.
We fear it.
Absolutely because.
Society has conditioned us sofar away from our bodies.
We rely so heavily on the mind,right?
Like the body's seen as thislike machine to be fixed.
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And we could rationalize our waythrough, we can solve the
problem of disease that the bodyhas created to make life hard.
It's just.
The system is so backwards andwe, that's how we grow up.
Children are born in pureinnocence and a state of uns
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shaming and joy.
And even with generationaltrauma, like you still, children
just being so free and being sothemselves.
And what happens when they getolder and they start to have a
sense of what is allowed, what'snot allowed, even when they feel
something is going on betweentheir parents, but the parents
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say no, it's fine.
Like we're good.
When the parent essentially,it's oh, okay, I'm now
abandoning myself and trustingwhat my parent is telling me.
I no longer trust my intuitionbecause mom just said my
intuition is wrong, and it'sit's no one's fault because the
mother just wants to protect.
From the negative, the furtherwe also get from the positive
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and to feel joy, we have to feelconnected to the moment that
we're in and between socialmedia and just like the hustle
of our society.
We're so focused on all themoments either in front of us,
anxiety or behind us depression,and we're never really present
where we are.
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And so in that state, we cannotfeel joy.
It feels threatening to reallybe where you are because.
If I am where I am, then Ireally witness what's actually
there under the surface.
And I don't know what that isbecause I haven't done that
since I was like maybe two.
So it's not an easy process, butit's easier than you think
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because to feel is the naturalstate of being.
We're not, as you can see, bythe chronic disease that we're
all suffering from.
This is not our natural state,and so it does take work and it
does take courage, and it doestake the openness to receive
support.
The body and mind actually wantto return to that state of
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feeling.
It's just, it's natural.
We were never meant to controllife.
We were meant to experiencelife.
And so long as you are reallywilling and open to unlearning
Yeah.
And allow, the word just allow,keeps coming forward because
it's allowing the emotion andallowing life to, guide you in
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whatever way, you resonate withI forgot to mention this
earlier.
My mother had died from cancer,which actually brought me into
this work.
And we never know, right?
The things that can be sopainful for us and can be so
devastating at times and feellike the end of the world, we
truly never know where it'sleading us.
And to this day, I feel moreconnected to her than I did when
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she was actually on earth,because I feel as if that
experience of losing her andseeing that though she had
cancer and pancreatic cancer,and it took her so quickly just
knowing, just intuitivelyknowing she had.
So much backed up grief andtrauma and shame and things that
were left unsaid and how thatmanifested within the body.
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And it took me down the path oflike vigorously learning about
how the emotions are connectedto our physical body and
understanding that.
Though it's not the onlycomponent, right?
We're not, again, we're notswinging to one far left and
then the other, right?
It's the combo.
So I'm sure you've seen thiswithin your clients, they do the
emotional release work, but it'syears and decades, a lot of
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times of the body being in asympathetic state.
So there's a lot of repair thatmust take place too with the
nutritional and the herbs andthings like that.
So what are a few, I guesssuggestions for people
nutritionally and whether it's aherb that you like or anything
like that for someone who maybeis dealing with shame or grief
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or they are trying to open theirbody to be receptive to this
work.
Beautiful question.
So I really.
I really don't give a lot ofblanket nutritional advice, as
it's always, of course, sotailored to the individual.
But what I would say is onething that I do emphasize with
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almost all of my patients isyour protein intake.
Most of us are not eating enoughprotein, and protein is the
building blocks of everything inthe body.
If you want healing to occur,then your body needs protein in
order to do that.
We live in a society where a lotof us have dysregulated blood
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sugar.
Some of us are in, the diabetesrange of things where it's too
high.
And then a lot of us, and I finda lot of young women with IBS,
gut issues.
Anxiety are also not eatingenough and not eating frequently
enough.
So the blood sugar tends to be abit low.
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And so if the body doesn't havethe nutrients and the blood
sugar is, low or high or spike,it's gonna be really hard to
heal any physical disease, butalso to really feel like you
can.
Hold space for your emotionsbecause your physiology is just
all over the place so you don'tfeel like you have a solid just
based on the way that yourphysiology works with the blood
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sugar, I recommend that mypatients eat some sort of
protein every hour and a half totwo hours.
And that almost invariably.
A tremendous difference in thesense of groundedness and in the
energy that people feel in theirlives.
(34:45):
And those are the two thingsthat people will notice straight
away once they start eating thatway.
That would be the one aspectthat I would recommend for most
anyone.
Absolutely.
And that's something that Iscream off the rooftops to
people too, because it's, that'sthe most common thread, just to
help people to really even begindoing any of the work because we
(35:06):
have to nourish our nervoussystem properly in our gut, the
governing connection, or youwill stay in a sympathetic
state, so you can do all themindset work.
You can try to release, and keepyourself in a loop, but.
If your body's in a sympatheticstate, it's bracing again and
it's in that comfort zone.
So it won't allow you to getinto that parasympathetic state
to even unlock certain things alot of times to allow yourself
(35:29):
to go there, to feel safe withinthe body to release, whether
that's physically like going tothe bathroom or release
emotionally.
So I think those are greatrecommendations for people that
are listening because I justknow that there's someone on
here that's having an aha.
Because the first time I everheard of this topic, I was like,
(35:50):
why is this calling me in?
This sounds so like familiar butnot familiar.
This is so interesting.
I know that you said somethingthat you're passionate about,
right now is reconnecting tolike your rhythm and nature and
your roots.
So I know that's lighting you upright now.
So speak on that.
Share a little bit of yourwisdom on that sense of where
(36:11):
you are as a person, not apractitioner, but just as you,
as your beautiful soul as youare.
Where are you standing right nowon your journey?
Yeah.
I love this as we've beentalking about shame and
perfectionism, I am absolutelystill in the process of
recovering from perfectionismthat I've really, as long as I
(36:32):
can remember, I've been in thatsort of state.
And just in the way I spokeabout my education, right?
Do no, no breaks, just goingstraight through, aiming for the
straight A and I was, there wasno rhythm.
Even quite literally for thebetter part of a decade, I did
not get my period because I wasso under nourishing and
(36:53):
overworking myself.
So quite literally, per monthlyrhythm.
Mine was zero.
It was not there whatsoever.
And I was just pushing through,powering through life, and boy
did it exhaust me and burn meout.
And only since beginning thisneo emotional release work, and
(37:16):
mostly for me, honestly, in thelast year as I've been working
with a coach who has been oofjust so transformative and so
inspirational to me, that shehas really helped me.
Reconnect with my feminineessence and with my internal
rhythms, and also becoming awareof how those rhythms are
(37:36):
mirroring nature.
Like in the winter actually,staying in more and just almost
like hibernating, not needing tobe so productive, but just
letting that period of rest andrestoration happen.
And a woman's winter is hermenses.
So when I have my period, if Idon't feel like we lifting
(38:01):
weights or if I don't have theenergy to, go on the call or
hold the session that I thoughtI was going to, then.
Just being honest about that andtaking that time for rest,
versus when, when I'm feelingenergetic that day when I'm
feeling creation, just I get anidea and I actually know when I
(38:21):
have time'cause I have to dothis other thing first.
It's just so much morefulfilling and you feel so much
more connected and therefore, somuch more joy.
At least, I have in working thisway and it's helped me to really
not feel so burned out.
People ask me like, you, youwork with cancer, you work with
trauma.
(38:41):
Like, how does this not affectyou?
And I'm like of course it does,but I pay attention now.
To my own energy and my owncapacity.
And I respect that.
And I respect my own time.
And I don't, I try, of coursesometimes this will do, but I
really try not to judge.
I just try to witness and say,okay, for whatever reason, my
(39:05):
energy's not there today.
And can I just allow that?
And oftentimes when I do, I'mrealizing my clients and other
women.
Are also feeling the same waythat I am.
We're very receptive.
As women, we're automatically intune with the rhythms of the
earth.
And so you're never alone andyou think you're alone.
(39:27):
And I'm learning that more andmore every single day.
And to just really trust my ownrhythm and to honor that, I
think is the best way to reallyjust, when we talk about self
care.
That to me is what it means, notthe bubble bath or the massage,
every month.
It's listening to what our bodyneeds.
(39:47):
Exactly.
And it's tuning in and.
What I found to be able to getin back into rhythm and to even
pay attention to it.
It was like, for me it was thebeginning was sunlight.
And I know that sounds so funny,but really sinking to sunlight
and understanding the connectionof the sun and the earth with
(40:08):
the body.
When I first heard about it, Iwas like, grounding surrounding
what, whatever this is.
I was very resistant to theholistic aspect.
Very surprising, right?
But once I started, I was like,I need to know the science,
right?
That was my resistance toletting in the natural essence
of our being, right?
And I needed everything to bebacked by science, even if I
(40:29):
understood it already, because Ididn't trust, right?
I didn't trust that naturealready had a plan before I
could even comprehend what planthis would be.
And so I learned about sunlightand I learned about the
importance of getting that.
For our circadian rhythm and ourtiming.
And once I learned that, I waslike, oh, like we're on a
biological clock.
(40:50):
And then I was like, oh our, mymenstrual cycle.
And I was like, I really don'tknow much about this.
This is crazy.
I'm 20, eight years old at thetime.
This is back a few years ago.
And I'm like, you're right.
I literally shame myself forhaving a menstrual cycle.
I don't know anything about it.
I look at it as a.
Inconvenient time.
(41:11):
I don't understand it at all,and the power that it holds, and
I don't understand the powerthat my organs hold, right?
Like we go to doctors a lot oftimes and they'll just be like,
remove it.
And you're like, okay.
'cause you don't understand howimportant everything piece is
within our body and within ourmind and how connected it is to
(41:34):
nature.
And the minute that I gotconnected to the sun and
connected to nature and startedspending more time out there, as
simple as it is, and justlistening to the birds and
allowing myself to walk withoutmy phone and to allow myself to
get the sun on my.
Skin.
I actually felt what true energywas not caffeine, because for a
(41:55):
long time energy was caffeineand I was like, what do you mean
like real energy?
It's caffeine or it's sleep, orit's food.
Not realizing I.
We are full of energy all thetime.
It's when we're holding, likeyou were saying, we have to be
clean and clear to allow thatenergy to flow through us and
what's blocking it, whether itbe the emotional aspect of it or
(42:16):
the physical manifestation ofthe emotional aspect of it is.
Where we can start to play with,okay, I'm feeling a little dense
today and not question it likeyou said, and allow yourself to
go, maybe my brain isn't asintelligent as this ancient
system of this nervous systemthat can sense intuitive hits,
(42:38):
that can, sync up with otherwomen when we're around them
that can breathe for me when Idon't think about breathing,
that can blink for me.
That can heal a wound that cando all these beautiful things
that we take advantage.
Like we really do not take amoment to say, wow, I am so glad
I didn't have to digest thatfood.
(42:58):
I didn't have to sit here andthink about moving this nutrient
to that spot and do this andkeep my heart beating and
breathe while I was sleeping.
I.
We're so distracted from naturethat it pulls us away from the
rhythms, for sure.
I love what you just said.
It's oh, it's just so true andyou can feel it in your body.
I love that.
(43:19):
The sun, even just yourcircadian rhythm, like that was
your real like doorway into allof this.
It's so simple.
Like how many people actuallywake up with the sun and go to
sleep when it goes down, right?
Like we're under artificiallight all day long and we
underestimate the power of justactually going and seeing the
(43:40):
sunrise.
Seeing the sunset, I take breaksbetween my sessions.
I go sit out on my porch and Ijust I just take in the sun.
I just like photosynthesize fora few minutes because it's so
just getting in that stillness,hearing the wind, the birds
like, and it's, what's so coolis you mentioned like the
(44:02):
science behind nature.
Like nature predates the scienceand now it's like the science is
proven.
Study that says like your houseplants know when you're on your
way home.
wow, I didn't know that.
That's cool.
Yeah, it's super cool.
Like we totally underestimatethe intelligence of other
(44:23):
beings.
Like this mind is not what makesus the most intelligent and.
It's so important for me inmedicine to really realize that
your body is not at all separatefrom nature.
You're an inextricable part ofnature.
You are, when you're eating,you're literally taking nature
and turning it into you.
(44:44):
And as you said, you never haveto ask your body to do this.
It's always already doing it foryou.
I just had a session yesterdaywhere we were actually really
feeling into that gratitude andit was just like, like when you
really feel that it's sooverwhelming.
Because it's like the amount oflove that's just inherent in
that is there are no words.
(45:05):
And so it's so powerful to justlike to just go outside and
re-immerse yourself, realizethat you're not as disconnected.
'cause I really do believe thatso much of dis-ease is
disconnection from nature, thenature that is around us and our
true nature.
Whether it just be emotional,spiritual.
(45:25):
It's disconnection.
Some say that the cancer cell isthe loneliest cell in the entire
body.
So to reconnect with yourself,your emotions, your physical
body with nature.
It just is one of the mostpowerful things you can do in
addition to, everything elsethat you're doing to support
your healing.
(45:46):
Reconnect with your rhythm andwith the rhythm of nature.
A hundred percent.
Yeah.
We wanna hear it, but we don't.
I know.
Someone's I knew that already.
But it's so true, and.
Breathing is free.
Like I always say, like youcan't forget breathing, like
taking a moment to intentionallybreathe.
Those little things like thatand just tuning into your body,
(46:09):
the resistance will be there,but they're free.
Sunlight is free, right?
We just have to take the time todo it rather than reaching for
the thing outside of us.
And as we've both conveyedtoday, it's.
Truly, it's the answer to a lotof things for us.
And that disconnection reallydoes.
We have experiences of seeingthis, that the moment that we
(46:30):
reconnect, your body can finallyrelease.
Your body finally feels safeenough to allow the healing to
begin.
But we need to assist in thatrather.
Just trying to bully it or,punish it into submission and,
take more supplements and domore protocols and continue
moving and moving, and then doit when we finally get there,
(46:50):
type deal.
But it takes time, like yousaid, it takes time.
And even as practitioners, youand I, we both know, we both
have been there.
We know of it.
It's in our awareness because weexperience it ourselves.
And no one is perfect or on apedestal.
We can hold more empathy for ourclients because we see it in
ourselves and we get to see thatmirrored back to us.
(47:12):
A lot of the things that you'vebeen saying today, I'm like, oh
awareness.
This is, I'm so grateful.
So grateful.
'cause this is unlocking anotherlayer.
So how can people get in touchwith you whether it be on social
media, how can they work withyou?
Share with them a little bitabout that.
Absolutely.
So I do have Instagram, thehandle is at Dr.
(47:34):
Marissa Do Catano and then Ialso have a website, Marissa
Catano nd as a naturopathicdoctor.com.
And there you can read, you knowall about the different services
that I offer and you can alsosend me a message or book, a
free discovery call with me tosee if we might be a good fit
(47:55):
for each other.
Beautiful.
And I'll put all those in theshow notes too so you guys don't
have to memorize any of that.
And to close this off, what'sanything that doesn't feel
expressed yet, what's one lastmessage that you have for that
listener who's just dialed inright now?
I see so much disconnection inpeople right now, so much
(48:18):
division, and to really openyour heart to yourself.
Allows you to actually open yourheart up to other people in a
really beautiful way.
And we are in such need ofintegration at this time rather
than division.
(48:39):
The more accepting you become ofyour own guilt and shame and
faults, right mistakes and toreally own that, the more we can
really accept other people who.
We might otherwise judge, aswithin so without, so if I'm
judging me, I'm judging you.
And that's a hard world for allof us to really live in.
And I just really feel that thiskind of medicine brings healing
(49:05):
not only to individuals, but to.
Partnerships and families andcommunities and there are people
who are around the countryengaging in this sort of
healing.
And so if you are feeling reallyalone and isolated in your
healing, reach out to me or toyou or people who are doing this
(49:27):
work and see where you canconnect with others who are.
The more that we will have thatgreater impact on our
communities.
Absolutely.
I always say community is themedicine because it truly is it
truly is.
I didn't realize how much Ineeded community until I was
immersed in a, like a communityof healing where I was able to
(49:48):
see like the raw, the realpeople being so vulnerable and
honest about their experiences.
And a lot of times I didn't evenknow until somebody spoke so
vulnerably I experienced thattoo.
I didn't even realize that, thatI'm struggling with this.
This is crazy.
And just to be able to holdpeople in that medicine.
So I think that's absolutelybeautiful and your energy is so
(50:09):
easy to feel held in.
So I truly, was so excited tobring you onto this podcast, not
only to compliment, our workthat we both do, which are
different, but also becausesomebody might not vibe with my
vibe, right?
They might not, it might notbother them, but they may feel
more pulled towards you.
And I wanna give people thatopportunity to open up my
(50:30):
network and allow people to,pick whatever flavor they like,
right?
To really see what is it that'sgonna open up that healing path
for them, because it ripples.
It ripples out.
Like when you heal yourself,you're healing the world, you're
healing your lineage, DNA, andyou're also healing the people
around you.
So I think you close that outbeautifully and I'm just so
(50:53):
grateful that we got to havethis call and I'm so excited for
the people who hear this and letit in, so thank you so much for
coming on today.
Yeah, thank you so much.
It's been an absolute pleasure.
Man, if you're still herebreathing, sitting with all the
feels stirred up by thisconversation, good.
(51:16):
That means you're exactly whereyou're supposed to be.
Today's episode was a reminder,a call back to something you
already know.
Deep down, even if the world,your trauma or your
perfectionism made you forget,healing isn't about fixing your
body.
It's about listening to it.
We are taught to treat oursymptoms like enemies, right?
(51:38):
Like a problem, that's blockingus.
And we throw supplements atthem.
We throw workouts at them.
We throw manifestation journalsat them.
But the truth is, is mostsymptoms are just your body
begging you to come back home.
The bloat, the burnout, the gutissues, and the fatigue, they're
not random, they are notpunishments.
(51:59):
They're your survival patternsmade visible.
They are your unspoken grief,unfelt, shame, unmet needs
crystallize into physical form.
And no, you cannot greensmoothie or manifestation
journal your way out of that.
You have to feel your waythrough.
You have to let the emotionaland the physical body finally
(52:21):
sit at the same damn tabletogether what Dr.
Marisa shared today is a sacredmedicine.
That healing doesn't happen.
When you control harder.
That healing happens when yousurrender when you allow, when
you lean into the feminine.
And if you're listening rightnow thinking, shit, this is me.
(52:43):
Good.
It means something real iswaking up inside of you.
So take the next brave step.
Slow down, get still.
And get honest about what you'recarrying and remember, you were
never broken.
You're just bracing and youdon't have to keep living that
way.
(53:03):
If today's conversation crackssomething open in you, even a
little, I want you to know thatyou're not alone.
There are women like me, likeDr.
Marisa, like the women listeningalongside of you who are walking
this path to, and every time youchoose truth over performance,
you make this world a softerplace to heal in.
(53:24):
So thank you for being here.
Thank you for choosing to feel.
And if this episode moved you,please follow the show, rate it,
review it, and share it with afriend who needs to hear the
real truth about healing, notjust a polished version, because
you never know whose life youmight change by simply sending a
link.
So until next time, trust yourbody.
(53:44):
Trust the process, trust yourenoughness.
You're doing better than youthink, and I'll see you soon.
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